Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie: 5 Easy Delicious Comfort Recipes
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The Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie that Almost Ruined my Marriage (But SAVED My Weeknights).
Let’s be honest, I was terrible at cooking in a crockpot. I mean, really awful. When my husband ate the “chicken with vegetables” I made, he asked me if I wanted to punish him.
What about this chicken pot pie in a crockpot? This recipe changed my life. This recipe made me realize that slow cooking wasn’t just about throwing random ingredients in a pot and hoping it works.
Why most Crock Pot Chicken Pie Recipes are complete garbage
People treat crock-pot chicken pot pie like a regular pot pie. They can’t simply dump everything into the pot and expect it to work.
Here’s the real issue after making this recipe at least 30 times and messing it up 8 times:
It is all about the liquid ratio. You can get soup if you use too much liquid. If you have too little, then you will be disappointed.
In most recipes, you are told to cook for 6-8 hrs. That’s insane. Your chicken becomes stringy and your vegetables become mush. Cooking it for only 4 hours is the best.
Please, for the sake of all that is holy, do not put the biscuits into the crockpot. This is something I see all over the internet and it makes irrationally mad.
The Real Method (How This Actually Works)
This method creates pot pie textures and flavors in your slow cooker, unlike other methods which make chicken stew.
The biggest mistake is adding everything at once. Here is my timeline which actually works.
Hour 0. Seasonings, chicken broth and seasonings are added.
Hour 3: Add hardy vegetables such as carrots, celery and potatoes.
Hour 4: Do not mix your thickener
Hour 4 – Add corn and peas, then prepare your topping
What’s the weirdest part? The topping is not traditional pastry. Drop biscuits are baked separately and then topped with a pastry. It’s not as bad as it sounds.
What you really need (and what you don’t)
The Essentials:
- Chicken thighs 2 lbs (not breasts – trust me).
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 medium potatoes, chunked
- Two carrots, thinly sliced
- Celery stalks 2 – chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- This is not the time to get fancy. Just use the packet.
The thickener
- 3 Tablespoons of cornstarch
- Three tablespoons of cold water
To top the biscuits:
- One tube of chilled biscuits (Pillsbury is fine).
My cornstarch disaster: The part nobody tells you
Here’s the part where I looked stupid for far too long. I added flour to the mixture directly. What happens when you add flour directly to the mixture? Lumpy, gross, inedible mess.
Best practices currently recommend that you mix cornstarch and cold water together first, before stirring in the cornstarch during the final hour. Game changer.
It should be thick enough to coat a fork, but not sticky. Add more broth if it is too thick. If the mixture is too thin, add another tablespoon of cornstarch to water and stir.
Real Talk: Costs and Timeline
How much time does it take for results to be seen? Around 4 hours of total cooking time but only 15 minutes actual work.
Does it cost enough to feed six people? It’s about $12-15 for 6 people. It’s definitely worth it compared to ordering takeout.
What is the best method to start with for beginners? Start by following this exact recipe. Don’t get creative yet. When I added wine, I found out the hard way. It was horrible.
My Fixes for Common Problems
Pot pie too watery: Too much liquid was added or the thickening wasn’t done properly. Use less broth next time and more cornstarch.
Soft vegetables: Either you cooked them too long or added them too early. Peas and corn should be added in the final hour.
Chicken breasts are not moist enough. The thighs are forgiving, and they stay moist.
Bland taste: Onion soup mix is not optional. Salt and pepper should be added at the very end, as crockpots can dilute the flavors.
The Biscuit Situation
It’s 80% effective to bake your biscuits according to the package instructions. Serve the pot pie into bowls, and allow people to add biscuits.
It sounds strange. This method felt like cheating to me. But, honestly? This method is better than all the other topping methods I’ve used.
Some people do dumplings. Some people use phyllo dough. Some try pie crust. Separate biscuits provide a comforting meal without the bottom getting soggy.
Does this work for different diets?
Dairy-free: This is already the case, unless your biscuits are buttery.
To make gluten-free biscuits: Use GF cookies and replace cornstarch with arrowroot
Keto: Double the vegetables and skip the potatoes
The base recipe can be surprisingly adapted.
In 2024, My Strategy Shifted Toward Meal Prep
Now I double the batch and freeze half of it before adding my final vegetables. It cooks the same and thaws well.
After 6 months of testing the best containers to use are the Pyrex glass ones with snap-on lids. Plastic becomes stained with onion soup mix.
What Next for You
Do this recipe exactly once before you begin to modify it. This is serious. First, you need to master the basic method.
Try different seasonings or proteins, and then experiment with vegetables. You’ll have to master the liquid proportion and timing before you can make a good soup.
What’s the weirdest part of this recipe? If you can master this recipe, everyone will think that you are a slow-cooking genius. I am not a genius. I simply stopped overthinking the recipe.
What is your worst crockpot disaster story? It’s probably not as bad as my wine incident.
