until tender

I’ve made quite a few versions of chicken pot pie over the years, but this skillet chicken pot pie is probably the easiest one I’ve made.

It’s the kind of dinner I want when I’m craving something really comforting but don’t want to spend hours making it. You make the whole filling in one skillet, put a pie crust right on top, and let the oven do the rest.

And that’s basically it.

The filling is creamy without using heavy cream, with tender carrots, onion, leek, peas, and cooked chicken. Then you get that golden, flaky pastry on top. It’s simple food, but honestly, I don’t think chicken pot pie needs much more than that.

Can You Put Pie Crust Over Hot Chicken Pot Pie Filling?

Yes. You can put a refrigerated pie crust directly over hot chicken pot pie filling. The filling will be very hot when the pastry goes on, but baking the pot pie at 425°F helps the crust cook and brown quickly instead of sitting on the filling long enough to become soggy.

The pastry was the part I wasn’t sure about

When I was making this, I had one little concern.

The filling is very hot when the pastry goes on top. Mine even touched the filling in a few places, and I remember looking at it and thinking, This is going to melt before I even get it into the oven. Lol.

But no. It didn’t.

The high oven temperature really helped. I baked the pot pie at 220°C (425°F), and the pastry started cooking and browning quickly instead of sitting on the hot filling and getting soggy.

It came out golden and crisp on top, with no mushy pastry underneath.

That was probably the moment I decided this was going to be my go-to easy version.

Making the filling

I start with butter, onion, leek, and carrots. I love adding a little leek here because it gives the filling a subtle sweetness and makes it taste a little more special without actually making the recipe any more complicated.

Then I sprinkle flour over the vegetables and cook it briefly before adding the chicken broth and milk. The flour thickens everything into a creamy gravy without needing heavy cream.

I add a little black pepper and just ¼ teaspoon of dried thyme. That’s enough for me. I didn’t want a filling overloaded with herbs — I wanted it to taste like a really good, familiar chicken pot pie.

The cooked chicken and frozen peas go in at the end, just long enough to heat through.

Then the pastry goes on

This is probably my favorite part because there really isn’t much to do.

Take a refrigerated 9-inch pie crust and lay it straight over the hot filling. It doesn’t have to be perfect. If it touches the filling in a couple of places, don’t worry about it — apparently I worried enough for both of us. 😂

Cut a few slits in the middle for the steam, brush the top with egg wash, and put the skillet in the oven.

I put the skillet on a baking sheet before baking because the filling can bubble up around the edges. It’s much easier than cleaning a burnt-on layer from the bottom of your oven later.

Why I like this version

I’ve made chicken pot pies that require more preparation, and they’re delicious too. But sometimes I just want dinner to be easy.

With this skillet chicken pot pie, you don’t have to make a bottom crust or transfer the filling to another baking dish. Everything happens in the same skillet, and using cooked chicken makes it even quicker.

It’s also a great way to use leftover chicken. I actually love recipes like this because they don’t feel like “leftover recipes.” You end up with something that feels completely different from whatever you had the night before.

And the combination of creamy filling and crisp pastry is just hard to argue with.

One of my easiest comfort food dinners

I’m really glad I found a way to make chicken pot pie this simply.

I’ve made many versions of chicken pot pie, but this one has everything I want without making dinner feel like a whole production. You get a creamy chicken and vegetable filling, a buttery golden crust, and that cozy, homemade feeling that makes chicken pot pie such a classic comfort food.

And after all my worrying about the pastry melting into the filling, seeing it come out golden and crisp was probably the best part.

Sometimes the easiest version ends up being the one you make again.