How to Make Easy Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Step 1 - Prep and preheat: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the refrigerated pie crusts from the refrigerator and allow them to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes — cold pie crust cracks when unrolled, and a slightly warmer crust unfolds cleanly without tearing. Press the first crust into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate, letting the excess hang over the edge, and set it aside while you make the filling. If you are using rotisserie chicken, shred it now and measure 2.5 cups.

Step 2 - Build the roux base: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter completely. Add the diced onion and cook for two to three minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent and soft but not browned. Add the flour all at once and stir constantly for one full minute — the mixture will look like a thick, golden paste. This one minute of cooking is important: it cooks out the raw flour taste that otherwise leaves the finished filling with a slightly starchy, flat note underneath the chicken and vegetable flavors.

Step 3 - Build the sauce: With the pan still over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, about a quarter cup at a time, whisking constantly after each addition until fully incorporated before adding more. Once all the broth is in, add the milk in a slow, steady stream while continuing to whisk. Add the garlic powder, dried thyme, celery seed, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking and stirring over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the sauce thickens to a consistency that coats the back of a spoon and holds a line when you drag your finger through it.

Step 4 - Add the chicken and vegetables: Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the shredded chicken and frozen mixed vegetables and fold everything together until evenly distributed through the sauce. Taste the filling and adjust salt and pepper — the filling should taste well-seasoned and slightly salty at this stage, since the crust will absorb some of that salt and the flavor will mellow slightly after baking. Pour the finished filling into the prepared bottom crust in the pie plate.

Step 5 - Top, seal, and bake: Lay the second pie crust over the filled pie. Press the edges of the top and bottom crusts together firmly with your fingers, then fold the excess under and crimp the edge with a fork or pinch it into a decorative fluted edge. Cut four to six one-inch slits in the top crust with a sharp knife to allow steam to vent during baking — without vents, steam from the hot filling has nowhere to escape and can cause the top crust to bubble up and separate from the filling. Beat the egg with one tablespoon of milk and brush it evenly over the entire top crust surface. Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown. If the edges start browning too quickly before the center is done, cover them with strips of aluminum foil for the remaining bake time. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing.