Easy Chicken Pot Pie is the ultimate comfort food, made with flaky golden brown pie crust and a creamy chicken and vegetable filling. Using leftover cooked chicken and refrigerated pie crust reduces the prep time in this homemade chicken pot pie recipe so that you can get dinner on the table in under an hour!
If you’re in the mood for making your own pie crust for this easy chicken pot pie recipe, look no further than my Butter Pie Crust or Oil Pie Crust recipes – both are great options for this dish and what I would recommend.
Pot pie is one of those meals that can be enjoyed throughout the year, not just during the colder seasons. It’s a hearty meal that goes a long way in feeding many mouths, especially when served with side dishes like Fried Cheese Balls, Bang Bang Brussels Sprouts, Air Fryer Jalaepeño Poppers, or Chopped Asparagus Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette.
Why You’ll Love Chicken Pot Pie
- It’s a comforting meal with a balance of meat, vegetables, and carbs! While you could add a side dish, this dish is a complete meal in and of itself!
- The cream cheese and milk added to the chicken filling make this pot pie incredibly luxurious.
- Using store-bought refrigerated pie crust and rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken is a great way to reduce prep time and makes assembling your pot pie a breeze!
What Ingredients do I Need for Chicken Pot Pie?
- Butter – I’ve used salted butter but unsalted butter is an option. You will need to add extra salt when using unsalted butter.
- Onion – Yellow onion, diced, is perfect for this chicken pot pie. White onion is also suitable.
- Flour – My go-to for thickening the filling is all-purpose flour. You can use cornstarch or gluten-free flour instead.
- Salt and pepper – I don’t like to complicate the seasoning in this recipe since the broth and other ingredients already add a load of flavor.
- Whole milk – The fat in whole milk adds a delicious creaminess and flavor to the filling while also helping to thicken the filling. Heavy cream can also be used or you can opt for lighter milk to keep the fat content down.
- Chicken broth – If you don’t have chicken broth for the liquid in this recipe, use chicken stock or 1 ½ teaspoons of chicken bouillon mixed with 1 cup of water.
- Cream cheese – Cutting the cream cheese into pieces will help to incorporate it into the filling.
- Peas and carrots – Frozen peas and carrots can be used for convenience but rinse them under water first to soften them slightly.
- Chicken – I’ve used cooked chicken for this pot pie since the total baking time is not enough to cook the chicken raw. Dice the chicken into uniform sizes for even heating.
- Pie crust – Feel free to use store-bought refrigerated pie crust or make your own from scratch. You will need two for this recipe.
- Egg yolk mixture – Beat 1 teaspoon of water with the egg yolk for the egg wash.
PRO TIP: Use rotisserie chicken to avoid having to cook chicken specifically for this recipe. Leftover air fryer chicken breasts or air fryer whole chicken is also ideal!
How to Make an Easy Chicken Pot Pie
FILLING: While the oven preheats, prepare the chicken pot pie filling. Start by sauteing the diced onion in melted butter, then stir in the flour and seasoning until the mixture browns. Slowly pour in the chicken broth and milk, stirring until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble.
Remove the mixture from medium-high heat and stir in the cream cheese, peas and carrots, and chicken. Set the chicken pot pie filling aside as you start to assemble the pie crust.
ASSEMBLE: Place the bottom pie crust into a pie dish with overhanging edges. Fill the pie with the filling and then add the top pie crust, crimping the edges of the pastry to seal. Brush the egg mixture over the top of the pie and make small slits with a knife for venting. Bake for 15 minutes until the top crust is golden brown and then cover the pie with aluminum foil while it finishes baking for another 15 minutes. Allow the baked pie to cool for 15 minutes before serving.
- The cream cheese listed in the ingredients is optional but oh boy it provides such a great dose of extra creaminess to the pie filling that I wouldn’t omit it! I also love how it takes the place of cream of chicken soup. Of course, the pie filling is still rich and thick enough without the cream cheese to enable it to set well, so it’s really up to you!
