Chicken pot pie

Name: Chicken pot pie
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 65 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 6 people
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 200 g Wheat flour; 140 g Butter, cold, cubed; 0.5 tsp Salt; 60 ml Water, iced; 1 piece Egg, beaten, to glaze; 800 g Chicken, boneless skinless thighs; 750 ml Chicken stock; 60 g Butter; 1 medium Onion, diced; 2 medium Carrot, diced; 2 piece Celery, sticks, diced; 70 g Wheat flour; 200 ml Milk, whole, or half single cream; 150 g Peas, frozen; 1 tsp Thyme, dried, or 1 tbsp fresh leaves; 1 tsp Salt; 0.5 tsp Black pepper; 2 tbsp Parsley, chopped

Chicken, carrots, celery and peas in a thick, creamy gravy under a flaky butter crust, baked until golden.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 1 hr 5 min
Rest: 10 min
Total: 1 hr 55 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

Image coming soon

About

Chicken pot pie is a stew with a lid. Chicken thighs are poached in stock, cut into chunks and folded into a sauce made from the same stock, a butter-and-flour roux and some milk, with onion, carrot, celery and peas. That goes into a dish under a single sheet of butter pastry, vented and brushed with egg, and bakes until the crust is deep gold and the filling bubbles at the edges. The filling should be thick enough to hold a line drawn through it with a spoon before it goes in the oven; thin gravy makes a soggy lid. Let it cool before the pastry goes on, and let it stand ten minutes before serving.

What you'll need

18 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 18 ready

6 servings

Crust
Filling

Ingredients

Servings

Crust

Wheat flour200 g
Butter, cold, cubed140 g
Salt2½ ml
Water, iced60 ml
Egg, beaten, to glaze1

Filling

Chicken, boneless skinless thighs800 g
Chicken stock750 ml
Butter60 g
Onion, diced1 medium
Carrot, diced2 medium
Celery, sticks, diced2
Wheat flour70 g
Milk, whole, or half single cream200 ml
Peas, frozen150 g
Thyme, dried, or 1 tbsp fresh leaves4.9 ml
Salt4.9 ml
Black pepper2½ ml
Parsley, chopped30 ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
For the crust, mix the flour and salt, rub in the cold butter until the largest pieces are pea-sized, then add the iced water a spoonful at a time until the dough holds when squeezed. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
10 min
Step 2
Put the chicken thighs in a heavy pot with the stock, bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for 20 minutes until cooked through, 74°C in the thickest piece. Lift out the chicken, cut it into bite-sized chunks and pour the stock into a jug.
25 min
Step 3
Melt the butter in the same pot and cook the onion, carrot and celery over medium heat for eight minutes until soft. Stir in the flour and cook two minutes. Whisk in the stock a little at a time, then the milk, and simmer five minutes until thick. Stir in the thyme, salt, pepper, chicken, peas and parsley, then leave to cool for 15 minutes.
30 min
Step 4
Heat the oven to 200°C. Spoon the filling into a deep 23 cm pie dish or 2-litre baking dish. Roll the pastry 3 mm thick, lay it over with a 2 cm overhang, press it to the rim and crimp. Cut four vents and brush with the beaten egg.
10 min200°C
Watch: Hot filling melts the butter in the pastry before it reaches the oven. Let it cool first.
Step 5
Set the dish on a baking tray and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the filling bubbles at the edges. Rest ten minutes before serving.
35 min200°C

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 712 kcal
Protein: 51.5 g
Carbs: 45.3 g
Fat: 35 g
Saturated fat: 19.5 g
Fibre: 3.9 g
Sugar: 6.1 g
Sodium: 1167 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Wheat
Milk
Eggs

Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.

Substitutions

Butter pastry lid → Ready-rolled puff pastry
Taller and flakier, and no chilling. Bake it the same way.
Pastry → Drop biscuits
The Southern way. Spoon scone-like biscuit dough over the filling and bake at 220°C for 20 minutes.

Tips

Leftover roast chicken or turkey works: use 600 g of meat with good bought stock, and skip the poaching.
The filling can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge. Cold filling under cold pastry gives the flakiest lid.
Add a splash of dry sherry or white wine to the gravy if you have it open.

History & culture

Pot pie is cold-weather weeknight food, church supper food, and what people make with leftover roast chicken or the Thanksgiving turkey. Since the 1950s the frozen single-serving version has been a supermarket staple. In Pennsylvania Dutch country, pot pie means something else again: a crustless chicken stew with thick squares of noodle dough.

Meat baked under pastry came to the colonies with English cooks, and early crusts were often thick, barely edible containers. By the 19th century American cookbooks were printing chicken pies with proper butter or lard crusts. The frozen pot pies sold by Swanson and others from the early 1950s turned it into national convenience food, and the homemade version has been trying to live that down ever since.

Traditional — Many American pot pies have only a top crust, as here. Double-crust versions need the bottom blind-baked or it stays pale. Southern cooks often drop biscuit dough on top instead of pastry.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Chicken pot pie take?

1 hr 55 min all in — 40 min prep, 1 hr 5 min cook, 10 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 6 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Nut-free.

8 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Dutch oven, Mixing bowl, Rolling pin, Chef's knife, Baking tray, Oven.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at ½ tsp.

What can I use instead?

Butter pastry lid → Ready-rolled puff pastry. Taller and flakier, and no chilling. Bake it the same way. Pastry → Drop biscuits. The Southern way. Spoon scone-like biscuit dough over the filling and bake at 220°C for 20 minutes.

What should I watch for?

Hot filling melts the butter in the pastry before it reaches the oven. Let it cool first.

Any tips from this recipe?

Leftover roast chicken or turkey works: use 600 g of meat with good bought stock, and skip the poaching. The filling can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge. Cold filling under cold pastry gives the flakiest lid. Add a splash of dry sherry or white wine to the gravy if you have it open.

Can I prepare this ahead?

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.