Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie

This Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie is just perfect for those cooler days. It is full of pieces of chicken and vegetable in a creamy sauce topped with flaky biscuits. It’s a really simple recipe using convenience ingredients without sacrificing flavour.

Why should I make Chicken Pot Pie?

Chicken Pot Pie has been a favourite comfort food for me since my Mum brought back the recipe from the United States in the 1970s. I’ve adapted the orignial recipe for my slow cooker to make it really simple and perfect for a busy lifetsyle. All our family loves it and I’m sure yours will too. 

What is Chicken Pot Pie?

Well, it seems that there are as many different interprepations of Chicken Pot Pie as there are home cooks! Some recipes have a pastry topping, but mine has a topping of flaky biscuits.

This recipe goes back to the days when people either didn’t have ovens or didn’t have reliable ovens.   The Pot Pie would cook in a pot directly over the fire,  using the steam from the pot to ‘bake’ the biscuits on top.

According to my ‘American Cooking’  book, the recipe is actually British. It crossed the pond with early settlers and, like the Apple Pie, it has become an all American classic. 

What is a slow cooker?

A slow cooker or crockpot is a large pot with its own heating element in the base. A slow cooker uses less electricity than your oven and is safe to leave cooking when you are not around. And because a slow cooker cooks at a low temperature, it is ideal to tenderise less expensive cuts of meat.

What kind of slow cooker should I use?

There are many different brands and types of slow cookers. They also come in different sizes, I prefer a large slow cooker so that I can batch cook and freeze some of the recipe for another day. Here are a few of the different kinds of slow cookers on the market:

• Traditional slow cookers have a crockery pot that lifts out of the heating part of the appliance.
• Sear and Stew slow cookers have a metal pot that you can use on the stovetop to brown meat and vegetables before transferring to the slow cooker base for long cooking.
• Multi Cookers often have a slow cooker setting as well as being suitable for pressure cooking and sometimes air frying or roasting as well.

I have both a crockery pot slow cooker and a sear and stew model. I tend to use the sear and stew slow cooker most and that is the model I used for this recipe.

What ingredients do I need to make Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie?

Although this looks like a long list of ingredients to make this recipe they are everyday ingredients that are readily available. Here is what you need:

• chicken
• potatoes 
• onion 
• carrots 
• bay leaves
• frozen peas
• frozen sweetcorn
• fresh parsley
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• butter
• garlic
• flour
• chicken stock
• Herbes de Provence or other mixed herbs
• baking powder
• milk

A full list of the ingredients and the required quantities is found in the recipe card at the end of this article.

What cut of chicken should I use?

I use skinless chicken breasts in this recipe. You can also use boneless chicken thighs with the skin removed. Although I would usually recommend chicken thighs for a slow cooker recipe, the chicken breasts work well in this dish.

Do I have to use frozen vegetables?

I generally choose to use frozen peas and sweetcorn because they are convenient. But you can use fresh or canned vegetables. For the ultimate chuck it all in approach you can use a pack of frozen mixed vegetables The joy of this recipe is that once you’ve made the sauce everything else just gets put in the slow cooker then you can leave it to do it’s thing.

What kind of potatoes should I use for Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie?

You can use any potatoes in this pie. If you use new potatoes leave the the skins on and simply cut them into even sized pieces. Main crop potatoes such as Maris Piper, Desiree or Rooster should be peeled and then cut into chunks.

What kind of chicken stock should I use?

if you have homemade chicken stock then that would be ideal. But a chicken stockpot or stock made from powder or stock cubes is perfectly fine to use and very convenient. Just follow the packet instructions.

Can I use a non-dairy spread to make the biscuits?

You can also use any vegetable spread as long as it is full fat. Spreadable butter and low-fat spreads are not suitable as they contain a high proportion of water that will affect the recipe.

Can I make the biscuits in my air fryer or oven?

Yes, you can bake them in your air fryer at 200C/400F or your oven at 220C/450F for about 10 minutes until they are golden and risen, then serve with the slow cooked chicken.

Can I make Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie ahead of time?

