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Homemade Easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

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Chicken Pot Pie is my idea of comfort food! Tender chicken, vegetables, and gravy, baked into a flaky pastry crust. This homemade, easy chicken pot pie recipe is a great way to use up leftover chicken, too!

closeup of chicken pot pie with a slice missing

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I love chicken pot pie. It is total comfort food to me. Serve it with mashed potatoes and gravy to complete my carb-laden comfort.

I actually used to get it at KFC in my younger years then decided I needed to up my game and make it myself. It’s much nicer to know to know the quality of ingredients you’re using.

You can easily make shredded chicken in the instant pot, or use up a rotisserie chicken for this. It’s also a great way to use up turkey leftovers.

Or, if you want to make it vegetarian, just double the vegetables and make a veggie pot pie!

Why you’ll love this easy Chicken Pot Pie

  • No canned soup – the creamy sauce is made without condensed cream soup.
  • Great for leftovers – use up shredded cooked chicken, rotisserie chicken, leftover turkey, or even leftover veggies in a vegetarian pie.
  • Absolutely delicious – the whole family is going to love it, kids included.
overhead shot of a slice coming out of a pot pie

Ingredients for Chicken Pot Pie

Gather these ingredients to make your pot pie. I like to give you a run down of what you’ll need at the market (& why), but the full recipe card is below if you’d rather skip to that.

  • PIE CRUST – I use a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust to make things easy, just make sure it’s at room temperature when you start so it’s easier to work with. You can also make a homemade pie crust.
  • BUTTER – Salted or unsalted will work.
  • ONION – I use a white onion. Dried onion will work as well if you don’t have an onion on hand.
  • FLOUR – All purpose white flour to make the roux.
  • SALT & PEPPER
  • CHICKEN BROTH OR STOCK – To make the gravy. Low sodium can be used. I like to use homemade chicken stock.
  • MILK – To thicken the gravy. I use 2% because that’s what I typically have on hand.
  • SHREDDED CHICKEN – Sometimes I boil the chicken and shred, sometimes I quickly make it in the instant pot, sometimes I use rotisserie chicken. Any will work. Turkey will work as well.
  • FROZEN VEGGIES – A bag of frozen mixed vegetables, thawed. Just leave them on the counter for about 30 minutes. I use the classic carrot, peas, green beans mix.
overhead shot of ingredients laid out to make chicken pot pie

Equipment you’ll need to make your homemade pot pie

  • Veggie Chopper – I love this thing & it makes chopping onions (& other veggies) so easy.
  • Pie Plate – I love this simple, classic set.
  • Pie Crust Protector – I’ll admit I don’t have one of these, but have been meaning to get one. I usually use foil to protect the crust from burning.

How to make easy Chicken Pot Pie

  1. STEP ONE: Cook & shred your chicken – whichever method you choose. Press the pie crust into the bottom of a 9″ pie plate and set aside.
  2. STEP TWO: Melt your butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the chopped onion and cook until translucent. Whisk in the flour, salt, and pepper to make the roux. It will get thick. Gradually add in the broth and milk while stirring. The mixture will get thick and bubbly.
  3. STEP THREE: Stir in the shredded chicken and mixed veggies. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust. Top with a second crust, pinch together the edges, then cut several slits in the top to vent.
  4. STEP FOUR: Bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. During the last 15-20 minutes of baking, I carefully add foil to the crust to prevent burning. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing and serving!
collage of process shots making chicken pot pie filling and adding crust

Bottomless Chicken Pot Pie

I actually made this chicken pot pie twice in the last week. The first time, I only had one pie crust (the first one I had used for the Zucchini & Squash Galette) so there was no bottom. The second time, I used a top and a bottom crust.

Without a bottom crust, the pie doesn’t stay together as nicely, but you get more gravy. You also get to save on some calories/carbs, so know that bottomless is an option if you want it.

Make Ahead & Storage

Make Ahead: You can make the filling up to one day ahead of baking it. Prepare the filling as directed in the recipe, store it in a covered airtight container in the fridge, then when ready to use it, pour it into a medium saucepan, heat thoroughly (5-6 minutes), then assemble into the pie crust, and bake as directed.

