The most perfect chicken pot pie recipe, made with lots of chicken and classic vegetables, all surrounded by a creamy sauce and baked under a towering puff pastry crust.
I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with this chicken pot pie recipe this much, but I did, and I genuinely cannot wait for you to try it. It hits all the classic flavors, calls for rotisserie chicken for ease, and skips the double crust for store-bought puff pastry, which means it’s 100% doable for you to make whenever you crave it.
Oh, and everything happens in one skillet, so you won’t even have that many dishes to clean when you are done.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: This recipe calls for cooked chicken. Rotisserie chicken is incredible, or you can use leftover roast chicken. This shredded chicken would be lovely, too.
- Vegetables: We keep things really classic for this recipe, using onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and frozen peas.
- Butter and Flour: You’ll cook the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in the butter, then stir in flour to make a roux. This is what thickens the gravy.
- Stock and Milk: These combine to make our creamy gravy. The butter-and-flour roux helps thicken them. Use your favorite store-bought chicken broth or stock, or homemade chicken broth. The salt levels of broths and stocks vary, so be prepared to season a bit more generously as you cook through the recipe if you have a light- or low-sodium option. I love whole milk for the extra creaminess.
- Sage: Fresh chopped sage gives our sauce a cozy, classic flavor. If you don’t have fresh, you can use dried. We call for 1 tablespoon chopped in the recipe below, which means you’ll want to use 1 teaspoon dried sage.
- Crust: This pot pie is absolutely perfect with store-bought puff pastry. I love Dufour, but it’s not sold in all grocery stores, so use what you have available. If you do have access to Dufour puff pastry, it’s very much worth the extra cost! You can also use one sheet of homemade pie crust, but it will not turn out as puffed.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Our Favorite Chicken Pot Pie
Tip 1: Use a cast-iron skillet. To keep things easy, we make everything for this recipe in our 10-inch cast-iron skillet. You’ll sauté the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic first, make your roux with flour, build the sauce, and fold in the chicken and peas. Then, simply cover it all with a sheet of puff pastry before baking.
If you do not have a cast-iron skillet or yours isn’t the right size, you can make the filling, transfer it to a pie dish, top with the pastry, and then bake.
Tip 2: Make the gravy. All the flavors build for this creamy gravy. After cooking the veggies until soft and sweet, you can add the flour. This will mix with the butter to create your roux, a paste that will help thicken the broth and milk.
After adding the flour, move it around the pan and let it cook for a minute so any raw flour flavor cooks away. Then, pour in the broth slowly. It might look really thick at first, but it thins as you add more. Pour in the milk next and then simmer until reasonably thick. Finally, taste it and season well with salt and pepper. Remember that broths vary with how seasoned they are, so you may need more than you think. Add it slowly and taste each time. If the flavor doesn’t pop, add a bit more until it does.
Tip 3: Make the filling. You can dice or shred the chicken in this recipe. I prefer shredded and love how soft it turns out when added to the pie. Once shredded, carefully fold it into the gravy. The skillet will be at max capacity, so go slow. This is also a good time to add the peas.
Tip 4: Add the crust. This skillet pot pie is made extra easy thanks to store-bought puff pastry. You’ll need to roll the sheet out a little to fit the top (at least 11 inches square). Most puff pastry sheets are sold in rectangles, so you’ll have one longer end. I use the excess to build up the edges so they turn out as shown in our photos.
Tip 5: Add slits and an egg wash. As it bakes in the oven, the middle will get pretty steamy, so you need to add a few slits in the top of the crust to let the moisture escape. Then, before baking, brush over some beaten egg, which turns into that shiny, golden top you see in our photos.
More Classic Chicken Recipes
Easy Chicken Pot Pie
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This skillet chicken pot pie with puff pastry has quickly become one of our favorite chicken recipes on the blog. It’s full of classic ingredients and flavors, but skips the more finicky double crust and pie dish in favor of a cast-iron skillet and store-bought puff pastry. It’s stunning, absolutely delicious, and easy to make whenever you have a craving.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
5 tablespoons butter (70g)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped, about 1 cup chopped
1 large rib celery, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (40g)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or homemade broth (470ml)
1 cup whole milk (235ml)
1 tablespoon chopped sage or 1 teaspoon dried sage
1 cup frozen peas, no need to thaw (135g)
4 cups shredded or diced cooked or rotisserie chicken, 1 pound shredded (450g)
1 sheet store-bought puff pastry, thawed, see tips
1 egg, beaten
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Fine sea salt, to taste
Directions
1Prep: Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Set aside a large baking sheet.