If you want to make this casserole in advance, then make it up until the point where you would add the biscuit topping. You can then store the chicken filling in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Reheat the chicken in the microwave, on the stove or in the oven. If you still wish to add the biscuits, it’s best to add them to the hot chicken sauce, add a lid and cook gently until the biscuits have risen. This is best done on the stove top or in the oven.

Can I freeze the Chicken Pot Pie?

You can freeze the chicken and vegetable sauce. Once it is cooked, let it cool and spoon into a freezerproof container, freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight or use the defrost function on your microwave. Heat the sauce until it is piping hot and follow the instructions above if you wish to add the biscuits.

How do I serve Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie?

You can serve Chicken Pot Pie just as it is, as it has protein, carbs and vegetables all in one pot. If you’d like more vegetables then it’s good with a freshly cooked green vegetable like broccoli or green beans.

The chicken will be sweet and tender and the sauce will be full of flavour from the chicken and vegetables.  The biscuits should be soft and light and ideal to soak up the delicious sauce. 

More Slow Cooker Comfort Food from Farmersgirl Kitchen 

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Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie

Janice Pattie

Make this comforting Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie from scratch, it’s easy and it tastes so good, perfect comfort food

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 6 hours hrs

Total Time 6 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 5

Calories 692 kcal

Ingredients

For the sauce

• 50 grams (3½ tbsp) butter
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 50 grams (⅓ cups) flour
• 400 millilitres (1½ cups) chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) mixed herbs
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the filling

• 600 grams (20 oz) chicken breasts skinless
• 500 grams (2½ cups) potatoes diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 100 grams (1 cups) carrots diced
• 150 grams (1 cups) frozen peas
• 150 grams (1 cups) frozen sweetcorn
• 60 grams (½ cups) fresh parsley leaves chopped
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the Biscuits

• 200 grams (1½ cups) plain flour
• 4 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 120 grams (½ cups) butter cubed
• 160 millilitres (¾ cups) milk

Instructions

 

First make the sauce

• Melt 50 g (3½ tbsp) butter and add 1 finely chopped onion and 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes until it is golden brown.
• Add 50 g (¾ cup) flour and cook out for a couple of minutes until it has formed a paste and is starting to brown.
• Take the pan off the heat and slowly add 400 ml (1½ cups) stock, stirring all the time until the sauce starts to thicken.
• Add 1 tsp mixed herbs and season to taste.
• Pour the sauce into your slow cooker.

Add the filling ingredients

• Add 100 g (1 cup) diced carrots, 150 g (1 cup) of frozen peas and 150 g (1 cup) of frozen sweetcorn to the sauce and stir through. Add the bay leaves.
• Season 4 chicken breasts weighing around 600 g (1lb 2 oz) and place them on top of the sauce.
• Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1-2 hours.

40 minutes before you want to eat

Make the biscuits

• Place the 200 g (1½ cups) plain (all purpose) flour, 4 tsp baking powder and ½ tsp salt into a bowl and mix together.
• Add 120 g (½ cup) butter to the flour mix. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Mix the milk into the biscuit mixture and bring together into a ball
• Pat down the dough, then dip a scone/biscuit cutter in flour
• Cut as many biscuits as you can, reforming the dough and patting flat again
• Remove the chicken and shred, return to the pan with most of the chopped parsley, retaining a tablepoonful for garnish. Remove the bay leaves.
• Place the biscuits on top of the shredded chicken and sauce and place some sheets of kitchen paper or a clean tea towel between the lid and the slow cooker bowl.
• Cook on High for 30 minutes or until the scones are risen
• Garnish with the remaining parsley
• Serve with green vegetables if liked.

Notes

I have a Sear and Stew Slow Cooker so made the sauce in the Slow Cooker on the stove and added the other ingredients on top of the sauce, then stirred through.
I made my biscuits quite large, I would probably make them a bit smaller in future.

Adapted from American Cooking – Bay Books

Nutrition

Calories: 692kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 38gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 1444mgPotassium: 1274mgFiber: 5gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 5608IUVitamin C: 34mgCalcium: 244mgIron: 5mg

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This recipe was originally published in September 2016.