The first version of these mini Chicken Pot Pies made it’s appearance on my blog about a year ago when I was still a bit clueless. I hadn’t ever made anything like it before, and my kitchen was much less equipped than it is today. All of that being said, they still turned out great, and that post is actually one of the most popular on the blog to date. Why mess with a good thing right? Well, I get weekly emails about freezing, storing, reheating and revamping this recipe, so I thought a fresh new version may be a good thing. (I’ve learned a bit in a year after all…)
The filling recipe for these is almost exactly the same with just a few minor adjustments. The main difference I made was to the crust. See a year ago, I had little to no experience with pie crust, and I also didn’t have a food processor, so I was left with a simple and easy Oil Pastry. It turned out well and still tasted great, but I have grown so attached to Pate Briseé (Butter Pie Crust) over the last year, that I thought it was worth a try. And man oh man are these amazing with that flaky and buttery crust. These just got a million times more delicious let me tell you.
A big difference between the two crusts is that Pate Briseé needs to chill for an hour, so the order of the recipe as changed a bit too. I now recommend making your crust, dividing and wrapping it, and making the filling while it is in the fridge. This makes the whole meal pretty simple and easy to whip up for dinner with not a ton of prep time needed.
I have also gotten some questions about measuring, rolling and assembling the pies. I divided the dough into 3 equal segments which helped make sure that each pie had the same amount of dough. Another important thing is to find a cutter that will fit your mega muffin tins. As you can see in the picture below, I used an old pancake mix tin that may have been a teeny bit too small. To remedy this, cut a thicker piece of dough and gently roll it out so that it will fit the muffin tin with about a half inch overhang around the whole diameter. (I tried to take more process photos but I was losing light and my hands were too buttery to wash them after each step!)
If you are making these to have an easy and well-portioned meal waiting in your freezer (like I did,) here are some simple freezing instructions:
1- I always freeze these fully baked. Once they have cooled, remove them from the tin and wrap tightly with foil and saran wrap. (I use both.)
2- When you are ready to prepare them, thaw overnight in the fridge or on the counter for a few hours until they feel soft.
3-Either- microwave for 60 seconds, and bake at 375 until the tops are crisp (5 mins) OR Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes until filling is warm and tops are crisp.
I hope this post helps! Happy Monday!
Ingredients Instructions
http://www.the-baker-chick.com/2012/01/16/muffin-tin-chicken-pot-pies-part-2/
Crust Recipe from Martha Stewart
Can I use a standard muffin tin instead of a large one?
Sure TIna! They’ll just be smaller :)
Wonderful tips! Thanks for sharing!
Hi BC,
Made the muffin tin turkey pot pies after Thanksgiving using leftover turkey, gravy and frozen mixed frozen veggies thawed. Yummy! Thank you! Crust was awesome! Instead of rolling out and cutting cicles, I formed the dough into a log, frigged it and divided it into 12 little hockey pucks, 6 of which were 2/3 rds the size of the others. Then I formed them between plastic wrap in a tortilla press, perfect size! Soooo easy. Thank you! Going to try the peach things next.
I’m so glad you like them Debbie! The adjustments you made sound great!
I made these pot pies last night and OMG – they are GOOD!!!!!! My fiance LOVED them. I made a few variations: 1) vegetable broth instead of chicken – however, I also added chicken bouillon cubes to the filling. 2) half of the salt I changed to garlic salt. 3) I added corn and peas — I’m vegetarian, and these turned out great. It was also my first time ever making crust, and this crust was to die for!! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!!!!!!!!
I made these tonight! They were delicious. My green beans were frozen solid and I was too hungry to thaw them, so I substituted some fresh summer squash I had in the fridge. A surprisingly tasty change. They broke when they came out of the pan, which I attribute to rolling my dough too thin and putting the filling in while piping hot. But nevertheless, they still tasted good. And since I was the only one eating them, I didn’t care how they looked. ;)
Hey! I didn’t have a problem with this because of the high butter content in the crust. If you’re worried though- maybe put a round of parchment in the bottom of the tin? Then, gently run a knife around the edge and it should just pop out. Good luck!
How do you remove from muffin pan without the mini pot pies breaking?
Of course!
Thanks for the wonderful tips! :)
If you don’t have the muffin pan you can do the same thing with rammekins. I just put mine on a cookie sheet in case there’s any spill over. And use the rammekin to make your pastry circles. It will be the perfect size, all you need do is stretch each circle out a bit for the top crust. (I don’t usually use a bottom crust with the rammekins.)
May I use your picture on Pinterest?
Thank you!
These are brilliant! Bookmarking them to make for dinner soon… Thanks for sharing :)
Oh. my. These are the cutest, yummiest things.
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.com/
There are so many things I love about these… The ease, the size, the deliciousness. Where to start? I’ll definitely be making a bunch this weekend to freeze. What an awesome idea!
These are adorable! I LOVE pot pie and this looks like such an awesome spin to pot pie. I’ll have to try it (with these cold winter weather these would be such a wonderful way to warm up!)
I love this idea. Thx for sharing.
i have one of those mega muffin tins and am always looking for ways to use it. can’t wait to try this out!
Nothing beats a good butter crust! Congrats on making the Top 9!
Love the size of these! Pinning……
Hey Sue! I edited the freezing instructions above to clarify. Let me know of you guys have any other questions!
So, do you freeze them in the muffin tin? then what…
This is awesome. I’m a fool for individual-sized meals. De-lic-ious!
These look amazing and would make me happy any day!
Mini anything and I’m hooked. These are amazing. I must make these on the weekend – my partner will love them.
Amazing! Love this recipe and cannot wait to try it out! Little personal pot pies, so cute. Great idea!
I love that you can freeze these and I am quite jealous of your beautiful photos!
WHAT?! I need these! Like, now! And I didn’t even know about Part 1. It’s like I’ve been living in a cave. Thank goodness I’ve seen the light… in chicken pot pie form.
I love part 2 of these cute pies! SUCH a great idea to make these in a muffin pan. Wonderful Audra :)
Okay – that is too cool for words! I can absolutely believe that this is your most popular post! I love the idea of mini pot pies! I love butter crusts, but for health reasons – use the olive oil crust frequently. …isn’t it amazing how versatile a food processor is?
This is such a neat idea. I am imaging so many variations of fillings for this. Great post
I love the mini pot pies not only are they cute but looks so good!
Great idea! I love making Chicken Pot Pie but usually make 1 regular sized pie, this is a much better amount for two people!
i looove this idea! i’ve been planning on making them with your old recipe, but it seems i have this new recipe to use! can’t wait to make them :)
Those look so great and I love anything in “mini” size!
Oooh, mouth watering immediately! Looks fantastic, and I love that they are personal size :) I always go way overboard on pot pies. Great recipe!
These look great. I love that they are minis in a muffin pan.
Oh, boy, my hubby would LOVE these!!! And I love the individual servings…so fun!
I love chicken pot pies with a nice buttery crust! Pate brisee is a great thing, too often forgotten!
These are great! I can’t wait to try these.
I’m a hot mess with dough but I totally want to attempt these babies!!!! The photo is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YUM!!!! I ADORE chicken pot pie! These look fab!
I was wondering the other day whether it would be possible to make little chicken pies in a muffin tin – now that I see how cute they are, I want to make them tonight!!