Chicken pot pie should not be a daunting task reserved for wintry nights. This pot pie recipe was born out of necessity – midweek, no meat defrosted, with very few ingredients on-hand, and several hangry family members. It’s likely that you already have everything needed in your fridge (and freezer!) to make this incredibly easy, delicious, foolproof chicken pot pie.
Quick & Easy Chicken Pot Pie
This chicken pot pie is extremely easy to make. I tend to make it on nights where I've forgotten to defrost meat for dinner. Start with frozen thighs and pre-made puff pastry, end up with an incredibly savory, cozy, heartwarming entree.
Servings: 4 people
Equipment
- Instant pot pressure cooker
Ingredients
Chicken thighs
- 5-6 frozen chicken thighs boneless, skinless
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon, roasted chicken flavor subs: chicken stock/broth, or any other chicken bouillon
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- seasoning of your choice Mrs. Dash, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, etc.
Pot pie filling
- 1 small onion small dice
- 1 large carrot medium dice
- 3 celery stalks medium dice
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 coup flour
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon, roasted chicken flavor subs: chicken stock/broth, or any other chicken bouillon
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup peas optional
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- salt & pepper to taste
Puff pastry top
- 1 sheet premade frozen puff pastry, thawed Pepperidge Farm
- 1 egg, whisked
Instructions
Cook chicken thighs
- Season chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and seasoning of your choice.
- Set Instant Pot to Sautee (high). Add 1 cup water and 1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon. Stir together.
- Add chicken thighs to Instant Pot. Set to Manual (high pressure) for 12 minutes. Natural release 15 minutes.
- Shred chicken thighs with two forks. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400°F
Make pot pie sauce
- In a heavy-bottom braising pan or dutch oven, melt the butter on medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, and onion. Sweat for 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, heat 2 cups of water. Stir in 2 tbsp chicken Better Than Bouillon.
- Add flour, stir constantly for 5 minutes. Slowly stir in chicken broth (from the previous step) and milk. Heat til thickened, stirring occasionally (7 minutes).
- Once sauce has thickened, fold in shredded chicken thighs. Remove from heat.
Assemble and bake
- Pour pot pie sauce and chicken mixture into the container of your choice (I use a 9x13 baking dish).
- Cover with puff pastry sheet. Brush puff pastry with a light wash of the whisked egg.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Notes
Since this pie doesn't have a bottom crust, I sometimes like to bake extra puff pastry sticks to sop up all that sauce.
If you have an extra puff pastry sheet and would like to make puff pastry sticks...
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Slice your extra puff pastry sheet into 6-8 long pieces
- Brush with egg wash
- (OPTIONAL) Top with parmesan and fresh cracked black pepper
- Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown