If you’re craving comfort food, homemade chicken pot pie is your answer! This completely from scratch recipe is simple to prepare, features a double crust, and nourishes the soul. For step-by-step photos, scroll to the bottom of this page.
When I’m craving a meal that’s truly comforting, this double crust chicken pot pie recipe hits the spot. It satisfies the soul—and, is surprisingly simple to throw together. We’ll use my favorite homemade pie crust recipe (it’s not just for Thanksgiving pies after all!) for a sturdy crust on the bottom and a golden brown, flaky cloak on top. In between the pie crust layers is a mixture of chicken and veggies topped with a creamy, rich white gravy that is flavored with a little cooked onion, salt, pepper, and thyme. Let’s get started!
This Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Is:
- Satisfying + comforting
- 100% homemade
- Simple to prepare
- Perfect for when you have veggies and meat to use up
- A delicious make-ahead recipe
- Customizable—use your favorite meats and vegetables
Overview: How to Make Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie
For the full recipe and lots of step-by-step photos to walk you through the process, scroll to the bottom of this page.
- Prepare the pie crust and let it chill for at least 2 hours.
- Boil the chicken, carrots, and celery.
- Make the gravy. Cook down the onion with butter and garlic. Whisk in the flour, salt, black pepper, thyme, chicken broth, and half-and-half.
- Divide the pie dough in half. Roll out one half into a 12 inch circle. Carefully place into your pie dish.
- Fill the crust-lined pie dish with the chicken and vegetable mixture. Add the peas, then pour the gravy over the top.
- Roll out the second half of pie dough into a 12 inch circle. Use this pie dough to cover the pie. Seal and crimp the edges, then slice a few small slits in the top crust.
- Brush the top and edges with a beaten egg.
- Bake until golden brown.
Craving a different variation? This biscuit vegetable pot pie isn’t your typical classic pot pie recipe, but it’s quicker and easier. Or for a single crust variation try this turkey pot pie recipe.
Chicken Pot Pie Variations
- Pie Crust: I love using my homemade pie crust recipe for today’s chicken pot pie. Using a combination of butter and shortening yields the flakiest, most tender and buttery crust. For a pie crust made without shortening, try my all butter pie crust. Store bought pie crust or even puff pastry also work!
- Meats: Turkey works wonderfully instead of chicken. If using precooked meat, simply skip the boiling and cook the carrots and celery with the onion and butter.
- Vegetables: Try adding corn (frozen or fresh) when you add the peas. Feel free to add 1 diced Yukon gold potato; cook until soft with the onion and butter. You can also throw in a cup of sliced mushrooms—add them when you cook the onion and butter. I wouldn’t add ALL of these veggies, though, as there isn’t enough gravy for it all. Stick to 2 cups of veggies + 1 potato or less. (Onion doesn’t count!)
- Spices: Taste and season this pot pie how you like! Try adding fresh chopped parsley, a pinch of celery seed, or even a little rosemary (my favorite). As long as there is salt and pepper (definitely thyme too), the extra seasoning in the pot pie is up to you.
Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 25 minutes
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This double crust chicken pot pie is perfect when you’re looking for comfort food and don’t have all the time and energy in the world to whip it up! Make sure you check out the step-by-step photos at the bottom of the page, as well as my notes at the end of this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe homemade pie crust*
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast, cubed
- 1 cup (about 130g) sliced carrots (about 2 carrots)
- 1/2 cup (about 40g) sliced celery (about 1 stalk)
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 and 3/4 cups chicken broth (I recommend reduced sodium)
- 2/3 cup half-and-half*
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 large egg, beaten
- optional: sprigs of fresh thyme for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the pie crust as directed in my pie crust recipe, including chilling for at least 2 hours. I usually make the crust the night before. The pie crust recipe makes 2 crusts and you’ll be using both crusts.
