Rustic Chicken Pot Pie

Rustic Chicken Pot Pie is one of the most satisfying of all the comfort food dishes I’ve ever made! Reminds me of all that was good about being a kid!

Fall is definitely in the air here in the Pacific Northwest, and you know what that means. We are making our way into the long Comfort Food Season. I love it! Don’t you? And, there’s a lot to be said for this time of year. The weather is crisp, it’s still sunny, I can take out my favorite sweaters – all good things. But there’s also a lot going on for most of us, between kids and sports and don’t get me started on the upcoming holidays! I can get overwhelmed just thinking about all of it. It all makes me realize why we crave the foods from our childhood. As kids, things really were simpler, or at least more straightforward – school, homework, a piano lesson, a sports practice. Nice and organized. A nice warm dinner. Fabulous! Life was generally good. And it’s good to be reminded of those times.

I have to say, though, my Mom actually never made homemade chicken pot pie. She did occasionally make a “beef pot pie”, but if I remember correctly, it was to hide other meats that we kids did not approve of. The kind of meats that just mentioning them ruins my appetite. She was a farm girl from Kansas. They used all the parts. No judgment here. We just picked those pieces out, after the mandatory bite. However, she did occasionally buy those boxed, single-serving pot pies and served them for lunch on a cold day. We each got our choice of beef, chicken, turkey, or, one that became strangely popular in my house – tuna. (!) Yes, indeed. I’ll not comment further on that either.

This week, it all started with that crispness in the air.  It ended with the most glorious Chicken Pot Pie. And my Rustic Chicken Pot Pie is about as good as comfort food gets.  Savory, warm, all your food groups in a single dish, what could be better? It has a warm, cozy “chicken in a pie” aroma, and always a savory, comforting dinner.

I call this recipe “Rustic” because it is totally the opposite of fussy. You can use pre-cooked and sliced chicken pieces, or you can poach your own chicken. Or, you can shred, by hand, a rotisserie chicken from your grocery, like I did! For my family, I love to stuff my pot pies full of delicious veggies. And, you can use all the vegetables I did, or just choose the ones you want, as long as the volume is somewhat the same, it’s all good! You can use a store-bought pie crust or make your own. My favorite pie crust recipe, the one I used to top this Simple Chicken Pot Pie, is this recipe, from Food52. I’m completely serious when I say, the dough takes less than 5 minutes start-to-finish, and it’s always PERFECT! It’s never failed me! So easy and perfectly flaky every time!

So, do you have a storied history with pot pie? Have you tried any “interesting” flavors of Pot Pie? If so, I hope it hasn’t dissuaded you from making your own!

Enjoy!

Looking for other comforting, satisfying family meals? How about:

Swedish Pot Roast

My Grandma’s Beef Stew

Homemade Noodles with Chicken

Ham and White Bean Soup

How to Make Chicken Pot Pie:

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Step-by-Step Instructions

So, in general, the steps to pot pie making are as follows:

1. Sauté all of the veggies you want to put in the pie. Salt a bit.
2. Add the herbs and spices, and stir in the flour, and stir for a minute. A note here: you could add the flour either before or after the chicken. It won’t change the outcome, I often add it after I add the chicken. This time I added it before. Either way is fine.
3. Add the shredded chicken. Stir.
4. Add your stock or broth. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper, as desired. Let the broth thicken while stirring, then add the cream. Allow to thicken a bit more.
5. Pour into pie pan. You’ll want to use a 9″x 2″ deep round pan. (This one is the exact one I used.) Heap as high as you want. Any extra can go into a ramekin and bake alongside.
6. Top with crust. Bake. Enjoy!

Substitutions you can make:

For the Chicken: You can use any form of chicken, as long as it’s cooked, boneless and skinless. Shred as small or large as you like – I like my chicken pieces larger than the vegetables but any size is fine. Some grocery stores, like Trader Joe’s, sell sliced, roasted chicken by the pound. Or use turkey!

For the Vegetables: As long as they are cut small, you can use any vegetables. Always use an onion, but any chopped root vegetables will work, you could add peas or green beans. Keep the total volume of vegetables to about 5-7 cups, before cooking. They will cook down a bit but you’ll have a lovely heaping pie full of healthy and delicious vegetables.

For the Flour: You could substitute cornstarch.

For the Broth: You could use Stock or Broth for this recipe. You could also use bouillon cubes to make the broth, or substitute turkey stock or broth. I use a product called Better than Bouillon, specifically, the Roasted Chicken Flavor. It keeps in a small jar in the fridge, and I just add a teaspoon to a cup of water for each cup of stock or broth I need in a recipe. No more lugging jugs of broth home.

For the cream: You can use half-and-half. Or if you don’t wish to add cream or half-and-half, just go ahead and use all three cups of broth, adding more if you feel you need to.

For the crust: You can use a pre-made crust, or make the one I linked to. Or, if you wish, go ahead and top with biscuit dough or even a can of pre-shaped biscuits. Although, you’ll definitely need to watch it a bit closer in the oven, in order not to over-bake the biscuits. They will likely require a shorter bake time.

Want to save this Easy Chicken Pot Pie recipe for later? Pin it!

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