By Sarah Copeland
Updated Jan. 4, 2024
- Total Time
- 1 ¼ hours
- Rating
- 4(1,435)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Chicken potpie is a classic American comfort food that may prompt visions of long labor and many dirty dishes, but it can be a rewarding one-pot meal with the use of store-bought dough. This quick version uses mirepoix, a flavor base traditionally made from celery, carrots and onion, with mushrooms added for depth and body. Flour, stock and heavy cream are added to create gravy, though you can substitute sour cream or half-and-half for the cream, depending on what you have on hand. The chicken simmers gently in the gravy before being topped with puffed pastry and baked. For the puff pastry, don’t worry too much about the size of the store-bought pastry; just make sure that it covers the top with some room to spare, as it will shrink as it cooks.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1medium yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2medium carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1 heaping cup)
- 1celery stalk, finely chopped (about ¼ cup)
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- 12ounces mushrooms (preferably oyster), roughly chopped (about 4 cups)
- 1fresh rosemary sprig (or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary), plus more for garnish (optional)
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and freshly ground black pepper
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½cup all-purpose flour
- 3cups chicken broth
- ½cup heavy cream
- 3boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1¼ pounds), cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1½cups frozen peas
- 1(8-ounce) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1egg, beaten, for brushing
- ¼teaspoon fennel seed (optional), crushed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
570 calories; 35 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 42 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 1008 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with foil.
Step
2
Heat the olive oil in a medium (10-inch) skillet or Dutch oven (preferably oven-safe), over medium. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, rosemary sprig and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until mostly soft and much of the liquid has sweated out, about 10 minutes.
Step
3
Stir in the butter until melted. Add the flour and cook, stirring, to coat the vegetables and to brown slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the broth by the cupful, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and scraping up any bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a simmer and stir until it thickens to make a gravy. Reduce the heat, stir in the cream and cook over low heat just until combined. Add the chicken, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, and stir over low heat until chicken is mostly cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the rosemary sprig. Stir in the peas; season the gravy to taste with salt and pepper.
Step
4
If the pan you are using is not oven-safe, transfer the mixture to a deep, 10-inch pie pan or baking pan. Transfer the pan to the prepared sheet pan to collect any drips. Unroll the puff pastry and place it over the filling, making sure there is a 1-inch overhang on all sides, stretching slightly if needed. Trim any excess pastry with a sharp knife and set aside (see Tip).
Step
5
Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg, and carefully create several small slits in any pattern of your choosing to allow steam to escape while cooking. Scatter small rosemary sprigs over the top, along with fennel seed or pepper, if desired.
Step
6
Bake until the puff pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until the pastry is cooked through and the filling is bubbly, 15 minutes more. Remove from the heat and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes to cool slightly before serving.
Tip
- While your oven is hot, cut any puff-pastry trimmings into strips, then brush with egg wash, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and bake until golden for an instant treat.
Ratings
4
out of 5
1,435
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Cooking Notes
Lynnie R
Maybe puff pastry is a big “no no no” for you, but chicken (and other …) pot pies with puff pastry crust is fantastic. It’s “yes yes yes”! We’ve been making variations on this for years. I like it better than traditional pie crust… the texture of all butter is great.
donneek
Put in more chicken and fewer vegetables.
Pat B.
A pot pie has only a top crust.
Linda Hoquist
If you use a pie crust and not puff pastry you can certainly have a bottom crust. Blind bake the bottom crust before adding the filling, and be sure to put foil on the edges of the top crust till the pie is nearly done. My family loves crust. Puff pastry is for desserts.
Nancy
I added a russet potato in place of the mushrooms. It was perfect!
Jackie
I used this recipe more as inspiration to make a leftovers pot pie! I used leftover meat and vegetables and followed the same techniques. After I added all the chicken broth and created the gravy, I thought I didn't need the cream so I left it out and it was still rich and tasty! This was a very good recipe.
chris
I’m thinking of making the entire dish, except topping it with the puff pastry, refrigerate it for 2 days, then finish and bake for company. Any advice?
Sherree
Flavors were incredible, but like others, a bit soupy. I’m going to add 2 cups of broth instead of 3 next time, otherwise- divine!
Cybele
Easily done with either scallops /other shellfish or white fish cut into small cubes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and dill or thyme, but drop the rosemary.
J Bez
I have made very similar pot pie recipes (I’ve used puff pastry and also gluten free pre made frozen pie crust) and froze them in ramekins. It works really well. When I intend to freeze, I use a rotisserie chicken so that cooking raw chicken thoroughly isn’t a concern.
