Chicken Pot Pies

Pot Pie is a nickname for this chicken pie. Classic chicken pot pie is a very flavorful savory pie filled with chicken, vegetables, and a gravy sauce. It’s an excellent way to feed the family on a cold day since the warm filling is packed inside of a hot flaky crust–that is comfort food at its best!

What’s In Pot Pie? Vegetables like diced potatoes, carrots, peas, celery, and onion are tossed together first before they get covered in a savory sauce. The base to a pie is the pie crust which you can make from scratch or buy ready-made Pillsbury pie crust. 

This recipe makes a dozen (7 oz) pot pies that are the size of a jumbo muffin cup. The miniature size is perfect for personal pies and serves 1. However, you can also make this recipe into two standard 9-inch pies. If you don’t think you’ll be eating 12 pot pies anytime soon, they freeze well unbaked for a future dinner. 

Bringing Pot Pie to a potluck? Make this recipe in a disposable foil pan the size of a lasagna pan (13×9.) It’s the perfect way to feed a crowd without bringing a ton of pie plates. 

Pillsbury Store-bought pie crust uses Hydrogenated lard, which is not that healthy. Making a homemade all-butter pie crust takes minutes to form into a nice dough ball. After some chilling, this homemade crust rolls out easily and bakes into a flaky pie shell.

There is no need to pre-bake the bottom crust it evenly cooks throughout with the pie filling inside. Use this crust recipe for sweet or savory pies alike! 

• Make the pie crust- start by placing the unbleached all-purpose flour (or bread flour) into a mixing bowl. Grate the cold butter into the flour using a box grater. Mix together until the flour resembles a crumbly texture. Pour in the ice-cold water (without the ice-cubes) and form into a soft dough. Pie dough will be tacky. 
• Chill the dough- Cover pie crust and place into the freezer for 45 minutes. This firms up the dough to make it easier to roll out.
• Rolling out the pie crusts- Cut the dough into 3 equal parts, using a bench scraper or knife. Generously, flour the work surface. Roll out a piece of dough into a 16×11″ rectangle. Meanwhile, keep the other dough pieces in the fridge. Cut rectangle in half, lengthwise, and then twice crosswise to make 6 squares. Repeat with one more pie dough piece and save the third piece for the top crusts. 
• How To transfer the pie crust- Sprinkle some flour into each muffin tin. Carefully place pie squares into the tins. 
• Filling the Pie crust- fill each crust with 1/2 cup of the vegetable filling and ladle 1/4 cup of the soup gravy. 
• Rolling out the top of the pie crust- Roll the last piece of dough into a 17×13″ rectangle. Using a 4.5″ mug or donut cutter, cut dough into circles. 
• How to crimp pie edges and cut slits- Place the cutout circles over each filled pie and fold in and edges. Pinch together to seal the pie and crimp the edges. Slit the tops into four slashes using a razor.
• Applying egg wash to the crust- whisk one egg with a fork to make an egg wash. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of each pie. 

A chicken pot pie is a filling hearty dish loaded with vegetables, diced potatoes, and chicken. Making homemade chicken stock makes for a protein-packed meal that no carton of broth can substitute. Keep in mind if you do use store broth adjust the salt since they have plenty of sodium. Homemade pies are simple and when you have a stash of personal freezer pies, you’ll be a satisfied cook. 

Ingredients:

• Two pie crusts- one bottom crust and one top crust. This homemade crust makes enough for 12 personal pot pies so if you’re thinking of using refrigerated store-bought pie dough buy 3 double pie crust boxes. You’ll have to roll out the pie disks to fit the muffin tins from ready-made pie crust. 
• Vegetables- like carrots, peas, onion, celery, and potatoes are loaded in this pot pie! 
• Chicken- shred leftover cooked chicken, use a rotisserie chicken, canned chicken, chicken tenders (about 6), or buy ready-to-use cooked chicken pieces in a bag from the store. If you like to plan ahead, pre-cook and shred the chicken a day before, or if in a rush make my instant pot shredded chicken. 
• Chicken Broth- from the carton or make your own broth by using bouillon powder, paste, or cubes. I like to use powder chicken stock with water for most recipes that call for chicken broth. You will want to adjust the salt and eliminate part since store broths can be loaded with sodium. 
• Roux- butter, and flour are the base to a classic roux for a gravy sauce or a thicker soup.  
• Dried Herbs- savory flavors come from the dried thyme, celery seeds, and rosemary. They make this chicken pot pie aromatic and the salt and pepper play important spice roles too. Fresh herbs are a great addition and matter of fact I even used fresh chives in place for the onions when I was out. Some people use Herbs De Province as an all-purposing herb blend. Mix and match spices to liking such as garlic, parsley, poultry seasoning, fresh sage, and turmeric for a golden crust. 
• Milk- lightens up the gravy. Use half and half or heavy whipping for a richer pie. 

Note: make your favorite gravy recipes like the sauce from chicken and dumplings or this Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits. It’s made from a cream-based sauce that is delicious! 

