This Dutch Oven Chicken Pot Pie is a quick and easy one-pot meal loaded with tender chicken breast, fresh vegetables, and a rich, creamy gravy. Topped with a single, homemade pie crust, this lightened-up version of the comfort food classic is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. It’s a warm, savory pie recipe that’s perfect for a cozy fall weekend dinner.
Chicken pot pie made from scratch is one of my absolute favorite meals to make during the chilly fall and winter months. Filled with tender chicken breast and lots of fresh vegetables, then topped with a crispy, buttery pie crust, chicken pot pie is the true definition of cozy, homestyle comfort food.
I love making chicken pot pie in my dutch oven. It’s quick, easy, and makes clean-up a breeze. Simply prepare the filling, pop a rolled-out pie dough on top, and bake for 30 minutes. So easy!
For this version, I wanted to lighten things up a bit. So, I use only chicken stock to make the gravy instead of a combination of chicken stock and milk. Additionally, using only a top pie crust reduces the calories and fat even further.
So, if you want to make the easiest, tastiest, scratch-made chicken pot pie ever, keep reading to learn everything you need to know to recreate this chicken pot pie dutch oven recipe at home.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One-Pot- The only thing better than homemade chicken pot pie is homemade chicken pot pie without a bunch of messy pots and pans. Everything comes together right inside of your dutch oven, which makes for super easy clean-up.
- Made from Scratch- Homemade pie crust, leftover shredded chicken, and a rich and creamy filling loaded with fresh vegetables. One delicious bite of this scratch-made chicken pot pie and you’ll know why you took a little bit of extra effort to make it.
- Lightened Up- Made using chicken broth instead of milk and only one pie crust, this chicken pot pie is lower in calories and fat than a traditional chicken pot pie.
Ingredient Notes
Here are some notes on key ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- Pie Dough- If you’re putting in the effort to make chicken pot pie from scratch, you must go the extra mile and make your own pie dough. Homemade pie dough is easier to make from scratch than you might think and is so much better than store-bought.
- Shredded Chicken- I like to use leftover chicken from either this Dutch Oven Chicken Breast recipe or this Lemon Garlic Dry Brined Chicken recipe. You could also use a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- Chopped Vegetables- A mix of carrots, celery, onion, peas, and garlic is the perfect combination for a traditional-style chicken pot pie. I like to use fresh vegetables that I chop myself. However, I will often use frozen peas throughout the winter when they’re not in season.
- Fresh Thyme- Thyme brings a wonderful earthy note to the chicken pot pie filling that makes me think of fall.
- Chicken Stock- If you really want to go the extra mile, use homemade chicken stock. Otherwise, a good quality store-bought chicken stock works just as well.
- Flour- A little all-purpose flour is used, along with the butter, to make a roux. The roux helps thicken the filling.
Step by Step Instructions
Here is how to make this dutch oven chicken pot pie recipe.
Step 1: Sauté the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Melt butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and ½ teaspoon of salt to the melted butter and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Step 2: Make the roux. Turn the heat to low and sprinkle the flour over the softened vegetables. Stir well to ensure all of the flour has been mixed with the butter and cook for approximately 5 minutes. You want the flour to begin to brown a bit.
Step 3: Finish making the filling. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, whisking continuously to help prevent lumps from forming in the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken up. Add the shredded chicken and peas and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste. Remove the dutch oven from the heat.
Step 4: Prepare the pie dough. While the filling is cooling off a bit, roll out your pie dough out on a lightly floured surface. You want to roll it out to fit the diameter of your dutch oven. The easiest way to do this is to use the lid of the dutch oven as a guide (see image below). Roll the pie dough out, place the lid on top, and cut around the edge of the lid. Now is a good time to cut out any decorative shapes or ventilation holes as well. Carefully lift the rolled-out pie dough and place it on top of the filling inside of the dutch oven. Brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash.
Step 5: Bake the chicken pot pie. Bake the chicken pot pie for 30 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Allow the pie to rest and set for approximately 20 minutes before slicing and serving directly out of the dutch oven. If your dutch oven has an enameled coating, take care not to scratch it with the knife.
The Best Chicken Pot Pie Tips
- Make ahead. Know you want to have chicken pot pie this weekend? Make the pie dough up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.
- Allow the roux to cook to a golden brown. Cooking the flour in the butter for a few minutes creates a deeper, richer, nuttier flavored filling.
- Work quickly once the pie dough is on top of the filling. You want to keep the butter in the pie dough from melting as much as possible until it’s baking in the oven. Therefore, once the pie dough has been placed, you want to work quickly to brush it with egg wash and get it in the oven.
- Don’t scratch the dutch oven. If you’re using an enamel-coated dutch oven, you’ll want to take care not to scratch the coating with a knife when serving.
- Love camping? You can also use a dutch oven to make this chicken pot pie over a campfire in the summer.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few ways you can customize this dutch oven chicken pot pie recipe to fit your diet and taste preferences.
Substitutions
- Chicken Breast- If you prefer dark meat, feel free to swap out the chicken breast for chicken thighs or legs. You can also replace the chicken entirely with a can of chickpeas for a meatless option.
- Chicken Stock- Feel free to use chicken broth, vegetable broth, or milk in place of the chicken stock.
- Vegetables- You can really get creative with the vegetables in a homemade chicken pot pie. Try adding potatoes, parsnips, turnip, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, corn, Brussels sprouts, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, kale, or spinach.
- Garlic- Use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder in place of the fresh garlic cloves, if preferred.
- Thyme- Try using rosemary and sage in addition to or instead of the thyme. You can also substitute the fresh thyme for ½ teaspoon of dried thyme. Dried poultry seasoning can also be used. Fresh parsley is delicious sprinkled on top of the cooked pie.