Richard
Recipe times never include chopping and cooling. Remember that and your life will be easier.
Judy
next time use a bag or two of frozen veggies. No chopping needed.
Miriam
How could I modify this to have more chicken and fewer vegetables?
Kelker
Reduce to 375 F in step 6.
Sarah Copeland
Thank you for these notes! I agree, it's very easy to tweak to your family's liking. Many families are trying to eat less meat and more vegetables, and our crowd loved all the mushrooms and veg--but you can easily swap out some of the mushrooms for more chicken with excellent results!
TabbyHill
To avoid a soggy crust with the leftovers, deconstruct the potpie and bake the crust separately on a baking sheet. Before baking, pre-cut to size or perforate with a fork into sections).Then top the filling already ladled into serving bowls with pieces of crust. Store any leftover crust in an airtight bag and bake to warm and refresh - or bake fresh, if needed. This works for both puff pastry or traditional pie crust.
Becky
I made this for a Pi day party and got rave review. There was so much filling that I had to make two pies. I carved the pi symbol into the crust. So fun!
L Mag
Oh, you pea-haters just stop! Peas are a delightful, delicious and colorful addition.
Liz
Will phyllo dough work instead of puff pastry?
Kristen H
Excellent recipe! The sauce was nice and light-tasting. Other than increasing the amount of vegetables, I followed the recipe. I used about 6oz of white mushrooms because I had in the fridge and added about 2-3 cups diced mini-potatoes. The only issue I had was with the puff pastry, which partially fell into the dutch oven while cooking. It didn't affect the taste, just the appearance. Next time, I'll transfer the mixture into a shallower baking dish to avoid this happening.
Lisa
Excellent recipe. Omitted cream. Not needed to make a delish gravy, but threw in some sherry for added flavor. My technique was that I made a chicken soup (w celery, onion, and carrots) the day before, and just used all of that (the soup liquid, strained, as the broth).
richard stephen weiner
Try using a cast iron pan
Lulu Doesn’t Cook
This was SO EASY. Yes, time consuming to do all the chopping. Next time I’ll engage my 12 year old sous chef to do the dirty work, but with a frozen puff pastry crust I this dish made me look like Julia Childs. And yes, I did thaw the puff pastry before baking.
lulu doesn't cook
how should I freeze this? Just let it cool and then pop it in the freezer?
I Love to Cook
This potpie as delicious and very flavorful. I omitted the onion as someone in my family has an allergy and it still tasted great and rosemary sprig added taste! I used Pillsbury pie crusts because that's what had in the house and it was just fine but next time I'd use the puff pastry as it would be lighter and probably go better with the potpie overall. I used lactose free half and half instead of cream and it was perfect and thickened quite well using the flour and broth (I used stock).
Danielle Day
Pro Tip:Pilsbury Crescent Roll Dough. Make the gravy. Include the Slow Cooker Roast Chicken recipe from NYT Cooking. 350 oven 15 minutes. Absolute Heaven. Absolutely amazing. Use frozen peas and carrots too, because you’ll never cut the carrots that perfectly. You know that.
Michael Markwick
I used the “Fool Proof Pie Dough” instead of puff pastry, and macerated the mushrooms in sherry. The result, served in the midst of a Vancouver snow storm, was sublime. We had it with a wonderful Argentinian Malbec (see the snow storm reference above).
Deborah
H said this was best chicken pot pie he’s ever had. Sprinkled Herbs de Provence on the chicken before cooking. Used frozen veggies; green beans, carrots, corn and peas. Defrosted veg before following recipe. Didn’t add peas till the end. No mushrooms. Added baby gold potatoes cut in quarters with the veggies. Used liquids per the recipe and did reduce down before adding the puff pastry sheet. Used 10 inch cast iron skillet from start to finish. Perfect amount of sauce and chicken and veg.
PA Dutch
I often substitute fresh green beans for frozen peas in chicken pot pie.
emily
Absolutely delicious and comforting. I did not use mushrooms but added another chicken thigh. I was feeling lazy but wanted a pie with the top and bottom crust and used premade Pillsbury crusts. I can’t believe so many folks are commenting regarding peas. They are essential to a pot pie! I also thought the amount of liquid was perfect, just make sure you cook it down to a thick gravy. It was a hit with my 15 month old, too. I’ll be adding this recipe to the winter rotation.
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