2Cook veggies: In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring in the skillet, until they soften and take on a little color, about 6 minutes.
3Make the gravy: Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables, then stir to form a roux. Cook for 1 minute, then slowly pour in the chicken broth, stirring to prevent lumps. Then stir in the milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer until they thicken into a gravy.
4Finish the filling: Add the sage, peas, and shredded chicken. Season with the pepper and a good pinch of salt. Taste, then adjust with more salt and pepper as needed (we use 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of salt, but it depends on the broth/stock). Cook until the filling is simmering, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 10 minutes while you prepare the pastry.
5Roll out the pastry: Lightly flour a workbench, then unfold the puff pastry. Roll out to a rectangle 11 inches long on both sides (store-bought sheets are usually rectangles, so one side will probably be longer).
6Add the pastry: Carefully lay the puff pastry over the skillet. Trim to an inch or so of the edge, then fold over the pastry to build up the sides. To achieve a thicker edge, cut the trimmed excess dough into strips and press them around the edges.Cut four 2-inch slits in the center of the pie to allow steam to escape, and then brush the top with the beaten egg.
7Bake: Place the baking sheet into the oven, and then place the skillet on top of it, so it catches any overflow. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, turning the skillet once halfway through baking. Look for a nicely golden brown, puffed crust on top. If the pastry starts to get too dark, too early, tent with foil.
8Serve: Remove from the oven, then allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Pie dish instead of skillet: If you do not have a 10-inch cast-iron pan, make the filling in a regular skillet, then transfer it to a deep pie dish or 9-inch baking dish before topping with the pastry and baking. Smaller cast-iron pans are not large enough for the filling.
- Puff pastry: Store-bought puff pastry is sold in the freezer section. The most common is Pepperidge Farm and Dufour. Both work well, but if you have the choice, I love Dufour. You will need to remove a sheet from the package and leave it overnight in the fridge so it thaws. Keep it in the fridge until the pot pie filling is ready, then remove it and roll it out so it fits onto the skillet. The shape will likely be a rectangle, leaving you with one longer end. Trim the excess, and then cut into strips to build up the edges to create an edge of thicker dough around the skillet.
- Storing: Leftover pot pie keeps in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Note: Cooked chicken is best consumed within 4 days total. Be sure to count from when the chicken was first cooked (or bought), not just from when you baked the pie. Cover the skillet with foil or transfer portions to airtight containers.
- Reheating: To keep the crust crisp, reheat in a 350°F oven until heated through (about 20 minutes). If you are in a rush, try this hybrid method: Remove the crust and toast it in the oven (or toaster oven) until crisp. Meanwhile, warm the filling in the microwave. Pop the crust back on top to serve.
- Make-ahead: You can make the filling ahead of time! Let it cool, then refrigerate for up to 2 days (or freeze for up to 3 months). When you are ready to bake, transfer the filling to your dish, top with the crust, and bake. Note: If baking with cold filling, you may need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time.
- The nutrition facts provided are estimates.
Have made this three times. Perfect and delicious every time!
This is the best chicken pot pie recipe I’ve found, and so easy, even my husband was impressed. It makes a nice wintry presentation in the cast iron skillet. Thanks, again, I can always count on your recipes and hints!
We are so happy that you and your husband love the recipe! 🙂
We loved it! We did a 9×13 casserole dish instead of baking in a skillet. Baked for 30 minutes. Tasted like a classic, delicious pot pie! Would make again. Thank you!
You are so welcome! 🙂
I have made this 2 different times and both times everyone loved it and wanted it for left overs the next day.
Made the Easy Chicken Pot Pie in the Lodge cast iron skillet earlier tonight. It took a wee bit longer than the 15 minute preperation time. That’s on me. The finished pot pie was phenomenal! Totally enjoyed the meal with left overs for a lunch and dinner. Thank you for the recipe! Will be making this meal again in the very near future!
That’s wonderful! So happy it worked out well for you.
I didn’t use the milk , added more broth. Used just poultry seasoning, and regular pie crust on top only. Tasty!
Made this Chicken Pot Pie last week and it was absolutely delicious! I have another Chicken Pot Pie recipe and this one was so much better. The sage was lovely in it! Followed the recipe to a T and wouldn’t change a thing! Thanks so much for developing this recipe!!
That’s amazing, Penny! So happy you gave our recipe a try.
Penny, I like how you said “followed to a T”…When I try recipes I want to make as given then make changes if I feel needed, Can hardly wait to try!!
Happy New Year. This recipe sounds easy and I am wondering if I can use your pie pastry over this cast iron pan. I mean the one which you use for apple pie. Thank you, Dina
Hi Dina, Yes, a regular pie crust would work nicely.
