Chicken pot pie immediately makes me think of the frozen kinds we had as kids. There was then about a 15-year lull where I didn’t have one at all before we recently went to the Smoky Mountains and had one at The Old Mill Restaurant. Since experiencing the inspiration, I wanted to make my own lighter version of an easy homemade chicken pot pie.
Turns out, making a chicken pot pie is not difficult. You need one pan to cook down garlic, onions, and chicken. You then add in herbs, carrots, peas, and celery. Flour is sprinkled on top of all of this while it cooks so you can create a thick gravy. This is possible by adding chicken stock and a little bit of half n half to make it creamy.
Once your filling is made, top the pie plate with pie dough before it gets popped into the oven. The pie dough might be the last piece, but it’s definitely the most important. Good pie dough is buttery, flaky, crisp, and melts in your mouth all at once.
Pie dough is simple to make, using only a few ingredients- ice water, cold butter, salt, and flour. A great follow-along tutorial and step-by-step instructions are found here. If making pie dough isn’t on the table for tonight (and that’s okay!) frozen pie dough is easy to find and works just as well.
I made my chicken pot pie with just one crust, but you’re more than welcome to make a double crust version. Just roll your first sheet of dough into the greased pie plate, add your filling, and then roll the second one on top.
If your pie plates are relatively shallow like mine are, I had to make two pies. You can also save and/or freeze half of the filling if you don’t want to make a second one.
For a completely make-ahead version, fill a freezer-safe pie plate with the filling, roll out the pie dough on top, and freeze before baking. The night before cooking it, let it defrost in the fridge overnight, and then the day of, brush the dough with the egg wash and bake at 350 for the full 25 minutes.
Once cooked, this easy homemade chicken pot pie can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Easy Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Equipment
- pie plate
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of pie dough store bought or homemade
- 1 lb chicken breast, cubed
- 1 C chopped carrots
- 1/2 C chopped celery
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 C frozen peas
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1 tsp thyme
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 C chicken stock
- 1/2 C half n half
- 1 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and have your pie dough prepared*, either store bought or homemade
- In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the onions, garlic, and chicken on medium heat. Stir until the chicken starts to brown. Add in the celery, carrots, pepper, thyme, and rosemary. Sprinkle the flour over the top of everything, stirring and cooking another 3-5 minutes
- Pour the chicken stock and half n half over the chicken and vegetables and let simmer for about 10 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through and the broth should be turning into a thicker sauce
- Using a small bit of butter, grease the bottom of the pie plate. Pour the chicken pot pie filling into the dish**. Beat the egg in a separate bowl
- Roll the pie dough over the chicken filling, trimming excess around the edges. Either poke holes across the top with a fork or create an x in the middle with a knife. Brush the top of the crust with the egg wash
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the crust is golden. I recommend placing a cookie sheet on the rack under the pie plate to catch any of the filling that may bubble up and over
