The Best Chicken Pot Pie // Easy Homemade Pie Crust

When it comes to comfort food, nothing is better than a warm and savory chicken pot pie.  I love making it during the cold winter months, but it’s definitely a crowd-pleaser all year-round.  My family can’t get enough of it and even my kids eat their plates clean.

It might look intimidating to make, but it’s actually not!  The homemade crust can be made in 5 minutes with basic ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.  It’s so quick, easy, and delicious that I haven’t bought pre-made crust since.  To make this awesome chicken pot pie recipe even faster, I use store-bought rotisserie chicken for the filling.  Prepping everything takes about 45 minutes and the pie needs to cook in the oven for another 45 minutes.

The combination of this buttery, flaky, crust with a rich, creamy filling makes this the best chicken pot pie recipe – you’ll definitely want to add it into your rotation.

Pie Crust

This is my quick and easy go-to pie crust recipe for both sweet and savory pies.  All you need is four ingredients – flour, butter, water, and salt.  It all comes together quickly with the use of a food processor and rolling pin.   If you don’t have a food processor,  you can make it by hand using this method.

There are three keys to a flaky crust – chilling the butter in the freezer, using ice-cold water, and having small chunks of butter in the dough.  When the chunks of cold butter hit a hot oven, the water in the butter evaporates quickly and creates buttery air pockets, resulting in a flavorful and flakey crust.

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Buttery Flaky Homemade Pie Crust

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup butter, cubed and chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup ice water

1. In a food processor, combine flour and salt by using the pulse function 3-4 times to mix.

2. In the feed tube of the food processor, add one cube of butter at a time and pulsing once afterward.  Repeat until all the butter is added.

3.  Slowly add the ice water through the feed tube and pulse the dough mixture until it has a crumbly consistency.  Avoid over pulsing, which can melt the butter.

4. Roll your dough into a flat disc and wrap it in plastic wrap or parchment. Let the dough chill for 4 hours or overnight.

Note: This recipe makes one pie dough and two is needed for the top and bottom layer of the chicken pot pie.

Pie Filling

This hearty pie filling is loaded with lots of chicken, vegetables, and herbs.  To shorten the prep time, I always use store-bought rotisserie chicken (some stores even have pre-shredded chicken).  All you need to do is remove the skin and shred the meat with two forks or just use your hands.  If you have time, you can also bake or poach the chicken yourself.  During the holidays, I like to use leftover turkey and it’s just as tasty.  One time I used dry, overcooked turkey breast and it still came out so juicy and tender in the pot pie.

For the vegetables, I use fresh celery, carrots, onions, garlic, and frozen peas.  But if you’re short on time, you can use all frozen vegetables.  My favorite herb to use for this is fresh thyme – it adds a depth of flavor and freshness that helps cut the richness of the filling.

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Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

• 1 ¼ cups of diced carrots
• 1 ¼ cups of diced celery
• 1 cup of diced onions
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme (if you’re using dried thyme, use ½ tablespoon)
• 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ cups of chicken broth
• ½ cup of heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of black pepper
• ¼ cup of unsalted butter
• 3 cups of shredded chicken or turkey
• 1 egg (to make an egg wash for the crust)

For the filling:

1. In a large ceramic pot or skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook until tender.
3. Whisk in the flour, salt, pepper, thyme to combine.
4. Add chicken broth and heavy cream and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
5. Stir in the shredded chicken (or turkey) and frozen peas to combine.
6. Remove from heat and set aside while you roll out the pie dough.

To assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle. Dough should be about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie pan.  Trim the overhanging dough with a knife. 
4. Add in your pie filling.
5. Roll out the second disk of dough and carefully cover the pie.
6. Trim the extra dough off the sides with a knife and seal the edges by crimping with a fork. 
7. With sharp knife, make four small slits in the center of the top crust.
8. In a small bowl, beat an egg with 1 teaspoon of water.  Use a pastry brush to brush crust and edges with the mixture.
9. (Optional) Combine the pie crust trimmings and roll it into a thin 12” long string.  Place along the perimeter and press into the pie.  Using a pastry brush, brush crust and edges with the beaten egg mixture.
10. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
11. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

What is your ultimate comfort food?