There's a reason that Chicken Pot Pie is the ultimate savory pie. This classic version showcases tender veggies and rotisserie chicken in a light and savory gravy, baked inside the most delicious, buttery double pie crust. Each comforting bite will warm you from the inside out.

A flaky chicken pot pie in a cast iron pie plate.

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Everyone loves chicken pot pie, and for good reason; it's one of the most comforting dinners out there. Each individual bite reveals a super tender buttery crust with savory chicken and veggies surrounded in a light gravy that brings the whole slice together. When I had my pie delivery business this was undoubtedly the most popular pie and I must have made hundreds of them!

The recipe shared below is just about the same as the one I used to make and deliver to all my customers. However, back in the day, I would change up the veggies every few months depending on what was in season. The recipe here is for a classic chicken pot pie, with carrots, celery, onions, and peas for the veggies, and tender rotisserie chicken. It should be noted that there is plenty of room to swap in what veggies you have on hand or to use homemade chicken if time allows.

This Chicken Pot Pie recipe also deviates from the original recipe I used to sell by using my new favorite 3-ingredient sour cream pie crust. It's the most tender pie crust I've ever had, with an amazing buttery flavor. Though, if you want a traditional pie crust, you can swap that in too.

So, let's get to making it, shall we? The text below offers tons of tips and helpful notes, or you can scroll to the bottom to grab the recipe and get started!

A sliced chicken pot pie revealing a delicious looking filling.

Ingredients Needed

Here is an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe is listed below in greater detail.

rotisserie chicken
onion + garlic
celery
carrots
frozen peas
fresh + dried thyme
butter
flour
sour cream
chicken stock (see note below about flavor)
lemon juice
salt + pepper

How to Make It Your Own

This recipe is for a classic chicken pot pie. If you wish, feel free to go ahead and add in whatever veggies you have on hand, or switch it up to make it seasonal. Here are some other veggies that work well in this pie:

root veggies such as turnip, rutebaga and radish (see this recipe for a dedicated root veggie pot pie)
potatoes or sweet potatoes
winter or summer squash
mushrooms
green beans
leafy greens such as kale or swiss chard

How to Bump Up the Flavor in this Chicken Pot Pie

The two ways to really bump the flavor up in this chicken pot pie are to use good quality broth and tender, flavorful chicken. The recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, which most of the time has a great flavor. If you don't have rotisserie chicken, you can make your own chicken for the pie. The best way to do this--with the most impact on the final pie-- is to simmer a whole chicken in some water with some aromatics (i.e. carrots and onions, etc) for a few hours. With this method, you will have tender tasty chicken, and a bonus of some really yummy homemade broth to use in the chicken pot pie. If you don't want to do that, you could saute some raw chicken at the start of the recipe, but it won't be as good as the other aforementioned options.

While you can certainly use store-bought chicken broth, or even Better than Bouillon (which is my go-to when I don't have homemade), the better the broth the better the final flavor of this pie. So use the best quality stock you can.

Chicken pot pie filling inside of a dutch oven.

Useful Tools for this Recipe

Here is a list of some of the primary tools I use in this recipe. You won't necessarily choose to use them all, but they are exactly what I used. Any links may contain affiliate links.

rolling pin
pie dish (this Cast Iron Pie Dish is my favorite for making pot pies)
dutch oven
kitchen essentials: kitchen scale, measuring cups and measuring spoons, wooden spoon
pastry blender

A sour cream pie crust being made with a pastry cutter.

Butter cut into flour in a bowl with sour cream for pie crust.

Let's Talk About this 3-Ingredient Pie Crust

Hands down, this is the absolute best-tasting pie crust you'll ever have. Truly, this 3-ingredient sour cream pie crust is unreal. It's so tender, so flaky, and has a really amazing buttery flavor.

Plus, all you need are three ingredients to make it, which is pretty awesome. It's also made by hand so you don't need to clean a food processor after it's all said and done.

Never made pie dough by hand before? It's pretty simple, so don't overthink it. Here is an overview of the steps with a few tips:

Mix together the flour and the cold butter chunks. Make sure to coat them in flour before you start working the butter into the flour.
Work the butter in the flour using a pastry blender. Or, using your fingers by squeezing the butter chunks until they're flat and then rubbing the butter into the flour. Some larger pieces can remain, up to the size of a marble. Continue this until the dough looks shaggy.
Add in the sour cream. Combine the sour cream into the flour with a rubber spatula.
Knead together the dough. Using your hands, knead the dough a few times to help blend the sour cream into the flour, until it just comes together as one large ball.

It's always best to make the dough a day ahead of time, but at a minimum, it should rest for two hours wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator.