OH MY GOODNESS! So good, so easy, and I happened to have all the ingredients on hand which included a Pillsbury sheet of crescent dough in the tube (true confession time!) Perfect complete meal for a blustery Midwest winter day & I loved the tip to reheat the crust separately to get a nice crisp. Repeat today – so yummy!
We are so glad you were able to make it with what you have on hand (that’s the best!). Thanks for coming back, Leslie!
Amazingly good. I did this in a 9×9 porcelain dish (mainly because I was afraid my filling would exceed my pie plate). Lots of leftovers but reheated very nicely in the oven. Will definitely make it again.
Wonderful! 🙂
I had a leftover deep dish pastry pie shell, leftover rotisserie chicken, and a ton of vegetables I was looking to use up. I used this recipe to make my first ever chicken pot pie. It came out delicious! Thank you so much for this easy and delicious recipe!
You are so welcome and we are so happy that you loved it! 🙂
I’ve been looking for a pot pie that is made without cream of… this one looks delicious, and easy. I’m going to print the recipe and give it a go. I’ll use green beans because my daughter doesn’t like pea, ☹️. I’m sure it will still be delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Green beans would be lovely, Karen! Hope you enjoy it.
Easy and delicious!
Amazing, Nancy! So happy you tried our recipe!
Wow! This may have been one of the best recipes I have ever made (and it is stunning to serve). It was so delicious. The fresh sage gave it a perfect flavor. Perfection!!
Wow, Cheryl. That’s so very kind, so thank you for coming back and telling us!
Whenever I use a puff pastry crust, it ends up being quite soggy on the bottom of the crust no matter how brown the top gets. Is that his why you build up the edges to give some spear between crust and the pot pie ingredients? Do you have any other suggestions to get a flaky instead off a soggy crust? Your recipe looks delicious!!! Thank you in advance ce!!
The underside of the crust will always be slightly wet since the filling is so wet. If you’d like it to bake a bit longer, but are worried about over browning the crust, you can tent the top with foil. Or, and this is something I’ve not done, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work… you could cover the filling with foil and bake. Then, on a seperate baking sheet, bake your puff pastry. For serving, you should be able to carefully transfer the crisp pastry to top the pie.
I made this last night. The only change I made was using heavy cream instead of mill. Everything looked wonderful. When I took it out of the oven the filling was Runny. What did I do wrong and what can I do next time🥲
Hmm, is it possible you missed the flour or used less chicken?
I commented on the video, but I’m excited to try this recipe because I roasted a chicken last night and have lots of leftovers. I also have filo in the freezer, so I’ll use that. I used to have a recipe for pot pie using filo but I haven’t been able to find it in ages. Thanks for sharing this!
So happy you found us, Carole. We hope you enjoy the pie and think phyllo would be lovely.
Looks delicious. My husband does not like sage. What could I use as substitute.
Tarragon is really nice, but use about half the amount (it’s pretty strong). Someone else suggested oregano, but again, use less. I also love rosemary/thyme.
A long time ago traveled to the US as an exchange student and during my stay in the MidWest I tried a chicken pot pie. Since then I looked for a recipe that would help me rediscover the flavors and great pleasure of such a pie. With this recipe I succeeded to make it and I love the taste (even on the other side of the ocean). MANY thanks to Adam and Joanne for sharing this!
Hi Chris! We are so happy you found our recipe and that it worked so well for you! Thank you for coming back and letting us know.
I haven’t tried recipe as yet.. but I will definitely be trying it.. looks amazing
Wonderful! Let us know what you think once you do!
This easy chicken pot pie is DELICIOUS!!! And the puff pastry is inspired (no pun intended). Lighter and flakier than pie crust. Thank you both for a wonderful recipe which is now going into my ‘make all the time’ folder. It’s a new family favorite.
Wow, Sue! Thank you so much for coming back and letting us know!
Fantastic! Perfect ingredients. I thought that having sage be the only seasoning other than salt and peppper, the pot pie wouldn’t be flavorful enough. But I trusted the recipe and it was just right! I would not change a thing. It was soooooo delicious!!
We are thrilled you loved it! 🙂
Can’t wait to try these easy recipes
Yay! We are thrilled you’ve found us.
My family loves pot pies. I’ve been looking for a good, healthy chicken version. Can’t wait to try youre with puff pastry. It sounds great! I may even try this with my leftover Thanksgiving turkey that’s in the freezer.
This pie with leftover turkey would be delicious! 🙂
Simple and delicious. This is the kind of recipe I am looking for.
Excellent! So happy you found us.