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This Easy Chicken Pie recipe has everything you need in a comfort food meal. With tasty meat, extra veggies, creamy sauce, tasty bacon bits and a light fluffy pastry topping, this is an ideal go-to homemade pie recipe that’s simple yet satisfying.

A cooked chicken pie with a corner portion missing, with a spoon ready to serve more. Laid on a white table cloth with a side of peas in a bowl.

This Easy Chicken Pie is honestly one of my most favourite recipes ✨ ever. ✨ 

It’s one of those recipes where the leftovers are every bit as good as the first time round. A slice of cold leftover creamy Chicken Pie lurking is the ultimate fridge find!

When you’re in need of a winter warmer comfort food dish, THIS is the recipe to turn to. 

The fact that we’re using ready-made sheet puff pastry here makes this a very easy, no-fuss pie. Yes, that’s right. We’re only giving it a top, which makes it ultra convenient but still delicious and hearty (but read on to find out how to give your pie a base if you’d rather).

There’s plenty of flavour and you can give yourself a little win by making two at the same time – one for now and one for the freezer. Your future self will love you for it! 

➡️ If you love this recipe you might also like my other pastry-topped favourites – my Steak Pie and Cheesy Vegetarian Pie.

➡️ Or other great make-ahead pies include my Shepherd’s Pie, Easy Fish Pie and my Cowboy Pie too.


Why you’ll love this Chicken and Bacon Pie

⭐️ Great for batch cooking

⭐️ Packed with extra veggies

⭐️ Ultimate comfort food meal


A golden-topped Chicken Pie with a portion missing, on a table with a bow of peas next to it.

How we came up with this simple Chicken Pie recipe

It was a Jamie Oliver Chicken Pie recipe that reignited my love of the dish about 10 years ago and I’ve been making my version this way ever since.

Sometimes I think pies can be something people shy away from making because of the mistaken assumption they’re difficult to do.

So, I have made it my mission to create some very simplified pie recipes so us busy cooks can make them for the whole family to enjoy – either for a special meal or a simple midweek dinner.

I feel like my fine-tuning of this recipe has resulted in what I set out to achieve – a creamy chicken pie with bacon and puff pastry that is relatively quick (for a pie) and totally easy, even if you consider yourself a beginner as a cook.

Oh – and SO DELICIOUS, too!


Ingredients

Ingredients for an easy chicken pie laid out on a counter top.
  • Oil – Any oil other than extra virgin is fine. Olive oil or sunflower oil are perfect
  • Chicken breasts – You’ll need about x4 (or approximately 650g)
  • Bacon – Using a smoked bacon, pancetta or prosciutto here really adds a lot of flavour to the pie. I cut mine up into very small pieces so it cooks into the sauce
  • Onion, celery and carrots – I use frozen Soffrito mix (onions, celery and carrots chopped into small cubes). I do a big order from Ocado every month and stock the freezer up ready for this top shortcut. Or you can prepare from scratch (see notes)
  • Dried thyme – If you have fresh thyme, use 3 tsp as it’s not as strongly flavoured
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Plain flour 
  • Chicken stock – Stock made with a cube is absolutely fine
  • Milk – I used semi-skimmed as it’s what we have. Full fat will make the pie more creamy. I wouldn’t recommend skimmed it won’t be very creamy at all
  • Puff pastry – You can use shortcrust pastry if you prefer
  • Egg – This is for beating to wash over the pastry before cooking (which makes the topping golden and crispy)

How to make a Chicken Pie

A pan filled with chicken and bacon with vegetables for the first step in the recipe for Chicken Pie.

1. Fry the chicken and bacon until cooked, add the vegetables, then flour and thyme. Gradually add stock, milk and flour, stirring until smooth. Spoon into a pie dish and leave to cool.

An unbaked chicken pie in a white oven dish, with egg-washed pastry and a leaf cut design, ready to go in the oven.

2. Smooth the pastry over the top, decorate the topping if you wish and brush with beaten egg. Bake for about 30 minutes on 220C until golden.


Leftovers

In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully by before serving.

In the freezer This recipe freezes well and is a great batch cook recipe. Make the pie and let it cool before freezing (unbaked). On the day you want it, let it thaw fully and then bake in the oven until the middle is hot through and the top is golden as normal.

