Easy Chicken Pot Pie

This is the most perfect chicken pot pie recipe, made with lots of tender chicken and classic vegetables, all surrounded by a creamy sauce and baked under a towering puff pastry crust.

We weren’t expecting to fall in love with this easy chicken pot pie quite this much, but we did, and we genuinely cannot wait for you to try it. If you love our chicken noodle soup or our cozy chicken and dumplings with biscuits, this recipe is going to be right up your alley.

It hits all the classic notes but calls for leftover roasted chicken (or a store-bought rotisserie chicken) for ultimate ease. Plus, skipping traditional pie crust in favor of store-bought puff pastry means it’s 100% doable to make whenever you crave it. As a bonus, the filling for this chicken pot pie comes together in a single skillet, so you won’t even have that many dishes to clean when you are done.

Key Ingredients

• Chicken: Our recipe calls for pre-cooked chicken. In our video, we use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, but you can use leftover roast chicken, our favorite shredded chicken, or our method for quickly poaching chicken. Shredded leftover roasted turkey works, too!
• Vegetables: We keep things really classic and call for a mix of onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and frozen peas.
• Butter and Flour: You’ll cook the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in the butter, then stir in the flour to create a roux. This is the secret to perfectly thickening the gravy (just like when making our easy gravy).
• Stock and Milk: These combine to make our creamy gravy, relying on that butter-and-flour roux for thickness. Use your favorite store-bought chicken broth or our easy chicken broth (made from a whole chicken). The salt levels of broths vary greatly, so be prepared to season a bit more generously as you cook if you are using a low-sodium option. We love using whole milk here for the extra creaminess.
• Sage: Fresh chopped sage gives the sauce a cozy, classic flavor. If you don’t have fresh, you can absolutely use dried. We call for 1 tablespoon of fresh sage in the recipe below, which means you’ll want to substitute 1 teaspoon of dried sage.
• Crust: This pot pie is absolutely perfect with store-bought puff pastry. We love the Dufour brand, but it’s not sold in all grocery stores, so just use what you have available. (If you do have access to Dufour, it’s very much worth the extra cost!) You can also use one round of homemade pie crust or this butter pastry dough, but keep in mind they will not turn out quite as towering and puffed.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Chicken Pot Pie

Making this easy chicken pot pie comes down to three simple steps:

1. Sauté your vegetables with butter in a skillet until soft, then stir in the flour to create a roux. Slowly pour in the broth and milk, simmering until you have a thick, rich gravy.
2. Fold the cooked chicken, sage, and frozen peas right into the creamy gravy.
3. Cover the skillet with a sheet of rolled-out puff pastry, brush with an egg wash, cut a few slits to vent the steam, and bake until golden brown and bubbling!

Our Secrets for the Best Chicken Pot Pie

Tip 1: Use a cast-iron skillet. To keep things easy, we make everything for this pot pie recipe in our 10-inch cast-iron skillet. You’ll sauté the veggies first, make your roux with flour, build the gravy, and fold in the chicken and peas. Then, simply cover it all with a sheet of puff pastry before baking.

If you do not have a cast-iron skillet or yours isn’t the right size, you can make the filling, transfer it to a pie dish, top with the pastry, and then bake.

Tip 2: Shred the chicken. You can dice or shred the chicken in this recipe. We prefer shredded and love how soft it turns out when added to the pie. Once shredded, carefully fold it into the gravy. The skillet will be at max capacity, so go slow. This is also the perfect time to add the peas.

Tip 3: Briefly roll out the crust. This chicken pot pie is made extra easy thanks to store-bought puff pastry. You’ll need to roll the sheet out a little to fit the top (aim for at least 11 inches square). Most puff pastry sheets are sold in rectangles, so you’ll have one longer end. We use the excess to build up the edges so they turn out just like the ones shown in our photos.

Tip 4: Add slits and an egg wash. As it bakes in the oven, the middle will get pretty steamy, so you need to add a few slits in the top of the crust to let the moisture escape. Then, before baking, brush over some beaten egg. This is what turns into that shiny, golden top you see in our photos.

Tip 5: Bake the pie on a baking sheet. As this bakes, you might find that some of the filling bubbles out and over the sides of your pan (watch our video to see what we mean). It’s not a problem at all, as long as you place the skillet onto a baking sheet to catch any drips!

Make Ahead and Storage Tips

• Make the filling in advance: You can prepare the chicken filling up to two days in advance. Let it cool completely, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge. When you are ready to bake, gently warm the filling on the stove in your cast-iron pan before topping it with the puff pastry and baking.
• Leftovers: Store any leftover chicken pot pie in the fridge for up to 4 days. To keep the puff pastry crisp, we recommend reheating portions in a 350°F oven until the filling is bubbling. (The microwave works in a pinch, but the crust will soften up!)
• Freezing: You can freeze the fully baked pie for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely, wrap it tightly, and freeze. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating in the oven.

What to Serve with Chicken Pot Pie

Because this easy chicken pot pie is so rich, hearty, and already packed with vegetables, it truly is a complete meal on its own. However, if we are serving this for a family dinner, we love pairing it with something light, crisp, and acidic to balance out the creamy gravy.

We highly recommend serving it alongside our shaved fennel salad, roasted beet salad, snap pea salad, or a simple green salad tossed with a homemade vinaigrette. Try balsamic dressing, lemon vinaigrette, or honey mustard dressing.

More Classic Chicken Recipes

• Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
• Chicken and Rice
• Lemon Chicken Thighs
• Pan Roasted Chicken Breasts
• or see this article: Chicken Recipes Everyone Will Love