Comfort food to the max, this Chicken Bacon Ranch Pot Pie is made from a handful of real wholesome ingredients, a homemade ranch spice blend and the flakiest top crust ever. Everyone is going to love this one.

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Chicken Bacon Ranch Pie

Is there anyone on this planet who doesn't love the combination of chicken, bacon, and ranch together? It truly is comfort food deluxe, especially when it's baked up together in a pot pie, using good-for-you ingredients. This pie features salty bacon, chicken breast, cauliflower, and green beans in a ranch seasoned gravy. And of course, it's topped off with the flakiest top crust ever.

This is one of those meals everyone is going to look forward to.

What I love most about this type of pie is that it can be made in stages or completely assembled and then frozen. That way, you can pull it out the night before and just bake up when you need a delicious, hot dinner for your crew. This recipe makes a large casserole style pie that is baked in a baking dish instead of a pie plate. However, the recipe can be split and baked in two 9" pie plates so you can bake one up for dinner and freeze the other. Don't worry, I'll share all the details about how to freeze and defrost it as well.

Let's get to making this Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Pot Pie, shall we?

A Few Notes about Making the Best Pot Pie Possible

You aren't going to like what I have to say: for the best pot pie possible, you really shouldn't make the filling and bake it right away. There, I said it.

I recommend you make the filling and the dough ahead of time, either by a day or a few hours. Then assemble and bake.

And here is why: hot filling and unbaked pie dough don't mix. I know, I know: lots of recipes out there tell you it's okay. I'm not going to stop you if you do it. But my opinion is that if you try to stick a perfectly made pie pastry on top of a hot filling, it's going to melt the butter and turn your pastry into something not worth all the effort.

If you want more information into why this matters, go ahead and read through this recipe about Butter Pie Dough. Or, take my word of advice and make the filling and dough ahead of time, chill both completely, and then assemble and bake it.

At the very minimum, you need to let the pie filling at least come to room temperature, this can take close to an hour or so. This recipe calls for the use of frozen green beans and cauliflower. This helps the pie cool quicker if you did want to make the pie the same day you make the filling. Another method to cool the filling quickly is to transfer the filling to a shallow container so it has more surface area to cool quicker.

But the easiest way to prepare this pie is to make the filling and the dough one day, and then roll out, assemble and bake the next.

What Size Pan to Use?

I tested this recipe in a large round casserole dish. It's slightly smaller than a 9x13 inch baking dish. I've also tested baking this in two 9" pie plates. That means you can bake one immediately, and save the other for later. This recipe makes 6-8 generous servings, so if dividing it between two dishes, keep that in mind. One 9" pie (or a half recipe) worked well for serving my family of two adults and two young children. However, if you are serving all adults, you might only get 2-3 generous portions from the divided recipe in a 9" pie plate.

Baked and flaky chicken bacon ranch pot pie.

Can Chicken Bacon Ranch Pie be Frozen?

Yes, and yes. You can and should freeze this. Your future self will thank you. You can freeze it unbaked or baked. It will last up to 3 months in the freezer either way.

To Reheat it from Frozen:

The best method to reheat a fully baked frozen pie is to let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Then, bake the pie at 400ºF until the filling is bubbling. If possible, place an instant-read thermometer in the middle of the pie. The inside of the middle of the pie needs to be a minimum of 170ºF. If you don't have a thermometer, you can stick a knife in the middle of the pie, and then feel the metal to see if the filling is hot or not. It should be hot, not lukewarm.

If at any point the crust is getting too brown while you reheat it, cover it loosely with foil.

To Bake it from Frozen:

To bake this pie from frozen, remove from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature until the dough is "tacky" or sticky, about 10-15 minutes depending on how warm your kitchen is.

Then bake according to the instructions of the recipe! It's that simple. The total bake time will be a bit longer. If at any point the crust is getting too brown, cover it loosely with foil. If possible, take the temperature of the middle of the pie. It should be above 200ºF.

