Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry just as delicious as traditional chicken pot pie, but lighter and so much simpler. Instead of pie crust, you’ll top classic pot pie filling with a slab of all-butter puff pastry and bake until puffed and golden brown. Make it family style in a baking dish or divide among small baking dishes to make individual pot pies.
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If you love chicken pot pie, but don’t make it often because it’s time consuming, you’ll love this version. It’s a rich and comforting meal that’s easy enough to make even on a busy weeknight.
“Made it for the first time and I’m officially hooked. Love how easy the recipe is and I can’t wait to make it again. Thank you for sharing!”
kelly wicken
Table of Contents
Recipe at a Glance
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Skill Level: Easy
Ingredients for Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry
- Olive Oil: Any good quality extra-virgin olive oil works well here.
- Onion: I typically use yellow or sweet onion, but a white onion works too.
- Carrots: Look for firm, deep orange carrots with fresh looking tops.
- Celery: Use the inner celery ribs if possible. They’re less stringy and have a milder flavor than the outer ribs.
- Potatoes: I love to use buttery Yukon Gold potatoes, but red potatoes or Russets work too.
- Fresh Thyme: If you use dried thyme instead of fresh, use half the amount.
- Chicken Broth: Homemade chicken broth is ideal, but a good quality store-bought version is good too.
- Butter: I use whatever I have on hand, salted or unsalted butter both work, just adjust the salt in the filling accordingly.
- Flour: Use standard AP flour.
- Chicken: I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but boneless skinless chicken thighs work too.
- Half and Half: or use heavy cream for a richer version (If you’re looking for an even lighter option, try my Chicken Pot Pie Soup.)
- Puff Pastry: ideally good quality, all-butter puff pastry
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper: As always, freshly ground black pepper is best.
How to Make Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry
Soften onion in olive oil in a large saucepan. Add remaining vegetables and thyme; cook and stir until softened. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in chicken; reduce heat and simmer for 6 minutes.
Melt butter in a small saucepan and whisk in flour all at once. Continue whisking until smooth and the flour taste has cooked out; stir into broth mixture. Cook and stir until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in half and half and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide mixture among buttered baking dishes and top each with a puff pastry. Bake at 400˚F until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes and serve!
Pro Tips
- Brush Puff Pastry with an Egg Wash: If you want your pot pie tops to have a glossy sheen, brush with a simple egg wash before baking. Just whisk an egg with 1 tablespoon of water until well combined then brush over the top.
- Cold Puff Pastry is Best: Don’t let puff pastry come to room temperature before baking or it won’t puff properly. Be sure it’s still cold when it goes into the oven.
- Adjust Filling Thickness: If your filling seems too thick, add a splash of broth to thin it out. Or if it’s too thin, let it simmer for a few extra minutes to reduce.
- Evenly Cut Vegetables: Cut your vegetables into similar-sized pieces so they cook at about the same rate. I try to cut them into about 1/2-inch pieces.
- Rotisserie Option: To save time, you can use rotisserie chicken instead of cooking the chicken yourself.
Recipe Variations
- Vegetable variations: While I love the classic carrot, celery, and potato mix, feel free to switch it up. Frozen peas, corn, or green beans make great additions. In the fall, I sometimes add diced butternut squash for a seasonal twist.
- Herb alternatives: Thyme is excellent in pot pie, but rosemary or sage can add a different flavor profile. For a fresher taste, stir in some chopped parsley just before adding the puff pastry.
- Use Turkey Instead: If you have leftover turkey during the holiday season, use my Turkey Pot Pie recipe or Turkey Pot Pie Soup recipe instead.
Make Ahead and Storage
You can assemble these pot pies and store them covered in the refrigerator up to one day in advance of baking.
Store cooked and cooled pot pies tightly covered with plastic wrap for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. You can also freeze uncooked pot pies; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking. Or bake from frozen, increasing baking time until it reaches an internal temperature of 165˚F (cover top with foil if it’s getting too brown).
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 3 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 4 Tablespoons all-purpost flour
- 3/4 pound skinless boneless chicken breast cut into 1-inch cubes (or ~2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, see recipe notes)
- 1/3 cup half and half
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 7 ounces all-butter puff pastry divided into 4 equal rectangles or squares sized to fit your baking dishes, also (see recipe notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F (204 °C).
- Butter 4, 1 1/2-cup individual casserole or pie dishes and set aside.
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add onion, lightly sprinkle with salt to sweat liquid and keep from browning; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes until softened. Add carrots, celery, and potato; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Add thyme and broth; bring to boil. Stir in cubed chicken; reduce heat and simmer 6 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are nearly tender.
