Quick and easy, hearty and delicious, chicken pot pie is the perfect simple dinner to use up those leftovers from the fridge!
There’s nothing like a hearty chicken pot pie, fresh from the oven with a perfectly golden flaky crust, and all of that rich bubbling gravy and steamy chicken and vegetables waiting for you inside. I know chicken pot pie seems like one of those hearty meals perfect for a winter day, and I know it may seem like it could be complicated to make with a lot of steps. But there is one simple reason that I chose to make this meal on a warm spring day, and its the same reason that makes it incredibly easy and quick to make: leftovers. With the leftovers from my Roast Chicken with Black Currant Gravy calling out to me from inside my fridge letting me know I only had a few days left before they went bad, I knew I had to act quick to repurpose them into a new, fresh and homemade meal. Chicken pot pie was my answer to that calling.
Being my father’s daughter, and my father being my grandfather’s son, we were raised to never ever waste food. You see, my grandfather, hardened from growing up during the Depression in Brooklyn and from being stationed as a Marine in the South Pacific during WWII, never wasted a stitch of food. When you don’t have much to eat, you really can’t afford to waste anything. Even as a kid when we would go to my grandparents house for Sunday macaroni and gravy, he would always pile pasta onto our plates but make us tell him “when,” to signal him to stop before he gave us too much food. He said to never take more food than we could eat; we could always come back for seconds, but we should always be able to finish what was on our plates so that none of it went to waste. My dad was raised the same way, and that was how he raised my brother and I. In some instances my dad can be a little extreme in his desire to not waste anything – and I have a few stories of these instances that I am saving for future posts – but for the most part he instilled in me the strong conviction to not waste any food. And as much as my dad dislikes chicken, the inspiration for this chicken pot pie comes from him, since he taught me that its simply unacceptable to let leftovers sit in the fridge and go bad.
And so using the leftovers from my roast chicken recipe, both the meat of the chicken and the gravy, I made this quick and easy chicken pot pie. I used a pre-made pie crust which came out really well, but if you have the time and energy to make your own then by all means do it! We didn’t have any vegetables left over so I used frozen peas, carrots, and pearl onions, but if we had some of those delicious roasted veggies we made with the chicken I definitely would have thrown them in. I chose frozen over fresh vegetables for my chicken pot pie because they get cooked for a long time and absorb all of the delicious flavors of the gravy, which kind of defeats the purpose of fresh vegetables – plus it’s a lot less prep work – but you could definitely use fresh if you have them instead. Speaking of the gravy for my chicken pot pie, I used the same gravy I had made for my roast chicken with black currant gravy, and I thinned it out a bit with a touch of cream and some extra chicken stock. If you read my roast chicken recipe, you’ll realize how much I loved the addition of black currant jam which brought the perfect sweetness with just a touch of sour to the savory gravy, and I just couldn’t resist making it again for my chicken pot pie – it was just as delicious the second time around.
If you really wanted to go all out in using up all your leftovers, you could use the bones from the roast chicken to make the chicken stock that will thin your gravy out, but I simply used the chicken stock from the box. Honestly, while using up leftovers was a big reason for making this chicken pot pie, having it be super quick and simple to throw together was another big driving factor in deciding how to craft this recipe. With a pre-made pie crust, frozen veggies, and already cooked chicken, this chicken pot pie took less than 10 minutes to come together, and about another 30 for the crust to brown up in the oven. You could really use any precooked chicken you have to make this meal, and if you don’t happen to have any then you can quickly just cook up some chicken breasts in the oven, a pan, or poach them in chicken stock. But honestly using leftovers is even faster, easier, and you’ll feel great for not letting any food go to waste. Plus you’d make my dad so proud!
- 1 pre-made pie crust, 9 inches round
- 1 egg, beaten, as an egg wash for the crust (optional)
- 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken meat
- 3 cups frozen or fresh veggies of your choice - I used peas and carrots
- 10-20 pearl onions - you can use fresh but frozen is easier since you don't have to peel them
- For the gravy: if you have leftover gravy, by all means use it. If you don't, or if you don't have much of it left over, you can make this fresh gravy and add the leftover gravy (which is what I did). To make a fresh gravy you will need:
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 tablespoon of flour
- ¼ cup of chicken stock
- ¼ cup of heavy cream
- 1-2 tablespoon of black currant jam, to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Make the gravy for the chicken pot pie: in a large, deep skillet, cook the flour and butter over medium heat to make a rue. Whisk the rue well and cook until the flour is browned slightly, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock to the pan and whisk until the rue is totally dissolved. If you have any left over gravy, you can add it in with the chicken stock. Allow the chicken stock to simmer until reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the black currant jam and whisk well to dissolve. Turn the heat to low and add in the heavy cream and simmer for about a minute - you want to avoid cooking it too long or over high heat so that you don't scorch the cream. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Add your veggies and chicken into the skillet with the gravy and cook until they have warmed through, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken and veggies in gravy to a 9 inch pie pan. Top with your pre-made pie crust. Crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork, and make a few slits in the top to vent the pie. For a more golden brown crust, brush the egg wash onto the crust.
- Bake the pie in a 375°F oven until crust is well browned, about 30 minutes.
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