By Food Apparel 7 Comments
You know, despite the weather blips, Spring is definitely making its appearance. And it’s about time! This winter just seemed like it would never end. I like winter for about two weeks. It snows, I appreciate its beauty, then I remember how cold it is and I’m ready for a break again. The only thing that consoles me in the winter is hearty meals and hot chocolate.
This Chicken Pot Pie always does the trick. And I actually love it so much that I’ll eat it anytime. A lot of pot pie recipes seem really salty and lacking actual flavor to me, but this recipe uses a great mushroom/onion base that just can’t be beat. And the Parmesan crust is seriously just so flaky and delish. Kudos to Ben for coming up with this one.
If you are not a mushroom fan, see the notes at the end of the recipe for a mushroomless version.
Savory Chicken Pot Pie
A hearty homestyle chicken pot pie with peas and carrots in a mushroom onion sauce and a flaky Parmesan crust.
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3cupsall-purpose flour
- ½tspsalt
- ½tsppepper
- ½cupfresh grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
- 1tspbaking powder
- ½cupcold unsalted butter1 stick, diced
- 4ozcold cream cheese
- ½cupice water
Filling:
- 2whole chicken breastsgrilled and diced
- 3cupschicken stock
- ½cupunsalted butter
- 1/4cupplus 2 tablespoons flour
- 2medium onionsdiced
- 8mushrooms – white or crimini
- 2cupscarrots blanchedand then diced
- 2cupsfrozen peas
- ½cupheavy cream or evaporated milk
- ½bunch parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Crust
Mix flour, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese and baking powder in food processor bowl with a metal blade attachment. Add diced butter and cream cheese and loosely mix to coat the pieces. Pulse the mixture until the crumbs are about the size of peas . Add ice water and process only enough to moisten the dough and have it start forming . (This can also be done with a pastry blender - just break butter and cream into pea sized chunks in the flour mixture. Add water and mix with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball.)
Dump dough onto a floured surface and quickly shape into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
For the Filling
Cook and dice chicken. Set aside.
In deep skillet, melt the butter and sauté the mushrooms and onions over medium-low heat about 10 minutes, until translucent and browning. Turn heat to medium-low. Add flour to make your roux – stirring constantly to prevent lumping. Once well incorporated, add hot chicken stock to mixture, stir to prevent lumping. Once all stock is added, simmer over low for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until thick. Add cream or milk, salt, and pepper to taste. Add chicken, carrots, peas and parsley. Mix until well incorporated.
Assembly:
Put filling into 9x13 deep dish pan or 2 pie pans.
Get dough out of fridge and roll on a floured surface into a rectangle slightly larger than the pan. Brush the outside edges of the pan with egg wash. Place the dough on top and trim the excess, pressing the edges to the inside of the pan. Tip: if there is a thin spot of dough, or a corner that’s not quite to the edge, take your trimmings and fill in where needed.
Generously brush dough with egg wash (this miraculously makes the dough kind of all “melt” together so you can’t even tell where the patchwork was).
Make a few slits in the top of the dough. Place on baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown with hot filling.
Recipe Notes
Dress it Down (Quick n' Easy): If you need something quick for the crust, try a Pepperidge Farm Pastry Puff Sheet. Follow the instructions on the package for thawing (if frozen). Then simply replace it for the dough to top the filling and cook as directed in the recipe. -C Change it Up (Variations/Substitutions): If you don't like mushrooms, take them out and instead peel, chop and parboil a potato. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic and 1 1/2 teaspoons italian seasoning before you add the flour to the onion and butter mixture. -Tam
The following two tabs change content below.
Food Apparel
I'm Christina and I love to eat! And I love to talk about food! And I love to find the best techniques to create the perfect dish. Sometimes I want fancy, sometimes I want quick, and sometimes I just want some comfort. I created the FoodApparel community to celebrate "dressing food for every occasion."
Latest posts by Food Apparel (see all)
- No-Bake Cheesecake Cookie Dip Recipe with Balsamic Drizzle - November 29, 2018
- How to Host a Hot Chocolate Bar - December 5, 2017
- Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili Recipe - September 23, 2017
FAQs
I only gave my pot pie a top crust, because I feel like the bottom crust always gets soggy. If you do want to add a bottom crust, I suggest blind baking it. What does blind baking mean? It's when you bake your pie crust without a filling in order to crisp it up.