- Meanwhile, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add butter. Once butter melts, add flour all at once. Whisk constantly for a minute or two, just to cook out the raw flour taste. Add to broth mixture and stir to combine. Cook and stir boiling mixture until it thickens, about 3 minutes. At this point, the potatoes and chicken should be tender. Stir in half and half and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Divide mixture evenly between 4 prepared dishes. Arrange dishes on baking sheet to catch any splatter. Top each dish with a puff pastry square and transfer to oven.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until puff pastry crust is puffy and golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use your favorite all-butter puff pastry or make your own Quick Whole Wheat Puff Pastry.
- If you use cooked chicken (like rotisserie chicken), stir it in just before dividing mixture among baking dishes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi. I am taking some chicken pot pies in baking dishes to 4 friends for Christmas. Should I bake it with the puff pastry till it’s golden and they just have to re-heat? Or should I put the cooked mixture in the baking pans put the raw puff pastry on it with egg wash and let them bake with fresh crust?
What a great gift, Glenna! I don’t recommend cooking completely beforehand. A couple of options: if they’ll be baking it within a day, I’d let the filling cool completely in the containers then cover with the raw puff pastry; if it will be longer than a day (up to 3 days), I’d gift the pre-cut portions of puff pastry separately, with parchment paper between and have them top with the pastry just before baking. I hope that helps!
Where I currently live they don’t have chicken pot pie. My hisband accidentally bought the wrong chicken broth and the first thing I said was ‘ I’m glad you did, now i have a reason to try and make chicken pot pie’. He’s never had it so he didn’t have a clue what I was referring to. I know what I’m making tonight.
Wonderful, Cecile! I hope you and your husband will love it.
What if you cooked a piece of puffy pastry first, then used it for a bottom piece?
Hi there, Judith. I haven’t tested that, but I did some research online and it looks like people have success doing it. So, I say, go for it!
Hi, I’m going to make this tonight. I don’t have individual dishes to make it into 4 separate dishes. What size casserole dish would you suggest to make one large pot pie instead of 4 1 1/2 cup dishes? Do you think there would be a different bake time? Thank you for all your fabulous recipes!
Hi there, Athena! Any 6 or 7 cup baking dish should work just fine with the same, or close to the same, baking time (see this post for common dimensions). You want your puff pastry to be nicely browned and puffed and your filling to be bubbly. Please let me know how it goes!
The filling is delicious. The only thing I’d change is that I’d bake the puff pastry before for about 10 minutes or so then I’d add it to the top. It was just a bit under cooked for my taste.
Glad you enjoyed this, Yvette! Thanks for your thoughts on the puff pastry.
Made it for the first time and I’m officially hooked. Love how easy the recipe is and I can’t wait to make it again. Thank you for sharing!
I love to hear this, Kelly! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know!
Can you use the puff pastry on the bottom as well as the top?
Hi Sondra! I recommend just using it for the top. It wouldn’t puff and crisp properly baking under the pot pie filling.
Chicken pot pie is an all-time favorite in the winter! Or if I’m sick. (Fortunately, that hasn’t happen too much this year…) But mixing it up and using puff pastry as the topping? Now that’s just pure genius! The flaky topping would go so well with the creamy pot pie filling. I need this to happen…ASAP! 🙂
woohoo! Can’t wait for you to try it, David!
This is one of my favorite comfort food dishes Marissa! I love the easy puff pastry top!
Makes it quick, easy and delicious – trifecta of my favorite style of recipe! 😉 Thank you, my friend!
I love the puff pastry on top! Break a little piece off, dip it in the broth…sounds like heaven to me!
We love chicken pot pie! I think it’s a great idea to top it with puff pastry – I’ve got a box in the freezer right now that is just begging to be used for this 😉 Yum!
I grew up eating those tiny frozen chicken pot pies…so they hold a special place in my heart. This takes that flavor memory to a whole new level! Love this recipe, my friend!
I grew up eating those too! And the Marie Calendar pies with a zillion calories. 😉 Thank you, Annie!
Is there anything puff pastry can’t do? Chicken pot pie was one of my favorite dinners growing up and I can only imagine how much more I’d have loved it if it was topped with puff pastry!
So true – puff pastry is so versatile!
These simplified Chicken Pot Pies are the quintessence of delicious and comfort food, Marissa! Looks seriously good. Where’s my huge spoon? 🙂
haha, come on over and bring your huge spoon with you! 😉
Even though it is summer here this would go down an absolute treat here Marissa. And yes all butter all the way 😀
Such a difference with all-butter! Thank you, Lorraine!