Freezer Chicken Pot Pie

Why You’ll Love This Freezer Chicken Pot Pie

• Two pies, one effort. Bake one now and freeze the other for later, or give it to a friend.
• Flaky from frozen. Baked straight from the freezer, the crust browns and crisps instead of steaming.
• Thick, creamy filling. It holds together when sliced and never turns watery after freezing.
• Weeknight shortcuts. Store-bought crusts and cooked chicken keep prep to about 30 minutes.
• Classic comfort food. Chicken, carrots, celery and peas in a savoury thyme sauce.

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Is It Best to Freeze Chicken Pot Pie Cooked or Uncooked?

Uncooked is best. Assemble the pie completely, crimp it, cut the vents and freeze it before baking. When an unbaked pie goes from the freezer into a hot oven, the cold butter in the pastry turns to steam and puffs the layers, so the crust bakes up flaky and golden. A pie that has already been baked gets only one result from reheating: a drier filling and a crust that softens on the bottom.

The filling, on the other hand, is cooked before it goes in the crust, and it must be completely cold when you assemble. Spread it in a shallow dish and refrigerate it for about an hour. Leftover slices from a baked pie can still be frozen; reheat them in the oven, not the microwave, to keep the crust crisp.

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Key Ingredients for Flaky Freezer Chicken Pot Pie

Simple ingredients, chosen to freeze well. Here is what each one does for this freezer chicken pot pie:

• Refrigerated pie crusts: You need four (two boxes) for two double-crust pies. They freeze unbaked beautifully. Use homemade all-butter pastry if you prefer.
• Cooked chicken: About 4 cups shredded. Rotisserie or leftover roast chicken adds the most flavour. Choose halal-certified chicken if you need to.
• Butter and flour: Cooked together, they thicken the broth and milk into a sauce that stays creamy after freezing.
• Chicken broth and whole milk: Broth for savoury depth, milk for creaminess. Use low-sodium broth and check the label if you keep halal.
• Carrots, celery and onion: Diced small so they cook through in the filling and stay tender, not mushy.
• Frozen peas: Added straight from the freezer at the end; they hold their colour and shape.
• Thyme: The classic pot pie herb. Dried thyme holds its flavour through freezing better than fresh.

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How to Make Freezer Chicken Pot Pie

The full recipe with exact amounts is in the card below. Here is the method at a glance:

1. Soften the vegetables. Cook the onion, carrots and celery in butter for about 8 minutes until tender.
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2. Make the creamy filling. Stir in the flour, whisk in the broth and milk, simmer until thick, then add the thyme, chicken and peas.
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3. Cool it completely. Spread the filling in a shallow dish and refrigerate for about an hour, until cold.
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4. Assemble two pies. Line two foil pie pans with crust, divide the filling, top with the second crusts, crimp and cut vents. Bake one; wrap and freeze the other.
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In Short: The Secrets to a Flaky Freezer Chicken Pot Pie

• Make the filling a little thicker than for a bake-now pie.
• Cool the filling completely before it touches the crust.
• Use foil pie pans that can go from freezer to hot oven.
• Freeze it unbaked, wrapped in plastic wrap and foil.
• Bake from frozen; never thaw an unbaked pie.
• Bake until the filling bubbles through the vents, 165°F (74°C) in the centre.

Keep the freezer stocked with more freezer dinners, our freezer chicken enchiladas for a lighter night, every recipe with chicken, or the freezer dinner starter pack.

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