Easy chicken pot pie recipe with cream of chicken soup

Q: Why isnt my chicken pot pie thickening?

If your chicken potpie seems runny after its baked, chances are that it wasnt baked long enough. The ingredients need enough bake time to set up and create a thick filling. If your crust is getting too golden or dark before the end of your bake time, place a sheet of foil over the top to keep it from burning.

This creamy, delicious Easy Chicken Pot Pie is quick and simple to make. This classic recipe is filled with vegetables, has a buttery, flaky top crust and a creamy sauce, and it's ready in just 35 minutes. This comforting, savory, complete meal is one the whole family will enjoy!

Table of Contents Show

👩🏻‍🍳 Options: Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie
🥘 Ingredients Needed
🔪 How To Make Chicken Pot Pie
🥧 Why is it called pot pie?
💡 Shortcut Tips
✏️ Substitutions and Variations
🔊 What readers are saying...
🍗 More Chicken Recipes
📖 What To Serve With This Recipe
Easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
📋 Recipe Card
What is the sauce made of in chicken pot pie?
How do you thicken chicken pie filling?
Do you put eggs in chicken pot pie?
Why isn't my chicken pot pie thickening?

This recipe is super easy and an amazing comfort food for dinner.

Jump to:

👩🏻‍🍳 Options: Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie
🥘 Ingredients Needed
🔪 How To Make Chicken Pot Pie
🥧 Why is it called pot pie?
👪 FAQs
💡 Shortcut Tips
✏️ Substitutions and Variations
🔊 What readers are saying...
🍗 More Chicken Recipes
📖 What To Serve With This Recipe
📋 Recipe Card
💬 Reviews and Comments

👩🏻‍🍳 Options: Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie

Easy Chicken Pot Pie with cream of chicken soup is always a family favorite, and it can SO incredibly easy with a few shortcut tips. Sometimes I even cheat a little to make it easier when I know that I will have very little time to prepare a good dinner.

On those nights, I use precooked, diced chicken, so I don't even have to cut the chicken breasts into pieces. I still do the same step of heating it in the olive oil with the onion, garlic salt, and pepper, I just heat it a few minutes less since it is already cooked.

Or, I save a few dollars by using the leftovers from my Slow Cooker Whole Chicken recipe. That is a lot cheaper than buying pre-cooked chicken and it gives the pot pie an extra boost of flavor from the spices in that recipe!

This is also a great way to use up that leftover turkey from the holidays! Just substitute diced turkey for the chicken.

The rest of the recipe couldn't be easier, just toss in a bag of frozen mixed veggies, a can of cream of chicken soup, some milk, pour the whole thing into a refrigerated pie crust, toss the second crust on top, and you are good to go!

🥘 Ingredients Needed

With these simple ingredients, you will have a delicious Chicken Pot Pie in no time!

chicken breasts - boneless, skinless chicken breast, or leftover rotisserie chicken works great! Dark meat (chicken thighs) works well too.
frozen mixed vegetables, onion and garlic - frozen veggies work great here, the only chopping you'll do is the onions and garlic.
cream of chicken soup, milk, cheddar cheese - perfect to make an easy creamy gravy for this pie.
pie crust - take a shortcut and use a pre-made pie crust.
garlic salt, black pepper, olive oil - for seasoning and to saute the vegetables.

🔪 How To Make Chicken Pot Pie

With only six simple steps, this recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight!

Preheat the oven. Heat the olive oil add chicken, onion, garlic and seasonings. Cook until the chicken is done.
Mix in the veggies, chicken soup, and milk, cook until heated through.
Prepare the pie dish and add the bottom crust.
Stir half the cheese into the chicken/vegetable mix and then pour into the dish.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese. Place the second crust on top.
Cut a slit in the middle of the crust, and place in the oven.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the top crust is golden brown.

🥧 Why is it called pot pie?

According to a pot pie recipe from 1845 highlighted in an article on the history of the pot pie by NPR.org, it is because the filling was cooked in a pot with scraps of leftover meat, plus onion and potatoes, like a stew. It was then thickened with flour.

The pot pie concept was a carry over from a European practice where the lower class peasants would create a more hearty meal out of the stew by adding the crust, which was inexpensive and would make the dish more filling for a family. Eventually the pot pie evolved into the classic comfort food that we enjoy today!

This recipe uses a few shortcuts to make it a super easy chicken pot pie meal. Bake the pie on a baking sheet covered in foil in case it bubbles over so the clean up is also quick and easy!

👪 FAQs

What makes a good pot pie?

In my opinion, what makes a good homemade chicken pot pie recipe is a savory and creamy filling and a buttery, flaky crust.

The best chicken pot pie recipe is one that I can throw together in a short amount of time but that will still taste like a made-from-scratch traditional pot pie with tender chicken and perfectly done vegetables.

I love that this recipe delivers on both of those criteria! Having dinner on the table in a snap makes all the difference in the world.

Can you freeze chicken pot pie?

Yes, you can! Freeze it before baking by assembling it as per the instruction. Then wrap it well and freeze it - casserole dish and all!

Freeze it after baking by allowing it to cool completely. Then wrap it well and freeze completely.

How do you cook frozen chicken pot pie?

To bake a frozen pie, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the pie for 30 minutes covered with foil, remove the foil and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and piping hot inside.

This recipe has the best flaky crust that you will love!

💡 Shortcut Tips

Next time you are short on time and want to make a quick family meal that everyone will love, I suggest making this super easy chicken pot pie.

To make it even easier, I used Pillsbury's Refrigerated Pie Crust. If you have more time, then make a simple homemade pie crust for a more flaky top.

