Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie
(Updated 10/6/2019) An easy, deconstructed chicken pot pie made with plenty of fresh vegetables, thyme, parsley, and topped with buttery puff pastry!
PSA: Please be nice to college students, we are in the midst of midterms and life is a lot to deal with right now!!!!!!!
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been a giant ball of college-related anxiety which has led me to staying up into the early hours of the morning working on business plans and marketing research studies while living off of scrambled eggs with toast. I’ve also been fighting the early stages of a cold by popping obscene amounts of Vitamin C and drinking Immune Boosting Tea. The cabin fever is getting to a Jack Nicholson-level that makes me dream of hiking and Tahoe beaches and weekend roadtrips to San Fran.
In times like these, I find the only cure is to take a couple of hours to indulge comfort food, a sleeve of Milanos, and a lighthearted tween movie, normally of the Disney variety, although that is not required. My choice of the moment is Princess Diaries. But I digress. What I’m really here to talk about is the comfort food component.
My comfort food of choice: easy, cozy deconstructed chicken pot pie.
Today, we have chicken pot pie that has been deconstructed, because there’s less time between preparation and consumption, and also puff pastry is the jam. I developed the recipe randomly one weekend with ingredients I had sitting around in my fridge, and I will never look back. As far as I’m concerned, chicken pot pie is the best food to cure sadness, and also it’s the best way to say goodbye to the winter season. While this is not necessarily a “traditional” pot pie, it has all of the components. Chicken, veggies, thyme, crust, warmth, happiness. And you’re probably eating it snuggled up in a blanket while watching a movie. I *highly suggest* making this one last time before BBQ season officially hits.
How to make deconstructed chicken pot pie
This is a very easy pot pie recipe! It’s one of my favorites for the weekend, because it only takes like, an hour total. I prefer to make little mini chicken pot pie cocottes, but it’s not necessary. You can also make this a one-pot deconstructed chicken pot pie if you feel so inclined! You just have to boil the chicken and potatoes, saute the veggies, and thicken the sauce. After, top it with buttery puff pastry! And then dig in while it’s way too hot, burn your lip, and have the *ultimate* chicken pot pie situation.
Also, this recipe is easy to switch up! Use whatever veggies you have laying around. You could do broccoli or green beans or mushrooms if you’d like. I kind of think mushrooms have the texture of a slug, so I avoid them. But do you!
And speaking of mushrooms, you could totally make this recipe vegetarian by subbing chicken for mushrooms and using veggie broth! Super easy. Have fun. Get creative. Go crazy, girl.
(On another note, if you know anyone interested in funding a coffee shop/bakery or a weekend vacation, or you have some secret knowledge that I’m a princess and therefore deserve to be in the far away land of Genovia wearing pretty ballgowns and living in a castle instead of studying my brains out in college, you know where to find me).
Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie
Notes: This will feed six people if you have other sides involved. If you have big eaters, this will probably only feed four.
Make it vegetarian by subbing the chicken for mushrooms and using veggie broth!
You can also use regular pie dough if you prefer that over puff pastry.
You can use ramekins or cocottes. I like Staub and Le Creuset.
Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 1 egg, whisked with 1 Tbs. water (a.k.a. egg wash)
- 1 lb chicken breasts or thighs
- 3 small gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 celery stalks, small dice
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 1/3 cup peas
- 1/3 cup corn
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Grab 6 ramekins/cocottes to make mini chicken pot pies. To make a one-pot recipe, make sure you have a deep 12-inch pan.
- Place your puff pastry on a floured surface. Roll out any cracks in the pastry with a rolling pin. Using your ramekins as a guide, cut out six rounds. (If you’re making one-pot chicken pot pie, you can just leave it as a big rectangle). Place the puff pastry rounds/rectangle on a baking sheet, and brush with the egg wash. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until a deep golden brown. Set aside.
- Place the chicken breasts (or thighs) and potatoes in the 12-inch pan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender and the chicken is cooked through. Drain the chicken and potatoes. Then, cut the chicken in bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
- Wipe the 12-inch pan clean, and place it back on the stove over medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pan, and add the carrots, celery, and shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender and starting to brown on the edges, about 8 minutes. Add the peas, corn, and garlic, and saute for about 30 seconds, until the garlic is fragrant.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetable mixture, and cook for a minute or two. Then, slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk, until the mixture is smooth and starts to thicken. Add the chicken, potatoes, thyme, parsley, salt, and lots of pepper. Taste, and season as necessary. Let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Divide the chicken pot pie filling between the six ramekins. Top with the puff pastry rounds, and serve! For the one-pot version, place the puff pastry rectangle on top of the filling. Cut into 6 slices, and serve. Enjoy!
XO SaraLynn
*Song of the Day: Maps by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Deconstructed is so clever as it avoids the soggy bottom of the pastry lid! At least…whenever I make chicken pie, I always struggle to get the top nice and crisp all the way through, so I have also resorted to deconstruct at times.
Good luck with your mid term!
Thanks so much! I love the deconstructed version, because it definitely keeps the pot pie from being soggy. At times, I have prebaked the bottom crust when using pie dough, but since puff pastry is so yummy, I think this will be my new method from now on!
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