This chicken pot pie casserole with a flaky pie crust topping is the answer to your Southern food cravings. With simple ingredients like chicken breast and frozen peas and carrots, topped with a homemade pie crust, and baked in the oven for 30 minutes, this dish will bring warmth to your soul. Perfect for weeknight family dinners when you need a little Southern comfort in your life.
My Southern kitchen is always cooking up hearty comfort food, and chicken pot pie is a classic dish that delivers! Fun fact - I actually didn't like chicken pot pie when it was on the weeknight dinner menu growing up. I preferred to just eat the pie crust, to be honest.
But as I have gotten older my palette has changed, and so have my preferences. But the crust is still my favorite part! 😉 There is something with true comfort foods like chicken and dumplings, white chicken chili, fluffy buttermilk biscuits and gravy, sausage balls, Easy Broccoli Casserole, etc that just bring you back home and warm your soul. Or fuel your soul.......get it..... wink wink..... ok I am done lol. 😉
Chicken pot pie can be made with different types of "cream of whatever" cans of soup depending on which recipe you find or grow up with. But I just like to stay away from processed foods, so I tested this a bunch of different times to figure out how to get that same luscious cream chicken and veggie filling but with fewer ingredients. And I figured it out!
Growing up my mom made this in a pie dish with pie crust on the top and bottom (again my favorite part) like a true pie - but today I am switching it up a bit and making it just a smidge easier. We are going to just lay the crust on top. So you still get the taste of the perfectly flaky buttery golden homemade pie crust - but with just a little less effort.
This chicken pot pie recipe starts with a hearty filling made with tender chunks of chicken, sautéed onions, celery, and garlic, creating a flavorful base for this comforting dish. Mixed in with some milk, chicken broth, spices, and frozen peas and carrots for ease - topped with the crust and baked in the oven until golden brown and bubbly on the inside.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Butter
- Celery, Garlic and Onion
- Flour - this is going to serve as a thickening agent for the filling instead of using "cream of whatever canned condensed soup". It will help create a smooth and creamy consistency for the filling by binding the liquids together with far fewer ingredients and still a great taste.
- Whole Milk - I recommend using whole milk for this recipe for maximum flavor. This is a Southern comfort dish after all. 😉
- Chicken Broth - this is going to help replace the cream soup flavor as well. Gives a bit more depth of flavor and rounds out all the creaminess with some savoriness to the filling.
- Seasonings - salt, thyme, basil, white pepper, nutmeg
- Cooked Chicken Breast - there are several ways to make the chicken. You can just bake some chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper in the oven, let cool, and cube is the way I like to do it. This can be done a day or two in advance if needed to make things a little easier. You can also use rotisserie chicken and just cut up the white meat in cubes and the hard work is done for you. Whatever you have on hand is easiest for you!
- Frozen Peas and Carrots - Again, easy peasy. Skip the peeling and chopping and just use a bag of frozen peas and carrots. Boom. Done!
- Pie Crust - of course you know I am going to say I recommend using a homemade version because it tastes so much better - but a store-bought crust is always an option. You will want the flat kind you can roll out, similar to this one, instead of the premade pie shell since we are just laying this flat on top and not putting the filling inside a shell.
Step by Step on How To Make
Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x9 baking dish and set aside.
Soften the vegetables: Place a large pot on the stove over medium heat. Add in butter, onion, and celery. Saute until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for another 5 minutes or until everything is soft and fragrant.
Thicken the filling: To the vegetable mixture, add the flour and stir for 2-3 minutes to ensure a thick coating on the vegetables. Then, pour ½ cup of milk in, continuing to stir before adding the rest of the milk and chicken broth. Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture.
Add remaining ingredients: Turn the heat down to medium-low, then add the spices, cooked chicken, and frozen vegetables. Stir once more and let the filling simmer for 5 minutes to thicken and develop flavors.
Add pie crust: Pour the filling into the prepared baking dish. Top with pie crust by covering the entire dish and placing slits at the top for steam to escape. Ensure that the pie crust is properly sealed to the edges of the baking dish to prevent any filling from leaking out during baking.
