Puff Pastry Chicken Pot Pie
Craving a pot pie, but don’t want to fuss with rolling out pastry? This easy chicken pot pie with puff pastry is the answer. It’s a savory chicken stew tucked into a cast iron skillet or casserole dish and topped with a buttery, pre-made crust. You’ll love this cheater’s method for puff pastry chicken pot pie.
When I think of homey comfort food, pot pie recipes go to the top of my list. There’s something about a cozy stew filling paired with a flaky crust that takes me back.
But sometimes I’m a lazy cook and making a homemade pastry dough just seems like too much effort. Enter the store-bought pastry.
Puff pastry (not pie crust). A rich, dough, layered and laminated with lots of butter. Rich? Yes. Delicious? You bet. And puff pastry makes an ideal crust for a flavorful chicken pot pie recipe.
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Table of Contents
- 1 Why you’ll love this chicken pot pie with puff pastry
- 2 Ingredients for Puff Pastry Pot Pie:
- 3 Best veggies for pot pie
- 4 How to make puff pastry chicken pot pie
- 5 Pro Tips for flakier puff pastry on the chicken pot pie
- 6 Substitutions and Variations
- 7 FAQ’s
- 8 More pot pie and stew recipes:
- 9 Puff Pastry Chicken Pot Pie
Why you’ll love this chicken pot pie with puff pastry
- This recipe uses a combination of fresh and convenience items.
- You can make it with uncooked chicken breasts (poach them first) or use the breast meat from a rotisserie cooked bird.
- The chicken pot pie filling can be assembled in about 30 minutes.
- It’s customizable. Use your favorite veggies (fresh or frozen) in the puff pastry pot pie.
- You can make the pot pie filling in advance.
- Kids love chicken pot pie with a puff pastry crust, and it’s an easy way to get them to eat their veggies.
- Any leftovers won’t get pushed to the back of the fridge… they’re going to get eaten!
Ingredients for Puff Pastry Pot Pie:
- Puff Pastry Sheets – use your favorite brand.
- Cooked Chicken cut into half-inch cubes (I’ll show you how to rotisserie chicken, use leftover store-bought or try poached chicken breasts)
- Mirepoix – a mix of celery, carrots and onions.
- Mushrooms – you can use white button mushrooms, cremini or a mix of wild mushrooms.
- Yukon Gold Potato – or white potatoes.
- Olive OIl – doesn’t have to be an expensive one.
- Butter – use your favorite brand.
- All Purpose Flour – I use the unbleached variety.
- Fresh Thyme – or use about half as much dried thyme.
- Vermouth – a fortified wine, can also substitute sherry.
- Chicken Stock from Rotisserie Chicken or low-sodium broth.
- Frozen Peas – way easier than shelling them yourself.
- Salt and Pepper – to taste.
Best veggies for pot pie
You can use whatever veggies you like for the puff pastry pot pie, but for this recipe, I went with the classic mix of carrots, onions and celery, diced potato, mushrooms and frozen peas.
The tender vegetables round out the delicious filling with cooked chicken in a creamy, savory sauce.
When using fresh vegetables, the key is sauteing them before adding them to the sauce because if you add them raw, they won’t cook through thoroughly when baking the chicken pot pie. The puff pastry would be done, but the vegetables would be hard and crunchy. That is not what we’re going for.
Additionally, I like to cook vegetables in two stages, starting with mushrooms. Browning the mushrooms in a pan alone allows them to give up their liquid and achieve their meaty, umami best.
How to make puff pastry chicken pot pie
- Roll out the puff pastry into a rectangle or square large enough to cover the skillet or casserole dish you’re baking the chicken pot pie in. Transfer the puff pastry to a pan lined with parchment (so the dough is lying flat) and put in the freezer while you make the chicken filling.
- Saute the mushrooms in olive oil over medium-high heat with ¼ teaspoon of salt until they give up their liquid and start to brown. Transfer the mushrooms to a small bowl
- Melt the butter in the same skillet and saute the onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and thyme until tender.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with flour and stir until the vegetables are coated and pasty with no dry bits of flour.
- Add the vermouth and cook and stir for one minute.
- Stir in the chicken stock a little at a time, until it’s evenly blended with the vegetables. Heat to a boil, stirring constantly until the gravy thickens.
- Add the diced chicken, mushrooms and peas to the skillet and stir to combine.
- If your skillet is ovenproof, you can add the puff pastry and bake the chicken pot pie. If not, transfer the chicken mixture to another oven-proof skillet, cast iron pan or 2-quart casserole dish.
- Lay the puff pastry over the chicken pot pie mixture and use a sharp knife to slice a few vent holes in the top. Trim excess crust from the sides of the puff pastry.
- Brush the egg wash over the crust’s surface (to help it brown).
- Bake the chicken pot pie for 30-40 minutes at 400° or until the puff pastry is browned and puffed and the pot pie mixture is bubbly.
Pro Tips for flakier puff pastry on the chicken pot pie
You might wonder why I roll out the dough and freeze it.
It’s to make sure the pastry is very cold. Why? Puff pastry is a laminated dough with layers of butter between them. When heated, the butter between the layers expands and puffs.