Storage: Store leftovers covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Can you freeze Chicken Pot Pie?

You have a few options when it comes to freezing chicken pot pie.

Freeze the filling: You can prepare and freeze the filling for up to one month in an airtight freezer bag. When you’re ready to use it, move it to the fridge overnight, then heat on the stove in a saucepan until thoroughly warmed, pour into a pie crust and bake as directed.

Freeze the pie: If you want to freeze the entire pie, I find the best results come from preparing as directed and freezing BEFORE you bake the pie.

Assemble the pie in a metal or foil pan (glass can shatter in the oven), wrap it tightly in foil, and freeze uncooked.

You can bake from frozen, leaving the foil on for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 35 minutes or so.

It’ll be best used within 6 months.

When you freeze an already baked pie, you risk it getting soggy when reheating.

slice of chicken pot pie on a white plate

FAQs

Should you prebake the bottom crust of a chicken pot pie?

I don’t find it necessary to prebake the bottom crust but you certainly can if you want to. It is helpful to poke a few holes in the bottom crust with a fork.

How do you thicken chicken pot pie filling?

You are making a roux with the butter, flour, and milk so it should be plenty thick on its own but if you find it doesn’t thicken enough to your liking, you can whisk two tablespoons of cornstarch into 1/4 cup of cold water or broth and pour it into the sauce.

What goes with a chicken pot pie?

Because it’s already filled with veggies, protein, and carb, you don’t really need to serve anything with it but a simple side salad is always welcome. And dessert. You have to have dessert! Try my chocolate chip cookie cheesecake cups or cosmic brownie cookies.

Need more chicken dishes? Try these:

One Pot Chicken & Dumplings
Spicy Chipotle Chicken Pasta
Veggie Pot Pie Cupcakes
Crockpot King Ranch Chicken
Click here for my entire collection of chicken recipes,.

chicken pot pie missing a slice with text overlay

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Homemade Easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

closeup of chicken pot pie with a slice missing

Homemade (but easy!) Chicken Pot Pie

Melissa Williams | Persnickety Plates
Chicken Pot Pie is my idea of comfort food! Tender chicken, vegetables, and gravy, baked into a flaky pastry crust. This homemade, easy chicken pot pie recipe is a great way to use up leftover chicken, too!
4.80 from 229 votes
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings
Calories 576 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 box refrigerated pie crusts at room temp
  • cup butter
  • cup chopped onion or 1.5 Tb dried onion
  • cup flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 ¾ cup chicken broth/stock
  • ½ cup milk I used 2%
  • 2 ½ cups cooked, shredded chicken
  • 2 cups frozen mixed veggies thawed

Instructions
 

  • Cook and shred your chicken.
  • Preheat the oven to 425° F. Press one of the pie crusts into a 9" pie plate and set aside.
  • In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add in the chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often, until they’re tender.
  • Whisk in the flour and salt and pepper. It will get thick.
  • Gradually add in the milk and broth, while stirring, and continue to cook until it gets thick and bubbly.
  • Stir in the shredded chicken and mixed veggies then remove from the heat.
  • Pour the mixture into your prepared crust and top with the second crust. Seal the edges and cut several slits into the top.
  • Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. During the last 15-20 minutes of baking, cover the crust edges with strips of tin foil to prevent them from burning.
  • Let the pie stand for about 5 minutes before slicing it.

Video

Notes

A classic Pillsbury recipe
Use shredded chicken, turkey, or make it vegetarian by doubling the veggies. 
Store covered for 2-3 days in the fridge. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 576kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 23gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 889mgPotassium: 433mgFiber: 4gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 3455IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 69mgIron: 4mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Tried this recipe? Tag me!Mention @melissa_pplates or tag #persnicketyplates!

Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying/pasting and/or screenshots of full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Content and photographs are copyright protected.

