A hearty, cozy homemade Chicken Pot Pie recipe, with a light and fluffy biscuit layer (and the option to use a traditional pie crust)! Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Ultimate Cozy Comfort Food
There is no other food in the world that can top chicken pot pie when it comes to comfort foods. It’s thick, hearty, so warm and cozy and an entire meal in itself, no side dishes needed.
It’s one of the first foods I remember eating as a kid, I have so many warm memories of my grandmother making a giant batch of chicken pot pie and then sharing it around the table at her house by the wood stove with my cousins (followed by her cream puffs or apple dumplings for dessert!).
I have an old (but delicious) turkey pot pie recipe on the blog, but with sweater weather upon us I thought it was about time I shared a more classic version. Strongly influenced by my grandmother’s recipe, I’ve made a few tweaks. For one I’m using a fluffy, buttery biscuit layer on top (no, this does not make it the same thing as chicken and dumplings!), but of course you can use a traditional pie crust instead (more on that in a bit).
I’m not sure how the weather is where you are, but there’s a chill in the air here and I’m hungry, so let’s get to it.
What You Need
Let’s talk a little bit about the ingredients we’re using:
- Biscuit dough. I’m using a slightly scaled up version of my biscuit recipe. I originally just used the recipe as written but Zach decided he needed more biscuit, so here we are. In a pinch you could substitute one of those tubes of store-bought biscuits (though of course you know I recommend you make them from scratch 😂). See FAQ section below to substitute a traditional pie crust for the biscuits.
- Chicken. You’ll need pre-cooked, shredded chicken for this recipe (it’s great if you have leftovers you need to use!). You can buy and pick a rotisserie chicken or you can prepare the chicken in the slow-cooker or in the instant pot.
- Veggies. I use fresh onion, potatoes (russet are my preference, though just about any would work) and fresh carrots, as well as frozen mixed veggies.
- Butter and flour are used to thicken the sauce (we’re making a simple roux).
- Chicken broth. I prefer low sodium. Vegetable broth would also work.
- Heavy cream. This adds body to the chicken pot pie and a subtle creaminess (without making it too rich). You can use heavy cream, whipping cream, double cream, or even half and half or milk, just keep in mind these will make the sauce a bit thinner.
- Spices: Salt and pepper, I list amounts but always taste-test and adjust as needed, as your chicken or broth may have more or less sodium than mine. Smoked paprika is my secret ingredient for the best flavor (it’s not a traditional pot pie ingredient but it’s so good!), ground mustard, and just a dash of dried thyme
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make It
- Make your biscuit dough first. I keep things easy and make it in a food processor (no pastry cutter needed and everything comes together in 60 seconds flat!).
- Start the chicken pot pie with a simple roux. Melt your butter, sauté your onions, sprinkle the flour into the pot and whisk until smooth (it will be like a paste). I like to add my spices here as well to help amplify the flavor.
- Slowly stir in the chicken broth and cream, add the potatoes and carrots and mixed veggies. Cook the potatoes and carrots until they’re fork-tender, then stir in the shredded chicken.
- Add your biscuits! Remove the pot from the heat, grab your biscuit dough from the fridge, cut them into squares (or be fancy and grab a biscuit cutter) and plop them evenly over the top of the pot pie. Quickly move it into the oven at this point and bake until the biscuits are cooked through.
Tip: When cutting your biscuit dough, always press straight down (whether using a knife or a biscuit cutter) to ensure the biscuits rise straight up rather than leaning.
Bonus: Your whole entire house is going to smell amazing the whole time you’re cooking. Yum.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Store the biscuits and the filling separately for up to 5 days. When ready to bake, cut the biscuits, assemble them on top, and then bake as indicated (you may need several additional minutes in the oven).
Yes! Leftovers freeze well for several months.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Skip the steps in the recipe for making the biscuits and prepare my pie crust instead. Let it chill while you prepare the filling, then roll out the crust and place it over the pot pie, vent the top (a few quick slashes in the surface) then bake as indicated. You can brush with egg wash for a more golden brown crust, or skip this step.
This makes too much filling for a single pie dish unless you have a nice deep one, so I recommend baking in a large pot or dutch oven instead. It may fit in two pie plates, but I haven’t tried it myself to say for sure.
If you opt to go the pie plate route and wish to use pie dough instead, my pie crust can easily be doubled or even quadrupled (in case you wish to do two pie plates with double crusts!).
More Recipes You Might Like
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
For Biscuit Layer¹
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour (333g)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter very cold and cut into 8 pieces
- 1 cup whole milk¹ (236ml) (buttermilk or 2% milk will also work
For Filling
- 5 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced (125g)
- 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (50g)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream (88g)
- 3 cups diced peeled russet potatoes (diced into pieces smaller than 1”) (635 grams)
- 2 chopped carrots
- 3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (325g)
- 3 cups shredded chicken – 440g this is usually one picked rotisserie chicken for me
For Egg Wash (optional)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
Biscuit layer (see note if you would like to use classic pie crust topping)
- Preheat oven to 400F (205C).
- Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in the basin of a food processor². Scatter butter over the top of the mixture and pulse briefly to combine (butter pieces should still be visible, mixture should resemble coarse, pebbly crumbs). Add milk and pulse very briefly until just combined and mixture is clumping together.
