Mama’s Chicken Pot Pie

An easy recipe for the best classic homemade Chicken Pot Pie with tender chicken in rich, velvety sauce with a double crust that’s flaky and perfect!

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I was just like a lot of kids in the 80’s in that I was home alone a good bit. Mama went back to work when I was in middle school and most of my friends’ moms worked too so there was a LOT of free time completely unsupervised. 

And once again, I’ll just say how thankful I am that social media and smart phones were not a thing in the 80’s and 90’s because now I’m free to parent with all the hypocrisy I want because nobody can prove a thing! 

Anyway, summers were full of frozen pizzas, boxed mac & cheese, ravioli and chicken pot pies. To this day, if anyone says the words “chicken pot pie” the roof of my mouth and my tongue feel scorched for a split second for all the times I burned them diving in too soon!

I ate around the peas (y’all know I hate them) and the dreadful corkboard textured cubes of chicken but I loved those frozen chicken pot pies so when Mama would make her homemade Chicken Pot Pie I’d get as excited as I would if we were going to Pizza Hut or Red Lobster (the cornerstones of fine family dining back then).

The BEST things about Mama’s version (well, aside from it not having peas) was the slow-cooked, tender chunks of chicken, velvety delicious sauce/gravy and flakey double crust. 

Which is why it came as somewhat of a shock to me that her old, tried and true recipe that everyone asks for time and time again uses ready-made, refrigerated pie crusts!

I had no idea! I always thought of those with desserts and didn’t even think about the fact that they’re not sweet. I asked her once why she didn’t make the pie pastry homemade and she said Why would I? Pillsbury’s are perfect.

And they really are. I mean, look at that top crust? You can see how flaky it is. I’ll be honest, I’ve never not made this with the ready-made pie crust dough but if you’d like to make yours homemade, the crust recipe included with my Classic Pecan Pie would be lovely! 

If you’ve been around here long you know I hate English peas so you won’t see any in my recipes, including this one. I don’t hire out my food styling and photography - we actually eat what I cook - so I didn’t put peas in pot pie but you can 100% add them. Just stir about a cup into the sauce when you add the chicken. 

I wouldn’t recommend using frozen or canned diced carrots, celery and onion (or another combo of mixed vegetables) because the sauce/gravy really, really needs the veggies to be cooked in the butter, then with the flour that makes the base of the sauce. 

NOTES ABOUT MAKING MAMA'S CHICKEN POT PIE:

• You can use bone-in, skin-on breasts or thighs instead of a whole chicken with no changes to the recipe. The recipe needs approximately 3-4 cups diced chicken.
• You can use boneless, skinless breasts in this recipe BUT you will need to cook them in chicken broth instead of water. The recipe needs approximately 3-4 cups diced chicken.
• You can also use rotisserie chicken and store-bought broth if you'd like.
• When cooking the chicken and making homemade stock, I use 2 teaspoons salt then 1 teaspoon each pepper, thyme and garlic powder (with 4 cups of water).
• Not sure if the dish you want to use is big enough? The recipe makes about 6 cups of filling so just measure 6 cups of water then pour it into the dish to see if it fits.

• YES! YES! YES! You can absolutely add peas to this recipe!!! Add 1 cup frozen or fresh peas when adding the chicken to the thickened stock. You can add corn, mushrooms or just about whatever you like!
• This recipe freezes beautifully! Cover tightly with aluminum foil then freeze up to 3 months. Bake at 400 degrees, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove foil then bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Place a pie guard or aluminum foil ring over edges after about 20 minutes to prevent overbrowning.
• I use refrigerated Pillsbury Pie Crusts (typically found in the diary section near canned biscuit dough). If you’d like to make homemade crusts, the recipe I almost always use is listed in my recipe for Classic Pecan Pie.
• You can use milk instead of half & half if needed.
• To get “pie-like” slices, you will need to let the Chicken Pot Pie cool until you can handle the pan without oven mitts.

TIP!! When I make this recipe, I almost ALWAYS cook enough chicken for two recipes. It’s just so much easier to go ahead and chop up the chicken and save the broth for another delicious homemade meal later in the week! Here are some recipes I often make when doubling up on the chicken:

Homemade Chicken & Dumplings - An old-fashioned recipe for tender stewed chicken in a rich stock with soft dropped dumplings or use the same recipe for rolled and cut dumplings.

