Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

• 1 package (2 crusts) refrigerated pie dough
• 2 cups cooked, shredded or diced chicken
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, 1 diced onion, 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken or beef broth
• 1/2 cup milk or cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the onion, celery, and any raw protein until softened and lightly browned.
3. Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute, then gradually whisk in the broth and milk until smooth.
4. Add the remaining protein and vegetables, thyme, salt, and pepper, and simmer 8–10 minutes until thickened and the vegetables are tender.
5. Pour the filling into a pie dish or deep baking dish, fit the top crust over it, crimp the edges, and cut a few vents.
6. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles through the vents.
7. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

The Tale of Chicken Pot Pie

Story updated September 19, 2026

Meat baked in pastry is ancient; the Greek artocreas, a meat-and-bread dish, is sometimes cited as an ancestor, though it had no top crust. In medieval England pastry often served as a sturdy container for stewed meat, and colonists carried the tradition to America. Chicken pie appears in Amelia Simmons's American Cookery of 1796, the first cookbook by an American author published in the United States, and chicken pot pie became a hearty farmhouse staple in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Its big leap into American households came in 1951, when Swanson introduced frozen chicken pot pies, a convenience food that rode the frozen-food boom.