Classic Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
My favorite way to make chicken pot pie is to roast a couple of chickens the night before for dinner and then use the remaining chicken and gravy in my pot pie. It gives the pie a true homemade taste. If roasting up chickens the night before is not in your wheelhouse, no worries! Cook chicken breasts in the oven by drizzling on a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Do not over bake.
- 1 Pie crust -homemade or store-bought. You need the top and the bottom. Bring to room temp.
- 1 lb. cooked chicken breast or roasted chicken
- 5 tbsp organic butter
- 1 1/2 cup sliced organic carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup yellow onion - chopped
- 3/4 cup Frozen peas -organic (I like lots of veggies so you can adjust to your liking)
- 1/2 cup leftover chicken gravy if you have it. No worries if you do not.
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Poultry seasoning
- 1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken
- 1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
- ½ cup Heavy Cream -Organic
- 1 cup Chicken broth (I make my own with Better than Bouillon by dropping in a tbsp into a Pyrex measuring cup of 1 cup hot water and dissolving)
- Fresh Parsley if desired
- salt and pepper to taste. Watch the salt if using the regular and not reduced soduim Better than Bouillon.
Pre-heat oven to 425°
Add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the carrots, onion, and celery and cook until tender.
Add in poultry seasoning, garlic powder, and Better than Bouillon. Stir well. Add in flour and combine well until no dry flour remains. Slowly stir in the cream and then the chicken broth. Cook until thick and bubbling. Stir often.
Remove from heat and stir in chicken, peas, and parsley if using. Add in gravy if you have that. (gravy is from a previous roasted chicken. Simply skip if you do not have it)
While the filling is cooling slightly, add one of the bottom pie crust layers to the pie dish. Once the filling has cooled down, (you don't want it super hot) spoon it into the pie dish. Top with the second pie crust and seal the edges of the crust together. Cut three slits on the top with a knife to allow steam to escape. Brush a little heavy cream on top and place the pie on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Place in oven on the lower rack. After approx. 15 min. baking, remove pie and add a ring to the edges or foil to prevent the crust from getting too brown or burnt. Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 20 min. or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling through the slits. Remove from oven and allow to cool 15-20 minutes before serving.
To me, a homemade chicken pot pie is like a heartier version of chicken soup. Both soothe and comfort us in times of stress, heartache, and sickness.
I like to send over one of my chicken pot pies instead of flowers when there is sickness or grief in someone's family.
In times of sickness or grief, I make one of my chicken pot pies and give it unbaked to the family. I cover the pie in aluminum foil, write out the baking instructions on a slip of paper, and tape it on top. This way they can bake it up fresh or freeze it. Leftovers reheat nicely too.
I use heavy cream as my wash on the top crust because we have an egg allergy in my household. Feel free to use an egg wash if you wish.
Do allow the pie to cool down for approx 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving. Otherwise, it is a bit runny and hard to serve.