Chicken and veggie pot pie

Get dinner table on the table in 30 minutes with homemade chicken pot pie

There’s something so wonderful about chicken pot pie. Well, in truth, there are a few features that are wonderful about succulent chicken and vegetables cooked in a thick and flavoursome sauce, topped with a flaky puff pastry. And unlike a regular pie, you don’t have to worry about the crust going soggy. 

There are a couple of schools of thought about the old pot pie. If you head to Google to do some research into the history and find yourself on an American website, you’ll tend to find some varying results that talk about what we in Australia would simply call ‘a pie’ with crust on the bottom and the top. In Australia, and over the pond in Britain, the ‘pot pie’ is a stew-like creation served with a pastry top that can be either baked with the pastry on top or baked and the pastry added to the top before serving. 

The origins of the chicken pot pie recipe appear to date back to Ancient Greece, with a dish known as ‘Artō̆crĕas’, which consisted of an open pastry shell with filling. The progression into a pastry-topped pie was likely to have begun during the times of the Roman Empire, which at times saw them baked with live birds inside designed to fly out when cut. This means that the lyric “four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie” from the old nursery rhyme ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence’ was based on real-life events. 

The dish climbed in popularity during the 16th century and has since evolved into the gorgeous, pastry-topped creations you now find in pubs in the United Kingdom and on restaurant menus throughout Australia. 

What you need to make a delicious chicken pot pie with puff pastry

To make the tastiest chicken and vegetable pot pie, you need to start with the best quality ingredients. This recipe uses chicken thighs as they tend to remain succulent and tending during cooking compared to chicken breasts. If you dislike thigh meat, you can use breast meat but you’ll need to be careful not to cook it for too long and risk it drying out. If you’re short on time, you can even pick up a roast chicken or use up any leftover chicken you might have in your fridge. See our line-up of winning chicken dinner recipe ideas for more inspiration. 

The next most important ingredient in a chicken and vegetable pot pie recipe is, of course, the vegetables. As this classic pub meal features pastry only on the top of the pie, you want a selection of vegetables that provide colour and flavour but also include root vegetables to fill you up. This roasting vegetable mix provides carrot, pumpkin, red onion and zucchini with garlic and rosemary, offering a mix of flavours that work perfectly with chicken and create a hearty family meal. You can play around with the mixture if you prefer and include potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas and even cauliflower to suit your taste. 

The final ingredient that makes this pot pie recipe stand out from the crowd is the pastry. Frozen puff pastry adds a nice crunch and an irresistible buttery flavour. It’s super easy to use and will crisp up nicely to create the perfect, fuss-free crust for your pie.

This quick version uses pre-made chicken soup to save on time but you can create your filling if you prefer, like in this chicken and leek pot pie recipe. 

Tips for how to serve your chicken and veggie pot pie

While these tasty pies are pretty much a meal in themselves, there are a variety of ways you can serve them to make a complete meal. Favourite sides to serve with pies are vegetables like beans, peas and carrots. If you want to bulk up the meal a bit, you can't beat a side of creamy mashed potato. 

If you’re worried about how to divide the chicken puff pastry pot pie up on plates, you can make individual pies in small ramekins or other dishes and top with circles of pastry. 

For more ideas, check out our collection of delicious and easy pie recipes, including both sweet and savoury, all guaranteeing a heavenly slice.