Originally published July 29, 2013; updated January 28, 2021

Semi-homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Plate of semi-homemade easy Chicken Pot Pie


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  1. Cat says

    5 stars
    It IS a good and fairly recipe But even better w/ a couple chopped boiled eggs, sauté a bit of celery , and garlic.I actually halved the ingredients and used only one pie crust….lined a small rectangular baking dish and folded crust over. So good.

  2. Joanie says

    5 stars
    Great recipe! Super easy. I subbed some of the veggies for ones I already had. Turned out perfect!

  3. Vicky B says

    5 stars
    I just made this. I used canned chicken instead of cooking it first. The crust was scratch,. It was amazing! Definitely will make this again!

  4. Diana says

    I made this recipe last night using rotisserie chicken from Sam’s. The only thing I changed was using 2 cups of chicken broth since that’s what I had already open. It was the best chicken pot pie I have made. Instructions were easy to understand and cooking the onions in butter softened them very fast. I will definitely be making again.

  5. Pat says

    1 star
    I find Title&editor of recipe so darn ironic!! Homemade?? Bought pastry/crust then add frozen bag of veggies. Where does Homemade come into this recipe? Shame
    Pat

    • Melissa Williams says

      Maybe we have different definitions of homemade…I link to a “from scratch” crust if that’s more your speed and I’m not sure if you want me to grow my own vegetables but I deal with a overzealous groundhog that ruins my garden so I find frozen veggies to be perfectly acceptable. They’re frozen at the peak of freshness so you can use them in your chicken pot pie all year long. There’s no canned soup. Sorry to disappoint you, Pat, but I have no shame.

    • Melody says

      I make this every year to use up Thanksgiving left overs. I most definitely use a store pie crust. I’m done doing homemade for a few days !
      I make it my own way but always look back at the recipe to check the time and degrees.
      Thank you Happy Holidays.

    • Melody says

      I make this every year to use up Thanksgiving left overs. I most definitely use a store pie crust. I’m done doing homemade for a few days !
      I make it my own way but always look back at the recipe to check the time and degrees.
      I also like to bake it in the oven in my cast iron skillet
      Thank you Happy Holidays.

    • BDH says

      Hi Pat! Let’s choose kindness! I know she worked hard writing this recipe up to share to the world, which is very brave to do, and unkind comments always sting.. I hope you have a great day! P.S. I made this recipe and loved it! ❤️

  6. Cathy says

    This was so delicious! Only thing I added was garlic and used boneless chicken thighs. Rave reviews, thank you!!

  7. Gerri says

    5 stars
    A wonderfully easy and delicious chicken pot pie. Looking forward to trying it with turkey as well!

    • Melissa Williams says

      I can confirm it’s really good with turkey, too 🙂

  8. Heather Sims says

    5 stars
    This is ah-mazing!!!!! The whole family loved it! It will be on rotation for sure!!!

  9. Caroline says

    Easy recipe especially if you are always in a hurry to prep meals. This one turned out great and it will be my go to every time cause it was so good and the teenagers raved about it.

  10. Judy says

    5 stars
    This was easy and delicious. Can’t ask for more than that!

  11. Sue Andrews says

    Can you use canned vegetables?

    • Melissa Williams says

      That should be fine, just drain them well.

  12. Tamara says

    This has been a family favorite since the first time I made it! My daughter requested it for Thanksgiving, so I’ve got 2 in the oven! This time I used rotisserie chicken, but I’ve used canned too, and it’s good either way! Easy and tasty recipe!

    • Melissa Williams says

      I love that you had it for Thanksgiving. Happy holidays!

  13. Dagmar says

    I love 💕 this recipe, simple and a great comfort food my family loves , thank you so much

  14. Pat says

    5 stars
    This was a big hit . Easy recipe to follow. I added celery and garlic to the onion sauté. I also cooked chicken breast a few days ahead in the instant pot . This was delicious.

  15. Lisa says

    What if you wanted to make them ahead of time and freeze? Would you pre-bake the bottom crust?

  16. mary ann says

    5 stars
    All I heard was “this is soooo good”. I added some leftover Thanksgiving green beans. A keeper recipe that will be made again.

  17. Scounselor says

    5 stars
    Love this recipe so much! It will become a family favorite!

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