This rich and creamy deconstructed chicken pot pie is the ultimate bowl of cozy-weather comfort. It's great for busy weeknights, quickly coming together in one pot with juicy chicken thighs, tender veggies, and a savory creamy soup. The delicious crust is baked separately so it's crisp, buttery, and easy to put together!
Love chicken soups and stews? Try my chicken noodle soup, this Greek lemony chicken-and-rice avgolemono soup, or cozy chicken and fluffy herb dumplings!
Classic Comfort Food for Cold Wintery Days!
When the cozy weather comes to town, y'all know I get too, too excited. The fireplace comes right back on and my stove and oven are covered in pots of any and all types of stews.
As one of my personally favorite (and reader favorite) recipes, this post deserved an update since it originally came out in 2016. This comforting meal easy and cozy and done in less than 30 minutes, what is not to love about chicken pot pie soup?
That's basically what a deconstructed chicken pot pie is: all the yummy vegetables, herbs, chicken, and gravy but the crust is baked separately on a baking sheet and it could be anything! A pie crust, a batch of mouthwatering biscuits, a sheet of puff pastry cut into wedges.
It's the perfect meal for this time of the year, taking the classic creamy filling and cooking it in a pot rather than spending a couple of hours stewing and shredding and rolling dough. It's simple, easy, and unfussy.
It's chicken thighs and vegetables mixed up in a creamy sauce that the whole family will just eat up, you know? A mom's best friend.
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Jump to:
- Classic Comfort Food for Cold Wintery Days!
- Why You're Going to Love this Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
- Equipment
- Key Ingredients for Chicken Pot Pie
- How to Make Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Choose your crust: Biscuits or Puff Pastry
- Variations and Substitutions
- Pro Tips
- Make Ahead Instructions
- Storage and Reheating
- FAQs
- More Cold-Weather Comfort Food Recipes
- Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie
Why You're Going to Love this Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Use Whatever You've Got on Hand - You can use frozen peas and carrots or you can grab fresh vegetables and throw them right in, this recipe is a base with simple ingredients and so easy to customize.
Winter's Ultimate Comfort Food - what is more comforting than chicken soup and stew? Honestly? Whether you have a cold or are just cold, this recipe is ready in
Never soggy, and no need to make a pie crust - this recipe is really so customizable. Use whatever you want as a crust topping or even have no crust at all! There's no worry if you'll have a gluey, soggy crust.
Equipment
Dutch Oven - you could also make this in a braiser or cast iron skillet like I did, but a dutch oven gives you plenty of space for big batches of creamy pot pie goodness. Dutch ovens are probably the most used piece of equipment in my kitchen, especially during the fall and winter seasons (soup season!).
Wooden Spoon and Whisk for the filling.
Baking Sheet - for your crust topping!
Key Ingredients for Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Thighs - these are the best part of the chicken to use for protein in a soup or stew. They hold up so well after being seared, braised, and simmered for long periods of time. Chicken breasts can get overcooked very easily.
Carrot, Onion, and Celery - this is called a mirepoix, the French aromatic base that we use in so many dishes!
Chicken Stock - Use a low sodium chicken broth so you can control the salt in your soup.
Fresh Herbs - I use fresh thyme and rosemary, and it works so well, they bring a lot of flavor into your soup. You can also use dried herbs, just use less of the dried rosemary because it's pretty strong.
Heavy Cream - the richness, the decadence? Oh, the heavy cream brings it.
Puff Pastry or your favorite biscuits - even if it's deconstructed chicken pot pie, it's not pot pie without a crust. Store-bought puff pastry is super easy to cut into pieces and throw in the oven while your soup simmers.
How to Make Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Making a crustless chicken pot pie is really simple! You could enjoy the soup as is, but honestly the best part of a chicken pot pie is having a pastry or biscuit topping to sop up that creamy gravy you'll have at the bottom of your bowl.
Step 1 | Sear your chopped chicken thighs on medium-high heat until they are golden brown and cooked through.
Step 2 | Melt the butter and sauté the veggies, herbs, and spices over medium heat.
Step 3 | Add flour and coat the veggies, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes.
Step 4 | Add the chicken back to the pan, whisk in the stock or broth and the cream, then add in the frozen peas. Let it bubble and thicken, then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally until you're ready to eat.
