Nothing beats a warm chicken pie fresh from the oven on a cold evening. Some chicken pies have only top crusts, some are are made in casserole dishes with biscuits toppings, and others with a bottom crust. I love an herb pie crust base to hold all the creamy goodness inside with a crunchy seasoned panko breadcrumb topping mixed with cheese.
I refer to this recipe as a Cozy Chicken Pie, with its warm comfort food filling. Since I’m not a huge fan of peas and celery, I’ve adjusted the classic filling to include green beans and mushrooms. It’s delicious just baked, but it’s even better the next day!
Tips for Making Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
HOMEMADE PIE CRUST
First, you must make a pie crust from scratch using my Homemade Pie Crust Recipe. This recipe makes enough for two 9 inch pie crusts or just 1 thick deep dish pie crust which I use for this chicken pie. If you choose to make a small 9 inch pie, just use one half for the bottom pie crust and chill the other for later.
I also prefer to add some fresh herbs and grated cheese into my pie crust. When making the dough whisk in 1.5 tablespoons (6 grams) of minced fresh and thyme 1.5 tablespoons (6 grams) of rosemary with the flour. Before adding the water to the dough, stir in ¼ cup of grated gruyere or robust gouda cheese. Finishing making the dough according to the linked recipe above. Wrap the dough to rest and proceed with making the Chicken Pot Pie with below instructions.
Chicken Pot Pie Filling
The vegetables in the recipe can easily be swapped for your favorites. I just prefer yellow onion, fresh green beans, carrots, and mushrooms. The trick is to cook down the sliced carrots and green beans to soften but leave a mild crunch, with the onions and mushrooms before adding to the cream mixture.
The star of the show is the chicken. I have used rotisserie chicken meat, roasted turkey, and plain baked chicken breast. all are equally delicious. Just choose your poultry meat of choice, mixing white and dark meat to your preference.
Seasoned Panko Topping
A chicken pie with a little cheesy panko on top, hits all the texture flavors. I mix a few thyme, sage, and oregano with melted butter and grated cheese to cover the filling. As it bakes the panko browns it a lovely aromatic crunchy topping.
How to Store Chicken Pot Pie
Once the pie is cool, cover with aluminum foil and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or, remove from pie dish and place individual slices in air tight containers.
Ingredients
Chicken Pot Pie Filling
- 3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup (42 grams ) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (240 ml) chicken stock
- ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon (6 grams ) finely chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon (6 grams) finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoon (60 ml) olive oil divided
- 1 cup (52 grams) yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 clove fresh garlic minced
- 1 cup (128 grams) peeled carrots peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup (150 grams) green beans cut into ½ inch pieces
- ½ cup (50 grams) cremini mushrooms roughly chopped
- 2 cups (280 grams) chicken breast cooked and shredded
Chicken Pie Topping
- 1½ cups (90 grams) panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ cup (20 grams) Robusto Gouda or Gruyere Cheese grated
Instructions
Make Homemade Pie Crust
- Make pie dough according to instructions in recipe. If you would like to add herbs and cheese to the pie dough, see tips above in the body of this post.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest for a minimum of 1 hour. The dough can be made up to 2 days in advance. Just allow super firm cold dough to warm at room temperature slightly before rolling out.
Chicken Pie
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Position the oven’s rack to the middle third of the oven. Line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Set a 9-inch (23-cm) nonstick metal pie pan within arm’s reach of the prepared work surface.
- Roll out the dough on the prepared work surface until it is ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and about 13 inches (33 cm) in diameter.
- Lift the dough and lower it into the pie pan. Gently press the dough into the pie pan with the pads of your fingertips.
- Gently tuck any overhanging dough under itself and crimp the edges. Use a fork to prick the bottom and sides of the crust that touch the pan several times.
- Place the pie crust in the freezer for 30 minutes to allow the dough to chill and become firm. Remember, we like a super cold pie crust to go into the oven.
Make the Filling
- Set a medium saucepan over medium heat and melt the butter. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and whisk them together to form a paste. Reduce the heat to low, then pour in the chicken stock and heavy cream, stirring continuously to form a thick gravy.
- Remove the cream sauce from the heat and transfer it to a large bowl. Stir in the sage, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Cover the bowl with a linen towel and set it aside.
- The vegetables need to be slightly cooked before being baked in the pie, or they will be too crunchy. Heat 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion. Saute the onion for 2 to 3 minutes, until it becomes soft and translucent. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of oil. Add the garlic, carrots, and green beans to the skillet and cook the mixture for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook the mixture for 3 minutes.
- Remove the vegetables from the heat and transfer them to the cream sauce. Stir the filling with a rubber spatula to distribute the vegetables evenly throughout the sauce. Add the chicken and mix the ingredients again. Let the filling cool for about 5 minutes while you prepare the topping.
- To make the topping, place the breadcrumbs, butter, oregano, sage, thyme, and paprika in a small bowl. Stir the ingredients with a fork to combine them, and then mix in the Robusto Gouda cheese.
Assemble and Bake
- Remove the pie crust from the freezer.
- Transfer the filling to the crust and level out the filling with a spatula. Generously cover the filling with the topping.
- Place the pie pan on a rimmed medium baking sheet to catch any filling that bubbles over. Set the pie in the center of the oven’s middle rack. Bake the pie for 40 to 45 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the edges of the crust are golden brown.
- The breadcrumb topping should be a rich golden brown. If you feel that the breadcrumbs are getting too dark, place a tented sheet of aluminum foil over the pie for the last 10 minutes of baking.
- Remove the pie from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Let the pie cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve it hot for a delicious comfort-food dinner.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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