12 Pot Pie Recipes To Warm Up Your Winter
Savory pot pies are as old as Ancient Rome, though they really gained popularity in 16th-century Britain. First filled with game meats, it wasn't until the Elizabethan Era that pot pies became predominantly poultry-based, as we know and love them today.
America's love affair with pot pies is older than the country itself: Recipes for them appeared in the first American-written cookbook in 1769, filled with meat, chicken, or even fish. By the '50s, chicken pot pie had become a staple of American homes, and frozen pot pies like Marie Callender's became popular among housewives looking to put a quick and easy meal on the table. These days, home cooks have the option between making pot pies entirely from scratch and taking advantage of shortcuts. Using canned foods like canned chunk chicken, canned veggies, canned gravy, or canned soup makes pot pie a snap to put together, and store-bought crust really seals the deal — literally. If you want to make things easier, you can even opt for a wholly store-bought version of chicken pot pie.
That said, if you've got the time and inclination to bake up a truly gourmet pot pie, there are loads of options at your disposal. A homemade crust with a touch of lard proves flaky and flavorful, and upgrades ranging from a roasted veggie filling to a truffle topping make this homestyle classic a true delight. Looking to master pot pie at home? Look no further than these delicious recipes.
1. Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Depending on how homemade you want to go, chicken pot pie can be a true labor of love. But with this quick, easy chicken pot pie recipe, you can take advantage of a handful of shortcuts to bake up a pie that tastes totally homemade but is simple enough to whip up for a quick weeknight dinner.
The secret ingredients that make this pot pie such a cinch to pull together are rotisserie chicken, canned mushrooms, and store-bought puff pastry. A base of fresh carrots, celery, and onions is combined with a simple homemade gravy made with chicken broth thickened with cornstarch and seasoned with a touch of Italian seasoning. (You can also add other veggies, like sweet potato, frozen peas, or frozen pearl onions, depending on your tastes and what you've got on hand.) The resulting pot pie can be assembled in the time it takes your oven to preheat, and in just 30 minutes, it's ready to enjoy.
2. Old Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken pot pie is a comfort food classic for a reason: Rich and warming, a good pot pie should have a thick, creamy gravy and a crispy pastry top. And that's exactly what you'll get with this recipe, which relies on frozen veg and leftover chicken to help it come together with ease.
To make this old-fashioned chicken pot pie recipe, you'll start by cooking some potatoes until they're tender but still slightly al dente; they'll continue cooking in the gravy. For this, you'll start by making a roux, which will thicken a combo of milk, water, and chicken bouillon seasoned with garlic and Italian seasoning. (If you want to make it even richer and more velvety, consider adding a bit of cream.) To finish things off, you'll add the chicken and frozen mixed vegetables before topping the pie with store-bought pie dough, brushing it with egg wash, and baking until golden brown. The most difficult part of this recipe? Waiting until it's cool enough to dig in!
3. Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie
Did you know you can use your slow cooker to make homemade chicken pot pie even easier? This dice-and-dump slow cooker chicken pot pie recipe couldn't be easier. You'll start with a base of onion, garlic, red new potatoes, celery, and frozen peas and carrots. This layer of veg is topped first with chicken breasts seasoned with a touch of poultry seasoning and finally with a combo of cream of mushroom soup and heavy cream for a rich, velvety pot pie base. Cook for three hours on high or six hours on low, so the chicken is tender enough to shred with ease.
Last step? Topping the filling with a sheet of store-bought crescent roll dough and baking until golden brown. (In many cases, you won't even have to transfer the mixture from your slow cooker insert before baking... but be sure to check the manufacturer instructions to be sure.)
4. 30-Minute Chicken Pot Pie
If time is of the essence, this 30-minute pot pie recipe is just the ticket. Shredded rotisserie chicken, sliced onion, frozen peas and carrots, and store-bought chicken stock make the base a breeze to pull together. For the flaky topping, a thawed sheet of puff pastry will do the trick nicely.
Of course, this pot pie is far more than just the sum of its parts. You'll create a lovely, rich filling by sautéeing onion in butter and whisking in flour to make a roux. Chicken stock and milk are added to this base to make it flavorful and silky, and a touch of celery seed and black pepper add depth of flavor. While the filling is coming together, you'll slice the puff pastry into individual squares which are simply placed on top of the finished filling before serving. This cuts down on baking time significantly and ensures that each diner has their own individual portion.
5. Homemade Beef Pot Pie
If you associate the phrase "pot pie" with chicken, you're not alone... but if you think outside the box a bit, you'll find that there are far more fillings that can find their way into this specialty than poultry alone. Bottom round of beef makes a delicious pot pie filling thanks to its rich flavor. In this recipe, it's sautéed in butter and combined with carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to form a rich, savory base. Beef broth is thickened with flour to form the gravy, and the delicious filling is surrounded by two layers of homemade pastry. Brushed with egg wash and baked until golden, this beef pot pie is a true comfort food treat.
This recipe is the perfect jumping-off point for variations. If you want your pot pie to be a bit heartier, add potatoes or sweet potatoes for heft. You could also swap out the beef round slices for ground beef or even for slow-cooked pot roast. Either way, the resulting dish is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
6. Copycat KFC Chicken Pot Pie
The Try Guys' Keith Habersberger may well be the biggest fried chicken fan on the planet, so if he says KFC's chicken pot pie is the best thing on their menu, it should certainly get your attention. These mini pot pies are indeed swoon-worthy, especially seeing as they start with a simple combo of store-bought ingredients. Frozen peas, cream of chicken soup, rotisserie chicken, and frozen puff pastry are augmented with a few fresh ingredients like red potatoes and whole milk, and soon enough, these pot pies will be coming together.
