Trying something new today and reviewing someone else’s recipe! Making chicken pot pie has been on my recipe bucket list for a long time and this is my first time ever making it! I love the stuff! But I had never ventured to make it myself. Years ago, when I was less experienced in the kitchen, chicken pot pie would have felt too complicated. I would have thought: it’s simply too many steps to make pie dough from scratch (scary in itself!) and then chop and assemble all the ingredients to pre-cook in a frying pan and then have to bake it all together in the oven.
When we were first married I rarely made anything but stir-fries (read: rice and beans) and chana masala to ladle over rice. I was easily intimidated by complicated recipes, it's true, but another reason I didn’t make chicken pot pie was just affordability. When we first got married Geoff still had a year and a half of university left to complete and we really had to watch our grocery bills. While Geoff was a student we purchased meat very rarely and you would never spy dairy or expensive vegetables in my grocery cart. There was no opportunity to practice making meals like chicken pot pie on a student budget.
The first time I ever remember having chicken pot pie was when I was 18. I had a live-in nanny job for a family with 5 children. The mother, Kim, was an incredible cook. Kim had the best recipes and I am still kicking myself that I didn’t copy down every recipe from her book when I had the chance. Her style of cooking was very classic American comfort food: lots of chicken pot pie, buttery and crispy chicken, salty chicken and dumpling soup and soft white homemade sandwich bread.
I loved it all. I would compliment her cooking often and she always seemed surprised that I thought it was something special but her food was some of the best I’ve ever had even still. Part of why I was so nervous to attempt making chicken pot pie is because I still have hers in the back of my mind. Is it worth all the effort if it’s not as good as Kim’s?
So there you have it: Summer of 2021 will go down in history as my first homemade chicken pot pie. I chose it as my meal to contribute on our annual family cottage trip and I made Bon Appetit’s Rotisserie Chicken Pot Pie. It was delicious and I highly recommend it! It got rave reviews from everyone at the cottage, even the kids! I made a few adjustments from the original recipe which I’ll explain later. I looked at many recipes online before choosing this one and I chose it for a few reasons:
Why I Chose this Recipe:
- It calls for a rotisserie pre-cooked grocery store chicken. This seems to really simplify the process and I loved the idea. I often find that the rotisserie chickens are stickered 50% off at the end of the day when I’m grocery shopping so now I have the perfect recipe to use them in.
- I love that this recipe calls for turnips! (unfortunately, they were nowhere to be found when I went grocery shopping for this recipe so I had to settle for parsnips but next time I’ll try it with the turnips.)
- This recipe was developed by Molly Baz from Bon Appetit and I LOVE Molly. I have also made her Sour Cream and Onion Biscuits several times and was so pleased with how those turned out. Molly hasn’t steered me wrong yet!
- Instead of using store bought puffed pastry I planned to use Ina Garten’s Perfect Pie Crust which I’ve lately had a lot of practice making.
Changes I made:
- I swapped turnip for parsnip and carrots because the grocery store I went to up north in Ontario didn’t have any turnip.
- I swapped the frozen peas for spinach because I was making this supper for my parents to enjoy and my mom isn’t a big fan of peas.
- I used Ina Garten’s Perfect Pie Crust Recipe rather than using purchased puffed pastry because, being at the cottage,I had lots of time on my hands and I was hoping to use half the dough for making a savoury galette later in the cottage stay.
- I did less garlic because I’ve been a little garlic wary ever since my first pregnancy when I had a real garlic aversion
- Lastly, since my mom had packed a whole bundle of fresh herbs from her home garden, I also snuck in some fresh rosemary just for good measure.
Molly Baz’ Rotisserie Chicken Pot Pie
(with a few of my changes, view the original recipe on the Bon Appetit Website)
Make Ina Garten’s Perfect Pie Crust Recipe following her instructions and set in the fridge to keep it cool until it’s time to roll it out. Her recipe makes enough dough for two 9-10 inch pie plates so this chicken pot pie recipe will require half of her recipe. I always make the full recipe and then save the other half in the freezer for another time.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Shred the meat from the rotisserie chicken and set aside.
