“No kitty, that’s my pot pie!”
People, if I were savvy enough to know how to insert a voice recording of Alex doing his Cartman voice, or savvy enough to convince him to let me record it in the first place, I think we could safely say that Alex could quit his day job (hey, it’s all the rage). His impression is impeccable.
I got to hear it at least six times this week, which alone was enough reason for making Ina Garten’s Un-freaking-believable Chicken Pot Pies for dinner last night. I don’t think calling this recipe a “hit” even halfway does it justice. They are fantastic, transcendent. Lumped in a toasty category with Chicken and Dumplings, they were so good that I almost wished it was 20 degrees colder–an absolute sacrilege in a place that has the nerve to stay winter-like through May–when this recipe will be no doubt dusted off again.
And again.
A new chicken pot pie: Six years later, I decided it was time for a new chicken pot pie. The new one use a small fraction of the butter and steps, plus my favorite ridiculously flaky crust, all cooked in one big pot, to yield my new platonic ideal of pot pie. Check it out here.
One year ago: Creamy White Polenta with Mushrooms
All Thanksgiving, All the Time: Look there, over yonder! [Points to the left sidebar.] Hey, I know what you’re really here for–you want Thanksgiving recipes, and you want them now. Of course, what my families eat on Thanksgiving (shrimp cocktail, anyone? caviar and crepes?) and what yours may are likely entirely different. Nevertheless, I have rounded up dozens of more traditional appetizers, sides and desserts that would be welcome at any gathering in the Thanksgiving index. Still stumped? Check out the pages Apple, Pumpkin and Squash and Soup topic indexes. Even stumped after that? Just Search (upper left, right under the logo) to find any recipe on this site by keyword.
Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from Ina Garten
3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on (we used 2 whole/4 split large ones; worked fine)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 chicken bouillon cubes (if you, like us, use Better than Bouillon, the exchange is 4 teaspoons)
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions (apparently, Birds Eye sells these; I’ve never found them and peeled fresh ones), blanched for 2 minutes (can do this with the carrots)
Glug of sherry (optional)
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
For the pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks or 1/2 pound or 8 ounces) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken. (We did this a day in advance.)
In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions, parsley and a glug of sherry, if you’re using it. Mix well. Adjust seasonings to taste.
For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. (This can also be made a day or more in advance.)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.
Hmmm am I going to be the first one to comment? Wow.
‘Cos I didn’t like Ina’s recipe at all. I made it a few years ago. No one liked it – 4 adults and 1 kid.
But it sure looks pretty ;-)
“Oh my God, they killed Kenny!” That’s my favorite line to hear, so if you could get Alex on that, it’d be great.
Pot pies look good, too.
1 1/2 sticks of butter just for the filling?! Really? That’s frightening, in a delicious sort of way.
If I can’t make the pastry from scratch, due to time constraints, NOT ineptitude, could I use puff pastry instead? This looks fabulous!
This looks absolutely AMAZING. You have managed to make my mouth water and my stomach rumble at midnight. I wonder if my roommates would mind if I threw myself into a pot pie-making frenzy that lasted until morning. I guess there’s only one way to find out… :)
I love chicken Pot Pies and I featured a recipe on my blog. You did such a great job & this looks amazingly good. I love the pictures. I’ll like to taste it.
Oh, this is so right up my alley. Comfort food at its finest.
Your photos look great, but I, too, tried this recipe in my quest for The Ultimate Pot Pie, and no one at my house was impressed, either. I was looking for a creamier version, though. Once I found an old, old Fanny Farmer cookbook, my search was over. It probably makes less than yours– I use four mid-size individual crocks. Regular 2-crust pie crust, but 2 cups of broth and 1 cup of cream, thickened with a roux of 4-5 T butter/flour. I use the tiny frozen onions, too, plus carrots and peas, and cheat by microwaving the veggies all together in a steamer. Meh, no one is the wiser.
My husband would literally trade our firstborn for the FF chicken pot pie. I made it on Saturday, and am seriously thinking of doing it again tomorrow. SO GOOD.
I haven’t seen the frozen pearl onions here in Oregon, but I don’t like them so I haven’t really been looking. They tend to come in a box, like some frozen spinach, in both creamed and un-creamed varieties [creamed pearl onions were a (vile) staple at holiday dinners of my New England childhood]
I bought them in Portland at Trader Joe’s, frozen in a bag. I’ve seen them in other states at Trader Joe’s, so if interested I suggest trying there.
For those of you fortunate enough to have a Trader Joe’s close by, they carry the frozen pearl onions. (They were also tasting the most incredible chocolate praline tart today . . .)
You know, your organizational skills are fierce. :o) I love how you have all the recipes divided up and so accessible! Thanks!
You know, if I DIDN’T have two very small children, and WASN’T trying to lose 20 pounds of baby weight this would be on the dinner rotation immediately! It looks amazing. (Oh, and if my nursing baby DIDN’T scream for hours whenever I eat dairy products. Sad.) Definitely on my “cook later, for sure!” list.
This looks so delicious, I wish I had seen it before going out to purchase a midnight copy of the new WoW expansion so I could make these while the game installs. Will definitely be trying them soon.
This is so close to the way I make my Chicken Pot Pie that I can safely say I know it’s outstanding. It is my cold weather favorite too. I prefer the more stocky liquid than one too rich in cream. I add some celery and diced potatoes to mine along with the others. I haven’t added sherry though, but will give it a try next time. It’ll be nice to have a formal recipe to keep! Thanks, Deb.
I just wanted to tell you that I truly appreciate the beautiful posts you have been putting up. I adore your blog. Chicken Pot Pie would really hit the spot right now.
wow looks yummy :-) i love chicken and mushroom :)
Well, I’m amazed. For once, I actually have all the ingredients that are required in the house. Well, except for the frozen small onions. But I have the fresh ones! I even have the heavy cream-I’m making your tomato soup tonight-but again, I’d like to use soy milk. Generally, can soy milk be substituted? I know it won’t taste exactly the same, but roughly? Should I add something to recipes when I substitute it in? Also, can these be frozen? If so, they really are perfect.
By the way, cooking recipes from here has (probably falsely, but oh well) given me a new sense of confidence in my abilities to cook. I might just be following instructions, but I can do that! To the point where I’d be willing to make this recipe despite the dough. So thank you!
I LOVE chicken pot pie! Your’s looks sooooooooooooo delicious! :)
this looks fantastic, not very healthy with all that butter, but I guess pot pie isn’t supposed to be healthy. :)
I’m forever eating frozen pot pie (gasp!) for dinner. Thanks for inspiring me to get off my lazy bum and try this one!
