These Creamy Chicken Pot Pies are packed with poached chicken, golden potatoes, green peas, and fresh herbs for an irresistible winter comfort food the whole family will love.
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Comforting Chicken Pot Pie (From Scratch)
As winter continues to chill us to the bone, and its too cold outside to enjoy the company of friends, it’s no surprise that many of us might turn to comfort food. For his birthday last year, Sam asked for a particular dish – chicken pot pie. You have to understand – Sam rarely, if ever, asks me to innovate or cook up anything particular. He’s quite happy with whatever I turn out from the kitchen. So, to fulfill his rare request, I turned to the work of some of the greats, including the late Anthony Bourdain, Toni Tipton-Martin (author of my favorite cookbook, Jubilee), and Irma S. Rombauer (author of The Joy of Cooking). The end result was the best chicken pot pie I’ve ever had, let alone made.
Pie Dough & Double Crusts
Many pot pie recipes out there are single crusted. Rather than make a bottom and top to the dish, the recipe instructs the home chef to bake a “lid” separately and place the par-baked biscuit on top of the creamy chicken filling. Don’t get me wrong – this is still delicious and I’m not knocking the elegant simplicity of this idea. It’s a great way to get the comfort of a pot pie with far less work, and I use it to great efficiency in my Kraken-Inspired Seafood Pot Pie. But a true, honest to goodness chicken pot pie has a top and bottom crust, in my opinion. And seeing as how Sam agrees with this sentiment, I knew this dish had to include it.
You’ll see below that I do not include a recipe for pie dough in the recipe. Any double-crusted pie dough will do the trick, including store bought. I did, however, use Toni Tipton-Martin’s biscuit crust for optimal effect, and it will forever be my go-to recipe for savory pies from now on. If you don’t own her cookbook Jubilee just yet (and you absolutely should), an all-butter pie dough like this one should do just fine.
Double Crusted Creamy Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken stock (32 ounces)
- 2 pounds chicken breast, boneless
- 1 pound chicken thighs, bone-in
- 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, diced
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus some for greasing the pan
- 8 pearl onions, pealed, trimmed, and quartered
- 2 carrots, diced small
- 2 ribs of celery, diced small
- 7 sprigs of rosemary or thyme, stems removed (about 1 tablespoon of leaves)
- 8 sage leaves, chopped
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup frozen peas
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 batch pie dough, top and bottom crusts (your favorite homemade recipe or store-bought)
- Egg and 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash
Instructions
Poach the Chicken & Potatoes
- In a large heavy pot, bring the stock to a hard boil over high heat, and then reduce to a simmer. Add all of the chicken to the stock and poach for 10 minutes at medium low. Remove the pot from heat and let the chicken sit in the warm stock for 25-30 minutes more, until cooked through. Please note: You will continue to use this same stock throughout the recipe. Do not discard until instructed to.
- Remove the chicken from the stock and discard any bones or excess fat. Skim the stock if needed. Set chicken aside.
- Return the pot to a burner at high heat, and add the diced potatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-8 minutes, until just tender. Remove the potatoes from the stock with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- While the potatoes cook, shred or chop the chicken, then season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
Make the Creamy Soup Filling
- As you make the filling, heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Using a large saute pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat until the foam subsides. Stir in the onions, carrots, celery, thyme, herbs, and celery salt. Saute until vegetables are just tender (5-10 minutes). Remove the pan from heat.
- In a separate small pan, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until toasted. Slowly, whisk in the milk and 1 cup of the chicken stock a little at a time until well incorporated. This will form the roux.
- Stir the chopped chicken and potatoes into the large saute pan with the vegetables. Stir in the prepared roux. If too thick, add stock ¼ cup at a time until creamy.
Assemble & Bake the Pot Pie
- Grease an oven-safe pie dish with butter. Layer the bottom of the dish with one of the two crusts. Spoon in the filling. Place the second crust on top, crimping the edges of the top and bottom together. Slash the top of the pie with hash-marks or an “X”, to allow steam to escape. Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon milk to make the eggwash, and brush all over the top of the crust and its edges.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until crust is golden brown and the center is cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Cut into slices and serve immediately.
Notes
Make Ahead and Freeze: There are two ways you can make this recipe in advance for a future meal:
- Freeze the filling on its own – Make the filling and freeze for up to 3 months. When you want to use it in a fresh pie, defrost in the fridge the night before. Pour into the prepared pie crust and cook as normal.
- Freeze a fully baked pot pie – Follow all directions. When room temperature, remove the pies from their dishes. Freeze for 2 hours. When solid, wrap in foil then plastic wrap tightly. When ready to eat, do not thaw – Bake for 45-60 minutes until filling is cooked through (cover with foil if the crust starts to brown before the filling is warmed). Pies will be good in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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