All while your oven preheats and you heat up a sheet of puff pastry you bought from the store. Brush a little egg wash on it and bake according to the package directions.
Place a piece of baked pastry on top of the filling and dinner is served! So easy.
And if you're using leftover chicken, it's even easier!
Choose your crust: Biscuits or Puff Pastry
Different toppings besides a puff pastry crust also change the game.
Chicken pot pie with biscuits is a delicious favorite when I make this recipe. While it does require more work than grabbing a sheet of puff pastry from the store, is there anything more delicious than homemade biscuits?
Flaky easy buttermilk biscuits make an amazing accompaniment, as well as just baking off actual pie crust if you have some leftover from baking a tasty thanksgiving pie this season.
Variations and Substitutions
- Extra veggies like green beans, corn kernels, and mushrooms make this dish even more filling. Some people even love adding potatoes or gnocchi!
- Using rotisserie chicken also cuts down on the cook time, so if you want to speed things up grab one hot and ready before you come home and use this recipe to jazz it, or its leftovers, up!
- And you could even throw it in a baking dish to bake in the oven if you don't want to babysit. Just cook it until the chicken thighs are cooked through, at 165 degrees F on a meat thermometer.
- This is a fabulous recipe to use up some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving!
- A splash of white wine in the creamy chicken filling lifts up the flavor. of such a rich dish. If you have some on hand, give it a try!
Pro Tips
If you're taking the baking route as I mentioned above, just top the filling with the biscuits and bake!
Want a thicker gravy-like situation? Whisk in a cornstarch slurry of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water.
Make Ahead Instructions
Make the chicken pot pie soup up to 2 days ahead and keep in the fridge in an airtight container.
When ready to serve, rewarm the soup in a pot until warmed through and bake the puff pastry or make the biscuits as it warms up. Super simple!
Pro Tip: If you feel like the soup has gotten too thick, splash in some broth to loosen it back up!
Storage and Reheating
Storing
Let the chicken pot pie come to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container to keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Which means it's a great make ahead recipe!
Reheating Chicken Pot Pie
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through.
FAQs
If you want your soup to become even thicker, make a cornstarch slurry. With about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl, pour in 1 tablespoon of water and mix together. Stir it into the simmering soup at the end of the cook time
Over the years readers have said that using gluten free flour has worked as a thickening agent!
You absolutely can sub milk or half and half for heavy cream. It won't be as rich but it'll still be delicious.
I suggest making flaky biscuits, because they have so many layers and really nice crispy bottoms that are great for scooping up the filling and are nice and buttery. So if you're using store bought frozen ones, the 'flaky' ones are less likely to get really soggy.
Yes you can! Make the filling in an oven-safe braiser or cast iron skillet, cut slits into the pie crust, brush with egg wash, and bake until the pie crust is golden brown and flaky.
More Cold-Weather Comfort Food Recipes
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Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
Chicken Pot Pie soup
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and small dice
- 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
- 2 celery ribs, small dice
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric, optional
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup frozen peas
Puff Pastry Crusts
- 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Make the Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Melt the butter in a dutch oven on medium-high heat. Season the chicken thigh meat with the 2 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Sear chicken on both sides until the chicken has a nice golden brown color, 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove the chicken to a plate. Set aside.
- Add your carrots, onion, and celery into the dutch oven. Sauté for 3-5 minutes, or until onions become translucent and the carrots start to gain a brown crust.
- Stir in the fresh thyme, rosemary, granulated garlic, ground turmeric and let that mix in for 2 minutes. Stir in all purpose flour, yes it will get thick and gloopy, that's alright.
- Begin to splash in the chicken broth, stirring constantly, adding more as the flour absorbs the liquid. Keep going, it's going to look weird until the broth and the flour thin out and become liquid and soup-like. Add in heavy cream.
- Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. The soup will thicken up slightly. Add the chicken back to the pot and the frozen peas five minutes before you're done cooking, you don't want to overcook them.
- Serve hot with puff pastry (or preferred topping) on the side.
- Make the Puff Pastry Crust Top
- Cut your puff pastry into 8 equal pieces, cut into squares or rectangles, then whisk together the egg and water together for an egg wash. Gently brush it on to the pastry, place the pastry onto a baking sheet, and bake according to packaging instructions.
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