I make Ina’s chicken stew with biscuits, which looks to be almost the same recipe but with the fluffiest biscuits ever. The only thing I change in that recipe is to replace the pearl onions with some more chopped onion. The pearls are just to oniony for my taste. Anyway, since I think it’s pretty much the same filling, I can say that it is so creamy, so delicious. The perfect winter comfort food. Of course, it’s only for special occasions, with all that butter and cream, but totally worth it!
I have to second Amy’s comment about Ina’s chicken stew and biscuits…YUM! And her pot pie, YUM as well! I live in the Boston area and have seen the frozen pearl onions, but I don’t care for onions, so I leave that out and add more carrots/peas. I will give it a tad of onion flavor with dried minced onion…that I can handle!
I have to admit, please NO SCORN!, I always roast chicken the Ina way, and I eat the skin….I know…bad bad bad! HAHAHA, but it gets crispy and I can’t help myself!
I always love reading your blog! It’s fantastic!
I love Ina Garten! I’m so glad she’s on instead of Rachel Ray at 5pm on Food Network now.
She was on a Boston radio show yesterday (an NPR station):
http://www.here-now.org/shows/2008/11/20081112_19.asp
it was a good listen :)
This comfort food recipe looks gorgeous!
Ok, apparently i’m the only one having some trouble understanding this recipe, maybe it’s because it’s the first time i’ve heard of such a thing as chicken pot pie! It sounds so amazing, i want to do it, but … i don’t understand a couple of things: do you put some dough also on the bottom of the oveproof molds and if not, how in earth do you transfer them to the plate with the top doughy side staying on top? Help, please, i so want to do this. :)
Mmmm…. Ina’s Chicken Stew with Biscuits is a winter favorite at our house, for sure. My husband all but begs for it. YUM!
Just have to say how much I love your blog! For me, reading about cooking is far more enjoyable than the actual act of–but then, of course…there’s nothing to eat!!! I’m also a huge Ina fan–her recipes have never failed me. Just met her at a book signing this week, and she couldn’t have been more lovely!
Same question – can it be frozen? Suggestions?
I love Ina’s recipe’s and this looks like it won’t disappoint. Can’t wait to try it!
I start craving chicken pot pie this time of year and this one looks like a winner. I make a cornmeal crust on mine.
Deb,
Why the bouillon cubes? For saltiness?
I have never been a fan of pot pies, because they are always too gluey.
But I will trust you and INA (who I love), and will make this for a cold winter night.
It’s on my list.
Thanks for posting.
Stacey
Stacey — I am pretty sure that the bouillon is for an extra chicken flavor.
Btw, I use Better than Bouillon for both my stock and bouillon cubes. To get the equivalent amount of broth and bouillon impact, we used 3 tablespoons or 9 teaspoons of it dissolved in 5 cups of water. (1 teaspoon for each of the 5 cups of broth, plus four additional ones, as one is equivalent to half a cube.)
Debby, Katie — I haven’t frozen this recipe. I am not sure if it would freeze as well in pie format as a double-crust pie, as it is not as well sealed up. Instead, I would probably freeze the filling and the lid dough separately, rolled out and separated by either parchment/waxed paper or plastic wrap and assemble it before baking.
Debby — I have never worked with soy milk, but since the cream in this recipe adds, well, creaminess and not thickness (that comes from the butter and flour) I don’t see why it couldn’t be swapped out.
Mary — I don’t see why puffed pastry wouldn’t work.
Huferka — You just put the dough on top. You transfer them to the oven (or in our case, a baking sheet) carefully. The egg wash you brush around the bowl rim glues the lid into place as it bakes very well.
I made this recipe last week as well. Perfection! Also, I see you used the fresh onions, in stead of frozen. Kudos to you for that.
“No, kitty! It’s a bad kitty!!”
That pot pie looks pretty great, especially when you combine it with the grey, cloudy, windy day outside. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever made a pot pie! I’ll have to get cracking.
I made this recipe last winter several times, and it was amazing! I don’t know why some people didn’t have luck with it, as it totally knocked my family’s socks off. The filling was so tempting and delicious, I was full before it was time to eat. I just couldn’t keep my spoon out of the filling!
However I also reduced the amount of chicken, and after the first time, I left out the pearl onions and just used the chopped ones. I am not a fan of chunks of onions, and the sauce had plenty of onion in it for me.
I even bought those ridiculously expensive bowls that she uses on her show – there is just something about serving it in those bowls! :)
I only used fresh ones because I couldn’t find frozen. I am so tired of peeling pearl onions. There, I said it.
I forgot to edit the recipe to say that I would actually blanch the pearl onions for a couple minutes (with the carrots, even) before putting them in the pie filling. Mine were on the large side, but still, not all of them got cooked through. Will edit that in now.
OH MY GOD. THIS LOOKS SO DELICIOUS. I have been inactively looking for a great pot pie recipe… and you just hit the nail on the head. You have a knack for that!
Deb– In all your spare time, might you be willing to put together a list of your favorite cookbooks? I am always looking for new cookbooks, especially as gift ideas with the holidays approaching. Your blog is my ABSOLUTE favorite (little bit of flattery there to encourage you, but seriously) and I’d love to get your take on the genre. Purty Pleeease?
Oh how I love the Barefoot Contessa! I’ve seen the episode where she makes these a few times and I can’t wait to try them. Do you think I could add potatoes? I’m hungry now!
So many of Ina Garten’s recipes are, as you, say, “un-freaking-believable”. (Although in our house she’s usually regarded as “fan-friggin’-tastic”.)
When I haven’t made something before and I need a sure-fire recipe that I know will work as described without improvisation or last-minute fixes and completely wow everyone at the table, I reach for an Ina cookbook.
Her recipes aren’t for everyday – they’re typically loaded with butter – but if you’re making pot pie, you might as well go for it, right?
Thanks for reminding me of this recipe. We’ve got a cold front coming to hot Texas and this would be perfect!
Oooh, that looks great. I made a chicken pot pie once three years ago from a recipe that a coworker copied and brought in for me…from somewhere. It had cheddar cheese in the crust. Talk about decadent, oof!
Just in time! I am roasting a rather large chicken, for my rather small family, this weekend. What a perfect solution for leftovers. Plus, I am a huge fan of dark meat in my pot pies…
Just one question – does this really serve just 4? That’s a lot of fat! Glad I use butter and cream from raw milk. It may be fantasy, but I like living under the delusion that the fat (lots o’ Omega 3s) from 100% grass fed cows won’t kill me nearly as quickly as the fat from commercial cows. ;-)
Ooh yummy! I do a chicken pot pie and use puff pastry on the top because it’s just so convenient after a day at work. It makes a fluffy golden brown top that reminds me of a popover.
