This probably goes without saying, because I only share food that I love on here, but I LOVE chicken pot pie. I am not a huge fan of chicken dishes in general, so it takes a lot for me to find love for one - and chicken pie has to be my all time favorite.
There is something about the combination of the flaky and buttery crust with the delicious flavorful filling that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I love all kinds of chicken pot pie, and definitely don't shy away from the freezer aisle or premade version at Whole Foods, but am excited to share this homemade recipe for when you're feeling like an extra special pot pie.
I'll share the homemade pie crust recipe below that I used most recently for this pot pie, but know that store bought will always work too. This crust recipe in particular uses a little more butter than your average recipe, so I may reduce the butter slightly when I use the crust for another pie, but the extra butter used in this recipe fits so well with the chicken pot pie that I wanted to keep it as is for this recipe.
I'll be honest as I always am - there is a lot of butter in this recipe as a whole. To offset that a bit, I did use a butter alternative in the filling so know that you can play around with that if you'd like. The butter is so very worth it though, I promise.
Pies have a special place in my heart because of my dad (I know he'll be reading this eventually, but that's not why I'm sharing!). He is famous for his "Dave's Mile High Apple Pie" and there is just something about a pie’s crust for me that never fails to be tasty and satisfying. Don't tell my Dad, but I used a different recipe for this crust than his classic recipe, mostly because I needed to use a stand mixer and found that this one came together more easily and resulted in a super buttery crust perfect for the pot pie, but know that if you have a go to pie crust recipe it will fit perfectly too. I'll slice and dice the carb info at the end of the post so that you can customize however you need.
Ingredients:
Pie crust: (based on this recipe from Food52 minus the sugar)
3 cups of flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 sticks of unsalted butter (or 1.5 cups)
1/2 cup ice cold water
Filling:
2 large chicken breasts
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter or butter alternative
2 large carrots peeled and diced
1 yellow onion peeled and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic (I always use jarred minced garlic)
2/3 cup all purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup 2% milk
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Additional/Optional:
1 egg (if you'd like to do an egg wash on top)
Extra all purpose flour (if you're doing a homemade crust, for rolling)
Flakey sea salt (to top your pie with)
Cooking time: About two hours all in.
Cooking instructions:
Optional, make your pie crust. If you choose to make your own crust, do this step first so that you can chill your dough fully before rolling it out. Cut all of your butter into large squares (about 25-30 squares in total) and place back into the fridge to keep them cold. Put half a cup of COLD water and an ice cube or two into a small dish and place into the fridge as well.
Place the paddle attachment onto your stand mixer, and put your flour and salt into your large stand mixer bowl. Mix on the lowest speed to combine your dry ingredients. Add in your butter, and mix slowly for only a few seconds at a time. Once you see the pieces of butter begin to shrink slightly, stop there - the flour mixture should be just coating your butter, and you should still visibly see large pieces of butter. In portions, drizzle in your ice water slowly and bring your mixer back to the lowest speed. When your dough just begins to come together (you should still see chunks of butter reduced in size) stop mixing. Pour your dough onto a flat surface, gently press into a ball, and divide into two pieces. Place each dough ball into tight plastic wrap and place into the fridge to cool.
Make your filling. First, bake your chicken. Turn your oven on to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil, then add your two uncooked chicken breasts. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then you can add oil or butter if you'd like on top of your chicken and top the chicken with parchment paper. Bake for about 30 minutes until cooked through then set aside to cool.
Lower your oven temperature to 375 degrees (or if you plan to bake your pie later on, turn your oven off).
In a large pot, and your 6 tablespoons of butter or butter alternative, carrots, and onion and turn your stove on to a medium to high heat. Continue to mix around for about 5 minutes. Add in your minced garlic and cook for 5 more minutes stirring on occasion.
While your carrot and onion mixture is cooking, shred your chicken. You can do this with two forks, a fork and knife - however you would like!
Add in your 2/3 cup of flour to your carrot and onion mixture, and mix until fully coated. While mixing, pour in your chicken broth one cup at a time ensuring your mixture is fully combined and thickened each time before you add your next cup of broth.
Stir in your milk, frozen peas, shredded chicken, thyme, and parsley. Once combined, season with salt and pepper. Note: you do not want to be shy with salt and pepper in this recipe, so taste the filling and add until it is seasoned to your liking. One the filling is ready, turn your heat off and set the mixture aside.
If using a homemade crust, take half of your crust out of the fridge to roll out for your base. Sprinkle your surface with flour to roll out, move slowly, and if it gets too warm, place your crust into the freezer for a few minutes to cool. If you have any cracks you can also use a few drops of ice cold water to seal but know that it does not need to be perfect! Once it’s fully rolled out (it should be about an inch or so wider than your pie plate), place into your 9" pie plate with the edge of the crust hanging over. If using store bought, place one crust onto the bottom of your pie plate just the same! Scoop in your filling, then place the pie plate into the fridge.
If using a homemade crust, pull out your second half, and roll it out the same as you did for the base. If it feels too close to room temperature, place it into the freezer for a minute or two. Pull your pie plate back out of the fridge, and place your second crust over the filling. At this point, you can seal your crust however you would like. I usually trim the edges and then fold the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp.
Optional: If you want a golden crust (definitely suggested for this recipe!), whisk one egg and use a brush to generously cover your top crust with the egg (I usually wind up using about half of the egg to cover it fully). Then sprinkle with flaky sea salt! You can also at this point take a knife and cut four to six slits into the top pie crust.
You can place the pie into the fridge if you're not ready to bake it yet, or if you're ready - place your pie into a 375 degree oven and bake for 45 minutes until golden and baked fully. I recommend putting your pie dish onto a cookie sheet to catch any pan drippings. Remove your pie and allow it to cool for 20 minutes, slice and enjoy!
It will taste amazing fresh out of the oven, or you can also allow it to fully cool (at least 2 hours, sometimes 3) and then cover with foil and place in the fridge. You’ll know it’s cool when the sides of your pie plate and the bottom is cool to the touch instead of warm. It will stay fresh for at least 4 days and can be reheated in the microwave or oven.
Carb and serving info:
Full pie with homemade crust: 377.5 carbs
Carbs per serving (1 of 8 slices): 47.2 carbs
Carbs per serving (1 of 6 slices): 62.9 carbs
Filling only: 119.5 carbs
Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.
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