Rotisserie chicken and roasted vegetables smothered in garlic herb gravy,
encased in short crust and topped with stuffing. This is the pot pie of your
dreams.
inspiration
If I’m being honest, I’ve never loved chicken pot pie. It’s usually mid at best and bland at worst. I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could come up with a version that I not only like, but love. I did weeks of research, making notes of what ingredients were common. I identified where pies had potential for blandness and came up with ideas to fix them.
When it came out of the oven, the stuffing was dark brown and just a bit crispy on the top. The pastry was deep gold and crisp, even on the bottom. It didn’t necessarily look traditional, but that was the point. This is not your grandmother’s pot pie. It’s everything a pot pie should be: chicken and roasted vegetables smothered in gravy made with tons of garlic and a heap of fresh herbs, gorgeous golden pie crust, and topped with stuffing for a little twist.
why i love this recipe
This is the pot pie of your dreams (and mine). It’s deeply flavorful, unbeatably hearty, and a little unexpected—without using any weird ingredients. The vegetables? Roasted, to bring out the sweetness. The gravy? Full of garlic and herbs and a splash of vinegar, which makes a huge difference. And while we keep the gorgeous pie crust for the bottom layer, we switch out the top layer for fluffy, savory stuffing (which deserves so much more attention than just Thanksgiving). Rotisserie chicken, storebought pie crust, and boxed stuffing make it totally doable on a weeknight. And it makes awesome leftovers.
details
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: when a good shortcut is available, use it. There’s no need to cook the chicken yourself when a rotisserie chicken from the store will be just as good. Some people think there’s a massive difference between storebought pie crust and homemade, but frankly, I don’t think it’s worth the extra work here. Same goes for the stuffing—the stuff from the box is very tasty and takes all of five minutes to make.
The most real work you’ll do is prepping the vegetables. You can leave the pearl onions whole, but the other veggies will need to be bite-sized—yes, even the celery and brussels sprouts. I think raw celery tastes downright offensive but roasting makes it mellow and sweet, so much less fibrous and earthy and dirt-like. Brussels sprouts are usually halved for roasting, but bite-sizing them helps them cook faster. You don’t need a lot of space between the veggies on the pan—as long as they’re in one layer, you’ll be good. The brussels sprouts will fall apart a bit when you cut them and toss them in oil and salt. This is totally fine! Just sort of bunch the sprouts and loose leaves together on the baking sheet.
details, continued
While the veggies are roasting, make the gravy. It has a roux base, which means it thickens when simmered. I used whole milk, but you can use cream or half-and-half if you want it extra creamy. Use reduced sodium chicken stock; if you have the regular kind on hand, taste the gravy before adding any salt.
To prevent the crust from getting soggy, I used a trick from Sally’s Baking Addiction. Instead of mixing the vegetables, chicken, and gravy together and pouring it in the crust, add it in layers: chicken, then veg, then gravy. The gravy will distribute a bit in the oven and the crust will stay crisp. You’ll want to use a springform pan or deep pie dish here; a regular pie dish won’t be deep enough. If you end up with too much filling from the crust, steal a bit from the second one—most storebought pie crusts come with two.
notes
chicken: seriously, don’t cook chicken for this unless you really love cooking chicken. If that’s you, do your thing. I cannot relate.
milk: I have very limited fridge space so don’t like buying anything I don’t have to. Use cream or half-and-half if you want; don’t use anything less than whole milk.
chicken stock: Reduced sodium, please! I always use Better Than Boullion. You should be able to find it at any grocery store. If that’s not what you have on hand, taste the gravy before you add any salt.
vegetables: You can adapt this to your preferences. If you want to go the traditional route and use peas instead of brussels sprouts, you can—just cook them first and sprinkle them over the chicken with the rest of the veg.
filling: You need 4 ½ to 5 cups of filling (veggies uncooked). You can adjust this if you’d rather have more chicken or more veg.
notes, continued
stuffing: use whatever flavor you want. I used herb, but chicken would also be good.
herbs: I love the combination of thyme and rosemary! Use fresh if you can. Dried thyme is okay in a pinch, but don’t use dried rosemary; it’s very strong and feels like chewing on pine needles.
vinegar: I used apple cider, but white wine or white vinegar are good substitutes.
nutmeg: If you don’t like it, you can leave it out.
leftovers: chicken pot pie keeps for 3 days in the fridge, tightly covered. It’s best the day of, but will still taste great reheated. The texture may change—gravy tends to get firmer with time, so it might seem a bit drier or more solid.
I hope you love this chicken pot pie! Here are some other cozy weeknight recipes: weeknight arroz con pollo, easy shallot tarts, and grilled pb & js with cinnamon honey butter.
chicken pot pie
Ingredients
Method
- Prepare oven and pan. Preheat oven to 425F. Lightly grease a springform pan.
- Roast vegetables. Toss onions, carrots, celery, and brussels sprouts in a generous amount of olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Roast for 15 minutes, until brussels sprouts are tender and browning. Some of the skins will be very dark, and that’s fine! Remove the brussels sprouts from the pan and set aside. Return pan to the oven and roast another 15 minutes, until the rest of the veggies are browning and tender.
- Make sauce. In a sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant and butter is beginning to darken. Whisk in flour and cook for two minutes, stirring. Gradually stir in milk and broth. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, thyme, and rosemary. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until thick—we’re looking for sort of a thicker gravy consistency. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in a splash of apple cider vinegar.
- Make stuffing. Make the stuffing according to package directions and set aside.
- Assemble and bake. Place the pie crust in the springform pan. In separate layers, add the chicken, the veggies, and then the sauce. Spoon stuffing on top, careful not to leave any exposed sauce. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crispy on the top. Serve warm.
Looks yummy! I totally agree about store crust. I’ve never used vinegar in my pot pie, I’ll have to try that.
It just kind of brightens up the flavor a bit!