I love chicken pot pie, it’s an all time favorite of mine. Of course when I saw this was Ina’s recipe, I knew my husband would never let me make it, since she doesn’t skimp on the cream or butter. I made her chicken and biscuits once, divine, but SO rich!
Deb—This looks and sounds so wonderfully comforting. And I’m glad you guys like Better Than Bouillon. We always have it around, particularly the mushroom base. Have you tried that one yet? It adds a nice mushroomy earthiness to dishes.
mwahaha. Now I’ll have the Cartman voice in my head all day. You want cheesy poufs with that?
I gotta say…this looks fab, but I’ve had nothing but success every time I’ve made the ATK/CI chx pot pie recipe, even though I -always- screw up the crust-to-pan transfer. I think I know what my next menu will include though =D
While this may be sacrilegious, I can say that if you use frozen puff pastry as the crust it turns out pretty solid. But if you have time to make the real deal it is obviously better.
What a great recipe. Tyler Florence also makes a DARN good pot pie. I wonder who would win in a Iron Chef throw down between Ina and Tyler…
Cheers,
Nick
wow, what a glut of onions. But chicken potpie sounds really, really good. Minus about half or even 2/3 the onions and all the frozen peas . . . :-) I may have to make some soon, now that I have a base recipe I can use.
Last Thanksgiving we had a turkey AND a ham, not to mention a whole bunch of side dishes including a challah bread and pie that I made myself! ^.^ Who knows if this Thanksgiving will be as huge. Mom’s leaving to go to Mozambique in Africa for two weeks the day after, so we may keep it small.
OK Deb, this is just cruel… I LOVE chicken pot pies – absolutely adore chicken pot pies… But I can’t have this as I am on a liquid diet – have a medical procedure scheduled for tomorrow and can’t eat real food for another 32 hours+ or so… SO SAD!!!
If you dont have a food processor for the pastry, can you just use a pastry cutter?
I finally made the fabulous Chicken and Dumplings the other day — so unbelievably good! Can’t wait to try this pot pie!
Hi Brooke — I actually always make my crusts with the pastry blender by hand (which I BROKE making this one; just before Thanksgiving! terrible timing…). I get more into my technique here, but in general, just find that the piece of butter stay larger when done by hand. Also, less dishes.
This is a GREAT recipe to use up Turkey leftovers with!!
Ok seriously — 3.5 sticks of butter in the recipe for four servings? No doubt this looks incredibly delicious, but am I the only one that finds that idea a little obscene?
Oh, how I look forward to fall and winter when I can make Ina’s chicken pot pie. I love how easy it is and my family LOVES how good it is. When pressed for time, I cheat and use a puff pastry for the top. Delish!
Hi Emily. Personally, I have reduced the amount of butter in the recipe thinking the same thing ( shades of Paula Deen), with just as much success. Give it a go! You’ll be happy you did.
I have made Ina’s Veggie Pot Pies which are amazing, so I’ll definitly try the chicken. Nothing better when it’s cold out!
Deb, is there any way to adapt it to make a larger sized pot pie? i don’t have any of the individual baking dishes yet.
The recipe I use for pot pie has celery seeds in the pastry, that’s my favorite part!
that crust looks perfect!
Sounds and looks divine!! My boyfriend is veg so I usually just make veggie pot pie. But this looks too comforting to pass up!!
yum! pot pie is pure comfort.
and southpark is pure laughs. you didn’t have to insert alex’s impression…i was able to conjure up the voice from memory…thanks to my best friend and her husband.
hmm. i’ve been a steadfast fan of martha’s pot pie from the Comfort Foods book, but i may have to branch out because you make this one sound like heaven!
I am a huge Ina fan.
I will have to give these a try. I think I have made pot pies for my kids before I received luke-warm reception, but one can keep trying, right?
Clearly we have reached comfort food season.
Oh yummy – we make ours about the same way, except I put cheese in my crust!
Great site!
Thankyou – thankyou – thankyou for quoting South Park. It is quite possibly the best sentiment for such a lovely pot pie! It looks amazing.
Oh goodness. I want, I need, I must have this for dinner tonight. I LOOOOOOVE pearl onions. Usually I reserve them for stews (because peeling all those little buggers really takes it outta me) but this sounds excellent. Must try.
If I didn’t want to use the cream in the filling (squicks me out), could I substitute white wine? Would I need to put some cornstarch for it to thicken? Thanks!
After making her caramelized shallots, I am beginning to think, perhaps a little late on this, that Ina is some kind of buttery genius.
Question: How many servings does this make? I’m just looking at the 3 1/2 sticks of butter and thinking…is that like almost a stick of butter per serving?? It does look delicious, though…
Re, substitutions: I have only made the recipe as directed above, deemed it perfect and haven’t tried to swap ingredients. If you do, please let us know how it turns out so your experience can advise others.
The recipe makes four large servings, but can make smaller ones depending on how many bowls you divide it among. I found my 1/4-recipe bowl to be too much food for me, but nobody else in the room agreed.
Mmmmmm. That looks good. I wish I had some right now! I’m hungry!
i LURVE pot pies. if you haven’t already treid it, i suggest making the chicken cobbler from the Jimtown Store Cookbook. it’s like chicken pot pie, but with a buttermilk cheddar biscuit crust. i’m making it this weekend in fact!
I just pulled one of these suckers out the freezer and DEVOURED it yesterday for lunch. I’ve been using this recipe (with minor veggie subtitutions) for years and its made me a legend among my friends. Yum, yum, YUM!
Your pics are making my stomach growl!
that crust is always, always the best part.
Do you think I could make the chicken/veggie filling the day before and just refrigerate until I’m ready to stuff the pie? I’m imagining that perhaps I’d have to bake it longer if I wanted to go this route?
I’m thinking that this could be a easy-to-assemble meal on a work night if I can do most of the prep the day before. Thoughts?
i made these when i saw her make them on TV about a two years ago – AMAZING. You really do have to follow this recipe to the letter to get these results. I have made it a few more times, trying a short cut here and there, and it just wasn’t the same.
Christina H.-
I’ve made the filling the day before. It only takes a tiny bit more time in the oven. Or, you could heat the filling a bit before you assemble the pie. That way, you don’t have to worry about the crust getting too done before the filling is nice and hot.
Anything with this much butter just HAS to be good! I remember the episode of her show where she made this and drooling the entire time…..it looks just as appetizing here!
for Huferka, the pot pies are eaten right out of the “molds” or casseroles. No need to try to remove them from their container and try to plate them. I always cut back on the butter in the filling and it’s just fine. I also add some rosemary or other herbs I have handy.
I’m vaguely confused by the notion of all that cream and butter in the filling, although I’m sure it’s tasty.
I’m also vaguely confused by the notion of starting with uncooked chicken for a pot pie. In my world, the pot pie, like shepherd’s pie and chicken soup, is a yummy way to make use of leftovers, including leftover gravy and stock. And I’ve never had complaint.