Ways to Customize this Pot Pie

The veggies added to the pie can be customizable. This recipe calls for frozen green beans and cauliflower. You can totally swap this out with other vegetables, depending on what you have on hand or what you like.

Here are some other vegetable options for this pie:

broccoli
kale
carrots
peas
bell peppers
root veggies

How to Make it Gluten-Free

This pie can be made gluten-free by preparing Gluten-Free Butter Pie Crust for the pastry. You'll also need to omit the roux (the flour and butter mixture) from the recipe. Skip that step entirely. Instead, after you add the stock and milk to the pot in step 7, add a cornstarch slurry to the pot made up of 3 tablespoons cornstarch whisked together with ¼ cup chicken stock. Add half of the slurry and let it thicken. If it is not thick enough, add the rest of the slurry. This slurry will thicken the mixture without needing to add any flour to this recipe.

More Savory Pies:

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Chicken Bacon Ranch Pot Pie

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5 from 4 reviews

Comfort food to the max, this Chicken Bacon Ranch Pot Pie is made from a handful of real wholesome ingredients, a homemade ranch spice blend and the flakiest top crust ever. What I love most about this type of pie is that it can be made in stages or completely assembled and then frozen. That way, you can pull it out the night before and just bake up when you need a delicious, hot dinner for your crew. This recipe makes a large casserole style pie that is baked in a baking dish instead of a pie plate. However, the recipe can be split and baked in two 9" pie plates so you can bake one up for dinner and freeze the other. The body of the post has information how to freeze and reheat.

Author: Kelli Avila
Prep Time: 00:30
Cook Time: 01:18
Total Time: 03:48 (includes chilling time)
Yield: 6-8 Servings
Category: Dinner
Method: Bake

Ingredients

1 batch Basic Butter Pie Crust
1 tablespoon oil
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, diced
8 strips bacon, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced (½ cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsalted butter
¼ cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cream cheese
2-½ teaspoons dried dill
1-½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-½ cup (340 grams) chicken stock
1 cup (230 grams) whole milk
1-½ cup frozen cut green beans
1 cup frozen small cauliflower florets
Cream (to brush on the pastry)

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Instructions

Prepare the Basic Butter Pie Crust. Do not divide the dough into two pieces unless you plan to make two 9” pies. Otherwise, leave it as one pie dough. Let rest for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Heat oil in a dutch oven (or heavy-bottomed stock pot) over medium heat. Once hot, brown chicken, in batches if necessary, about 2-4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate, once browned.
Add bacon to the pot, and cook, until crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Shut off the heat and remove all but 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat.
Return the heat to medium and add onion, garlic, and salt to the pot and cook until starting to soften, about 5 minutes.
Add butter and flour to the pot to make the roux. Stir together until the butter is melted and the mixture comes together.
Add in the cream cheese and spices, and cook until cream cheese is melted and the spices are toasted, about 1 minute. Watch carefully and ensure the mixture does not burn.
Slowly, ½ of a cup at a time, add in the chicken stock, taking care to scrape the bottom of the pot to get any browned bits up and stir together any lumps.
Whisk in the milk and bring the mixture up to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and add back in the chicken and bacon. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, and stir in the frozen green beans and cauliflower.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding in more salt, pepper or spices as desired.
Let the mixture cool completely to room temperature before baking. The filling can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.
Preheat oven to 425ºF and set aside a large casserole baking dish.
Roll out pie dough to the shape of your casserole baking dish. It’s helpful to roll out the pie dough and then place the baking dish on top of the pie dough to cut out the exact shape.
Transfer the cooled mixture to the casserole dish and place the dough on top.
Brush cream on top of the pie dough and place the casserole on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the pie dough is lightly golden all over.
Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

This recipe can be made in a large casserole dish, around the size of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Or it can be divided up and baked in two 9" pie plates. That means you can bake one immediately, and save the other for later.

This pie can be frozen fully baked or unbaked. Please see the post for instructions on how to do this and how to reheat it.

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