Other Pie Crust Options

Don't want to make the sour cream pie crust? There are a few options here on the site you could use to make it. Here are some choices:

Butter Pie Crust (classic and so delicious)
Cream Cheese Pie Crust (just like a butter pie crust, but with a slightly improved flavor, because cream cheese makes everything taste better)
Whole Wheat Pie Crust (you'll need to make a double batch, as this recipe only yields 1 pie crust)

If you wanted to "lighten up" this chicken pot pie a bit (but…why?), you could make this a single crust pie! Just bake the filling in a pie dish, with one pie crust on top.

An unbaked chicken pot pie not yet assembled.

Best Tip for Making Chicken Pot Pie

You aren’t going to like what I have to say, but here it is: for the best chicken pot pie possible, you really shouldn't make the filling and then bake it right away.

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

And here is my reasoning: a hot filling paired with unbaked pie dough is a bad combination. I know, I know: lots of recipes out there tell you it’s okay. I’m not going to stop you if you want to do it. But, my opinion is that if you try to stick a well-made pie pastry on top of a hot savory filling, it’s going to melt the butter and turn your pastry into something not worth all the effort you just put into making it.

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 come to room temperature, which can take close to an hour or so. One tip for quickly chilling the pie filling is to transfer the filling to a shallow container, so it has more surface area to cool quicker.

Make-Ahead Tips

What I love most about this type of dinner 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.

You can (and should!) freeze this pie, as your future self will thank you. Better yet, make a double batch, one for now and one for later! 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 piping 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 it 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 truly 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.

You can also check out this post on How to Bake a Frozen Pie for more tips.

More Savory Dinner Pies:

I am so honored when you make a recipe from my site! If you make this Chicken Pot Pie, please leave a comment and a star rating with your experience! If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to comment here, too!

Full Recipe

Chicken Pot Pie

Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 7 reviews

The most classic savory pie, this Chicken Pot Pie is made with veggies and rotisserie chicken (or homemade) in a light savory gravy and baked up inside the most tender and delicious double buttery pie crust. Each comforting bite will warm you up from the inside out.

Author: Kelli Avila
Prep Time: 00:40
Cook Time: 00:45
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yield: 6-8 Servings
Category: Savory Pie
Method: Bake

Ingredients

Sour Cream Pie Crust:

2-½ cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (226 grams) salted butter, cold
¾ cup (180 grams) sour cream

Chicken Pot Pie Filling:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoons salt, more to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, more to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
¼ cup (55 grams) unsalted butter, diced
¼ cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour
3 cups (680 grams) chicken stock, more as needed
3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon lemon juice, more to taste
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Egg wash

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Instructions

Make the Pie Crust:

Add the flour into a large bowl. Add in the diced butter and toss to coat with the flour. Work the butter in the flour using a pastry blender. Or, using your fingers by squeezing the butter chunks until they're flat and then rub the butter into the flour. Some larger pieces can remain, up to the size of a marble. Continue this until the dough looks shaggy.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and add in the sour cream. Using a spatula combine the sour cream in the flour.
Using your hands, knead the dough a few times to help blend the sour cream into the flour, until it just comes together as one large ball. Transfer the pastry to a work surface and divide it into two pieces, each about 12 ounces. Shape into a rough disk shape.
Place each in a piece of plastic wrap and wrap tightly. Using a rolling pin, roll the wrapped dough out until it stretches to the corner of the plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

Make the Filling:

Heat oil over medium in a dutch oven. Once hot, add onion, celery and carrot and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until they are beginning to soften. Add in garlic, salt, pepper and thyme and cook for 30 seconds.
Add in the butter and flour and cook, stirring, until butter is melted.
Slowly, stir in half a cup of stock at a time, scraping up the bottom, and stirring as you go, to ensure no lumps. Once all the liquid is added, add in the chicken.
Bring the mixture up to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and the veggies are cooked through.
Shut off the heat, and stir in the peas, lemon, and fresh thyme. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding in more salt, pepper and lemon as needed.
Transfer the filling to a shallow container and let cool completely at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.

Assemble and Bake:

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Roll out one pie dough to a 12″ circle. Fit pastry in a 9” pie plate, making sure to press the pastry into the sides and the bottom.
Transfer the cooled chicken pot pie filling inside of the pie crust.
Roll out the top crust to a 10″ circle and place it on top of the filling. Seal the edges of the pie dough together and crimp as desired. Pierce a few steam holes in the center of the pie, and brush the top with an egg wash.
Bake in the preheated oven on the lower rack for 45-50 minutes, until the crust is light golden brown and the filling is completely heated through (reaching a temperature above 170ºF).

Notes

Have a question or looking for tips? The text written above the recipe is always a great first place to start! There are always loads of explanations, tips and technical advice shared before the recipe.

A pastry blender (or pastry cutter) is a metal tool used to cut butter into flour. It makes quick work of this task, though it is not an essential tool. You can also squish/rub the butter into the flour, though just make sure not to melt the better by working slowly. The heat from your hands can melt the butter if you spend too much time rubbing in the butter.

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