Chicken Pot Pie
Comfort Food · 6 Servings · About 1 Hour 10 Min
A real chicken pot pie has a buttery crust that shatters when you break through it and a thick, creamy filling underneath packed with tender chicken and vegetables. The real deal has a buttery crust that shatters when you break through it. Underneath?
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 refrigerated pie crusts (or homemade — see tip below)
- 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Filling
- 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed (about 1.5 lbs)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). The sauce is a simple roux-based velouté — butter, flour, broth, and milk — that comes together in minutes and gets rich and silky as it bakes. Use rotisserie chicken to save time, or poach your own.
- Cook the vegetables: Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook 6-7 minutes until softened but not browned.
- Make the roux: Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir for 1 minute to cook out the raw flour taste.
- Build the sauce: Slowly whisk in chicken broth, then milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of a thick gravy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the filling: Remove from heat. Stir in chicken, frozen peas, thyme, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Assemble: Pour filling into the crust-lined pie plate. Place the second crust on top. Trim excess dough, fold the edge under, and crimp with a fork or your fingers. Cut 4 small slits in the top for steam to escape. Brush the top with beaten egg.
- Bake 35-40 minutes until the crust is deep golden brown and you can see filling bubbling through the slits.
- Rest 10 minutes before serving. The filling needs time to set so it doesn't run everywhere when you cut in.
Pro Tips
- Rotisserie chicken is the shortcut that actually works here. One bird gives you about 3 cups of shredded meat plus you can use the bones for stock.
- The filling should be thick before it goes into the crust. If it looks thin, cook it a couple more minutes — it won't thicken much more in the oven.
- For extra-flaky crust, brush the bottom with a thin layer of beaten egg before adding filling. This creates a seal that prevents sogginess.
- Make it ahead: assemble the pie, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Add 5-10 minutes to the bake time.
Variations
- Top-crust only: Skip the bottom crust and pour filling directly into a deep baking dish. Top with puff pastry for an even flakier, faster version.
- Biscuit-topped: Replace the top crust with buttermilk biscuit dough cut into rounds. Bake until biscuits are golden.
- Turkey pot pie: Use leftover Thanksgiving turkey — same recipe, same ratios.
- Veggie pot pie: Replace chicken with 2 cups diced potatoes and 1 cup mushrooms. Use vegetable broth.
Nutrition
Per serving (1/6 of pie):