Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

Classic Chicken Pot Pie

If you are looking for an old fashioned, traditional chicken pot pie, made from a whole chicken, freshly cut vegetables, and a flaky homemade crust, this is it!

This chicken pot pie recipe is also known as “Mrs. Hering’s Chicken Pot Pie” in the Marshall Field’s Cookbook, from the famed Chicago Marshall Fields department store. First introduced to customers in 1890, it was this Marshall’s chicken pot pie that launched the dish into our national consciousness.

How to Make Chicken Pot Pie

This pot pie recipe is a weekend affair — meaning, you should put on some music and set aside some time to make this! Your time will be well rewarded. There is nothing like the taste of homemade, from-scratch chicken pot pie.

Here are the basic steps:

Cook the chicken: Start with a whole, raw chicken. Simmer it with water and vegetables until the meat is cooked. Pull all the meat off the bones for your pie, then add the leftover bones back to the pot. This makes a rich chicken stock for your recipe. Make the pie crust: If you’re intimidated by pie crusts, have no fear! This crust is made in the food processor and is easy to roll out. (You could also skip making pie crust and just use rounds of puff pastry instead.) Make the filling: This pot pie filling is a mix of classic veggies (carrots, celery, and onion) with a sauce thickened with some flour and milk. Put it all together: Portion the filling into individual ramekins and top with a lid of pie crust. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.

Make-Ahead Steps

If you’re not keen on spending the whole afternoon in the kitchen, you can certainly break this into steps. The chicken can be cooked and shredded, and the stock simmered, up to three days ahead. (You can also make it in the pressure cooker following this method.)

The pie crust can also be made up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated. When you’re ready to assemble the pot pies, just let it sit on the counter for a few minute to take the chill off and make it easier to roll it out.

You could also prepare the entire filling and even portion it into the ramekins a day or so ahead of time. Keep them covered and refrigerated. Just wait to top with the pie crust lid until you’re ready to bake.

A Thick and Creamy Filling

The ideal consistency of your filling when you’re cooking it on the stovetop and before going into the pot pies should be creamy and thickened. It will thicken a little more in the oven as the pot pies bake, so at this point, you want it to be slightly less thick than the finished dish.

If at this point your filling seems soupy, like heavy cream, let it simmer until it thickens up enough coat the back of a wooden spoon. If it seems like it’s not thickening up as fast as you like, scoop out about 1/4 cup of the sauce, whisk in a tablespoon or two of flour until no more lumps remain, and then whisk this mixture into the skillet.

If it seems like the filling thickened up too much and it starting to seem stiff, then whisk in a little broth or water to thin it out again.

Leftover Pot Pie

Pot pie is best served right away, mostly because that’s when the pastry crust topping is at its crispiest and flakiest. If you have leftovers, you can definitely reheat them — they’re delicious! Just know that the pie crust will be softened and won’t crisp back up again.

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