Stay cozy during these chilly fall and winter months with this ultra creamy chicken and mushroom pie with puff pastry crust! Filled with a savory and decadent cream sauce, smoky bacon and fresh herbs, every bite of this classic British meat pie with that ultra flaky crust is comfort food at its finest. This is the dish you'll make over and over again -- everyone always loves it.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Classic comfort food at its finest: Chicken and mushroom pie is popular British comfort food and — oh, my! Speaking from experience, this is one hearty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal that will leave you feeling full, happy and satisfied.
Makes you look like a superstar chef: Whenever chilly weather hits, I love to treat my friends and family to this chicken meat pie, and it always meets rave reviews and makes for happy bellies. Similar to a chicken pot pie, this divine dish is loaded with a decadent, silky herbed cream sauce and hearty, flavorful add-ins. The puff pastry gives this savory pie a perfectly flaky, crisp crust for an unforgettable finishing touch.
Sounds like a crowd pleaser, huh? You bet it is.
Great for feeding a crowd: We serve this chicken-mushroom pie family style from a casserole dish. Think of it as similar to a chicken pot pie casserole. Not only does a good family-style meal make for a cozy, interactive meal that brings people together but it's also great for easy entertaining with little fuss.
Bonus: Love your comfort food? Make sure you also try my beer-brined pork schnitzel and apple cider short ribs! This broccoli casserole from Splash of Taste is also a great vegetarian option.
Ingredients
Those are our chicken and mushroom pie ingredients. Here's a few notes.
Chicken thighs: We use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for easy prep. All we have to do is dice our chicken thighs, and they're ready for cooking.
Baby bella mushrooms: These mushrooms have a more intense flavor than white button mushrooms, so I prefer them here. That said, you're more than welcome to substitute white button mushrooms.
Puff pastry: If you've never worked with puff pastry, you're in for a treat. It's incredibly easy to handle and makes for the most delicious, flaky crust. You can find it in the frozen dessert section near the pies. Keep in mind, you need to factor in thawing time.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: To make this chicken and mushroom pie, we start by cooking chopped bacon in a large skillet until it's nice and brown (photo 1).
Step 2: After browning, we remove the bacon and add our chicken thighs. Like the last step, we cook until browned (photo 2).
Step 3: Now we remove the chicken and cook our mushrooms until browned (photo 3). Lots of browning here. The bacon and chicken will leave some fat behind, but if the pan gets too dry, feel free to add a pat or two of butter.
Step 4: At this point, we’re ready to make our roux. We do this by adding more butter with garlic to the skillet and then whisking in flour (photo 4). After cooking for a few minutes, we slowly pour in our chicken stock and heavy cream and whisk until smooth.
Step 5: Now we add our chicken, bacon and mushrooms back to the skillet (photo 5) and bring to a simmer to thicken the creamy chicken and mushroom pie filling. Once we reach a simmer, we stir in our herbs and seasonings along with the cheddar and Parmesan (photos 6 and 7). We give the cheese a chance to melt and then pour the mixture into a baking dish.
Step 6: Before popping this savory chicken pie into the oven, we lay puff pastry on top and fold the edges so that it lines up with the interior of the baking dish. Now we brush the puff pastry with the egg (photo 8) and bake until it browns to our liking and bubbles around the edges.
That's it! We now have the most delicious chicken-mushroom puff pastry pie that everyone is sure to devour. Serve it with some Southern mash and you have yourself the ultimate comforting meal.
And if you'd like some more cozy dishes, don't miss this chicken bake.
Recipe FAQs
Sure, that’s not a problem. Here are the make-ahead directions I’d follow.
We make the creamy chicken and mushroom pie filling as we would, but instead of putting the puff pastry top, we pour it into our baking dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container. When it gets close to dinner time, we pull the filling out of the refrigerator and let it sit in room temperature for an hour to come down in temperature, we add the puff pastry and bake.
How’s that for easy entertaining?
Always defer to the box for thawing directions, but in general, it's best to let the puff pastry thaw for six to eight hours in the refrigerator. However, if you need the puff pastry sooner, you can let it thaw in room temperature for no more than 40 minutes. Once the puff pastry thaws, you want to use it while it's still cold, so I recommend working fairly quickly.
I recommend using chicken thighs because of their richer flavor. After all, we're going for comfort food here, but you can certainly substitute white meat if you prefer. Another option is to shred chicken from a rotisserie, and then you don't have to bother with browning -- just add it right to the sauce.
Expert Tips and FAQs
- For the Parmesan, we need to freshly grate the cheese. The canned Parmesan does not melt and will leave us with a grainy texture.
- I also recommend grating the cheddar instead of buying shredded cheddar. The shredded cheddar in a bag comes with a coating to prevent sticking, so freshly grated cheddar melts nicer.
- As the sauce simmers, you’ll want to use a rolling pin to make the puff pastry fit the baking dish. Puff pastry sheets generally aren't large enough to cover a 9-inch-by-13-inch casserole dish, but that's nothing a little rolling can't fix.
- While I love the flavor fresh herbs add, you can substitute dried herbs. Because dried herbs are more concentrated, we don't need to use as much. Instead, you can use 1 teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon dried sage and ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary.
- For a pretty presentation, I like to lightly score the puff pastry before placing on the baking dish. To do this, lightly run the knife diaganolly across the puff pastry. Don't press hard enough to cut through the pastry -- you just want to make a line but leave the dough intact.
Perfect Pairing
You’ll love a British brown ale with this comforting meal. With the brown ale’s earthy hops and nutty, toasted notes from the malt, it matches nicely with the herbs, mushrooms and chicken while its medium body holds up to the cream sauce.
