Chicken Pot Pie Flaky Crust (Printable)
Tender chicken and veggies in creamy sauce wrapped in golden, flaky pastry crust.
# What You Need:
→ Flaky Pie Crust
01 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon salt
03 - 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
04 - 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water
05 - 1 egg (for egg wash)
→ Filling
06 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
07 - 1 medium onion, diced
08 - 2 medium carrots, diced
09 - 2 celery stalks, diced
10 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
11 - 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
12 - 3 cups chicken broth
13 - 1 cup whole milk or half-and-half
14 - 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
15 - 1 cup frozen peas
16 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
17 - 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
18 - Salt and pepper, to taste
# How To Cook:
01 - Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in cold butter using a pastry cutter or fingers until pea-sized lumps form. Gradually add ice water, mixing until dough forms. Divide dough in half, shape into disks, wrap in plastic, and chill at least 30 minutes.
02 - Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion, carrots, and celery until tender, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute more.
03 - Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and milk, cooking until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.
04 - Stir in chicken, peas, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
05 - Set oven temperature to 400°F (200°C).
06 - Roll out one dough disk to fit a 9-inch pie dish. Press dough into the dish and pour in filling.
07 - Roll out second dough disk and lay over filling. Trim and crimp edges to seal. Cut small slits on top for steam release.
08 - Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush over the crust surface.
09 - Bake 40 to 45 minutes until crust is golden and filling bubbles. Cover edges with foil if browning too quickly.
10 - Allow pot pie to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The crust is genuinely flaky and buttery, not dense or tough, because we treat the butter like it deserves respect.
- It feeds a crowd without requiring you to spend your whole day in the kitchen.
- There's something deeply satisfying about cutting into that golden top and watching the steam rise with the aroma of herbs and chicken.
02 -
- Cold butter is everything—if your kitchen is warm, work quickly and chill your dough longer, or you'll end up with pie crust that's tender but not flaky.
- Don't skip the 2-minute flour cooking step; it changes the sauce from slightly grainy and raw-tasting to silky and polished.
- The filling must be cool or room temperature when it goes into the crust, or the heat will melt the butter in the dough before it has a chance to create layers.
03 -
- Keep your pastry cutter or fork cold and work quickly when cutting in the butter—warm hands and warm tools are why pie crust fails more often than it succeeds.
- If your crust cracks when you lay it in the dish, don't panic; pinch the crack together and press extra dough into any thin spots, because pie crust is forgiving and nobody will know.