If the dough gets too warm, the butter melts prematurely and doesn’t puff as much. Work quickly when topping your chicken pie with puff pastry, trimming the edges, and brushing with egg wash.
You can see that my dough started to get soft as I was prepping it (that’s because I was also taking pictures of the process while I was assembling). The key is to work quickly — and don’t stop to photograph your dish.
It’s easy to customize this chicken pot pie recipe to suit your tastes or use up what you’ve got in the fridge.
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitute white wine or sherry for the vermouth, or keep it alcohol-free and skip it.
- Add frozen mixed vegetables (the one with corn, carrots, peas and green beans) instead of the frozen peas.
- Other veggies you can use are: pearl onions, broccoli, butternut squash, and green beans. Avoid tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash or other vegetables that contain a lot of water.
- Bake the chicken pie filling separately from the puff pastry for a flaky crust. Cut the puff pastry into six pieces and bake separately on parchment paper according to the package directions. Serve the chicken pot pies by filling individual bowls and topping each with a square of golden puff pastry.
- You can substitute a half cup of chicken stock with heavy cream for a richer sauce.
- You can also substitute leftover turkey or ham for the chicken.
FAQ’s
No. Puff pastry will not puff on the bottom and will become gluey and gummy instead of flaky and crisp.
You can make the chicken filling several days in advance and keep it refrigerated, but don’t top it with the crust until you’re ready to bake. Let the pot pie filling sit out for 30 to 45 minutes (to take the chill off the filling), then fill your oven-safe skillet or casserole dish and top with the puff pastry to bake.
Absolutely. Fill two-cup ramekins with the chicken pot pie filling. Cut the puff pastry into squares and rest on top of the ramekins and bake.
They will hold up well for 3-4 days after. To reheat leftovers, take the pot pie out of the refrigerator 30 minutes ahead of time and heat in a 350° oven for 15-20 minutes or until the filling is hot. Heating in the microwave isn’t recommended, as the puff pastry will lose its flakiness.
If you’re looking for a surefire way to get the whole family to the dinner table without complaints, this is it. No one can resist the lush, savory chicken and vegetable filling with gravy; that flaky lid is so inviting. This puff pastry chicken pot pie recipe is always a winner.
More pot pie and stew recipes:
- Beef Carbonnade (Carbonnade à la Flamande)
- Cheesy Baked Chicken Rigatoni
- The Dutch Oven Beef Stew With Red Wine You’ll Crave
- Turkey and Pepper-Biscuit Pot Pie
- One Pot Rustic German Goulash Recipe
- Meltingly Tender Wine Braised Lamb Shanks
- Homestyle Pot Roast In A Dutch Oven
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Puff Pastry Chicken Pot Pie
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
- 1 2 to 2 1/2 quart oven safe baking dish
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups cooked chicken shredded or diced (I used leftover rotisserie chicken)
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3 medium carrots peeled and cut into 1/2″ pieces
- 6 ounces button mushrooms sliced
- 1 large Yukon gold potato or white or red potato, peeled and cut into 1/2″ dice
- 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons dry vermouth (can substitute white wine or sherry) optional
- 2 ¼ cups chicken stock from rotisserie chicken or low-sodium broth
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 sheet puff pastry dough thawed in the refrigerator.
- 1 whisked egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of water optional
DIRECTIONS:
- Defrost puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a square or rectangle to cover your skillet or casserole dish. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and lay the puff pastry top of it. Transfer the pan to the freezer.
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and swirl around the pan. Add the sliced mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms give up some of their liquid and start to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat and add the onion, celery, carrots, potato and thyme—season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir well, cover and simmer for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender and onions and celery are slightly translucent.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with flour and stir well until there are no dry bits of flour left and the vegetable mixture looks pasty. Add the vermouth and cook, stirring for one minute.
- Add the chicken stock a little at a time, stirring constantly until it’s evenly blended with the flour and vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan so they don’t burn. Once the sauce starts to boil, cook for one additional minute until it thickens.
- Add the chicken, sauteed mushrooms and peas to the pot pie mixture and stir to combine.
- Transfer the chicken pot pie mixture to a casserole dish. Lay the puff pastry over the casserole and trim any edges with a sharp knife (though the pastry should cover the entireity of the pot pie). Cut a few slits into the pastry for steam to escape.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the puff pastry with egg wash (helps give it a glossy golden brown crust).
- Place the chicken pot pie on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil (to catch drips). Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown and puffed. Serve.
NUTRITION:
“Pin It For Later!”
I love this! Delicious and not too thin on the filling/gravy. I added 2 cloves crushed garlic before flour, broccoli, and half and half to replace some of the chicken stock. Thinking of making it with tarragon instead of thyme next time and garnish with fresh parsley before serving. Thoughts?
This was very good. I didn’t want to open a second can of chicken broth for 1/4 cup, but I saw your note about using the cream as a partial substitute for broth, so I used that. My daughter said it’s the best chicken pie recipe I’ve made so I will make your recipe from now on.
I made this recipe last night and it was absolutely delicious. A bit of prep work to come together, but worth it. I would definitely recommend making this. I originally planned to half the recipe but changed my mind. Now I have 2/3 of the pot pie left… leftovers for 2 days.
YUM