Freezer Meal Recipes: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Homemade Frozen Chicken Pot Pies
Chicken Pot Pie is a hearty and warm winter dinner that your family can enjoy this season. And this particular chicken pot pie recipe is very flavorful and pretty easy to whip together, if you decide to make one for dinner, this recipe makes a little extra so you can make it into a freezer meal and store it for later.
To help you have the most success with your freezer meal, here are some helpful Chicken Pot Pie tips!
How Many Pie Containers:
- This recipe yields two 9″ pies.
- Double this recipe if you want to make multiple containers for freezing.
- A 9″x6″ square foil pan will work as well!
- This recipe is pretty flexible depending on how deep your container is (some pie pans are more shallow… if yours is more deep, then you might not have enough filling to make two 9″ deep dish pot pies).
- Consider how much filling to crust ratio your family likes, and this will help guide you on what container to get.
Easy Chicken Pot Pie Crust:
You can totally use refrigerated pie crusts for this recipe. They work great and are such a good shortcut option! If you want to make the box of crusts go further, consider only putting the crust on top, and not the bottom, as pictured above.
Tips for Cooking the Chicken:
Cook and shred your chicken ahead of time to cut down on prep time. You can reheat the chicken in chicken broth while you are chopping and gathering supplies. This also moistens the chicken again.
- Baked Chicken: Sprinkle with salt & pepper and then brush some olive oil on the chicken breasts. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
- Dutch oven: Place the chicken and 2 cups broth in a large pot or Dutch oven and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Cook the chicken until it is just done (don’t overcook or it will dry out) – about 10-12 minutes. If the chicken pieces are large, you may need to pound them or cut them in half so they will cook more quickly.
- Slow cooker: Place the chicken and 2 cups of broth in a slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5 hours.
- Instant Pot: Place the chicken and 1 cup of broth in instant pot liner. Cook frozen chicken on high pressure for 30 minutes and let natural release. If cooking thawed chicken, cook on high pressure for 15 minutes and let natural release.
For the pie filling:
When you first start mixing in the flour with the butter, it is pretty dry & thick until the chicken broth & milk is added. But this is important because you want to cook out the flour taste. Once the chicken broth is added, it will become a thick gravy consistency. Slowly add some more milk if it seems too thick.
Assembly Tip:
Measure the crust for the aluminum container by flipping it over & pressing. This allows you to use any size container and have the crust topping match the size perfectly!
Cooking the pie:
If cooking immediately after assembling, then bake time is approximately 20 minutes until crust is golden brown. Consider using aluminum foil around the crust edges so they do not burn.
Freezing the pie:
No need to pre-cook! Simply wrap each loaf pan in 2 tight layers of plastic wrap and 1 layer of foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.
How Long to Cook After Freezing Chicken Pot Pie:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400. Unwrap frozen pot pies and arrange on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush crust with beaten egg, cover with foil, and bake 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until crusts are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let pot pies rest 10 minutes before serving.
Final Thoughts
This is a healthy and delicious chicken pot pie that your family will love! This recipe is flavorful, hearty, and adaptable. If there are vegetables you don’t like, switch it for something else. For example, if you aren’t a fan of peas, just add some extra carrots and celery instead.
Learn More About Freezer Meal Cooking:
Adapted from Chicken Pot Pie Crumble recipe and America’s Test Kitchen
Freezer Meal Recipes: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Equipment
- 2 9" Pie Containers
- 2-3 Disposable aluminum pans (depends on the size and depth)
Ingredients
Chicken and Filling:
- 1 ½ pounds chicken
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for cooking
- 1 onion chopped fine (about 1 cup)
- 4-5 carrots peeled and sliced (about 1.5 cup)
- 2-3 large stalks celery chopped (about 1 cup)
- ¾ cup frozen peas
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
The Rest:
- 2 boxes refrigerated pre-made pie crust 4 crusts
- 1 large egg for brushing on crust prior to baking
Instructions
Chicken
- Stovetop: Place the chicken and 2 cups broth in a large pot or Dutch oven and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Cook the chicken until it is just done (don’t overcook or it will dry out) – about 10-12 minutes. If the chicken pieces are large, you may need to pound them or cut them in half so they will cook more quickly.
