What's for Dinner? Easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe for Busy Nights by Ann Marie G. Halstead

Chicken pot pie is one of the ultimate comfort foods. Tender chicken cooked in a velvety rich sauce with vegetables and a flaky crust is found on dinner tables across the U.S. The meat pie is a popular meal to serve for Sunday dinner, but easy enough as a high-protein dinner any day of the week. (Check out the health benefits of protein.)

This easy chicken pot pie recipe is made with bone-in chicken breast halves, thyme, butter, onion, carrots, flour, green peas, parsley and frozen puff pastry. The chicken is cooked in water along with fresh thyme sprigs to cook the chicken and create the homemade chicken broth. The onion and carrot are cooked in butter, then flour is added as a thickening agent. The chicken broth, peas and parsley are added and cook until thickened. The mixture is spooned into a casserole dish or ovenproof cast iron skillet, covered with the puff pastry and baked to golden perfection.

Did you know that chicken pop pie originated in Greece? No kidding! The Greeks started putting cooked meat into pastry shells called artocreas. It was the Romans, however, that added the top crust and made it into an actual chicken pot pie. But some still give credit to England for the pot pie. Pot pie did come to America with the English settlers.

Serve this savory chicken pot pie with a fresh garden salad, cucumber salad or your favorite side dish.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breast halves, bone-in and skin-on (about 3 pounds)
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme plus 2 teaspoons thyme leaves, minced
• 8 cups water
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced small 
• 6 tablespoons flour  
• 10 ounces (1 package) frozen peas, thawed
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) 

Here's how to make it: 

1. Put the chicken and thyme sprigs into a large soup pot. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to a cutting board. Reserve 5 cups of the chicken broth. When chicken is cool, remove the meat and shred.
2. Melt the butter in the pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook about 8 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle in the flour and cook until a paste forms. Pour in the 5 cups of chicken broth a little at a time, whisking, until it is all incorporated. Bring to a simmer and cook about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the shredded chicken, peas, parsley, thyme leaves, and salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the filling into a 9-inch cast iron skillet, similar size casserole dish or individual serving ramekins. 
3. Unroll the puff pastry sheet and cut into a circle larger than your skillet or casserole dish. Put the puff pastry over the filling, pressing the edges to seal. Cut a slit in the top of the pastry. Brush the dough with the egg wash. (You could also make individual chicken pot pies like shown in the photo.)
4. Bake in a preheated 375-degree F oven for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden. Store the pot pie covered in the fridge and reheat in the microwave.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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