Prepare and chop the vegetables. Dice the onions, carrots and parsnips and mince the garlic.
Melt butter in a saucepan, add onions and cook until softened. Add the parsnips and carrots and season with salt and pepper, thyme and rosemary. Cook until softened.
Sprinkle 3 tablespoon of flour over the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Cook for a minute to cook off the alcohol. Add cream, shredded chicken, spinach, salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes so the sauce can thicken and the flavours meld. Taste carefully at this stage and adjust for seasoning.
Place a 10-inch pie plate on a baking sheet and transfer filling into it. Roll out the pie crust to cover the pie plate with a bit of overhang. Trim pastry and roll under itself so that you can crimp the edges with a fork or a classic thumb and finger crimp. Cut several slits near the centre of the pie with a sharp knife to let steam escape. Using a pastry brush, brush some cream along the top of the pie crust to allow for even browning. Bake the pie at 400 degrees F for 20-22 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Finish baking the pie for a final 25-35 minutes. Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
See the link for the original recipe and more detailed instructions if desired.
More Recipes to Enjoy Around The Table
Creamy Mushroom Penne With Sausage and Red Peppers
This creamy pasta dish is a great choice when you’re entertaining, enjoying a date night at home or any time you want some comfort food. Every bite of creamy pasta provides a hint of dijon, rosemary and thyme flavours. If you’re looking for a new recipe to add to your repertoire, this is it! Delicious!
Broccoli Goat Cheese Quiche with Tomato Toppings
In this easy broccoli goat cheese quiche, the tomatoes cook and meld with the custard filling, they provide a tart, acidic flavour to every bite, balancing out the richness of the quiche. The tomato topping is my favourite part! Quiche is a classic brunch recipe but I often serve it for dinner as well. Quiche is so versatile; a great recipe for your repertoire. Enjoy!
Best Cauliflower Mushroom Soup Recipe with Sausage
Cauliflower Mushroom soup is all the best of a creamy cauliflower soup plus the depth of flavour from a mushroom soup combined. A perfect soup for fall on a cold day when you want a bowl of pure comfort with flavours of sage, thyme and mushrooms. And don’t forget the combination of cheese and cauliflower–a match made in heaven.
Bon Appetit's Rotisserie Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs rotisserie chicken
- 2 medium onions
- 1 lb parsnip and carrots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups heavy cream divided
- 2-3 cups spinach
Instructions
- Make Ina Garten’s Perfect Pie Crust Recipe following her instructions and set in the fridge to keep it cool until it’s time to roll it out. Her recipe makes enough dough for two 9-10 inch pie plates so this chicken pot pie recipe will require half of her recipe. I always make the full recipe and then save the other half in the freezer for another time.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Shred the meat from the rotisserie chicken and set aside.
- Prepare and chop the vegetables. Dice the onions, carrots and parsnips and mince the garlic.
- Melt butter in a saucepan, add onions and cook until softened. Add the parsnips and carrots and season with salt and pepper, thyme and rosemary. Cook until softened.
- Sprinkle 3 tablespoon of flour over the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Cook for a minute to cook off the alcohol. Add cream, shredded chicken, peas (or spinach) and additional salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes so the sauce can thicken and the flavours meld. Taste carefully at this stage and adjust for seasoning.
- Place a 10 inch pie plate on a baking sheet and transfer filling into it. Roll out the pie crust to cover the pie plate with a bit of overhang. Trim pastry and roll under itself so that you can crimp the edges with a fork or a classic thumb and finger crimp. Cut several slits near the centre of the pie with a sharp knife to let steam escape.
- Using a pastry brush, brush some cream along the top of the pie crust to allow for even browning. Bake the pie at 400 degrees F for 20-22 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Finish baking the pie for a final 25-35 minutes. Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Nutrition
If you make Bon Appetit's Rotisserie Chicken Pot Pie please leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! I aim to respond to every single comment. I am so grateful when you trust me and try one of my recipe creations in your own kitchen. I love to hear how it went! Let’s connect on Instagram and tag me in your food pics!
‘Til next time,
Christy
Valery says
Absolutely lovely
Christy Faber says
Thank you!