Don’t you love it when you decide on what to make for dinner and you just so happen to have everything you need right in your very own kitchen? It’s rare, but it happened to me when I had a craving for chicken pot pie.
I started rummaging through my fridge, pantry, and freezer, and was amazed to find that I could pull this together without even running to the store. I found puff pastry leftover from my Peach Tarts, heavy cream from my Salted Caramel Oat Bars, and fresh thyme from my Slow Cooker Pot Roast.
Unheard of!
My Walmart lady and I are so tight, she whispers price matches to me when I forget to check the ads. She thinks my boys are cute and “so well-behaved”, which makes me wonder what kid-shenanigens she witnesses on a daily basis. Because my boys are sweet, but we have our moments.
Like the time I was trying to decide whether I should buy regular or center cut bacon, and I looked down to see my three-year-old poking holes with his finger into the Saran wrapped raw ground beef!
Being a mom is exceedingly and abundantly a very humbling experience.
And that’s why I’m so thrilled when I can make dinner with what I already have. What I love about this recipe, is that it offers three shortcuts to make things easier.
First of all, I used puff pastry instead of making pie crust. Second, I used a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store instead of cooking my own. And lastly, I used a chicken base called “Better Than Bullion” instead of homemade or canned chicken stock. So very handy to have in the fridge all ready to go.
This Chicken Pot Pie has become one of my most popular recipes, and I think my mom is it’s number one fan! She makes this recipe a lot when she has company over. It pairs really well with a nice green salad, and that fancy lattice crust makes dinner guests feel extra special.
Don’t worry if you’ve never made one before, it’s really not too difficult. Make sure you are working with very cold strips of puff pastry. If they get too warm and soft they will be harder to work with, so you can pop them back into the freezer for a few minutes if needed.
This is the best lattice crust tutorial I’ve ever seen, and it’s super helpful to have that visual if you’ve never made one before.
Once you give this a try, you’ll be so happy to have it in your recipe box! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: the links in this post for the Better than Bullion chicken base are Amazon affiliate links.
PrintChicken Pot Pie
My favorite chicken pot pie recipe with three easy shortcuts to make dinner prep simple.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 1/4 cup chopped carrot
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon “Better Than Bullion” chicken base
- 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish if desired
- 1 egg, beaten slightly with a fork
Instructions
- Allow puff pastry to thaw at room temperature and then gently unfold.
- In a large pot, melt butter over medium high heat.
- Add onion, celery, carrot, and salt and sauté until onions are translucent and vegetables start to get tender.
- Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Gradually whisk in milk, heavy cream and and Better Than Bullion, and bring to a slow boil.
- Simmer gently over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken (5 minutes).
- Turn heat to low, and add chicken, peas and thyme.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Pour chicken mixture into a 9 x 9 baking dish.
- Cut puff pastry into 12 equal strips, using fold lines as a guide.
- Lay puff pastry strips over chicken mixture, weaving it together to form a lattice pattern.
- Using a pastry brush, brush egg onto the top of the puff pastry.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. The top of the puff pastry will be a deep golden brown color.
- Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 732
- Sugar: 4.3g
- Sodium: 583mg
- Fat: 52g
- Saturated Fat: 21g
- Unsaturated Fat: 27g
- Trans Fat: 0.8g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Fiber: 2.3g
- Protein: 29g
- Cholesterol: 186mg
I have made this recipe a lot, and another way to serve this is over rice like Chicken Ala King. It’s amazing
I can never ever get my filling thick.. ugh. But I do love this recipe. It tastes so good!!!
How do you freeze it for make ahead?
Can I make & bake then freeze this pot pie with phyla
Been using this recipe for my pot pie filling since 2014 🥹🥹 thank you so very much it’s so delicious I use it with pie crusts and now I’m famous dor my chicken pot pies lol
I haven’t thought about using it with pie crusts, that’s really smart. Have you tried freezing it at all? Can you let me know your method for this? I too love this recipe, and would love to freeze a few pies ahead of time.
I also use it in piecrust, but I make my own. Using butter instead of Crisco.
If double or triple recipe, what size pan?
Amazing recipe, I have been using this recipe for a few years now and my family absolutely love it, I have made a few changes to it though, I use leeks instead of onion, I added a chicken stock cube and a vegetable one and also added bacon lardons, turns out Amazing.
Be careful when you double it. Proportions are off.
I have been using this recipe for over a decade and it has always been a hit! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe. One question: can this recipe be altered if I use homemade chicken stock instead of the bouillon? Not sure how to implement because there is no water and I don’t want to reduce the amazing creaminess. Thanks in advance!
I have probably made this 25 times, and it has always been delicious. I never add peas. I sometimes add small cubes of cooked potato, or diced broccoli, and once I added white corn. Thank you for a super easy, super tasty recipe that has become a weekly regular for my family!
I’ve probably commented before, but once again… This recipe is amazing. It is a go to when guests come over. They always rave about the flavor and the lattice crust. It really is beautiful on top of being so delicious! I have made this recipe dozens of times. Thank you
My entire family (including a super picky teenager) loved this. I appreciate how easy it is with the puff pastry crust and store-prepared rotisserie chicken when time is short. This recipe is a keeper!
I have made this recipe over the years and I don’t even know how many times I have and it always turns out perfect. If I don’t have celery, I add a quarter cup of corn when adding the peas instead. I’ve made it for the meal train many times for people and everybody compliments on it. Kids love it too!
This was the perfect comfort food with a great balance of flavors. Incredibly happy southern family who said it was better than granny’s, which may be the best compliment.
I’ve been making this pie now for the longest time and it is delicious!! Just a note that I’ve been adding mushrooms and spinach in as well and it enhances the pie quite well. Thank you for my family’s favorite pie!!
I noticed everyone was asking how to freeze, I just decided to try it. I baked as directed, cooled completely, covered and put it in the freezer. Thaw out, remove and bake at 350 until hot. It was delicious🤤
Hi, Can I use Better than Boullion vegetarian base or would that mess up the recipe?