- In a large saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 12 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
- In a large skillet, cook the butter, onions, and garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until the onions are translucent and the butter is lightly browning. Whisk in the flour, salt, black pepper, thyme, chicken broth, and half-and-half. Cook and whisk until no flour lumps remain, then simmer over medium-low heat until thick. I simmer mine for 10 minutes. You want it to be a very thick gravy; simmer longer if necessary. Taste and add more seasonings if you prefer. Sometimes I add more thyme. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
- After the pie dough has chilled: On a floured work surface, roll out 1 half of the chilled pie dough. Turn the pie crust dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. With a small and sharp knife, trim the extra overhang of dough and discard. Place the chicken mixture on top. Top with frozen peas. Pour gravy over top. Roll out 2nd half of pie crust dough just as you did the first. Cover the pie with the 2nd crust and trim the extra overhang off the sides. Seal the edges by crimping with a fork or your fingers. With a small and sharp knife, slice a few small slits in the top crust for steam to escape. Using a pastry brush, brush crust and edges with beaten egg.
- Bake for 32 – 38 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. I use a pie crust shield to protect the edges from browning too much too soon. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Makes amazing leftovers– the filling is so thick on the next day! Reheat as desired. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Filling and gravy can be prepared 1 day in advance, cover and chill in the refrigerator. Assemble, fill, and bake the next day as directed. The pie crust dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using. The unbaked OR baked pot pie freezes well for up to 2-3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed or bake to warm through.
- Pie Crust: Two 9-inch frozen (and then thawed) store-bought pie crusts are just fine instead of homemade. Puff pastry works too.
- Cream: Heavy cream or whole milk works instead of half-and-half to make an extra rich filling. I wouldn’t use lower fat milks; the gravy will be too thin.
- Filling Variations: This is a wonderful recipe if you have extra meat or leftover veggies to use up. Turkey works wonderfully instead of chicken. You can use precooked meat. Simply skip the boiling and cook the carrots and celery with the onion and butter. Add some corn (frozen or fresh) when you add the peas. Feel free to add 1 Yukon gold potato, diced. You can cook them until soft with the onion and butter. Mushrooms are great too; you can add 1 cup sliced mushrooms when you cook the onion and butter. I wouldn’t add ALL of these veggies though as there isn’t enough gravy for it all. I don’t recommend going over 2 cups of veggies + 1 potato. (Onion doesn’t count!)
- Spices: Feel free to add fresh chopped parsley, a pinch of celery seed, or even a little rosemary. As long as there is salt and pepper (definitely thyme too), the extra seasoning in the pot pie is up to you. Taste and season how you like!
Keywords: chicken pot pie
As directed in the recipe above, place chicken, celery, and carrots into your pot. Fill with water to cover. Boil for 12 minutes.
As directed above, in a skillet or separate pan, cook down the onion with some butter and minced garlic. Whisk in spices, flour, chicken broth, and half-and-half to make a thick white gravy.
As directed above, roll out homemade pie crust to fit into your 9-inch pie dish (a 9-inch square baking pan works too). Fill with the chicken and vegetable mixture, then top with frozen peas. I add the frozen peas at this point because they lose their vibrant green color when cooked with the chicken in the first step.
Top with creamy gravy, then the other rolled out pie crust. Cut holes in the top to release some steam, crimp down the edges, add the egg wash, and bake!
I have run so frustrated with pie crust dishes since it ended up soft instead of crispy and flaky in the middle. What is the secret to get it right? The type of pan?
We prefer using a glass pie dish when we make pie. Glass dishes conduct heat evenly, which allows the bottom of the crust to bake thoroughly. Also, you’ll be able to see when the sides and bottom of the crust have browned.
What a fabulous pie I made. Next going to try homemade pie crust. Sally thank you!
Receipe is great. Can you freeze it after you make it?
Made it. Didnt have half n half used heavy whipping cream. We had frozen mixed veggies i chopped from our CSA(included parsnips, turnips,carrots, onion, celery, celeriac) and i used that. It turned out so well…. kids loved it. Followed sallys crust recipe as well and thats always the star. But the fact that my kids ate veggies is a miracle. Highly recommend and will be addint this to our winter weekly rotation.