- Butter- Swap the butter for margarine, plant-based butter, or even olive oil, if you prefer.
- Flour- If you need a gluten-free alternative for thickening this dutch oven pot pie, skip the flour altogether and use ¼ cup cornstarch in its place. However, instead of sprinkling the cornstarch over the vegetables, make a cornstarch slurry (¼ cup cornstarch + ¼ cup water) and whisk it into the filling after you add the chicken stock.
- Pie Dough- I use homemade pie dough, but you could also use store-bought pie crust, biscuits, or puff pastry on top if you’d like.
Variations
- Dairy-Free- Make a shortening or lard-based pie crust at home or purchase a pre-made, dairy-free pie crust, like Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts. Also, swap the butter out for margarine or olive oil.
- Gluten-Free- To make this recipe gluten-free, you’ll need to make or buy a gluten-free pie crust. Bob’s Red Mill makes a gluten-free pie crust mix you can purchase online. Additionally, replace the flour used to thicken the filling with either gluten-free flour or use the cornstarch slurry method mentioned in the section above.
- Vegetarian- Try making chickpea pot pie by swapping the shredded chicken for a can of chickpeas and the chicken broth for vegetable broth.
What to Serve with Dutch Oven Chicken Pot Pie
This chicken pot pie can be considered a complete meal in and of itself. However, I know that many, like myself, enjoy eating chicken pot pie with a little something extra. Here are a few suggestions for what to serve with chicken pot pie.
- Rice, Farro, or Quinoa
- Mashed Potatoes
- Egg Noodles
- Dinner Rolls or Garlic Bread
- Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Asparagus, Broccoli, or Cauliflower
- Glazed Carrots
- Corn, Peas, or Green Beans
- Sautéed Cabbage, Kale, or Spinach
- Salad
Storage and Reheating
How to Store
- Refrigerator- Store leftover chicken pot pie in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer- For longer storage, chicken pot pie can be kept in the freezer for 4-6 months. Portion the chicken pot pie into individual freezer-safe containers for easier defrosting. Defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.
How to Reheat
If your chicken pot pie is frozen, you’ll want to try to plan ahead and defrost it in the refrigerator prior to reheating it. Otherwise, whichever reheating method you chose will take significantly longer.
- Oven- Ideally, you’ll reheat this dutch oven chicken pot pie in the oven. Simply preheat the oven to 350°F. Then, place your leftovers in an oven-safe casserole dish or ramekin. Cover the dish with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from burning and heat for 20 minutes or until warmed through.
- Microwave- In a pinch, the microwave is convenient for reheating leftovers. Place an individual slice of leftover chicken pot pie in a microwave-safe bowl or on a plate. Then, heat for approximately 2 minutes on high or until the pie is warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
For this recipe, I used my 6-quart dutch oven. While the pie still came out fantastic, I actually wish I had a slightly smaller dutch oven. I think you could easily get away with a 4.5-5-quart dutch oven if that’s what you have at home. If your dutch oven is much larger than 6 quarts, you may want to transfer the filling to a casserole dish to bake so that the pie crust isn’t sitting too low in the pot. Just be careful your dutch oven isn’t too full, which could result in the filling bubbling over the edge.
Of course! If you don’t have a dutch oven, you can use a regular skillet or saucepan to make the filling, then transfer the filling to a casserole dish or pie plate prior to topping with the crust and baking. Looking to buy a dutch oven? One of my favorite dutch ovens is the Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Dutch Oven.
If you want to make this dutch oven chicken pot pie recipe using a double crust, you would have to transfer the filling to a pie plate lined with a rolled-out pie crust before baking. Then, top with a second pie crust and bake as stated in the recipe.
If your filling seems a little on the thinner side after adding the chicken and peas, you have a few choices. You can keep simmering the filling until enough liquid cooks off to thicken the sauce up. Or, you can whisk in a small amount of cornstarch slurry to help thicken it. Try 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 1-2 tablespoons of water.
More Dutch Oven Chicken Recipes
Dutch Oven Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 3 large carrots diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 sprigs thyme leaves removed from stem
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock
- 3 cups shredded chicken breast
- 1 cup peas fresh or frozen
- Additional salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 pie crust
- 1 egg whisked
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Melt butter in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and ½ teaspoon of salt to the melted butter and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 large yellow onion, 3 large carrots, 2 stalks celery, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 4 cloves garlic, 4 sprigs thyme
- Turn the heat to low and sprinkle the flour over the softened vegetables. Stir well to ensure all of the flour has been mixed with the butter and cook for approximately 5 minutes. You want the flour to begin to brown a bit.¼ cup all-purpose flour
- Slowly pour in the chicken stock, whisking continuously to help prevent lumps from forming in the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken up. Add the shredded chicken and peas and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste. Remove the dutch oven from the heat.2 ½ cups chicken stock, 1 cup peas, 3 cups shredded chicken breast, Additional salt and black pepper
- While the filling is cooling off a bit, roll out your pie dough out on a lightly floured surface. You want to roll it out to fit the diameter of your dutch oven. The easiest way to do this is to use the lid of the dutch oven as a guide. Roll the pie dough out, place the lid on top, and cut around the edge of the lid. Now is a good time to cut out any decorative shapes or ventilation holes as well. Carefully lift the rolled-out pie dough and place it on top of the filling inside of the dutch oven. Brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash.1 pie crust, 1 egg
- Bake the chicken pot pie for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Allow the pie to rest and set for approximately 20 minutes before slicing and serving directly out of the dutch oven. If your dutch oven has an enameled coating, take care not to scratch it with the knife.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.
I will be making this! I love the Dutch oven with one crust idea!
Thank you!
This was delicious! It was so simple to make.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