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Easy-to-Make Chicken Pot Pie

You may never eat frozen ones again!

My family loves pie, in all forms, savory and sweet. My favorite is cherry. My husband’s is chocolate cream topped with whipped cream, not meringue (or as he would say — calf slobbers). My sons are chocolate silk. My mother’s was lemon meringue. My father-in-law’s was coconut cream.

When I was around 10-years-old, my mother started making a chicken pot pie, New England style, with oysters. My dad loved it; my brother and I gagged through dinner and ultimately went hungry.

That was when you ate what was put in front of you, and Mom made dinner for Dad, and the kids just ate it. Or not.

Not to worry. My mom quickly realized that chicken pot pie with oysters simply wasn’t kid-friendly and began making a second, much smaller, pot pie for my brother and me. It’s all good.

Years ago, my husband and I ate at Mimi’s Cafe, a French-style bistro, where I discovered another way to make chicken pot pie that was delicious. The secret ingredient — sage. Yum!

This pot pie is so easy to make and takes less than 45 minutes before it is on the table, ready to eat. This recipe easily serves four but can be doubled to serve more or halved to serve only two, as I do.

Easy-to-Make Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Print this recipe.

Make the crust!

Start by making the crust. There are two options for this pot pie. Because I hate a soggy bottom crust, I almost always only have a top one. As a result, you only need a one-crust pie recipe. If you want a bottom crust, you will need to double my pie crust recipe.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Using the tines of a fork, mash 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter into the flour and salt mixture. The butter should be as cold as possible, so don’t soften it first. Keep cutting the butter into the flour mixture until it has a crumbly texture.

Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of ice-cold buttermilk or whole milk, one tablespoon at a time. Add just enough milk that the dough sticks together easily and no longer crumbles apart. Overhandling the crust will make it tough, so pay attention to when it just begins to hold together.

Remember, if you want a bottom crust, you will need to double the above recipe for a two-crust pot pie. If you have a sourdough starter, you can make this using your discard, too.

Make the filling

This filling can be made in a 3-quart casserole dish that can be used on the stovetop and in the oven. If you don’t have one of those, or if you plan to make a bottom crust, make the filling in a 2-quart saucepan or 10-inch deep skillet. Also, if you have left-over baked chicken, you can use that.

Filling ingredients

  • 1 pound shredded pre-cooked chicken (about 3 cups), or three 6-ounce cans of chunk white chicken, drained
  • 3/4 cup sliced carrot (about 2 medium carrots)
  • 1 cup diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
  • 3/4 cup sliced celery (about 3 celery ribs)
  • 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (about 6 to 8 mushroom caps)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
  • 2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
  • 2/3 cup canned peas, drained — optional
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoon corn starch (or 1/4 cup flour)
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a 3-quart, stovetop and ovenproof casserole dish (or 10-in skillet), saute the carrots, onion, celery, salt, and pepper in butter over medium heat until the onions are translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and brown slightly, about 3 minutes.

Add the minced garlic and sage and continue cooking until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Slowly stir in the chicken stock and allow to cook until the carrots are tender about 10 minutes. If you want potatoes in your pot pie, with the stock, add 1 cup diced potatoes, cut to about 1/2″ cubes (about 2 medium).

In a 3-cup measuring cup, whisk together the milk and cornstarch or flour. Slowly add to your casserole dish or skillet, stirring constantly. Allow cooking until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Gently stir in the drained peas (optional) and shredded chicken. Transfer this filling to an oven-safe casserole dish and top with the pie crust. Trim the crust to the size of your casserole dish and press to the sides to seal it. Cut 6 to 8 slashes in the top to allow steam to vent.

Brush the crust with melted butter and sprinkle with celery salt. Bake at 400° for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

For a two-crust pot pie

If you have made a bottom crust, you will fill the bottom crust, cover with the top crust and crimp the edges to seal it tightly. Be sure to make 6–8 piercings in the top crust before brushing it with butter and sprinkling it with celery salt.

A two-crust pot pie will take longer to bake, so cover the crimped edges with foil to protect them from burning and allow it to bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes. The crust should be golden brown. Remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Your family will love it!

The great thing about a pot pie is that you can add any vegetables or fillers that you enjoy eating. I’ve made this with diced potatoes, watercress, cauliflower, and broccoli. I prefer using canned or precooked veggies to frozen ones, as we prefer their texture. This is a great way to get kids to eat their veggies.

Don’t forget to print this recipe.

Bon Appetit!

Pat Davis, a retired teacher and editor of Simply Living and Living Simply and top writer in Food and Cooking on Medium, lives with her husband and neurotic cat, Neko. She loves to read, write, travel, bake, garden, sew, and craft.