- Transfer to a piece of cling wrap and pat into a 1” thick rectangle (flour your hands if the dough is sticky), and then cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until filling is prepared.
Filling
- Melt butter in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat (the pot you choose is the one you’ll be baking your pot pie in, make sure it’s big enough!).
- Add chopped onion and cook until tender and translucent (about 4 minutes.
- Sprinkle onion with with flour and whisk until smooth. Stir in salt, pepper, and spices (paprika, mustard, and thyme) until well-combined.
- Gradually stir in chicken broth and heavy cream. Add potatoes, carrot, and mixed veggies and bring contents to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently until liquid has thickened. Continue to boil until potatoes and carrots are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Remove from heat and stir in chicken. Remove biscuit dough from fridge and cut into 6-8 pieces (you can use a biscuit cutter or just cut the dough into rectangles with a knife).
- Distribute biscuits evenly over the surface of pot pie, leaving a little space between biscuits. If desired, prepare egg wash by whisking together egg and water and use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the biscuits.
- Transfer pot pie to 400F (205C) oven and bake for 25 minutes or until biscuits are beginning to turn a light golden brown (if you skipped the egg wash it will be a bit tougher to tell that they’re done as they stay pale) and cooked through. I’ll usually pierce the side of a biscuit with a knife to make sure it’s not gooey.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Danielle
Another excellent recipe!! I’ve made this about 4 times now and it always turns out great. I use a quadruple batch of your pie crust and the filling fits perfectly in my two 9.5 inch pie dishes.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad the pot pie is such a hit for you, Danielle! Thanks so much for your review–enjoy ❤
Mel
Tried this last night and the whole family loved it, was more of a chicken stew but it was delicious.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you liked it, Mel! Enjoy 😊
Marnie
This was delicious. I made it as written with the exception of using tenderflake biscuits purely as a shortcut. The seasoning is just right and its the first time I made a pot pie without having to add bouillon! I’ve bookmarked this one thank you so much.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy that you like it so much, Marnie! Enjoy 😊
nancy
It came out perfect – just like all your other recipes.
Thank you.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Nancy! Thanks so much for letting us know how you liked the pot pie. We’re so happy to hear it turned out well for you. Enjoy! 🙂
Lanae
I just made the biscuits. (Long story). They are amazing and melt in your mouth! Though I noticed that the ml for the milk amount are for 3/4 cup =177ml. I only noticed because I was comparing your homemade biscuit recipe. I haven’t tried a recipe that I didn’t like of yours. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed everything, Lanae! Thank you for catching that, I will update it now. 🙂
Emily
Delicious!
Marla
This is my second time making it!! First time I had leftover chicken and now I am using leftover Thanksgiving turkey!! The buttermilk biscuits are delicious!! Thank you!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Marla! 🙂
Debby
Awesome Chicken pot pie recipe! I had to be different with the biscuit cutter ~ I used a Chicken shaped cookie cutter! Loved how the chicken shaped biscuits looked and made the dish fun too!
Sam
That sounds so cute! I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Debby! 🙂
Sha
Can this be made into a full pie? Like making double batches of your easy pie crust, blind baking the bottom, filling it with this chicken filling and covering it with the other rolled dough and baking that (if yes, at what temp would you recommend and for how long?)?
Sam
Hi Sha! Yes you can put this in a pie dish with a top and bottom crust. This will make a lot of filling so you will need a really deep pie dish or you’ll need to make 2. I’m not sure how long it would need to bake though.
Sha
Omg I’m so embarrassed! Only now I see that you had already mentioned this above! How did I not notice this yesterday? Sorry for asking something already addressed in the post. I normally would not do that and would even read all the comments first to see if my question had been asked and answered.
So the temp and baking time will be my trial and error, or just the time that I need to keep my eye on but you do have a temp to recommend?
Sam
That’s quite alright. 🙂 The temperature won’t change, just the time. It probably won’t have to bake quite as long. 🙂
Jean walsh
I think cooking the potatoes and carrots partway in advance might be a good idea, I cut mine small but had to add addl c of broth. Otherwise I thought this dish was outstanding.
Sam
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Jean! 🙂
Amy
I want to make this for a new mom…is it possible for me to transfer the chicken pot pie to a baking dish to cook in the oven? I’ll keep the biscuits separate and give cooking instructions (hope this makes sense). 🙂
Sam
Yes that’s totally fine to do (just make sure the baking dish is big enough, of course). What a sweet gesture!
Pamela
Made this for dinner and it was great! It was easy to make, too. The whole family loved it! Definitely will be making this again!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Pamela! 🙂
Anna
Oh my GOSH I am begging my mom to make this tonight. I’m viewing this during class (we have free time) and I have lunch in 15 minutes….now my stomach is growling. Our food processor is not great, can we do by hand instead? Thanks!
Sam
I know you are going to love this one! You can make it without a food processor. I actually have notes listed below the recipe for making the topping by hand. 🙂
Annabel
I completely forgot to leave a rating for this, but I made this for dinner last week and oh my gosh it’s my new favorite food 🙂 delicious
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Annabel! 🙂