You will love this Mini Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Looking for a great freezer-friendly one-dish dinner idea? After the popularity of my sister Olivia’s Easy Individual Mini Meat Lasagna recipe post, I asked her if she would create another freezer-friendly individual serving recipe for you all.
This recipe is great for when you need a quick dinner for one or two people or when you are wanting a yummy lunch to take with you to work or school.
These can be reheated in the oven or microwave and are very portable! Also, feel free to experiment with different vegetables or meat in the filling! Enjoy! -Crystal
Mini Chicken Pot Pie Recipe Ingredients
Pie Crusts:
- 3 cups flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 10 Tablespoons water, room temperature
Filling:
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups milk
- 1 Tablespoon minced onion
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 package frozen mixed vegetables (16 ounces)
- 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
Mini Pot Pies Substitutions and Additions
This recipe is very versatile, so feel free to make substitutions based on whatever foods you have in the house (or your family’s preferences).
You can easily substitute store-bought refrigerated pie crusts if you don’t want to make your own — just re-roll the scraps to make more mini crusts.
You can also swap cooked turkey for the chicken (great for post-Thanksgiving leftovers).
Mix and match your favorite veggies — using frozen if that’s easier, or fresh (just make sure you par-boil the fresh veggies first before adding them to the sauce).
And if you’d prefer to make one large chicken pot pie, this recipe should make enough crust and filling for one 9″ pie plate.
How to make Individual Chicken Pot Pies
To prepare crusts:
- Mix together flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
- Cut in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add water, and mix with a fork.
- Using your hands, press the pastry together to form a ball.
- Cover crust and set aside until the filling is ready.
To prepare filling:
- Melt butter in a saucepan.
- Using a wire whisk, stir in flour and salt.
- Add milk and cook until smooth and thickened, stirring continuously.
- Remove from heat, and stir in the remaining filling ingredients — seasonings, veggies, and chicken.
To assemble pies:
- Place 1 cup of filling into 6 mini greased pie pans.
- Roll pie crust to 1/8-1/4 thickness and cut out 6 circles. (I divided the dough into thirds and cut two circles out at a time using a pan lid.)
- Place circles over the filling, flute edges, cut slits in the center, and bake uncovered at 350º for 30 minutes. (Note: the pies will be partially cooked at this point, but not ready to eat).
- Let the pies cool completely, then cover securely with foil and freeze.
To reheat:
- Place frozen, covered pot pies into a cold oven (do not preheat).
- Heat the oven to 350º and bake for 30 – 60 minutes, or until heated through.
- OR, pop a pie out of the foil pan and place it on a microwave-safe dish. (You may need to slightly thaw the pot pie if it won’t slip out of the pan.)
- Microwave on high for about 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Note: For easier handling and to prevent oven spills, cook pot pies on a baking sheet.
How to serve individual Chicken Pot Pies
The best thing about these delicious pot pies is that they are essentially a complete meal in and of themselves! They provide the meat, vegetables, potatoes, grain, etc. all in one nice little package.
However, they also pair well with a salad, your favorite cooked, roasted, or steamed vegetable, and fresh fruit.
How to store this Mini Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
We recommend tightly wrapping the partially cooked (and cooled) pot pies in tin foil and freezing them — they will last months this way!
If you have any leftovers after fully baking the pot pies, you can refrigerate them in any food storage container.
Individual Chicken Pot Pies FAQs
There are a few things you can do to prevent your crust from getting soggy. Make sure your gravy/sauce is thick enough and not too runny (add more flour if it seems runny).
Also, allow plenty of time for your partially cooked pot pies to cool before putting them in the freezer (otherwise condensation might make the crust soggy).
And finally, make sure you cook the frozen pies long enough to fully bake the crust all the way through (up to an hour).
Yes, we actually recommend that you put the frozen pot pie directly into a cold oven and THEN start the preheating process. This method seems to produce the best reheated results!
We’ve had the best luck freezing the chicken pot pies after they are partially cooked. We recommend baking them for 30 minutes, then letting them cool, and then freezing them.
Freezer Friendly Individual Pot Pies
Ingredients
Pie Crusts:
- 3 cups flour
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks, softened)
- 10 tbsp water room temperature
Filling:
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3 cups milk
- 1 tbsp minced onion
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 16 oz. frozen mixed vegetables
- 3 cups cooked chicken cubed
Instructions
To prepare crusts:
- Mix together flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
- Cut in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add water, and mix with a fork.
