Double-Crust Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken pot pie with a flaky double crust and a thick chicken gravy loaded with carrots, celery, and peas. The classic from-scratch comfort dinner.
This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
Chicken pot pie is the dinner my kids start asking about the minute the evenings cool off. A flaky bottom crust holds a thick chicken gravy full of carrots, celery, and sweet peas, and the top crust bakes up deep golden with steam curling out of the vents. It takes about an hour and 20 minutes start to finish, and the house smells incredible for most of it.
The gravy is where this recipe lives or dies. Equal parts butter and flour, cooked together for a full minute before any liquid goes in, gives you a filling that holds its shape on the plate instead of flooding it. Cooling that filling for about 10 minutes before it goes into the crust matters just as much. Hot filling melts the butter in the bottom crust before the oven ever gets a chance to turn it flaky.
A grocery store rotisserie chicken is my shortcut here. One bird gives you the 3 cups you need with a little left over for lunch, and it saves you a pot and 20 minutes of poaching. Refrigerated store-bought pie crusts are a completely fair call on a weeknight too, and nobody at my table has ever asked.
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
- A gravy that slices, not runs. A proper butter and flour roux thickens the filling enough that each piece holds together on the plate.
- Real double crust. A flaky bottom and a golden top, the way a chicken pot pie is supposed to be built.
- Rotisserie chicken does the heavy lifting. Three cups of shredded cooked chicken cuts a full step out of the recipe.
- It freezes beautifully. Assemble one, wrap it well, and bake it straight from frozen on a night you have nothing left to give.
Chicken Pot Pie Ingredients
Dice the carrots and celery small, around a quarter inch. Big chunks stay firm through the bake and make the pie hard to slice cleanly, and small dice means you get a bit of everything in each forkful.
- 2 (9-inch) pie crusts, homemade or refrigerated store-bought
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced small
- 2 celery stalks, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 large egg, beaten
Recipe Variations
- Stir in 8 oz of sliced mushrooms with the carrots and celery for a deeper, earthier gravy.
- Use puff pastry for the top crust instead of pie dough if you want a lighter, shatter-crisp lid.
- Bake the filling in individual ramekins with just a top crust for personal pot pies; they’ll need about 25 minutes.
How to Make Chicken Pot Pie
- Heat the oven and line the dish: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Roll one pie crust into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and press it into the corners, leaving the overhang alone for now. Set it in the fridge while you make the filling.
- Soften the vegetables: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is translucent and the carrots have started to soften.
- Cook the roux: Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then sprinkle in the flour. Stir constantly for a full minute so the flour loses its raw, pasty taste.
- Build the gravy: Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, then the half-and-half. Add the thyme, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, whisking often, until the gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Add the chicken and peas: Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cooked chicken and the frozen peas. If you poached your own chicken, it should have reached 165°F on a thermometer before you shredded it. Let the filling cool for about 10 minutes.
- Assemble the pie: Pour the filling into the chilled bottom crust. Lay the second crust over the top, trim the overhang to about half an inch, fold the edges under, and crimp them together. Cut four or five slits in the center for steam and brush the whole top with the beaten egg.
- Bake: Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and you can see the gravy bubbling through the vents. If the edges brown faster than the center, cover just the rim with a ring of foil.
- Rest before slicing: Let the pie sit for 15 minutes before you cut it. The gravy firms up as it cools and the slices come out clean instead of collapsing.
Recipe FAQs
Can I Use Raw Chicken Instead of Cooked?
Yes. Simmer about 1 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless breasts in lightly salted water for 15-18 minutes, until they reach 165°F on a thermometer, then shred. You’ll get roughly the 3 cups this recipe needs.
Why Is My Chicken Pot Pie Filling Runny?
The gravy usually needed another couple of minutes on the stove. It should coat a spoon thickly before it ever goes in the crust, and it also needs the full 15-minute rest after baking to set up.
How Do I Keep the Bottom Crust from Getting Soggy?
Two things help most: chill the bottom crust while you make the filling, and let the filling cool about 10 minutes before it goes in. Baking on the lowest oven rack puts more direct heat under the base too.
Can I Freeze It Before Baking?
Yes, and it’s the best way to freeze this one. Assemble the pie completely, skip the egg wash, wrap it tightly in plastic and then foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. The easiest route is to thaw it overnight in the fridge and then bake it exactly as written. To bake it straight from frozen, set the oven to 400°F, cover the pie loosely with foil, and bake 30 minutes so the middle thaws before the crust colors. Uncover, brush on the egg wash, and bake another 35-40 minutes, until the crust is deep golden, the gravy is bubbling through the vents, and the center reads 165°F on a thermometer.
Can I Make It in a 9×13 Dish Instead?
You can, though you’ll want a top crust only since a bottom crust in a rectangular dish tends to go soft. A 9×13 takes about half again as much filling as the pie plate, so make it one and a half times and roll the single crust out to cover. Bake at 425°F for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is golden and the gravy bubbles around the edges.
Cooking Tips
- Keep both crusts cold right up until they go in the oven. Cold butter in the dough is what creates steam pockets, and steam pockets are what make a crust flaky.
- Cut generous steam vents in the top, not tiny slits. Trapped steam is what puffs a top crust away from the filling and leaves a hollow gap.
- Taste the gravy before the chicken goes in. Broths vary wildly in salt between brands, and it’s much easier to fix at that stage.
Storage and Freezing
To store: Cover the cooled pie and keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To freeze: Freeze it unbaked for up to 3 months for the best crust, or freeze baked slices for up to 2 months. Baked and frozen crust softens a little, though the filling holds up fine.
To reheat: Reheat slices in a 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes to bring the crust back. The microwave works in a pinch but leaves the pastry soft.
How to Serve Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken pot pie is a full meal in one slice, so keep the sides simple. A green salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through the richness, and roasted green beans or a pile of buttered corn works for the kids. If you love this filling but want it faster on a weeknight, our Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie Pasta gets you the same flavors without touching a rolling pin.
Loved This Recipe?
Chicken pot pie is worth the hour and 20 minutes every single time, right down to the last forkful of gravy.
Leave a star rating in the comments below, it helps other people find this recipe. Made it? Tag @allwellfed on Instagram, I love seeing this one in other people’s kitchens.
Double-Crust Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 2 (9-inch) pie crusts homemade or refrigerated store-bought
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced small
- 2 stalks celery diced small
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 cups cooked chicken shredded or diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 large egg beaten
Instructions
- Heat the oven and line the dish: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Roll one pie crust into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and press it into the corners, leaving the overhang alone for now. Set it in the fridge while you make the filling.
- Soften the vegetables: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is translucent and the carrots have started to soften.
- Cook the roux: Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then sprinkle in the flour. Stir constantly for a full minute so the flour loses its raw, pasty taste.
- Build the gravy: Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, then the half-and-half. Add the thyme, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, whisking often, until the gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Add the chicken and peas: Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cooked chicken and the frozen peas. If you poached your own chicken, it should have reached 165°F on a thermometer before you shredded it. Let the filling cool for about 10 minutes.
- Assemble the pie: Pour the filling into the chilled bottom crust. Lay the second crust over the top, trim the overhang to about half an inch, fold the edges under, and crimp them together. Cut four or five slits in the center for steam and brush the whole top with the beaten egg.
- Bake: Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and you can see the gravy bubbling through the vents. If the edges brown faster than the center, cover just the rim with a ring of foil.
- Rest before slicing: Let the pie sit for 15 minutes before you cut it. The gravy firms up as it cools and the slices come out clean instead of collapsing.