Bake and cool: Place the casserole in the oven and let it bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let the casserole cool and set for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
PRO TIP - And if you’re short on time, you can use premade rotisserie chicken and a storebought pie crust, transforming it into a quick weeknight meal that’s equally comforting! This meal also can be made ahead of time and can be frozen for later so you can enjoy a hearty, satisfying meal when you need it.
Storing & Freezing
This is a dish that is so great to prep ahead of time and have in the freezer for when you don't feel like cooking. My mom made us a couple of these when we had our first baby and it was SO NICE to be able to go in the freezer, pop this in the oven, and dinner was done!
Storing: To store any leftover chicken pot pie casserole, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
To make ahead: make the filling completely and pour into a greased baking dish. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge, top with the crust, and bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until the filling is hot and bubbly and the crust is slightly golden brown.
To freeze: Prepare the recipe, including the crust, and pour into a greased baking dish. Wrap airtight in plastic wrap and then in foil. Label and date. Freeze for up to 6 months. To bake from frozen, unwrap to remove the plastic wrap, then wrap the top in foil. Bake at 375 for 60 minutes, removing the foil for the last 30 minutes to brown the crust or until the center is hot and bubbly and the crust is slightly golden brown.
Recipe
Baked Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Flaky Pie Crust Topping
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6
Description
This chicken pot pie casserole with a flaky pie crust topping is the answer to your Southern food cravings. With simple ingredients like chicken breast and frozen peas and carrots, topped with a homemade pie crust, and baked in the oven for 30 minutes, this dish will bring warmth to your soul. Perfect for weeknight family dinners when you need a little Southern comfort in your life.
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 Medium Sized Onion - diced
- 1 Cup Celery - diced
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves - minced
- 3 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 ½ Cups Whole Milk
- 1 ½ Cups Chicken Broth
- ¾ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Thyme
- ½ Teaspoon Basil
- ½ Teaspoon White Pepper
- ¼ Teaspoon Pepper
- ⅛ Teaspoon Nutmeg
- 3 Cups Cooked Chicken Breast (3 large breasts or roughly 2 pounds) - cubed
- 1 Cup Frozen Peas and Carrots
- 1 Homemade Pie Crust (or storebought)
- 1 Egg - for egg wash
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Place a large pot on the stove over medium heat. Add in butter, onion, and celery. Saute until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for another 5 minutes, or until everything is soft and fragrant.
- Add in flour and mix thoroughly - stir for 2-3 minutes making a thick coating on the vegetables.
- Slowly pour in ½ cup of milk and mix, combining the flour and veggie mixture well. Add in the rest of the milk and chicken broth. Stir to make sure no clumps are present.
- Turn on medium-low heat. Add in all of the spices, cooked chicken, and frozen veggies. Give it a good stir and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Pour into a greased 9x9 baking dish. Top with pie crust and crimp around the edge of the baking dish to seal. Cut a couple of small slits in the top for steam to escape and brush gently with an egg wash.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes and until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Any kind of cooked chicken can be used for this. Cut-up rotisserie chicken breast, baked chicken, leftover chicken, etc. Whatever kind of white meat chicken you would like to use to make this easy is great!
- You can use fresh veggies if desired (½ cup diced carrots and ½ cup peas).
- For the crust - if you use the homemade pie crust recipe, use half (which is 1 pie crust - freeze the other crust, double this recipe, or use it to make a quiche). For a store-bought crust, make sure you get the sheet of pie crust and not the premade shell.
- Keep leftovers stored in the fridge wrapped tightly for 2-3 days.
Making Ahead
- The day before: make the filling completely and pour into a greased baking dish. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge, top with the crust, and bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until the filling is hot and bubbly and the crust is slightly golden brown.
- To freeze: make completely (including crust) and pour into a greased baking dish. Wrap airtight in plastic wrap and then in foil. Write on the top what it is. Place in the freezer for up to 6 months. Bake from frozen (unwrap to remove the plastic wrap then wrap the top in foil) at 375 for 60 minutes (removing the foil the last 30 minutes to brown the crust) or until the center is hot and bubbly and the crust is slightly golden brown.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dinner - Casserole
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scoop
- Calories: 285
- Sugar: 5.1 g
- Sodium: 641.3 mg
- Fat: 12.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.9 g
- Fiber: 1.9 g
- Protein: 29.4 g
- Cholesterol: 105.3 mg
