How to Make the Best Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

The world loves chicken pot pie. It’s no wonder, either. This meal is versatile, easy, and so delicious! You have a flaky crust on top and bottom. Chicken is in the middle, along with your favorite vegetables. Add a creamy sauce to help pull it all together, and send your taste buds to paradise. Chicken pot pie is one of the most popular recipe searches on the Internet. Good thing your search brought you here, for the best-ever chicken pot pie recipe.

Tasty Pastry

We begin by getting our crusts prepared. If you make your own pastry shells, prepare two of them and keep refrigerated. Otherwise, a simple alternative is to buy two refrigerated pie crusts. The important thing to remember is that you want to keep the pastry cold until it is time to use it. That way, it is pliable without getting sticky and will make for a pretty presentation.

Don’t Cry Over Chopped Onions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a 2-quart saucepan, melt 1/3 cup butter over medium heat. While it’s melting, chop 1/3 cup onion. To avoid shedding any tears, run your knife under cold water first. Add onion to the melted butter and stir frequently. Cook until it is tender, about three minutes.

Spice it Up

Once the onion is tender, stir in 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper and poultry seasoning, and 1/4 teaspoon of sage. Once well blended, add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and 3/4 cup milk. Stir in slowly over medium heat. The sauce will get thick and bubbly in about two minutes. When it does, remove the saucepan from heat.

Chicken, Meet Sauce

The beauty of chicken pot pie is that you use the meat you like. Some people only like the white meat. Others prefer dark meat. Even still, others want a mix of both. Whatever your choice, you will want to add 2 1/2 cups of chicken meat, cut into cubes or shredded, to the saucepan. Stir until the chicken is fully covered in sauce.

Your Choice of Vegetables

Another wonderful aspect of chicken pot pie is the versatility of the vegetables you use. They can be from the grocery store or fresh from your garden. They can even be frozen or from a can. This recipe was invented as a way to use all the food you have at your disposal. Furthermore, you should only use the vegetables you like. If peas aren’t your thing, don’t add them! Typical vegetables used include potatoes, corn, carrots, and peas. If you are using fresh potatoes and carrots, or other hearty vegetables, you will want to boil them first to get them tender for around ten minutes.

Invite Your Veggies to the Party

Now it’s time to stir in the vegetables you’ve chosen. Make sure they are all covered with sauce. The typical recipe calls for one cup each of diced potatoes, sliced carrots, corn, and peas. If you’re using substitutions just keep the proportions the same. For instance, make sure to substitute one cup of green beans if you are using those instead of peas. If you want to add more than four vegetables, adjust your proportions accordingly. You don’t want more filling than sauce.

Fill Your Pastry

Now it’s time to get out the pastry shells that have been chilling in the refrigerator. If you made your own, they are probably already in pie pans. If you are using the refrigerated shells, get out a pie pan and line it with one of them. Now, spoon your chicken mixture into it, and then place the second pastry shell over the first, covering it. Press the seams of both shells together so they make a seal.

Presentation Matters

For some reason, food seems to taste better when it looks pretty. Because of that, you are now going to decorate the edges of your pastry shells. You can take a fork and press it down all around the seam of your pastry. Or you can flute the edges. You do this by using your fingers to pinch small sections of dough all around the edges, making a scalloped design. Either way, this little step adds a lot of character to your chicken pot pie.

Almost There

Before you put your chicken pot pie into the preheated oven, cut a few slits on the top pie crust to allow heat and steam to escape. Otherwise, you will end up with a huge mess of exploded chicken pot pie in the oven. How sad that would be! Also, make a ring of aluminum foil that fits like a halo on the pie. This is going to cover the edges of the crust so they don’t get overdone.

Best Ever Chicken Pot Pie

Bake your chicken pot pie for 30 minutes. It should be getting a light golden brown color by now. Take the crust collar you made from aluminum foil and place it on the pie, covering the crust. You don’t want it burning while you finish baking your pie. Bake another ten minutes, or until it is a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven, remove the collar and let it sit for five minutes. Now for the best part – dig in! Your choice of chicken meat, your choice of vegetables, covered in a creamy sauce and surrounded by flaky pie crust. Nirvana for your taste buds!