What is the sauce made of in chicken pot pie? ›
The sauce in chicken pot pie is typically a gravy. I use a seasoned white gravy made from scratch with flavor-building ingredients, chicken broth, and half-and-half.
How do you keep chicken pot pie crust from getting soggy? ›
How to Prevent a Soggy Bottom Pie Crust
- Blind Bake the Crust.
- Choose the Right Rack in the Oven.
- Brush the Bottom with Corn Syrup or Egg White.
- Put the Pie on a Hot Cookie Sheet.
- Make a Thicker Crust.
- Add a Layer.
- Consider a Metal Pie Pan.
Getting a brown, flaky/crispy bottom crust on your pie is all about quick and effective heat transfer. That's why aluminum or aluminum/steel pans — rather than glass or stoneware — are your best choice for baking pie. Metal, especially aluminum, transfers heat quickly and efficiently from oven to pie crust.
Should I bake the bottom pie crust first? ›
Pre-baking is a must if you're looking for a flaky pie crust. It's especially helpful for recipes with a wet center. Recipes for most tarts, pies, and quiches call for pre-baking to ensure that the final product doesn't end up soggy.
Why is my chicken pot pie bland? ›
Add a little more salt and black pepper. Taste to see if it's less bland. Sauteed garlic and onions in oil also add a good flavor. Try adding a squeeze of lemon juice over the chicken before mixing.
What is the difference between chicken pie and chicken pot pie? ›
In the South, some folks make a distinction between chicken pie and chicken pot pie. Chicken pies, also known as “chicken and pastry,” are the savory versions of fruit pies or cobblers, made with homemade crust and no, or very few, vegetables. Chicken pot pies typically include vegetables and have a top crust only.
Why does my chicken pot pie get watery? ›
A watery potpie may be the result of not cooking the filling for long enough or adding too much liquid to the filling. Another possible reason for the pie being watery is if you add watery vegetables like spinach or green beans to the filling rather than potatoes or carrots, which soak up liquid.
What is the best thickener for pie filling? ›
All-purpose flour is an easy solution, as you're sure to have it in your pantry. Since it's lower in starch, you'll use more of it than you would higher-starch thickeners. Quick-cooking tapioca makes filling bright and clear, but also gives it a stippled and somewhat sticky texture.
How do you thicken chicken pot pie? ›
Stir a tablespoon of cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of cold water and add it to your filling mixture to thicken it.
Chicken pot pie is an all-American comfort food. The most iconic version of it originated in Lancaster, in Pennsylvania Dutch country, but was brought to the United States by European settlers and had its roots in English dishes made from leftovers.
Should I egg wash the bottom pie crust? ›
You've spent time and effort putting the pastry together, so don't sell yourself short by skipping the final step—the egg wash for the pie crust. The truth is that cream and egg washes are a simple but vital step to improving the appearance and flavor of pies and other baked goods.
How do you know when a pot pie is done? ›
Bake on cookie sheet for 30 to 45 minutes. Check that pot pie/empanada is cooked thoroughly. Internal temperature needs to reach 165 degrees F as measured by a food thermometer in several spots. Crust should be golden brown.
Why is my bottom pie crust always soggy? ›
To prevent it, you need to either create a barrier between the wet filling and raw pie dough, or ensure the pie dough browns and sets before the filling has a chance to soak it.
Does chicken pot pie have a bottom? ›
Some pot pie makers choose to ditch the bottom crust and only use a top crust (or a non-crust topping like biscuits). But for a classic pot pie, both a top and bottom crust need to be present.
Do you blind bake the bottom of a chicken pie? ›
I do line the base of the pie with pastry, which is optional – but I love it. You blind bake the pastry slightly to prevent a completely soggy bottom however. The sides of the puff pastry when blind baking may puff slightly, but that is totally okay.
Do meat pies have a bottom crust? ›
According to Oxford English Dictionaries, a pie is defined as "a baked dish of fruit, or meat and vegetables, typically with a top and base of pastry." Merriam-Webster concurs with its first definition — "a meat dish baked with biscuit or pastry crust"—but its second definition provides the most leeway for Berry to, ...
What is the best store bought crust for chicken pot pie? ›
Get a head start with Pillsbury Deep Dish Pie Crusts. These premade crusts can be found in the frozen section of the grocery store. These premade pie crusts brown up evenly in the oven. The result is a tender and flaky crust.
