This Chicken Paprikash Pot Pie is the perfect comfort food: chicken thighs simmered in a rich, smoky sauce, under a crispy, buttery, flaky crust.
Is there anything more comforting than a hearty chicken pot pie? If there is, I can’t think of it.
Flaky Puff Pastry
This is a food blog, so it’s no surprise that I like making everything from scratch! When I think of making a specific recipe, it never occurs to me to get the store-bought version because my brain goes straight to conjuring up all the ingredients I’ll need to start building that thing from zero. It’s a natural phenomenon I like to call blissful masochism. Some of us are apparently born with it.
So, whenever I make chicken pot pie, I like making Claire Saffitz’s flaky pie crust. It’s my go-to recipe. But for this pie, I used store-bought puff pastry, and gosh, what a concept! Even though I’ll always advise you to make your puff pastry from scratch—perhaps keeping one or two in the freezer for a rainy day—I’ll also say this: if you want to save time and not overthink it, get the store-bought one. Most people won’t even notice! But in case you want to try Claire’s, here’s the recipe.
By the way, you can see another version of a chicken pot pie below, where the recipe was entirely eyeballed, except for the crust, which was made following Claire’s recipe.
A Creamy, Smoky Filling
Since this isn’t a double-crust chicken pot pie, I like keeping it simple and rustic. Using a cast-iron skillet here is great because you can just pop it into the oven without having to use a separate baking dish. Just roll out that puff pastry sheet and roughly trim the edges, and it’ll look beautiful.
Hailee’s recipe calls for sour cream, which I sometimes substitute with crème fraîche if I happen to have it in the fridge. I also omitted the celery because I didn’t have any, but I kept the fennel. Much like Hailee, I always opt for chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts because all that fat and those bones impart so much more flavor.
But one thing that stands out in the recipe is the lemon zest. It brings out the flavors, and the result is such a bright filling. I also omitted the bay leaf, but if you want to make Hailee’s exact version, I’ve linked it above.
If you try this Chicken Paprikash Pot Pie recipe, please let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
More Chicken Recipes
Green Chicken Pot Pie: Take a good old chicken pot pie and turn it vibrant green! This is the kind dish that will brighten your winter days.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup: Chicken pot pie in soup form, this dish combines the comfort and indulgence of a chicken pie and the easiness of a soup. All made on the stovetop, in one pot. It’s perfect for a cold winter night and it might even taste better the next day!
Spring Chicken Salad: This easy salad borrows a little from a traditional Caesar salad: crisp lettuce, parmesan, crunchy breadcrumbs, and a bright, creamy dressing that keeps things interesting.
Chicken Parmesan with Homemade Tomato Sauce: Crispy, cheesy, and saucy, this take on the classic Italian-American dish features a rich homemade sauce and a few easy twists and turns.
Chicken Paprikash Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
- kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 celery stalks, finely diced
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- ½ fennel bulb, cored and finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 6 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ⅓ cup sour cream, or creme fraiche
- ¾ cups frozen peas
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten
- flaky salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Butter either a deep dish pie pan or a small baking dish (8×11). I used an 8-inch cast iron skillet (not buttering necessary in that case).
- Season chicken thighs all over with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in the cast iron over medium heat. (use a large a large pot if you're using a baking dish).
- Add in chicken thighs, skin side down. Allow it cook without flipping, until deeply brown, about 8-10 minutes.
- Flip and continue to cook, adjusting heat as needed, until the chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes more. Remove and set aside.
- Add celery, carrots, onion, fennel and garlic to the same skillet with the drippings. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the veggies start to soften, about 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in paprika and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in butter.
- Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in chicken stock and cook, stirring, until the sauce is bubbling and thick.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
- While sauce simmers, remove skin and bones from chicken and shred.
- Stir shredded chicken into the sauce and turn off heat.
- Add in sour cream, peas, fresh herbs, and lemon zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- If you're using a baking dish, pour filling into the prepared dish. Otherwise, drape puff pastry over the filling, trimming the edges to fit - it doesn’t have to fit perfectly, you just want the top to be fully covered.
- Brush egg wash all over the crust and sprinkle with flake salt.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Serve!
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