Skip to Content

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie

Updated June 9, 2025 / By Holly Erickson & Natalie Mortimer

Our skillet chicken pot pie makes use of a few handy shortcuts, including puff pastry from the freezer, to cut down on prep time while still delivering a homey comforting classic

puff pastry chicken pot pie with vegetables made in a skillet

The Epic Comfort of Chicken Pot Pie, Any Night of the Week.

As hearty as the most labor-intensive of Sunday suppers, this super fast skillet chicken pot pie recipe is all bang, no buck. Because this skillet pot pie recipe relies on whole milk instead of cream, and is loaded with lean chicken breast and vegetables like carrots, celery and peas, it definitely counts as a balanced meal. Sure, there’s some butter in there—OK, a fair amount of butter—so it’s not as light as a rice bowl or dinner salad, but it’s a filling supper you can feel good about feeding your family. Especially on a dark and stormy night, when all you want is to fill those bellies with warmth and comfort. If you want nothing but the classic, try our easy from-scratch Chicken Pot Pie

ingredients laid out for Skillet Chicken Pot Pie carrots, onions, chicken stock, milk, celery, peas, butter, flour
butter, carrots, onion and celery sautéed in a cast iron skillet
butter, carrots, onion and celery sautéed in a cast iron skillet with flour and seasoning.
butter, carrots, onion and celery sautéed in a cast iron skillet with flour and seasoning and a wooden spoon.
butter, carrots, onion and celery sautéed in a cast iron skillet with chicken stock and milk added

A Classic Chicken Pot Pie Filling That’s Ready Fast.

We’re not trying to break the mold with this easy chicken pot pie recipe. Quite the opposite. We wanted to craft a homey, classic, comforting pot pie that you can make in no time flat. With a store-bought pot pie crust—we just use store-bought frozen puff pastry—all you’ll need to do is make a filling. But, even the pot pie filling relies on some simple shortcuts to make your life just that much easier. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Chicken! Save yourself major time by using one of those already-cooked rotisserie chickens from the grocery store.
  • Vegetables! Carrots, celery, frozen peas and onions.
  • Seasoning! Celery seed and garlic powder—a perfectly retro combo and just right in this skillet pot pie. Salt and pepper, of course. If you’d like to add it, a sprinkling of fresh thyme is nice, too.
  • Liquid! Broth and milk are thickened with a little flour to make a creamy chicken pot pie sauce.
chicken and frozen peas being added a homemade chicken pot pie in a cast iron skillet
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie filling in a cast iron pan
puff pastry topped chicken pot pie being brushed with and egg wash
golden brown homemade Chicken Pot Pie in a cast iron pan

How To Make Chicken Pot Pie

This skillet chicken pot pie is easy as...well...pie. It’s a one pot meal that utilizes some pro quick dinner tips and results in a beautiful and homey dish that the whole family can be really excited about. We like to the assembly as a four-step process:

  1. Make a super-flavorful roux! Onion is cooked in butter until it's really fragrant, and then you make sort of a seasoned paste by adding flour, salt, pepper, celery seed, garlic powder and thyme. Voila! You made a roux! Roux just means a fat-flour mixture that serves as the base for making a creamy sauce.
  2. Make a sauce! Milk and then stock are added slowly to the roux. As you add the milk and stock, the roux will become a creamy sauce. Stir the chicken and vegetables into the sauce to finish the filling—you can add the peas frozen! No need to pre-cook them.
  3. Crust time! Grab your puff pastry—slightly defrosted so that you can work with it—and you can create a lattice top if you're feeling fancy, or just place one large pastry sheet on top of the skillet full of pot pie filling. If you choose to use just one sheet of pastry for the top, be sure to cut a few slits into it for the steam to escape while baking. Here, we even cut the pastry into squares and overlapped them.
  4. Bake! No explanation necessary, right?
golden brown homemade Chicken Pot Pie in a cast iron pan

Tools You’ll Need:

Other Easy Weeknight, One-Pan Chicken Recipes:

One-pan, easy chicken dinners are kind of our thing (if you hadn’t noticed.) Here are a few of our very favorites:

golden brown homemade Chicken Pot Pie in a cast iron pan with a scoop taken out with a spoon.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie—Easier Than You Thought?

There are certain dishes that have gained a reputation as fussy or a lot of work, and pot pie is one of them. We’re hoping this easy recipe changes that a little bit, and makes homemade chicken pot pie something that feels within your reach now! Let us know how yours turned out! Snap a photo of your skillet chicken pot pie, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

Our Ultimate 2025 Summer Recipe Round-up!

