This easy chicken pot pie recipe is my favorite way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I started making this homemade chicken pot pie recipe as a St. Patrick’s Day dinner tradition but it tasted so good that I ended up adding it into our winter dinner rotation. I like making individual mini chicken pot pies in single-serving ramekins because not only are they yummy but you also can bake however many you’d like and save the rest for later. You can even make a chicken pot pie for one!
See also: ‘Green chocolate peanut butter cups recipe for St. Patrick’s Day ’ »
Yummy chicken pot pie filling from scratch, with dairy-free and gluten-free options
The hearty homemade chicken pot pie filling inside is traditional and hearty and absolutely delicious. You won’t believe how easy it is to make this creamy filling from scratch. And I’m including instructions it’s easy to make this a gluten-free dairy-free chicken pot pie — just use creamy oat milk instead of dairy milk, gluten-free flour, and gluten-free pie crust. Easy!
Individual pot pies personalized with optional pie crust letters
And for lucky bonus points, you can add personalized names on the top of your mini pies using mini alphabet cookie cutters. I like to write the word “Irish” to the top of our mini pies for St. Patrick’s Day dinner and cut out St. Patrick’s Day shapes like shamrocks to pop on top before baking.
Baking single individual chicken pot pies from scratch is fun and pretty foolproof. I like baking mine in these cute porcelain white ramekins.
Easy chicken pot pie recipe
This easy chicken pot pie recipe is a simple version of a more intensive one originally from the Chicago-based Marshall Field’s cookbook because one thing’s for sure: my Chicago hometown sure knows how to do St. Patrick’s Day.
Chicken Pot Pie Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 to 2 cups shredded chicken — you can either poach 2 chicken breasts (see instructions below) or buy a roasted whole chicken from the deli
- 2-1/2 cups chicken stock
- Frozen sheets of pie crust (thawed according to package directions) or puff pastry sheet
- 1 cup diced onion (about 1 large) OR substitute with 1 cup diced potato for people who are onion intolerant (yay for low-FODMAP)
- 4 carrots, thinly sliced
- 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced (substitute with more carrots or diced potatoes for those with celery intolerance (yay again for low-FODMAP) with
- 3/4 cup green peas, frozen or fresh (skip if intolerant to peas)
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter or plant-based butter – I use Miyokos dairy-free plant-based butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (use all-purpose gluten-free flour to make this recipe gluten-free)
- 1-1/2 cups milk or plant-based milk (I use creamy oatmilk)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley, optional
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup dry sherry (this is optional and from the original Marshall Fields recipe – I don’t use sherry)
Egg wash
1 egg white whisked with 1 Tbsp water
Special equipment needed for individual chicken pot pies
Six Porcelain 10-Ounce Souffle Dishes or Ramekins
Mini Alphabet and Number Cookie Cutter Set
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How to make yummy individual chicken pot pies from scratch
Step 1: Shred cooked chicken
The first step is to prepare the chicken. Either buy a cooked whole chicken from the deli, or poach chicken breasts which only takes about 10-15 minutes and you can do that in advance. Poaching chicken is super easy: just put chicken breasts into boiling water until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees with a digital thermometer. See these good poaching instructions for more details. Shred the chicken by pulling with a fork or your fingers.
Step 2: Saute vegetables and make the simple sauce for the filling
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add the onions (or potatoes if you’re substituting the onion), carrots, and celery, and cook about 10 minutes until softened. Sprinkle the flour (use gluten-free all-purpose flour if needed) over the vegetables and stir until you can’t see any white anymore, and cook, stirring constantly, for about one minute. Whisk or stir in in-2 1/2 cups of the chicken stock and you’ll start to see a thickened sauce. Whisk in milk. Add in sherry, if using (again, I don’t use this). Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Step 3: Add chicken and seasonings, divide filling into ramekins
Add the shredded chicken, thyme, peas, parsley, salt, and pepper, and stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Divide the warm filling among six 10-ounce ramekins.
Step 4: Add pie crust to the tops of the chicken pot pies
Unroll pie crust dough onto a cutting board. Choose gluten-free pie crusts if needed. Cut into 6 rounds, slightly larger than the circumference of the ramekins. Lay a dough round on each pot pie filling. Fold the excess dough under itself and use the tines of a fork to press the dough against the edge of the ramekins. Use a pastry brush to apply an egg wash to each pie. Cut out letters from pie crust scraps. Place letters on the pie and apply egg wash on top of the letters too). Cut a 1-inch vent into each individual pie.
Step 5: Bake pot pies
Line a baking sheet with foil, place the pies on the baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6.
Yummy Homemade Chicken Pot Pie from Scratch
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 or 2 cups shredded chicken either use roasted whole chicken from the deli or poach chicken breasts in boiling water until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees
- 2-1/2 cups chicken stock
- Frozen sheets of pie crust thawed according to package directions or puff pastry sheet
- 1 cup diced onion about 1 large
- 4 carrots thinly sliced
- 3 celery stalks thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup cup green peas frozen or fresh
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, grass-fed ghee, or coconut oil
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 cups milk
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley optional
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup dry sherry optional – I don’t use it
- Egg wash : 1 egg white whisked with 1 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Shred cooked chicken and set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, and cook until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add the flour and cook, stirring, one minute more. Whisk in-2 1/2 cups of the chicken stock. Whisk in milk. Add in sherry, if using. Decrease heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the chicken meat, thyme, sherry, peas, parsley, salt, and pepper and stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Divide the warm filling among six 10-ounce ramekins.
- Unroll pie crust dough onto a cutting board. Cut into 6 rounds, slightly larger than the circumference of the ramekins.
- Lay a dough round on each pot pie filling. Fold the excess dough under itself and use the tines of a fork to press the dough against the edge of the ramekins. Cut a 1-inch vent into each individual pie.
- Use a pastry brush to apply an egg wash to each pie.
- Cut out letters from pie crust scraps. Place letters on the pie and apply egg wash on top of the letters too).
- Line a baking sheet with foil, place the pies on the baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6.
Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry Crust
Sometimes I make this chicken pot pie recipe using puff pastry instead of pie crust and I almost like it even better. I’ve been making this homemade pot pie recipe for about eight years now and I recently updated the photos on this post, but I’m keeping this photo of my *very first pot pie* that I made with a puff pastry crust and was featured in Chicagoist many years ago. Memories!
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Be sure to pin this easy chicken pot pie recipe in single ramekins – it’s a yummy St. Patrick’s Day dinner idea
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Kathy Beymer
Saturday 14th of March 2009
Featured on Chicagoist.com :: "Kathy Beymer over at Merriment Design has a post on how to make your own personalized pot pies... "
http://chicagoist.com/2009/03/12/quick_bites_66.php
Merriment :: Kathy Beymer
Monday 24th of March 2008
Renee, I would even add cheese to it for you...
renée
Wednesday 19th of March 2008
omg, this just made me so hungry.