For the chicken pot pie filling, I use a can of cream of chicken soup. I found that chicken soup brings out the flavors of the vegetables and chicken, and it lends more creaminess to to filling than using chicken broth.

Another shortcut is to use pre-cooked chicken. You can buy pre-cooked, diced oven-roasted chicken at the grocery store (in the frozen section), or buy a cooked rotisserie chicken, or use leftover chicken or turkey from a previous dinner you served.

✏️ Substitutions and Variations

Use cream of mushroom soup if you don't have cream of chicken, or prefer less 'chicken-y' flavor.
Use any kind of frozen vegetables you like.
If you want to use fresh vegetables, cut them into bite-sized pieces and cook them separately until just tender-crisp and then add to the filling right before pouring into the crust.
No onion? Go ahead and skip it, you will hardly miss it.
Brush the top crust with egg wash prior to baking for an even more beautiful, brown, flaky crust.

🔊 What readers are saying...

"Second time making it because it was such a hit. Took the suggestion to double it since we're feeding 6 and will have leftovers, which is fine since it's so good. Even the picky kids like it."

- Rebekah

🍗 More Chicken Recipes

Chicken recipes, in my home, are always devoured and the plates are licked clean. If your family is like mine, they will love my Chicken Potato Bake recipe which is also quick and easy to make.

Sometimes, I even throw Chicken and Wild Rice into my slow cooker for a hassle-free chicken dinner. This way, I have more time to spend with my family and less time in the kitchen.

Here are a few more of my favorites!

Crock Pot Guinness Chicken Stew

This Crock Pot Guinness Chicken Stew is a new twist on a traditional favorite. It's an easy and tasty alternative to the typical Guinness beef stew!

Crock Pot Creamy Cayenne Chicken

Our latest family favorite, and one of the easiest chicken breast crock pot recipes I have ever made! This dish has TONS of flavor and can be adjusted to fit your family's tastes!

This savory pie filled with vegetables is super delicious!

📖 What To Serve With This Recipe

If you're putting together this recipe, here's what I suggest to serve with it!

Slow Cooker Cauliflower Mac and Cheese - Easy, cheesy, nutritious, and sure to please even picky eaters!
Wasabi Mashed Potatoes - Creamy, hearty side dish with a flavorful zing!
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic - My kids happily ate these roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic, and then asked for seconds! Enough said!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

I hope your family loves this easy recipe as much as my family. It's our favorite fight-the-cold-winter-night-blues recipe.

If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars!

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📋 Recipe Card

This creamy, delicious family meal is quick and easy and the kids love it!

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Servings 6 People

Calories 484 kcal

▢ ½ tablespoon olive oil
▢ 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces (or use leftover cooked turkey!)
▢ ½ cup chopped onion (optional)
▢ ½ teaspoon garlic salt
▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper
▢ 16 ounces frozen mixed vegetables (1 bag)
▢ 10.75 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup (1 can)
▢ ¾ cup milk
▢ 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
▢ 2 refrigerated pie crusts

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
½ tablespoon olive oil
Add chicken, onion (if desired), garlic salt, and pepper, and cook until the chicken is done.
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces, ½ cup chopped onion, ½ teaspoon garlic salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
Mix in the vegetables, chicken soup, and milk, and cook until heated through.
16 ounces frozen mixed vegetables, 10.75 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup, ¾ cup milk
Spray a 1.5 quart casserole dish with cooking spray, and place the first pie crust along the bottom and up the sides.
2 refrigerated pie crusts
Stir ½ cup shredded cheddar into the chicken/vegetable mix, and then pour into the casserole dish.
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Sprinkle the top of the chicken mixture with the remaining ½ cup cheddar cheese, and then arrange the second crust on top.
Cut a slit in the middle of the crust, and place in the oven.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Short on time? Use frozen chopped onion instead of fresh (or skip the onion altogether), and start with frozen cooked chicken.
You can also use cooked leftover chicken or turkey. I have used any amount from ½ pound to 1 ½ pounds of meat, so don't worry too much about how much you have.
Many frozen mixed veggie brands have lima beans, but there are some that don't, so look closely if your family isn't a fan of those lima beans!
Sharp or extra sharp shredded cheddar will give you the best flavor.
For a beautiful glossy golden brown crust, brush the top pie crust with a beaten egg prior to baking.
Bake the pie on a baking sheet covered in foil to ensure easy clean-up in case it bubbles over!

Nutritional information is an estimate. The nutritional values for your final dish may vary based on measuring differences and products used.

Update Notes: This post was originally published in January 2016, but was republished with tips, step by step photos, and a recipe change in January 2020 and with more updates in July 2022.

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Happy cooking!

What is the sauce made of in chicken pot pie?

What is the sauce made of in chicken pot pie? Heavy whipping cream, chicken broth or stock, butter, and all-purpose flour. Simmered together creates a luxurious, rich sauce that suspends the filling ingredients. This combination prevents a runny consistency that would make a soggy bottom crust as it sits.

How do you thicken chicken pie filling?

Thickening the Filling – You can also use a cornstarch slurry to thicken this filling. Simply mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and whisk. Add this in-place of the flour, or in addition if you want to cut the cooking time down.

Do you put eggs in chicken pot pie?

Really, chicken pot pie can be exactly what you make it—boiled eggs or no boiled eggs—but old-fashioned recipes and Southern grandmas alike do tend to claim that boiled eggs offer a unique creaminess to the filling and extra heartiness.

Why isn't my chicken pot pie thickening?

If your chicken potpie seems runny after it's baked, chances are that it wasn't baked long enough. The ingredients need enough bake time to set up and create a thick filling. If your crust is getting too golden or dark before the end of your bake time, place a sheet of foil over the top to keep it from burning.