- Using your hands, press the pastry together to form a ball.
- Cover crust and set aside until the filling is ready.
To prepare filling:
- Melt butter in a saucepan.
- Using a wire whisk, stir in flour and salt.
- Add milk and cook until smooth and thickened, stirring continuously.
- Remove from heat, and stir in the remaining filling ingredients — seasonings, veggies, and chicken.
To assemble pies:
- Place 1 cup of filling into 6 mini greased pie pans.
- Roll pie crust to 1/8-1/4 thickness and cut out 6 circles. (I divided the dough into thirds and cut two circles out at a time using a pan lid.)
- Place circles over the filling, flute edges, cut slits in the center, and bake uncovered at 350º for 30 minutes. (Note: the pies will be partially cooked at this point, but not ready to eat).
- Let the pies cool completely, then cover securely with foil and freeze.
To reheat:
- Place frozen, covered pot pies into a cold oven (do not preheat).
- Heat the oven to 350º and bake for 30 – 60 minutes, or until heated through. (Note: For easier handling and to prevent oven spills, cook pot pies on a baking sheet.)
- OR, pop one pie out of the foil pan and place it on a microwave-safe dish. (You may need to slightly thaw the pot pie if it won’t slip out of the pan.)
- Microwave on high for about 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Nutrition
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Reader Interactions
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Pam says
So this is a freezer friendly meal, do you cook before you freeze them then?
Olivia says
Yes! 🙂 -Olivia, MSM Team
Grace says
Cooking in the oven for 30-60 minutes is a very large range. Do you have a narrower bake time you can recommend now that this post is many years old?
Reza says
I am so happy to try this; thank you for sharing!
Jordan says
You’re so welcome! Let us know how they turn out! -Jordan, MSM Team
Elaine says
Does the crust brown and get crispy in the microwave?
Tammy says
I am soo excited to try this thank you for sharing!!!!
Meg says
You’re so welcome!! -Meg, MSM Team
Rachel Brogdon says
How long do these last in the freezer?
Carol Chidlow says
Could you include a bottom crust? My favorite pot pie recipe sounds almost exactly like this but the big pie is way too much for one person. I’d love to try this but I do like the bottom crust as well.
Magen says
With the salt in the pie crusts, is that 5.5 tsp or 11 & 1/2 tsp?
Meg says
Sorry about that! It’s one and a half teaspoons. We just updated it. 🙂 Thanks for pointing that out! -Meg, MSM Team
Nancy says
Can these pot pies be put in the freezer before baking? If so what do you think is the best way to bake – thawed or frozen?
Olivia says
Hi, Nancy! I’ve actually never tried to freeze the pot pies before baking, so I’m not sure. I assume it would work! Probably it would be best to thaw them before baking if they’ve been frozen uncooked. If you try it, let me know how it turns out! -Olivia, MSM Team
Bob Gonzalez says
I know it’s a little more costly, but the bigger 6 ” pans, which are reusable. End up being a fuller meal and are cheaper. Just a comment from a late comer to baking, often frustrated but getting there.😊
Kimberly says
Thank you so much—these are definitely in our family’s future! 🙂 And what kind of tool made those beautiful slits in the top?
Olivia says
Hi, Kimberly! I used a wavy knife to make the slits! It’s a fun kitchen tool to have. 🙂 -Olivia, MSM Team
Cathy @ tips4livingbetter.com says
Looking forward to trying out the pie crust. Thanks for sharing.
Olivia says
You’re welcome, Cathy! I hope you enjoy it! -Olivia, MSM Team
Shannon says
Cook the chicken first or mix it in raw?
Emily says
Cook it first.
Olivia says
Hello, Shannon! Emily is correct: the chicken should be cooked first! Thanks for pointing that out–we got it changed in the recipe. 🙂 -Olivia, MSM Team
Emily says
Where do you buy your mini pie pans?
Olivia says
Hi, Emily! I bought the pie pans at a local grocery store (Dillons). You might be able to find them at Walmart, too! -Olivia, MSM Team
Carol Chidlow says
Try Dollar Tree. They have all kinds of mini pans. Way cheaper.
Amy says
I found a pack of 50 for $10.00 amazon
Pearl says
Can you post a link for the pans ?
Wendy says
These are the ones I got from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01EIPUX4U?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title