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How to Make Chicken Pot Pie from Scratch

A proper chicken pot pie starts with tender poached chicken, gets built with a roux-thickened gravy loaded with vegetables, then gets crowned with buttery pastry. The key is cooking each component properly before assembly — wet filling will make soggy crust, so get that gravy thick enough to coat a spoon.

Ingredients

Step by step

  1. Make the pastry dough. Cut 1 cup cold butter into small cubes. Mix 2½ cups flour with 1 teaspoon salt. Work the butter into flour with your fingers until you have mostly pea-sized pieces with some larger chunks. Sprinkle 6-8 tablespoons ice water over the mixture, tossing with a fork until dough just holds together. Divide in half, shape into disks, wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
  2. Poach the chicken. Place 2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs and breasts in a large pot. Cover with water, add 1 bay leaf, 1 quartered onion, 2 celery stalks, salt, and a few peppercorns. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until chicken reaches 165°F, about 25-30 minutes. Remove chicken and strain the broth — you need 3 cups for the filling.
  3. Prepare the vegetables. Dice 1 large onion, 3 carrots, and 3 celery stalks into ¼-inch pieces. Cut 8 ounces mushrooms into slices. Once chicken is cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones, then shred meat into bite-sized pieces.
  4. Build the filling. Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add carrots and celery, cook 5 minutes more. Add mushrooms and cook until their liquid evaporates. Sprinkle in ⅓ cup flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the reserved chicken broth and simmer until thickened enough to coat a spoon. Stir in chicken, 1 cup frozen peas, 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, salt, and pepper.
  5. Assemble the pie. Roll out bottom crust and line a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Pour in the cooled filling — it should be thick, not soupy. Roll out top crust, place over filling, and trim edges to 1-inch overhang. Fold edge under and crimp to seal. Cut 4 steam vents in top crust.
  6. Bake the pie. Brush top crust with beaten egg for shine. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350°F and continue baking 35-40 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles through vents. Let rest 15 minutes before serving — the filling will be molten hot.

Tips & troubleshooting

Variations

Questions

Can I use rotisserie chicken?
Yes, but you'll need to make stock separately for the gravy. Use 3 cups chicken stock from the store or make quick stock by simmering the rotisserie bones with water and aromatics for 30 minutes.
How do I prevent a soggy bottom crust?
Blind bake the bottom crust for 10 minutes before adding the filling, and make sure your filling is thick and completely cooled. A pizza stone in the oven helps too.
Can I freeze pot pie?
Assemble the unbaked pie, wrap tightly, and freeze up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 15-20 minutes to the cooking time and covering edges with foil if they brown too quickly.
What if I don't have time to make pastry?
Store-bought refrigerated pie crusts work fine. Let them come to room temperature before unrolling so they don't crack.

Further reading