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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!
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.
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.
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
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.
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,.
Homemade Easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Homemade (but easy!) Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
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.1 box refrigerated pie crusts
- 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.⅓ cup butter, ⅓ cup chopped onion, ⅓ cup flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Whisk in the flour and salt and pepper. It will get thick.1 ¾ cup chicken broth/stock, ½ cup milk
- 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.2 ½ cups cooked, shredded chicken, 2 cups frozen mixed veggies
- 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
Nutrition
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.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @melissa_pplates so I can see!Originally published July 29, 2013; updated January 28, 2021
Turned out better than expected
Happy to hear that 🙂
I use a top and bottom crust. I’ll also add some potatoes to it. I’ll put a couple in the microwave and cook them about half way through, then dice them up and mix in.
I like that idea!
Best pie ever
Always premade pie crust and do both top and bottom.
Turned out very good , I us a rust on the bottom.
After freezing the whole pie, what would the temp and time change to?
Assuming you froze it uncooked, cover it in foil and bake it for 30 minutes covered and then take the foil off and bake another 35-40 minutes or until the crust is golden and the sauce is bubbly.
I have made this many times and it always turns out great with no complaints from anybody. Well now my dad wants a beef pot pie. I looked at other recipes and wasn’t impressed. I think this recipe would work just fine but and suggestions with it would be appreciated.
I would season & brown some lean ground beef (I like sirloin) and use that in place of the chicken. I’d also swap the chicken broth for beef broth. Sounds good!
This recipe is supper easy and very good! The only thing I added to it is shredded cheese and a dash or two of Cayenne pepper. My four year old grandson loves this recipe and always eats seconds.
Yay, thanks Mary!
This is a great weekend easy way to make this! I used a dairy free cream and dairy free butter to make dairy free and still worked great. Will make again.
Ooh good to know! Thanks for reporting back 🙂
I’ve always wanted to make a chicken pot pie but always bought frozen. I decided to give this recipe a try. OMG it is fabulous!
Thank you! I enrolled for more recipes!
I can’t really cook, but this recipe is so easy…I’ve managed to impress quite a few unsuspecting loved ones! Lol
Thanks!
Yessss, good job! 🎉
Super easy and delicious! Definitely will make again!
Yay, thanks for reporting back!
Made it last night was a hit for my husband and son. Definitely going to be keeping on making it
Thanks, Tonya!
OMG!!!! We just made this and it is sooooo delicious. I added celery to the onion and butter, but other than that I followed the recipe. We are definitely going to make this again.
yay =) Thanks so much for reporting back!
Love the simplicity of this recipe. I’ve made the chicken version and also use for post-Thanksgiving Turkey or Turkey/Ham pot pie.
I love that, thanks for letting me know!
Can you use precooked or canned chicken? Will that affect the cooking time?
The recipe calls for cooked chicken. I’ve never used canned but it shouldn’t affect baking time.
Heather made this several times… I tweak it at times but always use your recipe because it is excellent!! To those if you wondering I will use canned chicken breast in this recipe if I find it is more economical and it makes absolutely no difference!! And aesthetically pleasing to the eye and to friends when you show up to their house with it as a welcome and thoughtful surprise!!!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe
Thank you for reporting back!
I have made this delicious pot pie before. This time I made it with an even easier thought. Do you have left over gravy? Well I did. So I skipped steps 2,3,4. In a large bowl I added all my ingrients, including the gravy. Then set in the microwave for 5 mins. This was to thaw the veggies a bit and warm up the gravy some. Took it out added salt and pepper, mixed everything well and put into my pie crust. Smoothed it out, topped it with the top crust and baked it 425 for 25 mins. Delicious!
Great use of leftover gravy! Thanks for sharing, Mary 🙂
I’m making this for dinner tonight. I’ve made this using a similar recipe before, so I know I will love this one! The only thing I’m going to do different is I’m going to use canned chicken breast to save on time. Next time I will add some canned potatoes and chicken gravy because that sounds yummy too!
I may try this soon with ground sirloin to make beef pot pie also!
I hope you liked it! 🙂
Very good according to my husband and daughter. Daughter is a very picky eater so I was pleasantly surprised when she asked me to make this again. I followed the recipe and it was perfect! Thank you!
Yay 🙂 I’m very familiar with picky daughters so that’s a very nice compliment.
Easy n delish
Glad you liked it!