Bummer Alert. There’s actually not “pot” in chicken pot pie. So, you’re not going to get high on this… unless you mean high on deliciousness! Oh dear. Perhaps a Bad Joke Alert would have been in order, too.
I made this pot pie from scratch, all the way up from the bottom. Some shortcuts you may want to apply would be using leftover chicken or turkey, buying a rotisserie chicken and stripping it, or even using canned chicken (do they still sell that?) and using store bought stock (or maybe you have some homemade stock already in your freezer?). If you want a two-crust pie, make sure you have enough dough. Double this recipe for pie crust, or buy some. Often, though, pot pies only have a top crust — make sure to cut vent holes in it if you don’t do a lattice crust like I did or it will cause problems. The benefit of only having a top crust (along with fewer calories per serving) is that the pie won’t need to bake as long, maybe only 30 minutes.
An even simpler way to make a pot pie is to put the filling into a casserole dish, then top with squares of biscuit dough and bake.
This recipe makes enough filling for two deep-dish pie pans or one 9×13″ pan. When filling the pans, leave about 1/2″ at the top to allow for expansion and help prevent bubble-overs. Just in case of bubble-overs, though, I recommend putting a cookie sheet on the rack under the pie to catch any spills before they burn onto your oven floor, creating carbon stalagmites.
- 1 2-3 pound chicken (or 2-3 pounds chicken parts, bone-in)
- 4 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pie crust for 1 or 2-crust pie or 1 batch of biscuit dough
- ½ cup (4 ounces) butter
- 1 onion, diced (about a cup)
- 1 carrot, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 ear of corn, kernels (about ½ cup corn kernels)
- ½ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, optional
- Set your oven to 400ºF.
- Cut up the chicken and put in a large pot with the water, bay leaf, and salt. Boil 1 hour until tender. (Alternately, cook 20 minutes in a pressure cooker). Remove the chicken to a plate to cool, reserving the cooking liquid. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull off the meat, discarding the skin and bones.
- In another pot, saute the vegetables briefly in 4 tablespoons butter until beginning to soften, or about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pot, melt the remaining butter and make a roux with the ½ cup flour.
- Add about a cup of the cooking liquid and incorporate into the roux by whisking. Add the rest of the liquid slowly, whisking constantly to remove lumps until you have a smooth sauce.
- Add the sage and pepper and simmer about 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Turn off heat.
- Prepare your baking pans, either 2 pie pans or one 9×12 dish, lining with pie crust if you like a 2-crust pie.
- Layer the vegetables, chicken, parsley, then carefully pour the sauce over. Do not overfill; leave ½” or so from the rim of the dish to allow for bubbling over.
- Top with pie crust or biscuit squares or rounds. If using a solid pie crust, cut a few slashes in it to vent.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown.
- Let cool 20 minutes before serving.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
(Off on a Tangent: My mother once told me that we are related distantly to Mrs. Budd, but I keep mentally blocking how we are related to her. I do know she’s from my home town, though. Nevertheless, I have made chicken pot pie from scratch not very often, and I am sure her recipes were not transmitted through our common genes.)
Your recipe looks outstanding. Twelve servings is way too much for my wife and me, so this quantity would have to be for company. The recipe appears very forgiving — shrinkable and stretchable — so I am sure I can make it for two with leftovers for the next day. Lots of questions: How freezable would it be with the crust? Would you freeze it unbaked or baked? Then, would you thaw it first or could it be baked from frozen?
I have never heard of Mrs. Budd’s brand!
I think — think, as I have not tested this — that it would work best to line a pan with foil, make your pie, wrap the foil up over the top, freeze it. Once it’s frozen, take it out of the pan and wrap it up really tight with more foil or plastic, then refreeze. When you’re ready, you could uncover the top and plop it back into the pan you initially froze it in, then bake, adding another 20-30 minutes to the cook time (and maybe re-covering the top with foil if it starts to get too brown half way through). There’s nothing in the filling that shouldn’t freeze just fine.
Great show and one damn fine lookin’ pie! I’m going to try a veggie version.
Dude. Diane. Yes. Put some taters innit!
Just made the Pot Pie, Hilah.. did the biscuit dough crust and “janky” lattice. Forgot to put roux in first before crust went on top…Meh!! I added some crushed garlic in the mix for a flavorful aromatic treat. Photo is on your #hilahcooking
Awesome! It looks great, Anson. Better than mine, for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful cooking tips with us. Would it be possible to substitute the butter for olive oil. You know, in Spain we never use butter for cooking. Olive oil is healthier and I think it should work fine. What do you think?
¡Gracias!
¡Hola!
That would work perfectly fine for the filling. Thanks for writing!
Dude, love your damn cooking, I’ve made numerous of your recipes and I must say that it helps an amateur cook like me make a good meal. Thanks alot for your videos man, I live with too many guys so i’m always looking for new recipes to keep them off my back haha. Anyways thanks again for the recipes and vids.
Hooray, Heather! I’m so happy my recipes are working for you! You should be proud. Chicken pot pie is no beginners recipe!
Have you ever done any dutch oven cooking? Like ya know.. outside? Do you think all or most of your recipes would work? Found your site yesterday. I do some wilderness cooking and am always looking for easy stuff to cook for 16 or so people.
Love your methods?!?
d
Hi Dave!
My experience with outside cookery is quite limited, but I have been to a few dutch oven cookoffs. I think my beer beef stew recipe would work, or the “Vampire-fighting” pork stew on the site. I bet the peach cobbler would work great, too. Surely there are others, chicken pot pi being one. Might want to just do a top biscuit crust for that? You’d probably know better than me, though!
Hi Hilah,
Love discovering your cooking videos! I’d like to make the casserole version with biscuits for a teachers’ appreciation luncheon. Can I prepare all the ingredients the day before (when I have the time to prep), refrigerate all parts, and then assemble and bake the next morning? Any advice to make sure this works well? Thanks!
Hey Chris!
That sounds like a great idea. I think it would work fine to make the filling, put it into your casserole dish, cool, cover and refrigerate. Biscuit dough can be made ahead of time and wrapped tightly in plastic and refrigerated.
In the morning, get the filling out so it gets the chill off. Roll and cut your biscuits. Bake for an additional 10 minutes to account for the cold filling. If the biscuits start to get too brown, lay a sheet of foil over the top while they bake.
I hope everyone enjoys it!