This homemade chicken pot pie is made in two jumbo muffin tins for 12 personal pies.  You can mix all the soup and veggies in one pot to make it easy or ladle the gravy separately. I tried to make the prep easy to follow with my photo tutorial. Feel free to use a 9-inch pie dish for this pot pie or transform it into a casserole. 

Directions:

1. Poach the chicken and vegetables in a medium saucepan with 6 cups of water. Simmer until the chicken, potato, and carrot is tender. Skip this step if using frozen veggies, leftover cooked chicken, and hashbrowns. 
2. Make the soup gravy- by sauteing the onion in 4 Tbsp of butter until tender. Whisk in the flour and then pour in the chicken broth and milk. Stir until thickened and season with spices and herbs. 
3. Dice the filling- when the vegetables are cool enough to handle peel and chop all the veggies into diced-sized pieces. 
4. Roll out the pie crust- to a 16×11″ rectangle and cut into 6 pieces. Repeat with the other dough, and roll out the remaining dough to a 17×13″ rectangle for the tops. 
5. Add the filling to the crusts with gravy and cover each pie with the tops. 
6. Seal pie, crimp edges, brush with an egg wash, and cut slits. 
7. Bake a chicken pot pie for about 33 minutes in a 400°F.
8. Taste Test- cool the pie down before cutting into it, it’s very Hot! 

Tip: cool the mixture and gravy to prevent the top crust from melting. 

Pot Pies are not literally baked in a pot, but you can sure make these pies in many different pans; 

• 9-inch cast-iron pan
• 9″ round cake pans
• Tart mold
• lasagna pan (13×9″ baking dish)
• Muffin Tins
• Ramekins (4oz.)

Note: depending on what size your baking dish is, you may need to double or adjust the filling accordingly. 

Leftover pot pies store well in the refrigerator and reheat quickly. Warm it in the microwave or better yet in a 350°F toaster oven to crisp up and revive the crust. You can also make ahead the pies in advance and keep them refrigerated or frozen until ready to bake. Just be sure to fill pies with a cool filling as a hot mixture can melt the pie dough. 

Storing: keep baked pies refrigerated for up to 3 days. To reheat toast in a 350°F oven until crisp and heated thoroughly. This can be done in an air-fryer to re-crisp the pie.

Yes! You can freeze unbaked chicken pot pies! Freeze the prepared pies in the muffin mold until solid then remove from the freezer and pop the pies out of the tins with a sharp knife. Transfer the frozen pies into a freezer bag and keep frozen for up to 6 months.

To Reheat Frozen Pies in the Oven: toast in a pre-heated 400°F oven for 30-45 minutes. 

Chef’s Tip: keep pies frozen in disposable foiled pie pans and transfer pies right into the oven when ready to bake. 

Chicken pot pie recipes can be transformed into a dairy-free or Vegan Pie! If diabetic omit the bottom crust. 

• Hearty Chicken Pot Pie- add cubed potatoes like golden or russet potatoes.  
• Shepard’s Pie- use ground beef as the source of protein or turn it into Shepard’s pie with mashed potatoes. 
• Chicken and Cheese- if you are a cheese lover add a melting cheese like Velveeta to the filling! 
• Spinach and Bacon- wilt some fresh spinach and fry up some bacon for the chicken. Use any blend of frozen veggies like carrots and frozen peas and as the gravy use jarred alfredo sauce! 
• Vegan Pot Pie: use soymilk, Vegan butter/margarine, ready-made pie crusts (most are Vegan), substitute chopped frozen veggies, and Vegan meatless Chik’N strips.
• Turkey Pot Pie- use leftover roasted turkey instead of chicken (poultry is kosher friendly.)
• Dairy-free Pie- leave out the milk and use soy or almond milk

Other ad-ins include; corn kernels, broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, and garlic. 

For a quick dinner save on time and use refrigerated pie dough, just make sure you have enough double pie crusts for the top and bottom. This recipe will yield about 3 boxes of double pie crusts. Thaw according to package instructions before handling. 

Wondering what to serve with a chicken pot pie? Here are some yummy ideas! 

• Squash Dinner Rolls– perfect for fall!
• Cranberry Sauce Recipe (Using Craisins)
• How to Freeze Fresh Corn (Grocery Store Style)
• BEST Mashed Potatoes Recipe

The key to a well-constructed pie is to cool it down at least 30 minutes before serving. Hot pies are delicate and can fall apart. 

I keep my gravy on the runny side for chicken pot pie because the chicken and vegetables absorb a lot of liquid. Don’t thicken the sauce as it will give you a much drier pot pie. 

Leftovers work very well in pies. If you roasted a turkey or have leftover rotisserie chicken shred them up and freeze for easy dinner prep. Baked ham also goes well so if you see a sale grab some and freeze for later. Pot Pies can be made with beef or any other poultry meat. 

To test for doneness insert an [eafl id="18785" name="Instant-read thermometer" text="Instant-read thermometer"] and if the temperature of the pie reads 160°F it’s done.