Chicken Pot Pie
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Take your comfort food to the next level with individual chicken pot pies. Made with rotisserie chicken and store-bought puff pastry, they’re as simple to make as they are delicious.
There’s something so comforting about chicken pot pie—the flaky crust, creamy sauce, and hearty filling make it the perfect all-in-one meal. But between the chicken, the sauce, and the crust, a traditional chicken pot pie recipe can easily take up an entire day in the kitchen! For this version, I’ve streamlined the process without sacrificing flavor. Rotisserie chicken for the filling and good-quality store-bought puff pastry for the crust are game-changing shortcuts. I also tackled the usual problem with chicken pot pies: the bland, goopy white sauce. Thinning the sauce to a chowder-like consistency and adding a splash of Cognac bring these pot pies to the next level.
“Made this over the weekend and the family said it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Pot Pie
- Frozen puff pastry: Provides the flaky, buttery topping. I recommend Dufour all-butter puff pastry if you can find it (it’s sold at Whole Foods), but Pepperidge Farm, which is readily available in the freezer section of most supermarkets, is very good too.
- Butter: For sautéing the vegetables and enriching the filling.
- Onion and garlic: These aromatics form the flavor foundation for the filling.
- Celery, pearl onions, carrots, and peas: These vegetables add texture, flavor, and nutrition to the filling.
- All-purpose flour: Thickens the sauce; also used for rolling the pastry.
- Chicken broth: Creates the savory base of the filling.
- Cognac: Enhances depth of flavor.
- Heavy cream: Contributes to the creamy texture of the filling.
- Fresh thyme: Provides aromatic herbal notes.
- Shredded cooked chicken: The main protein component; feel free to use leftover or rotisserie chicken.
- Egg: Beaten for an egg wash to give the pastry a golden finish.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
To begin, dust a clean, dry work surface with flour and place the puff pastry over top.
Sprinkle the pastry with flour and roll to about 1/8-inch thick, smoothing the creases with the rolling pin at the same time. Using a sharp knife, kitchen shears, or a pizza cutter, cut out 4 circles about 2 inches larger than the circumference of your soup bowls. Place the dough rounds on a foil-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to use.
Next, make the filling. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter, Add the yellow onion, garlic, celery, pearl onions, and carrots.
Sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the carrots are just cooked.
Add the flour.
Cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.
Add the broth, cognac, salt, and white pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to incorporate the flour.
Simmer until thickened, a few minutes. Off the heat, stir in the heavy cream, herbs, chicken, and frozen peas.
Ladle the filling into oven-safe ramekins or soup bowls (be sure they are oven proof up to 425°F). The filling should come up no more than three-quarters of the way to the top of the bowls. If you have extra, make another bowl.
Brush the outside edges of each bowl with an egg wash.
Place the cold dough rounds over the soup bowls, pressing firmly around the edges so that the dough adheres, and then brush the top of the dough with the egg wash. Using a sharp knife, make a ½-inch slit in the top of each pie. At this point, the assembled pot pies can be refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for longer storage.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry is a rich golden brown. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then transfer the hot ramekins to serving plates. Sprinkle a few fresh thyme sprigs over top of the bowls and serve.
You may also like
Video Tutorial
Chicken Pot Pie
Take your comfort food to the next level with individual chicken pot pies. Made with rotisserie chicken and store-bought puff pastry, they’re as simple to make as they are delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 packages frozen puff pastry, best quality such as Dufour or Pepperidge Farm, thawed (see note)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions (no need to defrost)
- 3 carrots, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling the pastry
- 2½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup Cognac or brandy (okay to replace with more chicken broth if avoiding alcohol)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or a combination thyme, rosemary and sage), plus a few thyme springs for serving
- 3-4 cups shredded cooked chicken, from 1 rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup frozen peas (no need to defrost)
- 1 egg
Instructions
- NOTE: For this recipe, you'll need 4 to 6 oven-safe (to 425°F) soup bowls. For larger portions, use bowls with an 18 to 20-oz capacity; for smaller portions, use bowls with a 12 to 14-oz capacity. If making 4 servings, one (14-oz) package of puff pastry will suffice. However, if making 6 servings, you'll need another package.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.
- Dust a clean, dry work surface with flour and place the puff pastry over top. Sprinkle the pastry with flour and roll to about ⅛-inch thick, smoothing the creases with the rolling pin at the same time. (Depending on the brand of puff pastry you buy, you may not need to roll it out that much.) Using a sharp knife, kitchen shears, or a pizza cutter, cut out 4 circles about 2 inches larger than the diameter of your soup bowls. (Alternatively, cut out 6 circles if making smaller portions.) Place the dough rounds on the foil-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack to the center position.
- To make the filling: In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the yellow onion, garlic, celery, pearl onions, and carrots. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are just cooked, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Add the broth, cognac, salt, and white pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom and corners of the pan to incorporate the flour. Simmer until thickened, a few minutes. Off the heat, stir in the heavy cream, thyme, chicken, and peas. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. (Note that the broth will taste a little boozy at this point. That's okay - the cognac will cook off in the oven.)
