Chicken Pot Pie
Satisfying and delicious, this creamy chicken pot pie is a winner every time! Something of a no-recipe recipe, ingredient amounts aren’t totally precise, but use as a guideline. For example, you’ll need roughly 6 cups of fresh vegetables. If you end up with somewhere between 5 and 7 cups, it’s all good. Same with the chicken – between 3 and 5 cups will work. You may have a “heaping pie”, but that means you’ll just need to roll out the crust a bit more, and may need all of the stock or broth at the end.
My favorite Pie dough is this one from Food52. It’s made in just a few minutes in a stand mixer. It’s an all-butter crust that is flaky and tender every time. But an unbaked, pre-made store-bought crust works here too!
- Prep Time: 45 - 60 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 75-90 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 cups coarsely shredded, cooked Chicken. This is all the meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, stripped from bones and skin, shredded by hand. OR around 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs, poached as directed in the instructions below.
- 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Vegetable Oil or your chosen Mild-flavored Cooking Oil, plus more as needed
- 1 Medium-Large Onion, peeled and chopped (about 1.5 cups)
- 3 Celery stalks, chopped (roughly 1 cup)
- 3 Medium Carrots, chopped into cubes (roughly 1 cup)
- 1 cup chopped Mushrooms
- 2 Small-to-Medium Yellow Potatoes, chopped into 1/2–3/4” cubes
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 Tablespoon chopped Fresh Dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
- (optional) 1 Tablespoon Fresh Tarragon leaves or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1/4 teaspoon, heaping, Dry Mustard
- 3 cups Chicken Broth or Stock
- 1/3 cup Heavy Cream or half-and-half
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 unbaked crust for a single-crust pie
Instructions
If you need to poach the chicken:
- Generously salt the chicken pieces and lay them in a large (4 qt) saucepan or stockpot. Cut 2 stalks celery and 2 carrots in half lengthwise. Cut a whole onion in half. Add to the cooking pot with 1 bay leaf and 2 teaspoons of peppercorns. Pour 4 cups of chicken stock or water over the chicken. Bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer, and simmer until chicken pieces are cooked through, about 20 minutes. Place cooked chicken pieces in a bowl. Cover with some of the poaching liquid and refrigerate until ready to use.
Making the Pot Pie
- Preheat oven to 375F. Shred the rotisserie chicken, discarding skin and bones, or likewise shred poached chicken pieces.
- Over Medium heat, place a large sauté pan. Pour in the cooking oil. Add the chopped onion. Sprinkle a bit of salt over the onion, and saute 3-4 minutes. Add chopped celery, carrots, potatoes and mushrooms. Add more oil if needed. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté until onions are beginning to be translucent, about 8-12 more minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken, herbs, and dry mustard to the pan with the vegetables. Sprinkle flour over the mixture and stir while continuing to cook for a minute or so.
- Carefully pour in around 2 1/2 cups of the broth. When the the broth begins to bubble, stir until nicely thickened, about 2-3 minutes. If it gets too thick, just add the remaining 1/2 c of stock. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the cream or half-and-half. Stir. Re-check and adjust seasonings if desired.
- Pour the chicken filling into a pie plate or 2-quart casserole dish.
- On a floured surface, roll out the pie crust to a size 2 inches larger than your dish. Gently place over the filling, pinch at edges, and cut slits in it to vent.
- Bake 25-35 minutes until crust is golden, and filling is bubbling up through the slits you made. If you are going for a darker, shiny, crust, brush on an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 2 T water) prior to placing it in the oven. Mine did not have the egg wash. I like the texture of the golden, flaky crust better than the shiny crust. Let the pie rest for 15-20 minutes before serving, if you can. It is so much easier to remove from the dish to serve.
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Find it online: https://hummingbirdthyme.com/chicken-pot-pie/