These look delicious, except for the wee fact that there’s no bottom crust. I have yet to find a pot pie recipe with a bottom crust — surely because it will just get soggy, but I love soggy pot pie crust! I might try these with a bottom crust just to see what happens (if I do I’ll report back).
I see no reason why you cannot double the dough to make a bottom crust as well.
As for the chicken, it is supposed to be “cooked through”. However, I do see why you cannot swap out any leftover cooked chicken you have on hand.
Recipe request!!! Please pretty please make Pasta Bolognese next? I’ve made so many of your recipes after reading them here (my hips hate you). But I’m dying for a really great bolognese recipe.
Just sent this to my sister…I suspect we will be eating it when she gets home from college…so beautiful. so delicious.
would you consider this idiot-proof? are there any really tricky steps? I’m more of a baker, see…
Hi Deb. I have a small request: I was looking at the spinach quiche recipe (which is wonderful!), and I clicked on the link to Martha’s site, and the page had moved. This wouldn’t be a big deal, but for some reason your link text’s formatting got a bit messed up (you know, when it decides to add capital “A”s and &@ in the middle of words?), and…well…I don’t know what Martha calls that crust to search her site! This is so trivial, I know, but I was hoping to make this quiche for my in-laws this weekend, and I’d love to know how to make that dough. Thanks in advance for any help.
3 1/2 STICKS OF BUTTER FOR 4 SERVINGS? 700 calories JUST FROM THE BUTTER?! I think I’ll pass on this one!
It looks very watery inside? Or am I just mistaken from the picture? I would prefer a creamier filling than what’s shown there…….Maybe the frozen pearl onions let off too much water when baking?
Nothing beats hot chicken pot pie in the fall! A little cornstarch might help if the filling is too watery because of all the vegetables.
I’ve made a different recipe that calls for white wine or sherry and milk and far (far!) less butter. I’ve added other veggies that I’ve had in the fridge, such as mushrooms and asparagus (my boyfriend was a little weirded out) and have never had a problem freezing the filling and using it later or just eating it like a chicken stew.
Perhaps it’s the type that has a “gluey” filling but we liked it just fine, and I tend to think that recipes for things like this (and soups) are more of a guide.
MMMMM…I made this last night for dinner and thought it was one of the best things EVER! I was just thinking last week that I would like to make a chicken pot pie (I never have before) and them lo and behold smitten kitchen (my fav food blog) puts one up. So the same day I saw it, I made it!
I made quite a bit of short cuts, didnt blanch the carrots, left out the pearl onions, and cut up the raw chicken in tiny pieces before putting them in the oven to cook quickly. Also, I dont believe I let the dough sit a full 30 min. (just as long as it took me to wash the dishes) and I only cooked it for 40 min. or so.
I also healthified it as much as possible by using all whole wheat flour in the filling and a lot less butter with a little bit olive oil. I used half and half instead of heavy cream. In the pastry I used half whole wheat and half all purpose flour…..
and you know what……….it was still DELICIOUS!!! I think I could eat it every night for dinner.
the Barefoot Bloggers group (www.barefootbloggers.wordpress.com) made Ina’s veggie pot pies recently – they were a huge hit amongst the group. i think the two recipes are very similar so i know exactly what you mean about them being so incredibly good! beautiful job photographing such bland-colored food!
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times and have always baked it in a large lasagna pan…I’m sure a 9×13 would work as well….
It’s really yummy. Even though I am a big onion fan, I might not use quite as many pearl onions or maybe cut them up a bit so they weren’t so much in a mouthful next time.
Love that Ina….and her butter:)
the pictures are great but, it really looks like chicken soup with a crust! where’s the gravy? very thin looking sauce. i’ve been making chicken pot pie for over thirty years and mine has a thicker gravy that is mixed with all the goodies inside of the pie. home made crust thats easy enough for anybody. they’re always asking for more. no complaints.
I rarely check your site, but of course the one time I do you pick one of my favorite foods (chicken pot pie) and then have the audacity to misspell sacrilege.
Much love,
Daniel
Gasp! My editors are totally fired. (Want the job?) Also, you should have come over; I couldn’t finish mine and Molly and Angs mocked me.
Deb! If you ever feel the need to find a midpoint recipe between your lovely chicken and biscuits and the Ina Garten pot pie I must recommend one of my favorite recipes: Rick Bayless’s Chicken Biscuit Pot Pie. It is my hands down favorite.
The recipe is in the very awesome cookbook “Rick and Lanie’s Excellent Kitchen Adventures.” Picture this: An herb-infused pot pie base topped with golden peppered flaky biscuits. The potpie fillings wells up between the cracks as you take it from the oven. As you eat the top remains crackly, and the bottom becomes infused with pot pie goodness. Oh and did I mention this recipe is from a “kids” cookbook. Execution is super easy.
You can never have enough excuses to cook delicious things…and look into new cookbooks.
Impressive!
This was great! Five Forks :) Was it just me, or did it taste a lot like the Marie Callendar’s Chicken Pot Pie? Is it sacrilegious to say that? Caveat – I had to modify stuff to make it gluten-free, and my crust experiment was only so-so (next time less starch, more flour, hand-done instead of in the food processor), but otherwise it was great!
I subbed sweet rice flour cup-for-cup for the flour in the roux, and it was too thick. I ended up having to add about three/four more cups of stock to get it to a thinner consistency (lucky I bought that extra box), so I had a TON of filling. We ended up making four individual bowls, plus an entire casserole dish of it. Next time I’ll probably cut the recipe in half, since there are only two of us.
We love chicken and turkey pot pies in the winter (okay when ever it actually gets cold enough and I have time enough to make them). Always the double crust type and the crust is the main draw of a pot pie when it has all that yummy gravy on it. I’ve made it with both soy milk and without milk of any type during the time when our house was dairy-free, and both worked well. If I’m not using milk, I prefer using broth as a substitute since the flavor is better.
This recipe is my go-to recipe for chicken pot pie, chicken stew and biscuits, chicken and noodles, chicken and dumplings. I’m thinking about adding mushrooms for chicken a la king. The only thing that changes is the starch I serve with it! I use chopped onions instead of pearl onions partly because pearl onions are hard to find and partly because I have a family member who won’t eat onions if she can see them. I chop them very fine and they disappear as they cook.
I LOVE Ina! Her recipes never fail me. I can’t say her cookbooks are the only ones I use, but I do use them more frequently than most others. I’m smitten with Ina!
