30-Minute Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

When it comes to comfort food, chicken pot pie is a dish that almost inevitably comes to mind. Warm, hearty, and always delicious, chicken pot pie is an American classic, and it's pretty easy to get creative with how you serve it. Ultimately, however, the dish incorporates some staple ingredients, including chicken, vegetables, and some sort of buttery crust. If there's one downfall to chicken pot pie, it's the fact that many recipes call for spending hours in the kitchen baking the chicken and making the dough from scratch. 

Fortunately, not every chicken pot pie recipe will force you to spend hours in the kitchen, and recipe developer Stephanie Rapone's 30-minute chicken pot pie recipe is proof of that. Yes, you read that right — it will only take 30 minutes to whip up a chicken pot pie that will serve the whole family! "This is definitely an easier take on traditional chicken pot pie," Rapone explains of the dish. "It's perfect for someone who might find all the steps in a 100% from scratch chicken pot pie a little intimidating." If you love chicken pot pie, but don't want to spend all day in the kitchen, give this simplified recipe a try!

Before you can start making this 30-minute chicken pot pie, you'll want to make sure that you have the right ingredients. First and foremost, you'll need shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken, because it wouldn't be a chicken pot pie otherwise! Rapone notes that you can use any type of chicken you like, but using something pre-cooked, like a rotisserie chicken, will save you lots of time. Additionally, you'll need a thawed puff pastry sheet, an egg, yellow onion, frozen peas and carrots, chicken stock, milk, butter, flour, celery seed, salt, and ground black pepper.

Unlike a traditional chicken pot pie, this simplified recipe calls for topping the pie with a square of pastry instead of using it as a crust. So, you can start out by preparing the puff pastry. First, preheat the oven to 425 F. Then, cut the puff pastry into sixths, and place each slice onto a baking sheet that's lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Beat the egg, and brush it over each puff pastry slice so that the crust will get nice and golden.

Once your oven is preheated, pop the pastry slices into the oven, and allow them to cook for 10 to 15 minutes. You'll know they're done baking once each slice is puffy and perfectly golden!

Now you can turn your attention to the chicken pot pie filling. Start by chopping up the onion. Then, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a small Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Toss the onion in, along with some salt, and allow it to sauté for about five minutes. 

After this time is up, reduce the heat, and add the remaining butter to the pot. Once that's melted, add in the flour, and stir until it fully incorporates into the butter. Add in the celery seed, and then slowly pour in the chicken stock, whisking until the entire mixture is smooth and thick. Pour in the milk as well, continuing to whisk the whole time.

Once your mixture is fully whisked, add in the black pepper, chicken, and frozen peas and carrots. Bring everything to a boil, and then reduce to low, simmering until the filling thickens up. Be sure to stir the mixture every couple of minutes as well.

Now that both the pastry squares and filling are ready, you can assemble the chicken pot pie. Ladle the filling into individual bowls, and then simply top with a puffed up pastry square — and you're ready to enjoy! In just 30 minutes, you've fully prepped, cooked, and assembled a chicken pot pie that will taste just as good as any hours-long recipe. 

"I love that this dish hits all the major groups — carbs, protein, vegetables," Rapone says about this dish. "If you want a side dish to help stretch things, start with a simple green salad, or make some rice and spoon the pot pie filling over the rice."

And, if you have any leftovers, you can easily store them in the freezer, and they'll keep for up to six months. Not only does this dish taste amazing and come together in a small amount of time, but leftovers can last months and months, making it the perfect go-to recipe for busy weeks.