- Slow Cooker: Or you can place the chicken and broth in a slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5 hours.
- Transfer the cooked chicken to a medium bowl. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup and reserve. Return the pot to the stovetop (no need to wash it).
Filling
- Heat the olive oil in the now-empty pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and peas. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 5 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, shred or chop the chicken into small bite-size pieces. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the bowl with the chicken; set aside.
- Over medium heat, melt the 4 Tbsp butter in the empty pot. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the reserved chicken broth and milk. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes, taking care not to burn the bottom. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
- Remove from the heat and stir the chicken, vegetables and peas into the sauce. Transfer to medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about an hour (only if freezing the pies and not cooking immediately).
Crusts:
- Unwrap and unroll pie crusts onto lightly floured surface. Cut out 2-3 pastry toppings by cutting around the edge of an overturned pan.
To Assemble:
- Divide mixture among the number of disposable aluminum loaf pans you have. Top with pastry and use fork to seal edges.
- Using a paring knife, make 3 steam vents in each crust.
Preparing For the Freezer:
- Tightly wrap each loaf pan in 2 layers of plastic wrap and 1 layer of foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.
Prepare after Freezing:
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400. Unwrap frozen pot pies and arrange on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush crust with beaten egg, cover with foil, and bake 40 minutes. Uncover and bake until crusts are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let pot pies rest 10 minutes before serving.
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Can you explain what you mean by glueing 2 crusts together? Do you mean put them end to end, or put one crust on top of another?
Brush some beaten egg over the surface of one crust, then place the other crust on top. So, the crust is double thick. 🙂
Why do you do that? It looks like you are making a total of 6 pot pies and in the picture I only see a total of 6 shells but you need 12 for top & bottom of 6 pies don’t you?
You can actually read in this article why it is better to make the crust thicker than the store-bought ones – https://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/recipe-bootcamp/2012/02/shaping-up-freezer-chicken-pot-pie/
There isn’t a crust on the bottom of these pies, just the top. Hope this helps answer your questions, Allison!
What oven temp and baking time would you use if you are not freezing it first?
I would bake at the same temp (400) and reduce the covered baking time, until the filling is warmed through. The uncovered baking time should stay the same.
Great recipe! Made them a couple of weeks ago, froze ’em, and enjoying the first one hot out of the oven right now. Thanks so much for the great recipe.
Silly question: given that these bake for more than an hour at 400 degrees — obviously boiling the interior for most of the time — why bother cooking the chicken ahead of time? I can understand sweating the veg, but it’s not like we’re caramelizing the chicken or something like that; all we end up doing is cooking it twice. Is it just a question of safety?
You know what, I’m not sure. If you went that route with raw chicken, you would probably need to bake the pie longer to ensure that the chicken is done enough. You know, for safety reasons. 🙂 Also, I wonder if the chicken might release liquid while baking in the pie, possibly making the pie more runny.
Glad you like the recipe, Scott! Thanks!
LOVE your recipes. Being a senior, I buy a LOT of frozen bagged vegis and can use exactly what we 2 need. I use a bag of frozen mixed vegis in the chicken pot pie recipe. My hubs loves the variety of vegis! I use a packet of chicken gravy seasoning as it thickens everything and seasons it just right. I have also used Pillsbury crescents for the crusts. These are a few short cuts I use. BTW…if we have left over roast, I sometimes sub the beef for the chicken for beef pot pies!!! Keep up your excellent website!
Yum! Great ideas, Linda. Thanks.
Do you add the chicken gravy to the flour mixture or just make the chicken gravy instead??
I’m guessing she skips the flour mixture and just makes the chicken gravy according to the packet directions, then adds the chicken and veggies to it. 🙂
I’ve always made my chicken pot pie with a crust on the bottom and the top. Would that be ok for the frozen version?
