CHICKEN POT PIE
With a luxuriously creamy filling and crispy pastry top, this chicken pot pie is guaranteed to make you feel warm and cosy inside.
It’s about time we had chicken pot pie on one of the weekly menus! It’s the perfect meal for cooler weather.
Simple pan fried broccoli makes a delicious accompaniment. If you are including this menu in a fortnightly shop and don’t think fresh broccoli will last the week, you can use frozen broccoli instead.
CHICKEN POT PIE
It’s about time we had chicken pot pie on one of the weekly menus! With a luxuriously creamy filling and crispy pastry top, this pie is guaranteed to make you feel warm and cosy inside.
Ingredients
CHICKEN PIE
- 500 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (1lb 2oz)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 frozen puff pastry sheets (300g/10.6oz)
- 2 carrots
- 1 brown onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 cup chicken stock (250ml)
- 1/4 cup plain flour (38g)
- 1 1/2 cups milk (375ml) + extra for brushing pastry
- 125 g lite cream cheese (4.4oz)
- 2/3 cup finely grated parmesan, divided (60g)
- 1 cup frozen peas (160g)
TO SERVE
- 1 head broccoli (or 3-4 cups frrozen broccoli)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp water
Instructions
COOK CHICKEN
Preheat oven to 190ºC (375ºF) fan bake. Place a large piece of foil or baking paper on an oven tray. Place chicken on top, sprinkle on garlic powder and season with salt and pepper. Wrap up into a parcel and bake for 25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
MAKE SAUCE
Meanwhile, remove pastry from freezer to defrost. Dice carrots and onion. Crush garlic. Melt butter in a large non-stick pot on medium. Add carrot, onion, garlic, rosemary and thyme. Cook for about 5 minutes, until carrot is soft.
Pour in 1/4 cup of stock. Simmer until reduced significantly, then stir in flour. Cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in remaining stock, then add milk, cream cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan. Cook for a few minutes, until sauce has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in peas. Remove from heat.
ASSEMBLE PIES
Shred cooked chicken and stir into sauce. Spoon into 4 oven-safe pots (mixture should reach the top) and brush the edges of the pots with a little milk. Cut pastry into 4 pieces and drape over pots, pressing down the edges to seal. Brush pastry with a little milk and cut a small slice in the middle with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden.
COOK BROCCOLI
While pies are cooking, cut broccoli into florets (if using fresh). When pies have 5-10 minutes left to cook, heat oil in a large frying pan on medium-high. Add broccoli. Season with salt and pepper and let sit for a couple of minutes. Stir, add water and cover with a lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until tender.
SERVE
Serve pies (careful, they’re hot!) with broccoli.
Recipe Notes
WINE MATCH: A Chardonnay.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: Use gluten-free pastry, or top with mashed potato instead. Choose gluten-free chicken stock and plain gluten-free flour.
INGREDIENT SWAPS / NOTES: You could use chicken breasts or bone-in chicken (i.e. drumsticks) instead of boneless thighs. Bone-in chicken would need to be cooked for longer (35-40 minutes) and quantity increased to 1kg / 2lb 3oz.
EQUIPMENT TIP: If you don’t have small oven safe pots, you can bake this in 1 or 2 larger dishes. Increase cooking time by 5-10 minutes.
STORING AND REHEATING: Store in pots in the fridge. Pies can be reheated in the oven (for crispy pastry) or in the microwave. Reheat broccoli in microwave.
2 Comments
This is a lifesaver of a meal!!
We find it really versatile, I’ve only made it with cream (instead of cream cheese), it was what we had the first time we made it and loved it so have stuck with that sub! It really doesn’t take long to make whether you top it with pastry or mash! Because it’s a pretty quick dish to whip up, after LOVING it the first time, I double the recipe and freeze in an oven safe dish/individual portioned ramekins/aluminium tray, and it’s perfect for taking to a sick friend, new baby or those days that you know you’re going to run out of time, or home alone, I just pull it out of the freezer that morning. Leftovers microwave well in a rush.
It’s really nice to find something that is totally comforting, still a really nice meal but is really flexible on veges etc AND it’s not a heavy dish! We generally have most of the ingredients but we’ve done mushrooms instead of carrots, made a bit more sauce and added more vegetables, it all works just as well. I hate having to pop to the supermarket for one or two things, so I’ll pop 200m to the dairy for cream, we usually have non dairy milk in the fridge and they’ve all worked (so far almond, oat, soy) I know that seems strange but it’s just what we’ve had.
If you’ve got the basics it’s an AWESOME “fridge clear out” of veggies. If we freeze it, we pop the sauce in the dish, top with mash or pastry and just make sure its wrapped etc and then defrost and into the oven, you wouldn’t know it’s a “back up” if you’re short on time and cooking for extra visitors. Perfect with a bit of garlic bread if you want to indulge!!
Such a good recipe and has jumped straight to the top of our rotation! Thank you, it’s a lifesaver!
Hey Natasha, so stoked to hear you’re enjoying this recipe! Sounds like you’ve made some great variations too 😊 thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review! ~ Josie