I just made this and it is wonderful. I didn’t think it would be so rich and flavorful, having made chicken pot pie before. But once again, Deb, you made it seem so do-able. I think that Ina should give you a commission. My husband is a huge pot pie lover but I never got the recipe quite right. I didn’t use all breast but now see how one would. Baking it for 35 minutes makes it moist and juicy (I used to boil–duh). I bought a whole chicken and threw in the dark meat as well to make up for the rest. I do think that the butter helps and I only used one stick and the rest was with olive oil to make me think that it was a bit healthier. Also, I cheated by using the frozen puff pastry that I had since last year. Easy and delicious. Thanks again Deb.
This was fabulous! I used chopped onion instead of pearl and added potatoes. I forgot to add the sherry (even though I had put it right by the stove), but that didn’t seem to matter. I also used one large baking dish rather than individual ones. I’ve tried making recipes like this before, and they have always failed — thanks for a marvelous recipe.
It’s me again…this chicken pot pie reminds me of those I ate when I was a child — only it’s better. When I was a little girl and my mother and I went shopping in the next town, we always went to a cafeteria for lunch and I always had chicken and dumplings. The chicken stew was served in a soup bowl with one big dumpling on top. I could never make it like I remembered it until I used this recipe with the dumplings. It is a winter time favorite for me and the rest of my family.
anyone have an opinion on how this recipe would be with left-over Thanksgiving turkey used in place of the roasted chicken?
thanks!
For all those who think the onion flavor is too strong, you may want to substitute chopped leeks instead. I always use leeks in my chicken pot pie recipe and it contributes a nice mild onion flavor.
I made it last night! Couldn’t get it out of my head. I can’t help but simplify because I’m lazy & cheap. Anyway, I used 1 less c of broth & left the cream out (er, forgot it); it ended up a perfect creamy base. Also it may have helped that the only pearl onions I could find (besides fresh) were frozen in a cream sauce which I partly thawed. I also used a pre-made & rolled out dough which was served fine but definitely homemade would be far superior. Also, it was the perfect amount (as made) for a 9×13 dish. I can’t wait to try with other veggies/meat. Thanks!
I made these on Sunday and what can I say? They were wonderful! The pastry was flaky and flavorful and the filling was perfect. I didn’t have small wole onions on hand and didn’t miss them at all in the finished product.
I’ll be using this pastry recipe in place of my old standby for all my pies in the future.
Your blog has become my favorite cookbook!
Hi, Deb! First of all, thank you for your kind reply, second of all: i made this pot today and we loved it! :) True, my boyfriend and i only managed to eat one pot together, two spoons, one pot, and we mmmm-ed our way through it. Thank you for a great recipe! :)
After blanching at the amount of butter, I checked my supplies b/c I was NOT going to the store, and dove in.
I had to sub celery for the pearl onions (yum!), and I used leftover chopped chicken from a whole roast chicken I had in the fridge (dinner three nights ago). I thought this was an excellent recipe for leftovers! Probably how it came about to begin with, like shepherd’s pie.
I did not have four crocks the same size, so I used a hodge-podge of sizes, including small ramekins for the kiddo. Since it was just the two of us for dinner, I only baked one ramekin and one medium-sized bowl and froze the rest. I placed them fully assembled on a cookie sheet to freeze solid and will place them bowl and all inside ziploc bags. They won’t have to survive long in the freezer b/c we plan to eat them! But I will let you know how it works.
Also, I had a lot of dough left over even after covering six or seven bowls. So I just stuck it in the freezer to use for something else. Not sure why I had so much as I followed the recipe exactly.
The pies we ate last night were delicious, BTW, crust included!
Also, I learned a trick to peeling pearl onions: Boil them for three minutes and those suckers squirt right out of their husks rather satisfyingly.
made it tonight with potatoes on top (like shepherd’s pie) instead of crust, and sauteed mushroom quarters in place of the pearl onions. We also reduced 8c of stock down to 5 to concentrate flavor, rather than adding bouillon. Super-tasty! Thanks so much for sharing it.
I LOVE Chicken Pot pie. I’m thinking about making mini versions of them with my leftover Turkey on Friday.
I love you.
I love you, I love you, I love you. Thank you so much for posting this! After having a pretty crappy birthday and coming down with a horrible case of the sniffles, baking pot pies last night was the only redeeming thing I could think of. I modified the recipe a bit to make it vegetarian, so if anyone is interested in doing that, here’s what I did:
1. subbed veggie stock for chicken, veggie bouillon for chicken bouillon
2. subbed 2 lb of seitan, torn into pieces, for the chicken breasts
3. left out the peas (blech, my nemeses), but added some chunks of potato
I completely agree with you that the servings were way too big, but my boyfriend disagreed. I could only eat half of one, but he scarfed down the whole thing. It was filling enough that he was satisfied with one though and didn’t try to go picking at my leftovers (for once!) so I have enough left to eat it again for lunch. And again, for dinner tonight. Oh, have I mentioned how much I love you?
I just made this recipe with the remnants of my leftover turkey from thanksgiving and it was AMAZING. We used turkey stock that we made from the carcass instead of chicken stock but left the other ingredients the same. So yummy.
Also, I think this recipe would feed WAY more than 4 adults. The servings are huge!
HEAVEN!
i have now made this 5 times this winter. FIVE! i did do some substitutions….
the first was that i made it in a shallow lasagna dish, because that was all i had, so i made one large top crust. it worked just great and cooked in the same amount of time.
i don’t eat meat, so i substituted the following for the lasagna pan sized.
-no-chicken broth for the chicken broth
-no-chicken bouillion
-2 bags quorn brand chicken tenders
i fed this to meat eaters, and they had no clue that it wasn’t real chicken
YUMM!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe, I conquered pot pie! Yipee! Please note I was sloppy with my crusts (so desperate to cook the beauties and get to eatin’!) which resulted in butter drippage and being smoked out of the house. I always learn the hard way. But I slid a cookie sheet under the pies and soon enough was enjoying the creamy chickeny flaky goodness. Ahhh.
My daughters and I made this over the weekend. I oversalted it but it still was VERY good. We didn’t have individual bowls, so we made a BIG one in my 9×13 glass pyrex thing. I did have to put it on a tray because it bubbled over but it was so yummy! I was wondering about lining it next time for even more yummy crusty goodness though…
The butter content is way too much from the BC recipe for me. I use her technique of roasting the skin-on, bone-in chicken, then click over to marthastewart.com for her Lighter Chicken Pot Pie filling recipe, BUT then add most of the vegetables that BC uses in the above recipe- I just add more chicken stock to correct the proportions. I also top mine with store-bought puffed pastry; to keep that fat content low, I choose oven-proof bowls that are more deep, and more narrow, fill those really high with filling and drape the pastry over. I have frozen the pies unbaked with top crust, and have frozen completely baked. Both thaw and reheat very, very well.
Just made this! Totally yummy! Used a medium Le Creuset instead of individual servings, worked just great!