FREE EMAIL BONUS: 5 days of "don't-miss-these" recipes for the sunny season

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

  • Serves:  8
  • Prep Time:  15 min
  • Cook Time:  45 min
  • Calories:  457

Description

Our skillet chicken pot pie makes use of a few handy shortcuts, including puff pastry from the freezer, to cut down on prep time while still delivering a homey comforting classic

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
  • 2 cups thinly sliced carrots, (about 2 large carrots)
  • 1 cup thinly sliced celery, (about 3 ribs)
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 4 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • 1 (17.3-ounce) package puff pastry, thawed according to package
  • 1 large egg

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the center position. 

    ingredients laid out for Skillet Chicken Pot Pie carrots, onions, chicken stock, milk, celery, peas, butter, flour
  2. Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast-iron or ovenproof skillet over medium heat (see Note) Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. 

    butter, carrots, onion and celery sautéed in a cast iron skillet
  3. Sprinkle the flour, salt, pepper, celery seed, garlic powder, and thyme, over the vegetables. Cook, stirring constantly, until a thick paste forms and coats the vegetables, about 2 minutes.

    butter, carrots, onion and celery sautéed in a cast iron skillet with flour and seasoning.
  4. Gradually pour in the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Once smooth, gradually whisk in the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture has thickened to a gravy-like consistency, about 5 minutes.

    butter, carrots, onion and celery sautéed in a cast iron skillet with flour and seasoning and a wooden spoon.
  5. Stir in the peas and shredded chicken, until well combined and heated through.

    butter, carrots, onion and celery sautéed in a cast iron skillet with chicken stock and milk added
  6. On a lightly flowered surface, roll one sheet of puff pastry into a 16-inch square. Cut into 3-inch squares (you should have about 16 pieces). Arrange the squares on top of the chicken mixture, overlapping slightly. 

    Skillet Chicken Pot Pie filling in a cast iron pan
  7. In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the pastry with the egg wash. 

    puff pastry topped chicken pot pie being brushed with and egg wash
  8. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the pastry is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling. If the pastry begins browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil. 

    golden brown homemade Chicken Pot Pie in a cast iron pan

Notes

If you don’t have a cast-iron, or ovenproof skillet, make the filling in any large skillet,  then transfer it to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish after step 5 and proceed with the pastry topping.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories 457
  • Protein 19 g
  • Carbohydrates 32 g
  • Total Fat 25 g
  • Dietary Fiber 4 g
  • Cholesterol 117 mg
  • Sodium 526 mg
  • Total Sugars 6 g

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

or
  • Erica

    Can I make this with a refrigerated pie crust as a top layer instead?

    Should work ok. just keep an eye on the crust if it starts getting to brown cover it with foil.

  • Marlon

    Can you put a layer of puff pastry at the bottom, or will it burn?

    It should be fine but we haven't tested it with this specific recipe.

  • Alejandra

    Can I make it with chicken thighs instead or would it ruin it?

    You can make it with thighs just make sure they are cooked and shredded first. Hope you enjoy!

  • Nicole

    Can I make this in my dutch oven? I dont have an oven proof skillet.

    Thanks.

    Sure! Hope you enjoy!

  • Mandt

    Hi there,

    Should you use salted or unsalted butter?

    Thanks!

    whatever you prefer. I almost always use salted, but if you prefer less salt then you can use unsalted.

  • Wine

    This was an easy weeknight meal. I used up the leftover rotisserie chicken that was in the freezer. Very delicious will be going in a rotation thank you

    YAY, that is awesome to hear. So glad you loved it.

  • Anthony

    Made this for Super Bowl. Huge hit great flavor thank you! The only change I made was sprinkle a little garlic powder and black pepper on the egg wash. I will make this again, amazing dish with pantry ingredients.

    Thanks Anthony, we are so glad you loved it!

  • Brooke

    I had a smaller cast iron, so I scaled down some of the ingredients. But this recipe was absolutely delicious! This was way better than some of the biscuit recipes Ive tried and about the same amount of work

    Thanks Brooke, so glad you loved this!

  • gail

    Delish!! Used pillsbury pie crust and added a little bell seasoning. Also used celery salt and not celery seed. Will most definitely make again!

    Thanks, we are so glad you loved it!

  • Kate

    This recipe is so delicious and comes together easily! Will be making this again. Husband and toddler approved :)

    Thanks Kate, we are so glad you loved it!