★★★★★
I am making this tomorrow. Did I understand recipe correct, 5 tbl butter?
Hi Stephanie, 1/3 cup of butter is slightly over 5 Tbsp. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Is it possible to substitute a 1-to-1 gluten free flour for the crust and in the filling? I loved pot pie before having to adhere to a gluten free diet.
Hi Linda, we haven’t tested this recipe with 1:1 gluten free flour so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you give it a go!
I made this recipe yesterday. It was absolutely amazing! My husband said it was the best pot pie ever! I have tried different pot pie recipes over the years that were not very tasty . I finally have the pot pie recipe I have been looking for !
★★★★★
So incredible! I made a small batch for just two mini pot pies (I only had half a crust recipe leftover). When these came out of the oven, they were so absolutely stunning I just knew that I would be let down by the taste (that’s just what seems to happen whenever I make anything that’s particularly beautiful), but they were delicious! I was just making the reductions in my head as I went along, and I absent-mindedly measured a full third cup, while I was reducing everything else to just over a quarter of the recipe; I was whisking while adding, so I could see it get super thick before I added it all, but I did still wind up with super super thick gravy lol..still, I wonder if that might be why my bottom crust was able to bake so perfectly! That was the first thing I noticed my first bite- a flaky bottom crust!!!!! A first for me:) That pie crust was what made me a Sally’s faithful- maybe I should just start making all my food inside it?!?
★★★★★
Isn’t it just the TASTIEST, MOST PERFECT chicken pie you ever ate? I dream about eating these again. I have celery and carrots in my fridge waiting for me to have time to get the crust organized.
★★★★★
This recipe was delicious! My only comment would be that the gravy was so thick, it didn’t penetrate through all of the veggies. Next time, I will either thin it a bit, or mix everything together with the gravy. Flavor was delicious!!!!
This recipe is AMAZING and our house literally will never buy chicken pot pie again! A quick hack is to use a rotisserie chicken- it’s way cheaper than raw breasts, and then you don’t need to deal with the cutting and sanitising. And Sally, I know you mention it in the notes, but one small diced Yukon Gold potato is a great addition. Finally, I use fish sauce instead of regular salt for seasoning- it’s easier to add bit by bit, and absorbs into the liquid almost instantly- I’ve never had an over-salted dish since making this switch!
★★★★★
They turned out amazing! Agree best pot pie recipe. I do have a question regarding temperature and time when reheating the cooked pie from frozen. Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Nicole, we’re glad you enjoyed the pot pie! When freezing the pie, we do recommend thawing the pot pie in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying. Since it is baked already, you can reheat it to your liking at 425.
Thank you very much.
Great recipe , I’m making this recipe in 4 individual Corning ware dishes and then freeze them for that cold day. Thanks
★★★★★
Oops, forgot the stars!
★★★★★
What a perfect pot pie! Because we wanted a double crust pie, we used this recipe with our leftover turkey rather than making the turkey pot pie recipe posted last week. The flavors were perfect and the gravy was amazing and thickened so quickly!! Will definitely make this again and again with a variety of fillings. Thanks, Sally!
It was delicious! My husband and I loved it. Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
The bottom crust usually becomes soggy! any suggestions on how to avoid this?
D. Shearer
Hi Douglas! Is the crust initially crisp and becomes soggy as leftovers? Or soggy right after baking? Make sure to bake the pot pie for long enough – it may take a bit longer than the bake time depending on your pie dish and oven.
I made this. It was one of the best recipes. I use a cast iron pie plate and the crust was flakey top and bottom.
★★★★★
I made this Chicken Pot Pie for My Husband yesterday. He said it was the best Chicken Pot Pie he has ever tasted. I am a vegetarian, so I made me a separate Vegetarian Plant Base Chicken Pot Pie. Using same ingredients as Sally’s recipe calls for except for substituting with Vegetable Broth, Plant Base Chicken and added Grill Mates Montreal Chicken Season to my broth. Let me tell you. It was incredible!!! I never had ever taste vegetarian Plant Base Chicken Pot Pie like this before. And the crust is so delicious and so flaky. Found my ever Crust for my Pies. Sally thank you for this recipe. I will tell all my family and friends to look no further if they are looking for a Homemade scratch Chicken Pot Pie. Or Pie crust for all their pie needs. Sally has the best. I wish I could show you pictures of my Pies. They are amazing!!!