Thanks!
Oh my sweet Jesus this is delicious. I’d like to make the recipe times 30 and freeze a jillion little pot pies so I can eat one every day. I had to make one large one because I don’t have little ramikens, and my crust didn’t rise because I overmixed the dough, and I added mushrooms and poached the chicken instead of roasting, but HOLY COW. SO GOOD. Thank you, Deb.
This has quickly become my go-to food site. I am IN LOVE with the tomato corn pie, the chocolate chip cookies, the apple pie, and now the chicken pot pie. Can you do no wrong? I can’t wait to try something else! Thanks, Deb!
My husband declared that this was his favorite thing I have ever made for him. Perfect in front of a fire on a cold Chicago night! I made it in two pie dishes and it came out fine. I also had to use fresh pearl onions but thought their flavor was still pretty intense..I think next time I’ll use less.
This was a fantastic use of my leftover turkey. I was hesitant to make it on a weeknight but it was worth the time. I don’t know what size your bowls are Deb, but I’m guessing big, as I managed two full sized pies and two 5 oz. kid-sized ramekins.
Even if you have butter qualms, it doesn’t seem that egregious for 8-9 servings, which is what I ended up with.
Made it last night…..with a bunch of modifications because I didn’t have all the ingredients: onions, 3 leeks, chicken breast, mushrooms and edamame…and some extra pepper. skipped the butter in the filling and used a little olive oil instead…since I didn’t readd the recipe correctly… Turned out amazing!! I wasn’t raised on pot pies so I felt no need to stick to any tradition… YUM!!
Yummy sauce! I only made a couple of modifications. Used 1 stick butter + 3 TBSP olive oil to cook onions. Used 1/2 cup cream. I didn’t add any salt. Used about 2 TBSP lemon juice instead of sherry (It cuts the sweetness a little bit).
For topping, I used store bought crust, but I DOUBLE THEM.
Filled 3 tin loaf pans (8 inch size, comes in pkg of 3).
Laid out the crusts, brushed with beaten egg.
Folded sides toward center (the egg wash “glues” the crust together).
Brush sides of pans with egg.
Lay doubled crust on top of each pan, seal sides with fork, cut steam slits.
Brush crust with beaten egg.
Cover with foil, cook 35 minutes at 375. Uncover, cook 30 more minutes or until golden brown. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
These pies were a huge hit! I’ve been looking forever for a good pot pie recipe. I can now stop looking….thank you!
Just made this and loved it. Since I am not quite the supercook, I admit that I used storebought pie crusts and also used a rotisserie chicken. Still turned out fantastic! I made two full sized pies, and I’m going to freeze one of them – we’ll see how that goes. Thank you for the lovely recipe.
I used considerably less butter, added 2 Tbsp cream cheese, substituted the sherry for Marsala, and sprinkled the top of the crust with Maldon. Perfect.
Made this today to freeze, and it was so good I had to cook one up immediately. Sooo delicious!
I adore this recipe-made it today and took it for dinner to friends who just had their first baby! Thanks, Deb!!
Made a few modifications, based on other pot pies I’ve made or eaten…
-Cooked everything in a cast iron skillet and covered the entire bit with dough, hence making one big pie for 8 people
-Added 8 diced small yellow potatoes with peels
-Added 1 Tbs fresh sage with the parsley
-Used the chicken juices from the roasting pan in lieu of the extra 1/2 stick of butter when sauteing the onions
-Omitted the bouillon-still thought the pie was full of chicken flavor
-Used only 1 whole onion so the pie wouldn’t be too onion-y
This recipe is delicious, except I think it is much too salty… I think it would turn out better using 1/2 or even 1/3 of the salt in both the filling and the crust. I also threw in some diced potatoes. I will definitely be making this again (albeit with less salt)!
I just found this recipe on foodnetwork.com yesterday and made it last night, but I added 5 slices of crumbled bacon, sherry (also), thyme, fresh basil, thinly sliced celery, juice of 2 lemons and freshly grated nutmeg. I’ve sent the adapted recipe to all my foodie friends. BUT, next time I’ll reduce the amount of stock, I made it in a casserole, not small bowls, and I prefer the filling to be thicker — I had to eat it with a spoon. Like others here, I also left out the extra bouillon, and even though I’m no butter hater, I cut 1/2 stick out.
Don’t know why I didn’t think of coming to this site to find a recipe instead of wasting time all over the interwebs…
OH MY GOD. how i missed this i’m not sure, but i just came over from your mushroom lasagna post. but i just have to say, aside from my love affair with pot pies (like, i’ve been known to come home drunk with a $1 banquet mini one and wait the entire hour for it to be done to eat the damn thing instead of having pizza like a normal functioning alcoholic) that is my FAVORITE south park quote, like, ever. and i say it all the time. i’m certain i’m not actually good at impersonating him, but oh man do i crack myself up. often i feel like no one else remembers it! number two would definitely be the birthday episode where he yells “ANTS IN THE PANTS?!” like fifty times.
Deb, when you made it in four bowls, approximately how big were the bowls? I’ve been eyeing a set of 2 cup ramekins, and wondering if those would work. Thanks!
Morgan — I think they’re about 2 cups. I think 2 cup ramekins should be great.
I just checked, and I fibbed. They’re not ramekins, they’re a “16-oz round dish”, from Corningware. I just need to figure out if I can find them cheaper!
They do LOOK like ramekins though. ;)
http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/index.asp?pageID=231&upc=71160312340
I’ve been following your lovely site (and passing it along to friends) for many months now, but have never commented. But now – well, I’m bursting with comments! I made these pies for my husband’s birthday last night – he loves pot pie (as do all my kids) and I hate them, so he rarely gets them. Anyway, I’ve done the pot pie thing for the birthday before, trying various recipes and always confirming that I hate them. Well – miracle of miracles – these were delicious! I just don’t understand – I loved them (as did everyone else). Was it all the scrumptious butter? I just don’t know. Anyway, the only changes I made were to use 1 stick of butter in the filling (and a bit of olive oil) instead of 1 1/2, and, for practical reasons, I divided it eight ways instead of four. The only ovenproof bowls I have are these adorable 10 ounce crocks – the eight servings were perfect. My daughter and I were happy with one, while hubby and son ate two. Leftovers are cute and scrumptious. Oh, and I made your dulce de leche ice cream for dessert (I know, too much) and am hopelessly addicted. Thanks so much for that. Really, LOVE this site – thank you thank you. A memorable, and fun, birthday meal. And I’m just so damned proud of myself!