After par-cooking and draining the potatoes and carrots, you'll simply dump in the frozen peas, milk, condensed soup, and shredded rotisserie chicken to form the base of these pot pies. Transfer the mixture to individual pie pans or large ramekins before topping with pastry and baking until golden brown and crisp. All that's left to do is dig in!
7. Comforting Turkey Pot Pie
The next time you've got leftover turkey on hand, forget about sandwiches and give this turkey pot pie recipe a spin instead. This recipe combines leftover turkey with hearty herbs like sage and rosemary as well as veggies like carrots, peas, celery, and onions. Blended with a bone broth base thickened with a touch of flour and seasoned with garlic, salt, and pepper, it forms the perfect pot pie filling. All you need to do is top it with store-bought pie crust, and you're golden!
Using bone broth instead of regular broth or stock will make this pot pie even richer, seeing as bone broth is cooked for a whopping 16 hours as compared to stock, which is cooked for just one to two. Richer in protein, collagen, minerals, and vitamins than stock or run-of-the-mill chicken broth, chicken bone broth isn't just tastier... it's better for you too.
8. Hearty And Easy Ham Pot Pie
For a pot pie with a touch of rich, smoky flavor, this ham pot pie recipe is unbeatable. The cubed ham in the filling will provide the pot pie with much of its flavor, so be sure to choose wisely. Hickory-smoked ham will lend loads of smokiness to the finished recipe, while an apple spiced ham will bring a touch of sweetness to the party.
Of course, the ham doesn't stand alone. Frozen peas, frozen corn, and diced carrot join the ham in a base made with a combo of chicken stock and milk thickened with a roux. Dijon mustard adds a bit of heat and acidity to the filling, counterbalancing all that rich flavor with some welcome pungency.
To top this pie, nothing could be simpler: A store-bought sheet of puff pastry brushed with an egg wash is its quick-and-easy crowning glory.
9. 30-Minute Tuna Pot Pie Casserole
If tuna casserole had a baby with chicken pot pie, it might look a little something like this tuna pot pie casserole recipe. To make it, canned tuna is combined with grated carrots and onions and frozen corn and peas in a gravy made with milk and vegetable broth thickened with flour and seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley. Grating the veg means the filling is far less chunky than most, which might be a boon if you've got picky eaters at home, though if you'd rather a toothsome base with more texture, you could always dice them up instead.
To top this pie, the more traditional pie crust is swapped out for canned biscuits, which turn it into something akin to a savory cobbler. Golden brown on top and tender and moist on the bottom, they're the perfect accompaniment for the tasty tuna filling.
10. Tex-Mex Chicken Pot Pie
Classic Americana gets spiced up with some south-of-the-border flavors in this Tex-Mex chicken pot pie recipe. While it may be a bit more involved than some other ideas on this list, trust us: It's well worth the longer shopping list and added effort.
To make this pot pie, chunks of tender chicken breast join a rainbow of bell peppers, poblano peppers, corn, and black beans seasoned with onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, and oregano. Canned chipotle peppers and canned fire-roasted tomatoes spike the base of cream of chicken soup and broth. And if this base weren't flavorful and colorful enough, the topping for this pot pie departs from a more classic pie crust in embracing the time-tested flavors of jalapeño-cheddar cornbread. Seasoned with scallions and topped with even more cheddar cheese before being baked to a crisp, golden brown, this pot pie is a truly special play on the classic recipe.
11. Root Veggie And Chard Pot Pie
Vegetarians need not miss out on the pot pie fun now that you've got this root veggie and chard pot pie recipe in your kitchen arsenal. The filling of this pot pie is chock full of a sweet root veggie medley comprised of carrot, parsnip, turnip, sweet potato, and potato. Onion and celery add even more depth to this mélange, while earthy Swiss chard adds some lovely green color, not to mention loads of nutrients like iron, manganese, magnesium, and vitamin K. The veggies are suspended in a gravy made by thickening chicken broth and heavy cream with a touch of flour. Seasoned with flavorful rosemary and thyme, the base is ready to be enveloped in pie crust and baked until golden.
Seeing as you're putting so much work into the filling, it's totally fine to rely on a store-bought pie crust for this dish. If you want to make it stand out a bit, consider topping it with cracked fennel seeds and black pepper once it's been egg-washed for even more flavor and a pretty final presentation.
12. Mini Chicken Pot Pies
Chicken pot pie is typically a fairly hearty comfort food main, but with help from a muffin tin, it can easily become the ideal Game Day snack. To make these mini chicken pot pies, first, you'll need to make up a batch of your favorite chicken pot pie filling. This could be as simple as some shredded rotisserie chicken and frozen veggies suspended in condensed soup or as complex as slow-cooked chicken in a homemade gravy. Whichever you choose, all you have to do is layer your chicken pot pie filling between two store-bought biscuits for a buttery, two-bite pie your guests are sure to love.
These mini chicken pot pies are delicious fresh out of the oven, but they also freeze particularly well, making them a great batch cooking option you can turn to whenever you've got last-minute guests — or whenever your kids are looking for an after-school snack.