★★★★★
I’m planning on freezing my pie uncooked. Should I add the egg wash before I feeeze it or right before I put it in the oven after thawing it?
Hi Kyle, You can add the egg wash before or after freezing, we haven’t noticed a difference between doing it either way.
5 stars!
★★★★★
This was delicious.
As all your recipes are.
Just wanted to comment that I used frozen pearl onions and roughly chopped them and they made a amazing touch.
I made this recipe exactly as written, EXCEPT…..I found a recipe that baked it in a cast iron pan and cooked accordingly. It was absolutely amazing and flavorful!! Will be making this again and again. Thank you!!
★★★★★
This is the only CPP recipe I’ll ever use. It’s delicious and the pie sets perfectly every single time. As most cooks seem to do, I also tweaked a bit here and there. But I do not mess with the gravy part of the recipe because why fiddle with perfection!? Thanks for this ‘keeper’, Sally, and since it’s in my recipe binder, it’ll get passed on to the next gen as well.
★★★★★
Despite my messing up the crust (too much shortening) these are delicious! Instead of a big pie, I made four pies in my five-inch quiche pans. I put the little pies on a parchment covered sheet pan to make getting them in and out of the oven easier and because I was concerned about leakage but there was no leakage.
I used a cup of chopped mushrooms, and I added some red pepper flakes to the sauce for some je ne sais quoi, and I skipped the peas.
I will definitely make these again.
★★★★★
I have been eating these pies from the freezer (defrosting in the fridge overnight and heating them wrapped in foil in my air fryer ) and I am giddy with delight at how delicious they are. If you haven’t made this recipe, drop everything and do it now. You’re welcome!
★★★★★
My family and I made this for thanksgiving, and it was delicious! I actually saved the broth from the boiled celery/carrot/chicken and used it for quinoa, it was super good! For anybody making this recipe, save the broth! It’s worth it.
★★★★★
I LOVE this recipe. 🙂 Every time I make this, people can’t stop talking about how amazing it is. The only tweaks I made were using heavy wihipping cream instead of half and half (initially because I can’t have milk, but cream doesn’t bother me for some reason. It was so delicious and creamy that I suggest that to people). I also added rosemary to the water as I boiled the chicken and more to the creamy mixture. The homemade crust is so flaky and delicious.
★★★★★
This is a great recipe! I have made this four times So far. Thyme really adds great flavor. I usually add some corn and sometimes green beans to it as well. I roast the chicken and prep all of the veggies the day before, as well as my pie crust, then finish it the next day. Try this recipe, it is great!
★★★★★
Awesome Chicken pot pie recipe. I I omit celery because I’m not a Fan. I also use chicken thighs that I bake with Herb de provence. I prefer it instead of thyme. And instead of boiling the chicken.
★★★★★
I love this recipe, always use it with your flaky pie crust recipe. I prefer to poach the raw chicken in seasoned water, reserve the liquid for the chicken broth. And cook the veggies in the same pot, easier clean up! Also, make one crust bigger than the other and use that for the bottom, works a lot better! I use a stand mixer to make the crust, it’s easier, effective, and avoids the mess I almost always make using a pastry cutter!
★★★★★
I’m making this today! I was surprised to see that you don’t recommend par-baking the crust. Is there a reason not to?
Hi Johanna, we don’t usually blind bake the bottom pie crust but you can certainly try it. We fear the top pie crust won’t adhere very nicely to the partially baked bottom crust.
I have passed this recipe onto so many friends.
★★★★★
I’ve made this recipe a lot and my family loves it every time! There’s no reason to look for another recipe because this one is perfect!
★★★★★