Homemade Chicken Pot Pie with Fluffy Biscuits

Homemade chicken pot pie, made with a creamy filling full of potatoes and carrots, and topped with fluffy baking powder biscuits. The filling is so flavorful and aromatic with garlic, onions, thyme and tarragon, and every bite is full of tender potatoes and chicken. And instead of baking the filling in a pie crust, the biscuit topping is an easy and delicious alternative. Make these in individual ramekins or in one casserole dish for a dinner that everyone will love!

You might also love this heirloom tomato galette with honey and thyme, classic sweet cornbread, and baked prosciutto egg cups.

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What is Chicken Pot Pie?

Traditionally, this is a savory recipe made up of pie crust and filling. Typically, recipes call for pie dough, fitted into a deep dish pie pan and filled with chicken, vegetables and gravy that’s thickened with a roux of flour and butter. The dish is finished with a top crust, and baked like a pie. My recipe isn’t quite traditional since I’m making mine with biscuit dough instead pie dough, but it’s just as delicious (or better!) and much easier to make.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Warming and Cozy. Chicken pot pie is total comfort food with the rich gravy full of herbs, potatoes and chicken, and the fluffy, melt in your mouth biscuits. The filling is hearty, like a chicken and potato stew, and it makes a perfect dinner for a cold day in the fall and winter.

Versatile Presentation. This dish looks gorgeous whether you bake it in individual ramekins or in one casserole dish.

Customizable. If you want less potato in your filling, do what makes you happy. You like peas in the filling? Add a cup of frozen peas. If you don’t want to use the white wine, just replace it with extra chicken broth. You can customize the vegetables and herbs any way you like. You could even add herbs or cheese right into the biscuit dough!

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Chicken Filling

• Chicken Broth. Choose low sodium chicken broth or stock, so that your filling doesn’t get too salty.
• Vegetables. I like my chicken pot pie with lots of potatoes and onions, and a small handful of carrots, mainly for color. Minced garlic adds delicious flavor, too. I don’t use celery, which you’ll find in most recipes, because I don’t like cooked celery. But if you like it, feel free to add it, as well as peas if that’s what you prefer in your filling.
• Chicken. You’ll need to start with cooked chicken for today’s recipe. You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, whatever you have on hand. I always have a bunch of grilled chicken breasts in my fridge for easy lunches. If you don’t want to cook chicken, just grab a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to use.
• Butter. The butter adds rich flavor to the filling.
• Flour. All-purpose flour helps to thicken the filling. For a gluten-free option, you can use corn starch, or your preferred thickener.
• White Wine. I use a little white wine to deglaze the pan, as well as add more flavor, but if you don’t want to use alcohol, just replace the wine with more chicken broth.
• Milk + Cream. The filling in chicken pot pie should be creamy and gravy-like, so the fat content in whole milk and cream will create a rich, creamy flavorful sauce.
• Spices. You’ll need salt and pepper, as well as dried thyme and tarragon.

Biscuits

• Flour. All-purpose flour gives the biscuits structure and strength.
• Corn Starch. Lowers the percentage of protein in the dough for a very tender, fluffy biscuit.
• Baking Powder. Leavening agent.
• Salt. Flavor.
• Butter. Makes the biscuits fluffy, flaky and so flavorful.
• Milk. Binds the dough together.
• Egg. You’ll need a lightly beaten egg to brush over the biscuits just before baking. This egg wash gives them a beautiful golden brown color.

Instructions

Make the chicken filling.

• Peel and dice the carrots, and cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. You don’t need to peel the potatoes unless you want to, but be sure to scrub the potatoes if you don’t peel them.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken broth, carrots and potatoes. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then boil for about 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender enough to pierce with a fork. Set aside.

• In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute, until fragrant.

• Stir in the flour until the onions and garlic are coated in flour, then stir in the white wine. The mixture will be thick and pasty.

• Slowly stir in the milk, and stir until the mixture smooths out to a consistency like gravy.
• Add the cooked chicken, salt, pepper, thyme, tarragon, and the chicken broth with the cooked potatoes and carrots. Bring the filling back to a boil over medium heat, and cook for 2-3 more minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream.

• Place six 12-ounce ramekins on a baking sheet and divide the filling between the ramekins, or just pour the filling into a casserole dish. Cover the ramekins/casserole dish to keep the filling hot while you make the biscuits.

Biscuits

• In a bowl, combine the flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt.
• Add 6 tablespoons of butter to the flour mixture, and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in until crumbly.

• Add the milk, and stir everything together into a shaggy dough.

• Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface. Pat the dough into a square, about 1 inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds, then thirds again, then pat it out again into a square or rectangle, about 1 inch thick.

• For six individual ramekins, cut six biscuits using a knife, bench scraper or biscuit cutter. (I only had four ramekins, so I cut four large biscuits and saved the extra filling for later.) If baking your chicken pot pie in a casserole dish, use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to cut as many biscuits as you can to arrange on top of the filling.
• Place the cut biscuits in the freezer while you preheat the oven.

Bake

• Preheat the oven to 425 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
• Place the chilled biscuits on top of the filling. Brush the biscuits with the egg wash, and if you like, sprinkle with a little more pepper.

• Bake the chicken pot pie for about 15-17 minutes, until the filling is hot and bubbling, and the biscuits are fluffy and golden brown on top.
• Brush the remaining 2 tablespoons butter on top of the biscuits, and serve hot.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

What size ramekins should I use?

For six dinner-sized portions, use six 12-ounce ramekins. I used these ceramic ramekins with lids, but they only come in a set of four, so I had leftover filling.

What size casserole dish should I use?

An 8 or 9 inch baking dish is too small for all the filling and biscuits, and a 9×13 pan is a little too big. The best size would be an oblong casserole dish about 8×11 inches, a cassoulet dish, or even a Dutch oven. Note that if the sides are too deep, though, the biscuits may not brown quite as nicely.

Can I used canned biscuit dough instead?

That should work just fine.

Will this recipe work with pie dough instead of biscuits?

Yes, you can use homemade or store bought pie dough instead of biscuit dough. Just arrange squares or circles pie dough on top of the filling and bake as instructed.

What’s the best way to reheat chicken pot pie?

You can reheat it in the oven at 350 F until hot, or for several minutes in the microwave on 70% power.

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