This Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie uses leftover cooked chicken to streamline the cooking process and make this classic quicker and easier to make.
I have talked about how I have an unusual love for savory, meat-based pies, while even being not much of a pie person when it comes to dessert. Chicken Pot Pie is no exception, and in fact, it might just be my favorite. It's just such a classic comfort food, and I will never stop loving it.
But unfortunately, it can be a bit of a chore to make. The filling has to be prepared and cooked, as does the crust, before putting the whole thing together and cooking it again.
But for this Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie, I made use of a few time-saving steps to make it feasible to make and eat this comforting dish any night of the week. Keep reading to find out how to do it.
How to make Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie
Making this pie into a weeknight-friendly meal means using some time-saving tips. Primarily, using leftover cooked chicken instead of raw chicken. This could be rotisserie chicken, or it could be from cooking a couple of extra chicken breasts the night before in a "planned leftovers" situation. Or you could go ahead and use leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas. It will end up tasting pretty much the same.
I also used store-bought pie dough (who am I kidding, I use it for every pie I make - making pastry is not my thing). This saves a huge amount of time and work.
Start by prepping the vegetables - dice the onion, carrots, and celery. For even more time savings, you could use frozen diced onion, or if you can find it, a frozen mirepoix mix. Sadly no grocery stores in my area seem to have/make it, but a quick search of my old favorite grocery store in Wisconsin confirms that it does exist, at least in the Midwest.
Cook the vegetables in a little oil with the lid on. You want them to soften, but not brown. Stir in the garlic, pepper, thyme, Chicken Base, and flour. Note that using a concentrated chicken base allows you to add extra chicken flavor without adding extra liquid, as would be the case if you used regular chicken stock. This means getting a thick, flavorful filling without having to take time cooking off extra water.
Stir everything together until the flour evenly coats the vegetables and begins to brown on the bottom of the pan. Slowly stir in the water (starting with only a couple of Tablespoons), until all of the water is incorporated, then stir in the evaporated milk and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the chicken and cook until it's heated through (this will only take a couple of minutes), then remove the pan from heat and stir in the peas.
Prepare the pie crust by rolling one of the crusts into a 9" pie pan (or cake pan). Pour the filling in the pan, then roll the second crust out and place it on the top of the filling. Cut off any excess pie dough and crimp the two crusts together.
Brush the top of the dough with an egg wash, and cut a few steam vents with a sharp paring knife. Use a pie shield to prevent the edges of the crust from burning, or make one with some foil (instructions are in the recipe notes).
Bake the pie for about 30 minutes, and make sure to let it cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.
Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie Make-Ahead Instructions
To make your chicken pot pie ahead of time, completely prepare the filling to the end of step 4 in the recipe. Transfer the filling to the fridge and keep it there for up to two days.
When you're ready to bake the pie, resume the recipe at step 5 and complete the recipe. The pie will likely need to cook for an extra 5-10 minutes because the filling will be cold when you start baking.
You could also double the recipe and prepare two pies at once, and freeze one of the pies for later. In this case, you don't need to thaw the pie before cooking, but you'll want to cook it at a lower temperature for longer time to ensure that the filling heats without the crust burning. Cook at 375° for 60 minutes. Check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. The middle of the filling should read 165°F.
Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie Ingredients
- Canola oil - you could also use any other neutral-flavored cooking oil or melted butter
- Yellow onion - or to save time, use frozen diced onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Kosher salt - or use MSG-salt to enhance the savory flavors in the pie filling
- Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base - While this is what I normally use when a recipe calls for chicken stock, it's especially important in this recipe because it allows you to add more chicken flavoring without adding extra liquid. This is another time-saving tip that allows you to get a nice, thick filling that has lots of flavor without having to cook off extra water. Feel free to use the reduced-sodium version if you need to limit sodium in your diet.
- Garlic
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Dried thyme
- All-purpose flour - I prefer the texture of flour for thickening vs. corn starch.
- Evaporated milk - either regular or part-skimmed will work. I like to use evaporated milk in my savory creamy dishes to save fat and calories compared to using cream. You usually cannot taste the difference.
- Water - use whatever water you normally drink. Cold tap water is fine.
- Leftover cooked chicken - I usually use rotisserie chicken, but any homemade cooked chicken is fine too. Or you can use turkey and call it Turkey Pot Pie.
- Frozen peas
- Egg - Any size is fine. You won't be using it all.
- Milk - any type is fine
- Double pie crust - you can make it yourself, or use storebought. The kind you buy in a roll (not already in a pan) is best for this recipe.
Want more leftover chicken recipes?
Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for a ⅛th piece of pie. If you cut your pie into larger or smaller pieces than this, the nutrition information will vary accordingly.
Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie
Equipment
- Large skillet or saute pan
- 9" Pie Plate or you can use a 9" cake pan
- Pie shield optional, or use aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons canola oil or other neutral-flavored cooking oil, or melted butter
- 1 cup yellow onion (1 small onion)
- 1 cup peeled, diced carrots (2 medium or 3-4 small carrots)
- ½ cup diced celery (1 large stalk)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or MSG-salt
- 2 teaspoons Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour or use a gluten-free flour blend to make this recipe gluten-free
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 pound leftover cooked chicken (eg. rotisserie chicken) cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- double pie crust storebought or homemade
Instructions
- Heat 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) canola oil over medium heat in a large skillet or saute pan. Add 1 cup (160 g) yellow onion, 1 cup (128 g) peeled, diced carrots, ½ cup (51 g) diced celery, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the lid, stir, and continue to cook until the vegetables are beginning to soften, about 3-5 more minutes.
- Stir in 2 teaspoons Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base, 2 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and ½ teaspoon dried thyme and cook until fragrant, about one minute. Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons (42 g) all-purpose flour over the vegetables and stir until the flour is evenly coating all of the vegetables. Cook for 2 more minutes.
- Very slowly (starting with about 2 Tablespoons at a time) add 1 cup water, scraping up any browned flour from the pan and making sure to stir in all of the liquid after each addition. Initially, the mixture will be very pasty and hard to stir, but keep adding small amounts of liquid and stirring, and it will start to loosen up and resemble gravy. Stir in the 12 ounce (340.2 g) can evaporated milk and bring to a simmer.
- Stir in 1 pound leftover cooked chicken and cook until heated through, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in 1 cup frozen peas.
- Move oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F.
- Roll out one of the pie crusts and lay it in a 9" pie plate. Trim off any excess if needed. Spread the chicken mixture into the crust in the pie plate. Roll out the second pie crust and place it on top of the filling. Crimp the edges of the two crusts together (I find the easiest way is to gently press the edges with the tines of a fork all the way around the crust).
- Whisk together the egg with 1 Tablespoon of milk. Brush a little of this mixture all over the top and edges of the crust (make sure not to use so much that it forms pools). Save the rest of the egg for baking or making scrambled eggs, if desired. Cut a few slits in the top crust to make steam vents.
- Place a pie shield over the edges of the crust (if you don't have one, you can use aluminum foil - see notes). Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling measures 165°F. Keep an eye on the pie while it cooks. If you find that the top of the crust is browning too quickly, cover the whole pie with a sheet of foil. Note that if your pie plate is glass, you might have to add 5-10 minutes on to the cooking time.
- Remove the pie from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.
Notes
Nutrition
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