- If you decide to use additional fresh vegetables, I suggest that you saute them first with the onions so that they are guaranteed to be cooked soft by the time your Chicken Pot Pie comes out of the oven.
- You can make a double batch of the Chicken Pot Pie filling and store half for quick and easy use later on when needing a freshly baked pie with minimal effort or time required. Then all you need to do is make your pie crust or assemble your pie using store-bought pie crust.
- When storing baked chicken pot pie, allow the pie to cool completely before placing leftovers in an airtight container or wrapping the entire baked pie with plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
Fun Fact
National Great American Pot Pie Day is held every year on the 23rd of September. The origin of pot pies dates as far back as 9500 BC, created first by the Greeks as cooked meats in open pastry shells which then spread to the Romans, then medieval Europe, and then later spread to the New World when the first American settlers took their pot pie recipes with them to the West!
Variations
- You have the option of using premade refrigerated pie crusts or making your own like my Oil Pie Crust Recipe or my Butter Pie Crust recipe.
- Add additional frozen mixed vegetables to the Chicken Pot Pie filling such as potato, fresh green beans, or corn.
- If you don’t feel like making or assembling a pie crust top for your Chicken Pot Pie, you could easily sprinkle crushed buttery crackers over the pie filling.
- Easily make mini Chicken Pot Pies by dividing your pie filling and making use of mini pie dishes, disposable pie tins, or even ramekins. These would be ideal for lunchboxes, picnics, or single-serving purposes. Just note that the baking time may need to be reduced for mini pies so keep an eye on them.
- Use leftover turkey instead of chicken in this recipe.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container or in a pie dish wrapped with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
You can also make this pie a few days ahead of time and then bake it just prior to serving or heat it up in the oven if you previously baked it.
Absolutely! You can either freeze the baked chicken pot pie for up to 3 months or freeze the fully assembled but unbaked pie that can then be baked before serving at a later time.
In both instances, wrap the chicken pot pie with plastic wrap and then cover it with aluminum foil before storing it in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the fridge and either reheat or bake from scratch.
This Chicken Pot Pie is hearty enough to be enjoyed alone or you could add a fresh leafy green side salad or a serving of your favorite roast veggies for an extra dose of vitamins and minerals!
Other Chicken Lickin’ – Good Recipes
Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons salted butter melted
- ½ cup yellow onion diced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 1 cup chicken broth or 1 cup water + 1 ½ teaspoons chicken bouillon
- 2 oz. cream cheese cut into pieces
- 1 cup peas and carrots
- 2 cups cooked chicken diced
- 2 pie crust
- 1 egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add diced onions and saute until onion is translucent (3-4 minutes).
- Add flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until flour mixture begins to brown (3-4 minutes).
- Slowly stir or whisk chicken broth and whole milk into the flour mixture. Stir constantly while pouring just a bit at a time to make a smooth mixture.
- Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly to ensure milk does not burn on the bottom of the pan, Cook until mixture begins to bubble and thicken slightly (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat.
- Stir in cream cheese, frozen vegetables, and diced chicken. Stir to mix evenly. Set aside.
- Prepare pie crusts, fitting the bottom crust into a 9” pie plate with edges hanging over for crimping in the next step.
- Spoon chicken pot pie filling into the pie crust, spreading evenly. Place top crust over the filling.
- Fold under the overhanging edges so that the top and bottom crusts come together and seal at the edges. Crimp.
- Brush the top of the pie with egg yolk mixture and slit the top in a few places for venting.
- Bake for 15 minutes in the 450°F oven. Check pie for a deep golden brown. When it is browned to your preference, cover with aluminum foil and continue baking 15 minutes longer until bottom crust is also cooked and filling is bubbling up under the crust.
- Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
- You must follow a double pie crust recipe or purchase two pie crusts to make this easy chicken pot pie.
Nutrition
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