Chicken pot pie is a great dish to make with leftover chicken or turkey meat. Once you make a simple sauce with chicken stock that’s thickened with a roux (a flour and butter paste), then you’re on your way to creating an easy meal the whole family will love. This recipe features the traditionally-used vegetables - potatoes, carrots, peas - but go crazy and use what you have in your fridge! Broccoli, kale, leftover Brussels sprouts, and root veggies like sweet potatoes, parsnips and turnips all make lovely additions to a comforting pot pie.
Make one big pie or portion out your filling into individual size ramekins (kids love getting their own special dish!). And, you’re not limited to a pie crust as your topping. Lay on a piece of buttery puff pastry (super simple!) or create a biscuit or dumpling topping with a simple batter using Bisquick, something many of us already have in our pantry.
Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients:
1 store-bought pie crust, slightly thawed (or see crust variations below)
For the Filling:
3 cups chicken stock, divided
1 pound red or new potatoes, cut into cubes
1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) carrots, sliced
2 teaspoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 cup frozen green peas
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°.
To prepare filling, bring 3 cups chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add potatoes and carrots; cook 2 minutes or until tender, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Slowly dust in 1/2 cup flour, whisking as you pour, until a lump-free paste (a roux) has formed. Slowly whisk 1/2 cup of the chicken stock, stirring until the sauce is smooth, then add the remaining stock and stir.
Stir in potato-carrot mixture, onions, chicken, peas, thyme, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat; cool slightly.
Coat a casserole dish (about 1 1/2-quart) with cooking spray, then spoon in chicken vegetable mixture.
Carefully place one slightly thawed pie crust on top, pressing it to the edge of the dish.
Cut 3-5 slits in the top of crust to allow steam to escape.
Gently brush crust with milk (not necessary if using puff pastry) and bake at 400° for 45 minutes or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Variations on crusts:
Puff Pastry: simply lay a sheet of puff pastry over your pie or casserole dish then bake.
Biscuit topping: Mix together 1 cup Bisquick, 1/2 milk and 1 egg until a dough is formed. Pour over chicken mixture, then bake.
Dumpling topping: Skip the baking and simply drop dumplings (2 cups Bisquick, 2/3 cup milk) by the spoonful into your sauce and let them simmer about 10 minutes.
