Easy Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Name: Easy Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 6 tbsp butter; 1 large onion (finely chopped); 2 celery ribs (sliced); ½ tsp kosher salt; ¼ tsp ground pepper; ½ cup flour; ½ tsp dried thyme; 1½ cups milk (2% or whole); 1½ cups chicken broth; 3 tbsp dry sherry (optional); 3 cups rotisserie chicken (cubed or shredded); 1 10 ounce frozen peas and carrots; 3 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped (optional)); store-bought pie crusts (1 rolled out flat or 2 for decorative squares)

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By using a couple strategic shortcuts this Easy Homemade Chicken Pot Pie recipe keeps all the old-fashioned flavor you remember in a fraction of the time. A flaky crust plus a hearty, creamy filling equals the perfect cozy dinner any night of the week.

Piece of Easy Homemade Chicken Pot Pie on a plate with a fork filled bite. — Make-ahead instructions are included to make this chicken pot pie an even easier easy weeknight meal.

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🥇 Why it’s great!
🐓 Ingredients
🔪 Instructions
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For a crowd
🙋 Questions and Answers
👨🏼‍🍳 Tips & Tricks
📋What to serve with pot pie
📖 Other rotisserie chicken recipes
Connect with us!
Recipe
Comments

Not to be stereotypical, but there really isn’t anything like the smell of homemade chicken pot pie wafting through the house. It really takes me back to the good old days.

And while there isn't anything wrong with a truly from scratch chicken pot pie, my to-do list doesn’t always give me the flexibility of spending the afternoon in the kitchen puttering away.

This pot pie is excellent for those moments. The filling is quick and easy to make and using a store-bought pie crust cuts down the prep time tremendously.

🥇 Why it’s great!

The filling takes 15 minutes to make. A quick filling and premade crust means that dinner is in the oven in under 20 minutes.
It uses shortcuts that help keep the flavor up and the time low. Rotisserie chicken, frozen veggies, and store-bought crust.
It has a secret ingredient that bumps up the flavor a couple notches. Can you spot it in the picture below? 👀 👇🏻

🐓 Ingredients

A full list of the ingredients is in the recipe card below, but here are a few noteworthy tips.

Rotisserie chicken: There is quite a bit of flexibility here. You can use white meat, dark meat, or a combination of the two. You can pull it off the chicken yourself or buy it in the packages already pulled for you. Use it cubed or shredded depending on your preference.
Vegetables: This recipe uses both fresh and frozen veggies. Onions and celery pair classically with frozen peas and carrots. However, here is a list of fresh and frozen veggies to add variation to your chicken pot pie vegetables. Fresh vegetables need to be cooked before adding to the filling.
- Frozen vegetables: corn, peas, mixed vegetables, green beans
- Fresh vegetables: potatoes, zucchini, green beans, cauliflower, carrots
Herbs: Feel free to use dried or fresh herbs in this recipe. Dried herbs have a more concentrated flavor than fresh so keep that in mind when substituting. As a general rule of thumb I use three times the amount of fresh herbs when substitution for dry.
Sherry: This secret ingredient gives a layer of flavor to this dish that shouldn't be missed. However, if you don’t have any on hand or you don’t cook with alcohol, feel free to leave it out and substitute chicken broth in its place.
Pie crust: Your favorite refrigerated dough will work. I have used name brand and generic with equally good results. You can also substitute canned biscuits or puff pastry instead of the pie crust.

🔪 Instructions

Begin by preheating the oven to 450º.

After prepping the ingredients, heat a large pot over medium high heat. Melt the butter and add in onion and celery. Cook them until they are nice and soft which is somewhere around 4 minutes.

The 4-step process of making a thick, easy chicken pot pie filling. — Making the filling from scratch using store-bought ingredients, allows this pot pie to keep all the homemade flavor without sacrificing any of the flavor.

Once they are soft toss in the seasonings and stir for 30 seconds. This helps bring out the flavor in the dried herbs. Now it’s time to thicken the filling with flour. Add in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes. This is really important. If you don’t cook the flour it will leave a raw taste in the filling.

Slowly whisk in milk and chicken stock, just a little at a time. Bring that mixture to a gentle simmer and cook until thickened. Once it is thick it is time to add in the sherry. Continue to cook for a minute longer to allow the alcohol to evaporate.

Stir in the chicken, frozen veggies, and fresh parsley. Pour the filling into a 9x13 pan. Or you can use a cast iron skillet. Either a 12 inch or 10 inch will work. The ratio of crust to filling is all that will change. Since there isn’t a bottom crust I prefer a thinner layer of filling, so I would use the 12-inch skillet.

Once the filling is in the pan of your choice, it’s time to put on the crust. Gently unroll the pastry sheet according to package directions. You can leave it as is for a more rustic pot pie or you can cut them into squares like we did for a bit of a decorative flourish.

To achieve the squares I used a pizza cutter to cut off the edges of the circle and create a large square. Then I cut that larger square into smaller squares. This is just for looks so whichever way you choose it will taste the same.

Lay the crust over the filling, making sure to cover from edge to edge, overlapping pieces if necessary. If you use one sheet of dough be sure to cut a few slits in the top to allow the steam to escape.

Bake for 30 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

Square pieces of pie crust over pot pie filling made with rotisserie chicken baked to golden brown. — To get your pie crust to look like this, cut a store-bought pie crust into squares with a knife or pizza cutter. Lay the pie crust pieces over the filling, making sure to slightly overlap them.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For a crowd

If you are making for a crowd you will need several baking dishes. Only two will fit in each oven at a time or else it will be overcrowded and not cook evenly. If you want to prep this ahead follow the same instructions as in the prep ahead section below.

🙋 Questions and Answers

How to freeze chicken pot pie?

Homemade chicken pot pie filling can be frozen separately from the pie crust. Once cooled, put it in the freezer container of your choice. Thaw completely, pour into the baking dish and top with pie crust. The baking time might need to increase by 10-15 minutes. If the crust begins to get too brown, lightly cover with foil.

Can I prep pot pie ahead?

Yes. Similarly to the freezing instructions, cook the filling and allow it to cool. Store it directly in the baking dish or in a container of your choice. Refrigerate until ready to use. Prep the pie crust and store covered in the refrigerator. Assemble just before baking. Since the filling is cold the baking time might need to be increased by 10-25 minutes. If the crust begins to get too brown, lightly cover with foil.

What to do with leftover pie crusts?

Those little scraps are the best part of making pot pie! (Says my husband!) Line scraps on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Brush lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350º for 8-10 minutes. Try and keep your husband from eating them all himself. 😉

👨🏼‍🍳 Tips & Tricks

Make sure to cook the flour for an entire minute or two to cook the raw taste out of the flour.
When whisking in the liquids to the flour mixture do so slowly at first. That way the filling will some out smooth and perfectly thickened.
Cook off the sherry for a minute or so if using.

📋What to serve with pot pie

Scoop of pot pie filling full of carrots, peas, onions, celery, and rotisserie chicken. — Homemade chicken pot pie doesn't have to take all day. With a couple shortcuts, this scoop of filling can be served up in a hurry.

📖 Other rotisserie chicken recipes

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