A pinot noir is the perfect wine pairing with chicken and mushroom pie. The wine’s earthy notes match well with the herbs and savory mushrooms, and we get a nice acidic kick to give our palate a break from the rich cream and puff pastry.
When only a cozy British pub comfort food will do, I hope you try this chicken-mushroom pie with puff pastry. It's the perfect decadent, hearty dinner.
Cheers!
Looking for More Comfort Food Recipes?
If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, and you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.
📖 Recipe
Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Equipment
- Large skillet
- 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 2 ½ cups boneless, skinless chicken thighs chopped into 1-inch pieces
- ¼ teaspoon salt plus additional for seasoning chicken
- ¼ teaspoon pepper plus additional for seasoning chicken
- 1 pound baby bella mushrooms sliced
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 4 garlic cloves minced or grated
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ½ cup freshly grated cheddar
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons fresh chopped sage leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary leaves
- 1-2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- Pinch of ground nutmeg preferably freshly grated
- 1 thawed puff pastry sheet
- 1 egg whisked
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large, cold skillet, add bacon. Turn heat to medium and cook until crisp. Stir occasionally.
- Using a slotted spoon, move bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Add chicken to bacon grease. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until browned on the outside. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken to another plate.
- Add the mushrooms and cook until browned, stirring only occasionally. If the skillet gets too dry, add a tablespoon or two of butter. Also remove from skillet.
- Add ¼ cup butter to the skillet and melt. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Whisk in the flour. Continuously whisk for about three minutes.
- Slowly pour in chicken stock and heavy cream. Whisk until the mixture smooths out. Add bacon, chicken and mushrooms back to the skillet. Bring to a simmer.
- Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, cheddar, Parmesan, thyme, sage, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce and ground nutmeg. Keep stirring until the cheese melts. Turn off heat.
- Using a rolling pin, roll the puff pastry so that it's large enough to cover a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish. Pour the cream mixture into the baking dish. Place the puff pastry on top. Pinch the puff pastry so that it folds against the interior sides of the baking dish. Brush the whisked egg on the puff pastry using a pastry brush. You probably won't need the entire egg.
- Place in oven in the puff pastry is nice and brown to your liking and the cream mixture is bubbling on the side, about 20-25 minutes. Let set for about five minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- About three chicken thighs typically gives me enough meat for 2 ½ cups.
- For the Parmesan, we need to freshly grate the cheese. The canned Parmesan does not melt and will leave us with a grainy texture.
- I also recommend grating the cheddar instead of buying shredded cheddar. The shredded cheddar in a bag comes with a coating to prevent sticking, so freshly grated cheddar melts nicer.
- As the sauce simmers, you’ll want to use a rolling pin to make the puff pastry fit the baking dish. Puff pastry sheets generally aren't large enough to cover a 9-inch-by-13-inch casserole dish, but that's nothing a little rolling can't fix.
- While I love the flavor fresh herbs add, you can substitute dried herbs. Because dried herbs are more concentrated, we don't need to use as much. Instead, you can use 1 teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon dried sage and ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary.
- For a pretty presentation, I like to lightly score the puff pastry before placing on the baking dish. To do this, lightly run the knife diaganolly across the puff pastry. Don't press hard enough to cut through the pastry -- you just want to make a line but leave the dough intact.
- Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Kayla DiMaggio says
Yum! This chicken and mushroom pie was so delicious! I loved all the flavors and the creamy texture!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
It really is delicious -- glad you agree!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
This dish looks soooooo deliciously good. I wish I could eat that right now!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Good excuse to make it soon!
Sangit says
Super delicious recipe.
Jean says
Im always looking for comfort food, and will try this recipe it looks super delicious and the steps are easy to follow.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I'm glad they're helpful!
Natalie says
Beautiful pie. What a lovely family dinner idea. I bet my family would like this. Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely make this.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
You're so welcome, Natalie!
Nicole Washington says
I love this spin on Chicken Pot Pie. The puff pastry is awesome and amazing and the flavors you decided to go along with.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Thanks, Nicole! They're all so good together.
Gunjan says
Such a cool recipe. Totally delicious and my family loved it.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I'm so glad to hear that!
Kate says
The flavors were amazing. The recipe is kid-friendly too, as both my kids cleared their plates (they are very picky)!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Yay! Glad it was a success!
Marisa F. Stewart says
I made this on Thursday and I wasn't sure how my Hubby would like it. He likes everything separate on the plate, you know the type. Well, he loved it. The flavors were so well combined and we are crazy for mushrooms. We'll be making this again soon.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I do know that kind of person! I'm definitely not one of those, but I'm so glad he enjoyed it anyway! It really is a tasty dish.
Farrukh Aziz says
Perfect recipe for a dinner night! We made this pie with beef bacon as we do not use bacon in our food, and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing this tasty recipe, Amanda!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Ohhh, beef bacon sounds like a delicious substitute! So glad you all loved it.
Melanie says
Yum! I have not had mushrooms in a while and I love a good comforting pie! Saving for later!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I hope you enjoy!
Paige says
Beautiful and looks so tasty too! Im totally making this one...thanks
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Thank you, Paige! I think you will love it!
Amy Liu Dong says
I have never tried to make this kind of recipe, it looks delicious and easy to make. I will be making this for my family and I am sure they will love it.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I bet they will! It really is quite the treat. Enjoy!
veenaazmanov says
Delicious Pie and yummy combinations. Love to try it this weekend and make an awesome Dinner Treat. My family to love every bite of it.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I'm so happy to hear that!