I bought large ramekins several months ago in hopes of creating miniature versions of popular dishes, and I was so excited to finally do that last weekend. I made individual chicken pot pies and they were delicious!! I have only made a homemade chicken pot pie once before and that was about 2 years ago for my sister and hubby when we were living in Idaho and it turned out horribly. I followed a recipe that called for thyme which isn’t an herb that I’ve used a lot of and I will probably never use it again – it gave the pot pie the worst flavor. I’m pretty sure I ate about one bite and that was it.
But I decided it was time to give it another try, this time using a brand new recipe that didn’t include any signs of thyme. And it was so worth it!
For the chicken and chicken broth, follow this recipe here.
In the version I made, I doubled the recipe which already made two pies, so for my tutorial I’m going to use the original recipe amounts which makes about 2 pies. In that recipe, it does call for a bottom crust and a top crust which I think then allows the filling to go further.
In a dutch oven or large pan, saute the onion, carrots and celery with a little oil until tender, about 15 minutes.
Once the veggies are tender add in a little flour and stir to completely coat the veggies. Let this cook around for just a minute to help cook off the flour taste, the flour will help thicken the sauce.
Add in the half-n-half and chicken broth and continually stir the liquid while it bubbles up and thickens. It will take about 10 minutes or so for it to get to the right thickness. Once it gets to the right consistency, add in the chicken and frozen peas and stir to combine. When I added in the chicken broth and half n half, I didn’t like the color so I actually added a 1/2 tsp of turmeric to give it a nice golden yellow color. If you happen to have some in your spice cabinet add a little in, but no need to go out and buy it.
Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool all the way down.
While it is cooling, make your pie crust. Now you can totally go and buy a pie crust but there is nothing like a homemade pie crust and they’re fairly simple to make. Unfortunately I haven’t posted a pie crust tutorial yet so I will give you a quick recipe and basic instructions for now. (This can be found on the recipe card at the bottom of the post).
You can make a bottom and top crust, or just a top crust which is what I did. So when the mixture has completely cooled, pour it into a pie pan or ramekins.
Cover the filling with the pie crust and crimp the edges. Take a sharp knife and make several slits in the crust to let the air through. Make sure the slits are deep enough because mine weren’t and the steam couldn’t escape which didn’t allow the pie crust to cook 100% through in the very center.
Stick the pie or ramekins into a 350* oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the crust is nice and golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly.
Dig in and enjoy!! Chicken pot pies are such a comforting dish on a cold winter evening and it’s so easy to make this dish vegetarian if that’s what you prefer, omit the chicken and use vegetable broth instead.
Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 cup Shortening butter flavor NOT vegetable
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling
- 1 cup Onion Chopped
- 1 cup Carrots chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1/2 cup Flour
- 1 cup Half n Half
- 2 cups Chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 cups Chicken cooked and shredded or diced
- 1 cup Peas thawed
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Pepper
Instructions
Crust
- Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and use pastry cutter to combine. Don't overwork the dough. Once it's combined, adjust if necessary (sometimes it needs another 1/4 cup of flour)
- Cover dough with wet towel until the filling is finished and cooling. then continue.
- Split dough in half and roll each ball into an even circle to cover the pie pan.
- Once filling is cooled and in each pie pan, cover with the crust, crimp the sides and make slits in the center to let steam out.
Filling
- Saute the onion, carrots and celery over medium heat until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Add in flour and mix to coat the vegetables, let this cook about a minute.
- Add in the half n half and the broth, stir to combine. Let mixture come to a slow simmer and cook until the filling is thickened, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add in the peas and chicken, and the salt/pepper.
- Cook another few minutes and it's done.
