This chicken pie has been a favorite of all my friends for years. When I’ve had people over for dinner and asked them if they had a preference for dinner, inevitably, they requested chicken pie. A lucky few have been given the recipe in the past, but not with my special notes on how to perfect this pie. There are many chicken pie recipes available, so why should you try mine? Quite simply, it’s easy to make and loaded with flavor. As always, give it a try as is and modify to your particular preferences the next time. Although, from years of taste testing with dozens of people, this should be pretty close to perfect. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 pie crusts (homemade or store bought, see Ideas below)
• 2 T flour
• 1-1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 c chicken broth
• 2 T butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/2 c light cream
• 2 c cubed, cooked chicken (see Ideas below)
• 1-1/2 c diced, cooked potatoes
• 1 onion, diced into large chunks
• 2/3 to 3/4 c frozen peas
• 1/2 to 2/3 c of sliced carrots

Instructions

• Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Peel potatoes and cut into bit size pieces. Peel and cut the carrots. Place in medium size pot with water just covering them on the stove. Bring to a boil and cook until softened (your fork can penetrate, but they cannot be easily mashed with your fork against the side of the pot.). This takes about 8-10 minutes.
• Cut onion into large chunks. Put in a bowl and cook in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. This is enough to partially cook the onions and ensures optimal flavor and done-ness in the pie.
• In a large bowl
  • Add the chicken and separate into small portions.
  • Add the onions.
  • While potatoes and carrots are cooking, prepare the pie crust and sauce, per the instructions below.
• Pie crust
  • Homemade – roll out 2/3 of the pastry until it’s 1/8″ thick, Fit into a 9″ pie pan. Roll out the rest and cut into strips.
  • Store bought – remove from refrigerator and let sit on counter for about 5-10 minutes before opening package. Place one crust into pie plate. Lay the second crust on the counter and cut into strips of ~1/2″ wide each.
• The sauce
  • In a small saucepan (I use my smallest, which is 1.5 qt), melt the butter over low heat.
  • Add the flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Mix well and cook over low heat, stirring often, until smooth and beginning to bubble.
  • Stir in cream and chicken broth.
  • Heat to boiling, stirring constantly so that you do not have lumps. Boil for about 1 minute. The sauce will start to thicken a little.

• Drain the cooked potatoes and carrots. Add to chicken, onions and peas. Mix.
• Pour the sauce into the large bowl and mix.
• Pour this mix into the pie plate.

• Place pie crust strips crisscross fashion to make a lattice-style top.
• Finish the edges of the pie.

• Cover the crust with a specialized pie crust edger (like what I use) or with aluminum foil. This will allow for your pie to cook properly, but ensure that you do not have a burnt crust.
  • When using aluminum foil, remember to remove the foil about 12-15 minutes before the pie is done baking.
• Bake 35-40 minutes, until nicely browned.

Ideas

• Chicken – There are 2 ways to prepare the chicken. First, you can purchase some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cook them (in a skillet or in boiling water) and then cut them into bit sized pieces. (Like the pie crust, I have done this many times.) Or you can buy pre-cooked chicken, which is a huge time saver and is super easy to have shredded chicken pieces in your pie. Contrary to my long-thought belief that cooking my own chicken is best, my friends and family have far preferred my pie when it has chicken from a can in it. It saves me a lot of time and effort, and texture-wise, they are definitely right.
• Potatoes and carrots – put the potatoes in the pot first and the carrots on top.
• Peas – you can used canned peas if you prefer, but the frozen ones keep their texture better. And if you have them, fresh peas are the best.
• Pie crust – I’ve made my own pie crust more times than I can remember and that is the ideal choice. That being said, most of us don’t have the time to do this. I normally serve this pie during the week. As a working mother with a small child, I no longer make my own crust except on special occasions. It’s perfectly fine to buy a ready-made, rolled up crust from the refrigerator section of the grocery store. But, buy the brand name crust, not the store bought. For this, I’ve seen a definitive difference in quality, flexibility and smoothness.
• Chicken broth – if you like your pie a little saltier and are using a powdered chicken broth as I do, use a little more than the recommended amount of powder when making your broth.