I’m living in Germany currently, and my family is visiting for Thanksgiving. This morning I made this pie with turkey (err, well, a vigilante version thereof based on what I could find at a German grocery store at 8:00 this morning) and it was absolutely delicious. My grandmother wrote a cookbook and my mother learned from the best, so it was nice to impress them for a change! I gladly took the credit, of course, but it really all goes to you. Happy Thanksgiving!
Wow!! I just made this with leftover smoked turkey from Thanksgiving…and it was amazing. My husband had to yell at himself to stop sneaking pieces from the dish after dinner. We both loved it. I added some celery and loved the additional crunch. Thanks for your wonderful recipes! I thoroughly enjoy browsing your site!
This looks incredible, I’ll have to try it out as we go deeper into winter!
What I love about this recipe is it transforms thanksgiving turkey into something even more wonderful. This is a gem!
Ammmazing! For a fiance who didn’t get home till 8 PM this was PERFECTION!
I’ve made both this and Ina’s Chicken and Biscuits and I’m delighted with both. But I recently tried Anne Burrell’s (Foodnetwork) Chicken Pot Pie and was blown away with that recipe. She roasts butternut squash as part of the filling and her gravy directions were spot on, making a thicker filling. And the cream cheese pastry was very easy and tasty. You will see a others think it’s the bomb too based on the number of 5 star reviews. I enjoy Anne very much–learned a lot about cooking well from her.
Bowl licking good! I took another commenter’s advice and added little potato cubes blanched with the carrots and then I added some gruyere cheese- amazing!
I made this last weekend with a few changes.
I didn’t have a yellow onion. I used 2 tsp minced garlic instead..
I made a top and bottom crust, since I froze several. I also made them much smaller.
I was running low on butter, so I only used 2tbsp in the filling. I added a splash more stock
The result? I could live off of these! Next time I will use more garlic and maybe a tbsp more butter, but this is awesome!
This was so delicious! I made it honour of Pi Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_Day) and cut the slits on the top in the shape of pi. I skipped the extra bouillon and cream, since I had neither, and it tasted rich and luscious all the same. Thanks for another great recipe!
Made this up for pi day and it was delicious! I only used 1/4 cup butter to saute the onions, but added a good heaping tablespoon of rendered chicken fat to the mix for more flavor. I ended up making two larger pies in 8 inch round cake pans and the filling and crust were the perfect amount to fill both evenly.
My husband loves chicken pot pie, and I’ve tried other recipes and every time he’s like, “Well, this one thing just isn’t perfect.” Tonight I told him, “This is my final attempt. If you still don’t love it, I’m not making pot pie anymore.” He LOVED it. Guess I will be making pot pie again after all! Must’ve been all that butter! I added some fresh rosemary & thyme and red pepper flakes, and used chopped baby broccoli in place of the peas. Mmmm!
Hey, I can make chicken pot pie now! Amazing! This was SO good. I had to make a few modifications for various reasons, but the recipe still turned out deliciously well. I own neither a food processor (sniff) or a pastry blender (I keep losing them…somehow…), so I had to incorporate the butter by hand for the dough. A little more work, but a perfectly good result. I left out the pearl onions because I cook for picky eaters – I suspect that was a big loss. Maybe someday. And I used a bunch of leftover roasted chicken instead of doing new, it was a mix of light and dark. Oh yes and I chopped some baby yukon gold potatoes in a small dice and blanched those with the carrots and threw them in. And I halved the whole recipe. And I forgot the egg wash on top of the crust. Proving that you can be an entirely disobedient, sloppy cook and Deb’s recipes will still be delicious. Thank you Deb.
(oh, and I put the baby’s initials on the top in extra crust, because that’s what my mom always used to do. It did not affect the taste but it did affect the cuteness.)
Thought I’d share the pics from the chicken pot pies last night. The Smitten Kitchen brand evangelist strikes again! http://theearlyriser.blogspot.com/2011/09/blogging-ahead.html
This is very close to one I have made for years. The only thing i questions is except for the parsley and perhaps the sherry where was the flavoring? I usually add either a little fresh Thyme or in a pinch I have used Bells Seasoning (what your mother added to her Thanksgiving dressing/stuffing) and everybody raves about it.
10 seconds between “I want chicken pie” and googling smitten kitchen. You haven’t disappointed me yet, thank-you!
2 hours later and there are mini chicken, courgette and sweetcorn pies in the oven. Craving satisfied. I like the internet, especially your site. Though the baby is too cute for words. Have you thought about making baby pie? Haloween costume, pie-lid hat??
made this in my first attempt to make chicken pot pie EVER! And it was fabulous! I added parsnips and potatos to the veggies, and used chopped onion vs. the pearl onions. Reading through the comments I noticed a few people felt it was a little bland, so I added some thyme and a little bit of oregano, and seasoning to the sauce. I also used store bought stock, but simmered it with some veggies, clove, bay leave etc. to give it a little bit more flavor (just strained before using). I thought the crust was amazing and easy to work with. Had some family over for dinner and my brother said it was the best thing he had eaten all year! I will be trying this recipe again in two weeks using left over turkey from Thanksgiving! As always, I was not disappointed with a smitten kitchen recipe!
Hey all, in regards to the pearl onions, i ended up using a pearl onion and pea mix in the frozen section at whole foods. Two birds one stone.
We substituted mushrooms for the chicken in an attempt at a decent veggie version.
Worked just fine. Though i had to do a regular 9 inch pie instead of individual pot pies because i didnt have the ovenware bowls.
I would now like to know the best way to store a pot pie like this (meatless) whether it is best left out and covered, or refrigerated etc.
Delfish!
Hi Deb! Sounds fantastic! Have a question…does the filling need to be baked if I am planning on making this filling with open-faced biscuits? I absolutely adore your blog and rave about it to all my friends! BRAVO!
Just made this last night, with some left over roasted turkey breast. I cut the recipe in half, as there are only two of us– and it still made enough for leftovers. I froze the left over filling in individual ramekins, and will top them with fresh pastry when I make them. Delicious!
Can you make this in one big pie?
Hi Simone — I don’t see why not!
I just made this for the in-laws, and it was a HUGE hit. It even worked as a doubled recipe. To make it kosher, I subbed out Earth Balance for butter, and just left out the cream. It was still amazing. I even stole a few of Ina’s veggie pot pie ingredients to throw in: pernod, fennel and asparagus tips.
As always, if it’s on your site, I can trust it will come out great. Thank you! Can’t wait for the book.
Just made this for a cozy fall dinner. The crust is to die for. The filling same. Thanks Deb for another winning recipe. Your site is my go to for almost everything. I highly recommend your tutorial on making pie crust. After nearly 50 years of pie crust frustration I can finally make one with out losing my mind! Many delicious pies have been the result. I thank you and my family and friends thank you. You are the best!!!
