The Secret to the Best Chicken Pot Pie, According to Chefs

When I’m looking for a cozy, comforting meal, chicken pot pie is always a treat. It’s hearty, savory, creamy, and oh-so-satisfying. However, it’s not the quickest or easiest meal to make from scratch, which makes it even more special when I take the time to do so.

So if I’m going to make this comfort classic at home, I try to ensure that it’s going to come out as perfect as possible. In turn, I always have my eye out for chef-approved tips. With chicken pot pie season in full swing, I decided to ask three chefs what the secret is for the best pot pie…and they all offered the same one!

The Chefs I Asked

• Joanne Gallagher: Creator of Inspired Taste, a food blog of easy recipes for home cook
• David Davidov: Recipe developer and creator of The Cooking Foodie
• Marissa Stevens: Recipe developer and founder of Pinch and Swirl

The Secret to the Best Chicken Pot Pie

These chefs all agree that the key to the best chicken pot pie is to make the most delicious crust.

Pie crust—whether it’s destined for sweet or savory dishes—can often be overlooked. However, according to these chefs, the best chicken pot pie makers pay close attention to this element of the recipe. “Don’t underestimate the crust," says Davidov. "That contrast between a crisp crust and a creamy filling is what really makes a chicken pot pie special."

Whether it’s homemade or store-bought, keep the crust cold and handle it as little as possible, says Davidov. "A cold crust bakes up flaky instead of greasy," he explains.

Also, it's completely acceptable to use a store-bought pie crust for your pot pie, and there are a couple of tricks to remember to make it really delicious. Gallagher almost always goes this route when making this classic recipe—and she makes sure to properly adorn it before baking. “Store-bought [crust] is so delicious and buttery, plus it means you don’t need to make [one]. Thaw the pastry in the fridge, place it over your filling, and brush the top with a simple egg wash (one egg beaten with a splash of water). It will come out of the oven with a beautiful, puffed, golden-brown top,” she explains. Stevens, too, is a big fan of this grocery store convenience.

However, Stevens has controversial take when it comes to chicken pot pie crust: Skip the bottom crust completely. “The bottom crust of a pot pie seems to always turn soggy when it bakes under a creamy filling. So you just end up with unnecessary effort." She likes top crust only for its flaky, golden pastry, minus the sogginess. Of course, the choice is yours.

To ensure this top crust gets just the right amount of crisp, Stevens recommends “portioning the filling into individual dishes, trying to keep some of the larger chunks of chicken and vegetables above the liquid level. They prop up your crust so it bakes up crispy instead of soaking up the saucy part of the filling as it bakes.”

And if the top crust is browning quicker than the pie is cooking, Davidov has a fantastic solution. “Just loosely tent the top with a piece of foil. It slows down the browning without trapping steam, so the crust stays flaky instead of getting soggy, and the filling has time to finish cooking properly.” I think I know exactly what I’ll be making for this week.