Top tips

If you want a pie base

If you use shortcrust pastry you can also line the bottom of the dish before adding your filling. (Some people consider this the only way to make a true pie!)

As you warm up your oven, put a baking tray in to heat up, then when you put your pie in the oven, sit the dish on top of the hot baking tray. I find that this really helps to cook the base of the Chicken Pie and stops a soggy bottom.

Hack: Frozen mixed vegetable base

You can replace the individual carrots, celery and onion ingredients for a frozen bag of ‘soffritto’, which comes already pre-chopped and all together in one bag. (I love this cheat for lots of recipes!) It might be called ‘vegetable base mix’ or something similar in some supermarkets.

FAQs

Why isn’t my sauce very thick?

This is because you haven’t added enough flour. You can either follow the recipe and add it at the same time as your stock, making sure it eventually gets to the right consistency, or if you find there are lumps you can make a ‘slurry’ instead.

This is when you add a little water or milk to your flour before adding it into the sauce, mixing to make a sort-of paste and stirring out those lumps before they hit your pan and whole pie mixture.

Can I make this a gluten-free Chicken Pie?

Sure, all you have to do is use gluten-free pastry instead of regular puff pastry. Or you can make your own crust with gluten-free flour.

Be careful to use a gluten-free option for your stock too.

Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.

Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).

4.99 from 165 votes

Easy Chicken Pie {with Bacon & Puff Pastry}

This simple recipe for Chicken Pie has everything you need in a comfort food pie. With its tasty meat, extra veggies, creamy sauce and light fluffy pastry topping, it's an ideal and simple homemade pie.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6 People

Ingredients 

For the chicken pie filling:

  • 1 tbsp Oil, See notes
  • 4 Chicken breasts, About 650g
  • 200 g Smoked bacon, See notes
  • 1 Large onion, See notes
  • 3 Celery sticks, See notes
  • 3 Carrots , See notes
  • 2 tsp Thyme, See notes
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 75 g Plain flour
  • 300 ml Chicken stock, See notes
  • 300 ml Milk, See notes

For the pie:

  • 320 g Puff pastry sheet, See notes
  • 1 Egg, Beaten

Instructions 

  • Heat your oil in a large frying pan or saucepan and add the chicken and bacon. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until just starting to turn brown.
  • Add in the vegetables and cook for a further 5 minutes until they start to soften.
  • Add the flour and thyme and stir through everything, cook for 5 minutes.
  • Gradually add the stock and milk to the vegetable and flour mix, stirring until the sauce is smooth. Leave to bubble away and thicken for about 10 minutes.
  • Spoon into a pie dish and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes if you have time.
  • Smooth the pastry over the top of the filling.
  • Decorate the pie with cut out shapes if you feel that way inclined and brush with the beaten egg.
  • When you are ready to bake the pie, preheat the oven to 220C and bake for about 30 minutes until the filling is hot throughout and the pastry is crisp and golden.

Notes

Oil: Any oil other than extra virgin is fine. Olive oil or sunflower oil are perfect
Bacon: Using a smoked bacon, pancetta or prosciutto here really adds a lot of flavour to the pie. I cut mine up into very small pieces so it cooks into the sauce
Vegetables: I buy a ‘soffritto’ mix if available to save having to chop the celery, carrots and onions. It might be called ‘vegetable base mix’ or something similar in some supermarkets
Thyme: This is for dried thyme. If you have fresh thyme, use 3 tsp as it’s not as strongly flavoured
Chicken stock: Stock made with a cube is absolutely fine
Milk: I used Semi-skimmed as it’s what we have. Full fat will make the pie more creamy. I wouldn’t recommend Skimmed if possible as it won’t be very creamy at all
Puff pastry: As mentioned in the post above, if you prefer a pie with a base, go right ahead and use two sheets of pastry. Just be sure to cook it so the bottom is crispy and cooked through

Nutrition

Calories: 651kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 49gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 143mgSodium: 737mgPotassium: 1002mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 5329IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 109mgIron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Family Food
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Sarah Rossi founder of TamingTwins.com and author of 'What's for Dinner?' books.

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40 Comments

  1. Made this, was delish and the kids ate it all up too!
    We’re a family of 3 so this made us two pies and I put one in the freezer (pastry uncooked) for another day).

  2. 5 stars
    This has now become a firm favourite !
    Do you think I could use the chicken filling & top with sweet potato mash?