I made this using the sherry as you suggested and it really added a nice dimension to the sauce. I substituted cubed potatoes, cooked with the veggies, instead of the pearl onions. I felt there was enough onion in the sauce already. I used puff pastry instead of making Ina’s because, quite frankly I was being lazy and was also in a hurry. They turned out teriffic – delicious. The only problem (if you can call it that) is I had 3 people to feed so I made 3 single bowls and still had enough filling for 3 or 4 more – so I froze it. I sure hope it will be as good when I use it again. Thanks for posting this and for all the comments that gave me the confidence to make this. I love your site and your posts. This is my first comment but I’ve made some of the Indian recipes and they are the bomb!
Well, four years later and people are still making and raving about this pie, including ME now.
I 86d the pearl onions and sauteed lots of mushrooms with the yellow onions.
I used all the butter then freaked out and poured some out. Then freaked out and added it back in. All good.
I used puff pastry for the crust because I am lame and I’m kinda scared of dough.
I thought it was quite salty and I might cut back on that next time.
BUT, other than that, this was pretty much the best thing I ever made.
I’ll see you tomorrow night in Austin at your book signing!! SO girlcrush excited!
I have made this several times, and think it’s just wonderful! I make it as a pie, using your pastry recipe, with a top and a bottom crust. It looks beautiful, I must say. I use 1 stick rather than a stick and a half of butter in the filling and it is still delicious. It makes two pies. I am generous with the sherry, which I think transforms the pie from a sort of bland New England staple to a dish with more depth, without compromising the comfort-food-quality. Thank you for this dish, which has become a wintertime treat for my family.
Now that’s what my husband Charles and I call fantastic, It looks good therefore it has to taste good, right? Charles said that the only way it could be any better is if for dessert you served with it his favorite key lime pie baked by the lovely Anita Pelaez and her adoring husband Kutchie Pelaez. Together that loving married partner working team bake hand in hand and side by side America’s Favorite Key Lime Pies. Oh, that Charles would say a hot dog was good if you gave him a slice of that pie with it. At times I think the man has key lime pie on the brain. What do you guys think?
Marie Ann
I must say, I was amazed how much butter is in this recipe. It is delicious, but whow! Also, I would not put baking soda in a crust….also, I didn’t even start to put in all that salt! Holy moly! That is a lot of salt!!! Also, this recipe is enough for 8 generous helpings, don’t you think? That said, it is quite delicious.
YUM! I used leftover turkey and added a little basil to the mix… YUM! After halving the pastry, I subbed in a 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour. Thanks!
I made this tonight except I changed everything. Added red bell pepper and celery. Didn’t use the little onions. Whole wheat pie frozen crusts. Added some frozen turkey stock. Less butter. Half the chicken was from gai yang in the fridge.
If it’s not good it’s on me.
omg, these are amazing. i just made these for dinner. soooooo good.
I have made Ina’s pot pies before, and loved them. Making these now, and so far it’s looking just as great!
I haven’t seen anyone comment on this yet, so… I made the filling and the dough (separately) the night before to assemble today. Last night, the filling was outstanding (possibly in part to homemade stock). Today, the filling is overwhelmingly oniony. And I really like onions. So I suggest cutting back on the onions (not sure by how much, or which onions, pearl, yellow, or both) if one were to make the filling in advance.
The dough did not work out very well. Too wet. But I used an oil-based spread rather than butter. I ended up buying a shell. The filling is good, but soupy. I did not use any butter in the filling, and used only 4 cups of consommé/water. I used less chicken – about 1.5 lbs. I could not get an idea from this recipe the amount of lbs of chicken. I used only chopped onion; no pearl onions. And I know this is British/Midwest, but I cannot cook without spices. So I added rosemary, thyme, oregano, and garlic.
Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I made it, the first time, about two years ago and it turned out great. I poached the chicken with vegetables and used the stock (reduced) in the recipe. (I usually make two chickens at a time and use one for chicken soup.) I adjusted the onion and other ingredients (added herbs) to suit my taste. The pastry recipe worked like a charm. Ina shows this served in footed soup bowls, which I also used. I have made this recipe multiple times since then and have had great results. Now that the weather has turned cold again, it’s time to ‘dust off’ this recipe and get out the stock pot!
Yum! I made this tonight – modified it a bit by adding diced potatoes and celery in addition to the carrots and peas. Left out the pearl onions, though. Tasty!
Delicious – I skipped the pearl onions and used a puff pastry crust. This recipe easily serves six. For some reason the result wasn’t as soupy as yours looks in the photos, but creamier. If it weren’t for the worrying quantity of butter, I’d be making this again soon :)
Hey, Deb!
I made this last night with a roast chicken my husband brought home. The filling was so creamy and amazing… Until … the end.. 2 teaspoons of salt. Really? It was so salty that both my husband and I were up and down all night drinking water. It seemed like a lot when I added it, but I didn’t listen to my gut and trusted the recipe. The first words out of my husband’s mouth this morning were, “Honey, forgive me, but we have to throw the pie out.” Just about broke my heart. The pastry was amazingly flakey. I will be making it again, minus all the salt. Love your site, love your book, love you!
Yikes! I’m so sorry. What kind of salt did you use? I think that, given that this is an Ina recipe, she’s presuming everyone uses coarse Diamond-brand Kosher salt; any other Kosher brand salt will be saltier, and table salt will be insanely more so. Silly me, I should have remembered this. I will update the recipe accordingly.
Made these tonight with a couple adaptations: diced and sauteed 2 chicken breasts (no time for roasting), added lots of extra veg and cut out about 3/4 of the butter, just coating the cooked veg in flour for the roux. Still amazing! Halved the crust recipe and ended with toppers for 5 ramekins. Also served the filling over mashed potatoes for the pie crust hater, although after tasting this crust I might be willing to try pie crust again! Yum!
For anyone worried about the butter, I used a stick instead of 1.5 sticks, and I subbed half and half for the heavy cream. It was plenty rich and creamy. I also sauteed a bunch of mushrooms with dried herbs and dumped it all (plus the mushroom juice!) into the mix. And I added a ton of cayenne, and subbed a puff pastry due to laziness. It was just lovely. I think this is one of those recipes that can be fiddled with pretty easily.
I love this, can’t wait to try. Is there a way on your website to save recipes I love, want to come back to or enjoy making in a “Recipe Box”? Let me know! I keep emailing myself recipes, but would be so great to have this option on your website.
Sadly, not at this time but we’d love to build it.
Holy Cow! This was GREAT! The recipe requires a lot of work even when using leftover rotisserie chicken, but that won’t stop me from doing it again. Thanks, Deb!
Seems like a lot of butter to me.
If you want to make this into a standard 9” pie, would the baking temperature/ time change?
Can this be frozen? Fully made? Or the soup itself than assembled later?
I’m curious, have you frozen this?