- Ladle the filling into 4 large or 6 small oven-safe soup bowls. The filling should come up no more than three-quarters of the way to the top of the bowls. Do not overfill.
- Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water.
- Remove the pastry rounds from the refrigerator. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash.
- Place the cold dough rounds over the bowls, pressing firmly around the edges so that the dough adheres. Transfer the bowls to the foil-lined baking sheet. Brush the dough with the egg wash. Using a sharp knife, make a ½-inch slit in the top of each pie. Place the bowls on the foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry is a rich golden brown. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then use a wide spatula to carefully transfer the hot bowls to serving plates. Sprinkle a few fresh thyme sprigs over top of the bowls and serve.
- MAKE AHEAD: The pies may be assembled and refrigerated up to a day ahead of time. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash before baking.
- Note: Nutritional information calculated using 1 package of puff pastry and 3½ cups of chicken.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (5 servings)
- Calories: 747
- Fat: 45 g
- Saturated fat: 18 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Sugar: 6 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Sodium: 678 mg
- Cholesterol: 163 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Jenn,
If you have raw chicken to use for this, what’s the best way to cook it to maintain tenderness and avoid drying it out? I’d like to make this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Thanks
Hi Elan, chicken thighs are a good option as they not likely to dry out. You could either poach them in chicken broth using this method (although they’ll take longer than the chicken tenderloins), or you can bake the thighs in a 425°F oven for about 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Hope you enjoy the pot pies!
This chicken pot pit recipe is excellent and delicious. It is somewhat soupy, so for those who prefer a thicker sauce, you can always add more flour/butter. I put a bit of nutmeg in it and would do it again – my only tweak.
PS smh while reading reviews written by a person who substantially changed the recipe and then complained about it.
I love making this pie in a big baking dish —it’s perfect for feeding six hungry people! Sure, it’s a little runny making it this way, but that’s the best part. Who needs gravy when your pie is basically a self-saucing wonder? The way it oozes over the potatoes and veg is pure comfort-food magic.
It might not have the presentation of individual pots, but I always end up tipping those pots onto my plate anyway! If you want it a bit thicker, just toss in a little extra flour, but I like to bulk it up with some leeks and a cheeky couple of teaspoons of English mustard for a zingy kick. This is my absolute go-to pie recipe.
Can you make this into one single pot pie dish using the same ingredient measurements?
Hi Tori, The filling is a bit soupy so I think it’d be difficult to serve if made in one large dish. Sorry!
Didn’t love it. Still tasted cognac and why the pearl onions vs potatoes??
I’ve never left a review for an online recipe before but this was absolutely outstanding. Best I’ve ever had. I used Herbes de Provence, a pinch of smoked paprika, a tiny touch of nutmeg and added some extra black pepper. It was incredibly good.
This was pretty good, but I wouldn’t make it again. Here’s why:
It was VERYYYY soupy, even though I baked it past the recommended time. For anyone out there thinking about modifying the recipe, don’t. It probably won’t turn out as good. Lesson learned.
Caveat: I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I made the following modifications which is probably partially due to the soupy result:
-Subbed half and half and milk for full heavy cream
-Used all chicken broth instead of some broth and some liquor
-Used dried thyme leaves instead of fresh
-Used pie crust instead of puff pasty. This worked fine, though! Just put foil over the top during baking if the crust is finished before the filling has set.
-Cooked in a 9×13 casserole dish
As far as flavor goes, I can’t fairly say whether it was good since I didn’t follow the liquor and fresh herb suggestions, which would have made a big difference. With just the salt, pepper, and fresh thyme, it wasn’t bad, but it didn’t have the depth of flavor you normally associate with a really good chicken pot pie. I fixed this by adding more salt, pepper, a dash of cayenne, and about 1 tsp of dried rosemary. The rosemary significantly improved the flavor. Hope this helps!
Basically you didn’t follow the recipe, so no wonder you didn’t like it!! Your review is null and void in my opinion!!
Make Ahead Question!
If I pre-make the pies (including the pastry on top) the night before and store them in the fridge overnight – should I take them out of the fridge & bring them to room temperature before baking them? Or, straight from the fridge to the stove? What could be the baking time so the filling’s hot but the pastry doesn’t?
Thnx!
Hi Iris, while you don’t have to, it can’t hurt to take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature before baking. The baking time may be a touch longer. If you find that the pastry is browning too much before the center is hot, loosely lay some foil on top of the pastry. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you so much, Jenn! I will let you know how it comes out!
Question-is the filling DONE done after step 4? Wondering if I could serve the filling in a bowl with a biscuit on the side for simplicity, or whether the filling also needs that oven time? Thanks!
Hi Melinda, It’s done at that point and I love that idea!
Outstanding recipe. Do not, DO NOT(!!!!) omit da brandy/cognac and fresh herbs. Sacrafice elsewhere. Like cheap socks, or something. This recipe took me about 1 hour to prepare. I’m learning to cook “mis en place”, but have not mastered the art quite yet, so I scrambled around a bit. It’s a weekend kind of effort but results were outstanding. I will chop veggies day before, next time. Oh, I did add 2 cooked yellow potatoes and had no trouble with “too soupy” outcome. Thank you for this recipe, Jenn.