I haven’t tried it that way before so I am not sure. Let me know how it turns out if you try it, Michelle! I love a good crust and more of it, if possible!
I just reheated this recipe with a pie crust I use from my Laura Secord cookbook and it came out great! I baked it for the 40 minutes at 400 and then for 29 minutes uncovered but then I reduced the heat to 350 for another probably 15-20 minutes until the top crust looked golden to me. The only change I would make it making a thicker sauce because of the added moisture when freezing it but it still was delicious and I’m definitely making this again!!
Thanks for the review — and that is a fab tip on thicker sauce when freezing. We are so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
I was do happy when I saw that you are not a pea person either lol. I loathe them myself. Your pot pie looks good enough to eat through the picture, so I imagine it’s really scrumptious I’m person. I can’t wait to try this recipe out sometime. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks! I hope you try it soon and love it! (sans peas, of course) 😉
Thank you for this recipe..could you clarify something for me please? Do I cook the top crust before I freeze it or? I will be using puff pastry for the top and no bottom crust. Thanks you!
Hi, Vikki! I do not cook the crust before freezing. Hope it turns out well for you!
Love this so much. I have made it several times now for home and our church dinners. Wednesday we will be making 54 of these for a church dinner. I don’t freeze them though. Just make them the day we want them. LOL.
You go girl! So glad to hear you love this recipe!
I tripled this recipe and it came out great! Just added in some garlic and lots more salt, and some parsley at the end. I feel like this is a great basic pot pie recipe that can benefit from a lot of deviation and personalization.
I’m glad it turned out great with your adaptations, Kelly! Sounds delicious! Thank you for the review.
you can also use Puff Pastry instead of pie dough 🙂 also brush the puff pastry with an egg wash before baking!
Great idea! Thanks, Shelley!
Because I have to be gluten free I was wondering if I could use gf stuffing mix on the top instead of pie crust. Actually putting it on top when ready to bake. Thanks for your help on this.
Great question, Darlynn. I haven’t tried that before, so I can’t say for sure. That idea reminds me of this recipe though: https://fabulesslyfrugal.com/recipes/chicken-pot-pie-crumble-recipe/ Same filling, but different topping. If you already have a great gf flour substitute, then maybe the pot pie crumble recipe is the way to go!
I know this is an older post but I wondered how this would work in a bigger pan? I ask because I have bigger pans and would like to use them. I’m also making this for a family of 6. Thanks
I haven’t tried it this way before, but I think it might work! Please let us know how it goes if you try it!
Amazing recipe! I just finished making the filling and took a taste! Wow! This recipe is a winner!
The only difference for me was this: I cooked the chicken covered in the slow cooker with the 2 cups chicken broth on high for 3 hours as instructed. When I put the broth from the slow cooker through the sieve I found I had just under one cup left which makes sense. I made the gravy as instructed but it was super thick so I ended up adding an additional 1 cup of chicken broth bringing the total cups of chicken broth to 3.
I will definitely be making this again.
Also, the Perdue perfect portion chicken breasts that come in a bag are 1.5 pounds and are cut thin. The chicken was cooked just right and easy to shred and cut due to the size of the breasts.
Excellent, Danette! Thank you for sharing what worked for you and for your great review!
What would your thoughts be on a smaller serving size than a 9 inch pan? Would it just be reduced cooking time? (I’m thinking more of an individual serving, or better suited for 2 people)
Hi, I would adjust the time down, and be checking for sage internal temp to pull it out. Hope this helps!
I have made this recipe 3 times now. It is so delicious!!! It makes 5 small bread loaf pan pot pies for me. I use more chicken broth than called for which is great as it adds to the final amount. I leave out the celery and increase the carrots and peas as I don’t care for cooked celery. I have passed this recipe onto others and it is always a hit. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
We are so glad you love it, and appreciate your notes on how you modified it and your yield— and THANK YOU for sharing the recipe with others.