French Onion Chicken Casserole - An easy, creamy chicken noodle casserole with French onion soup, topped with toasty buttered bread cubes and crispy fried onions. 

Chicken & Stuffing Casserole - An addictive comfort food casserole recipe with Pepperidge Farm stuffing, sour cream and chicken.

Carolina Chicken Bog - A one-pot recipe of rice, chicken and smoked sausage cooked in a flavorful stock made from slow-cooked chicken. 

Chicken Tetrazzini - Classic chicken or turkey tetrazzini made with pasta, mushrooms, wine (optional) and cheese. Super easy AND super delicious!

Recipe for Mama’s Chicken Pot Pie

Mama’s Chicken Pot Pie

Yield: 8 Servings

Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 2 H & 40 MTotal time: 2 H & 50 M

An easy recipe for the best classic homemade Chicken Pot Pie with tender chicken in rich, velvety sauce with a double crust that’s flaky and perfect!

Ingredients

• 1 small chicken (2.5-3 lbs)
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup half & half
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts

Instructions

1. Read recipe notes before beginning.
2. Add chicken to a large pot then add 4 cups water (it’s OK if the chicken isn’t submerged). Season per your preference, cover then cook over low heat for about 2 hours or until the legs and thighs are pulling apart from the chicken.
3. Remove chicken to cool then strain broth, reserving 2 cups. Save the remaining broth for another recipe.
4. Once cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones from chicken then cut into bite-sized pieces; set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. Sauté carrots, celery and onion in butter over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, thyme and flour then stir until very well combined. Continue cooking for 2 minutes.
7. Combine reserved 2 cups of broth with half & half then slowly pour over vegetables. Using a large whisk, stir and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat then stir in chicken.
8. Roll out one pie pastry on a lightly floured surface until just large enough to line the bottom and slightly overhang the sides of a 1.5-quart deep dish pie pan or other round or oval baking dish. Pierce the bottom of the pastry 4-5 times with a fork.
9. Pour chicken mixture over bottom pastry.
10. Roll out remaining pastry just large enough to slightly overhang the top. Lay pastry over chicken mixture then fold over bottom pastry, pinching to seal.
11. Cut 3-5 slits in the top pastry to vent then bake at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Place a pie guard or aluminum foil ring over edges after about 20 minutes to prevent overbrowning.
12. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Notes:

• You can use bone-in, skin-on breasts or thighs instead of a whole chicken with no changes to the recipe. The recipe needs approximately 3-4 cups diced chicken.
• You can use boneless, skinless breasts in this recipe BUT you will need to cook them in chicken broth instead of water and additional seasoning. The recipe needs approximately 3-4 cups diced chicken.
• You can also use rotisserie chicken and prepared broth if you'd like.
• When cooking the chicken and making homemade stock, I use 2 teaspoons salt then 1 teaspoon each pepper, thyme and garlic powder (with 4 cups of water).
• Not sure if the dish you want to use is big enough? The recipe makes about 6 cups of filling so just measure 6 cups of water then pour it into the dish to see if it fits.
• You can absolutely add peas to this recipe! Add 1 cup frozen or fresh peas when adding the chicken to the thickened stock. You can add corn, mushrooms or just about whatever you like!
• This recipe freezes beautifully! Cover tightly with aluminum foil then freeze up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 400 degrees, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove foil then bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Place a pie guard or aluminum foil ring over edges after about 20 minutes to prevent overbrowning.
• I use Pillsbury Pie Crusts (typically found in the diary section near canned biscuit dough). If you’d like to make homemade crusts, the recipe I almost always use is listed in my recipe for Classic Pecan Pie.
• You can use milk instead of half & half if needed.
• To get “pie-like” slices, you will need to let the Chicken Pot Pie cool until you can handle the pan without oven mitts.

https://www.southyourmouth.com/2021/11/mamas-chicken-pot-pie.html

Images and text © South Your Mouth LLC

chicken, pot pie, sauce, gravy, homemade, easy, classic, best, traditional, refrigerated, pillsbury, crust, pastry, ready made, double crust, flaky, how to, recipe

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