Chicken Pot Pie
If you live in a colder climate like me then this Chicken Pot Pie will certainly fill the bill when you’re looking for a warm and comforting meal. Everyone has a go to chicken pot pie recipe (at least they should), but if you don’t then look no further. I have been making this chicken pot pie recipe for many years and it never fails me. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of cooking your own chicken (poaching is what I recommend), then by all. means use a store bought rotisserie chicken and make your life easier.
Everyone is busy these days and while this is not a recipe you can whip together in 20 minutes, it actually doesn’t take a lot of time. If you don’t want to make pastry from scratch, you can always substitute store bought puff pastry for the tops (as shown) or alternatively you could even use store bought vol au vents (which I often do) and skip the topping and instead make the filling the topping, topped of course with a little pastry circle. Then it’s more like “chicken a la king” than a chicken pot pie, but regardless, it’s delicious.
If you don’t want to be bothered with traditional pastry or store bought pastry you can always make a crispy topping with Bisquick. Most boxes have a recipe on it, so this is also a good option.
Try my best Pastry Ever recipe here if you want to make your pot pie with a tender flaky homemade pastry crust.
Chicken Pot Pie
Equipment
- 6 individual pie tins or small cast iron skillets
Ingredients
- 4-6 Chicken breasts *or 1 rotisserie chicken deboned and diced
- 6 Tbsp butter (divided)
- 1 med onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 1 large Carrot, diced or cut into half moons
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1½ cups milk I prefer whole milk (for richness)
- 3 cups chicken stock (more if poaching chicken in it) store bought or homemade*
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables or your favorite blend
- 1 box puff pastry or vol au vents * or homemade pastry
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning *optional
- 1 tsp dried thyme *optional
Instructions
- preheat your oven to 400° (or other temp according to package directions if using store bought pastry)
- In a medium pot, bring some water (or chicken stock) to a simmer and place chicken breasts in it to cook. This should take about 15-20 minutes *Do not boil as this will toughen the chicken. Then remove and let cool before dicing into 1" cubes
- While the chicken is cooking, dice your vegetables
- In a large saucepan melt 2T of the butter and saute the onion, celery and carrots (if your carrots are large you can microwave them in some water to par cook them, then add them to the mix).
- Cook veggies until they're softened about 3-5 minutes, season with Salt and pepper
- Add 4 further Tbsp of butter and once it is melted, sprinkle with the flour to make a roux and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add 1½ cups of milk and 3 cups of stock and simmer on med-hi, stirring, until the mixture thickens (5-8 minutes)
- Add Additional seasonings, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper to taste
- Add in the chicken (chopped) and 2 cups of mixed frozen vegetables, stir and let simmer for a couple of minutes further
- If making pies, let the mixture cool completely before putting into pie tins otherwise the pastry will sweat
- If making quick pies with puff pastry, cool then fill your tin or cast iron mini skillets, sealing around the edges if you want a cleaner look. then vent the top with a small slit in the pastry and cook according to pastry directions. Usually around 30 minutes at 400°
Notes
