This chicken, leek, and mushroom pie is great for a cosy and easy family dinner. With delicious key ingredients of leek and mushroom in the filling, and a gorgeous flakey puff pastry topping, this is sure to be a new family favourite.
Whilst this chicken, leek, and mushroom pie is a great all year rounder; it is especially perfect for those cold winter nights. The ones where you just want a big bowl of comfort.
What makes this chicken pie recipe so easy, is that you only have to make the filling – which is also all done in one pot in stages. For the pastry it’s just classic store bought puff pastry. It’s a bit of a cheat, but that’s what we’re going for!
Now, let me tell you, this filling is amazing! It has a thick creamy consistency for the gravy, but there is no dairy involved. It’s loaded with mushrooms and leek, but they don’t overpower the texture. This easy chicken pie is a great way to sneak in extra vegetables, with tender chicken thighs, it really is heavenly goodness. Honestly, I could eat this filling on its own…
This isn’t your traditional chicken pie, in my recipe I don’t use pastry as a base. Having no pastry on the bottom also adds to the easiness of this recipe. That puff pastry on top gives it all the flakey goodness you need.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken thighs: these will almost always be my go-to cut of chicken when cooking. They are so juicy and tender! You could definitely opt for chicken breast, I just personally think it’s worth investing a little bit more into the thighs.
- Leek: with its sweet onion-like flavour, it compliments the chicken and other vegetables.
- Mushrooms: these add a lovely texture that pairs well with the chicken thighs. They give the pie a great umami flavour which adds depth.
- Carrot: a great vegetable to hide in there, it’s not a noticeable ingredient but it does help get those extra healthy vitamins in.
- Onion: even though the leeks provide an onion-like flavour, by incorporating actual onions they help enhance this flavour without being overpowering.
- Garlic: whilst subtle in this pie, it is important to include as it helps to create the flavour base for the filling, and pairs well with the other ingredients.
- Flour: this is used to thicken the gravy. When the flour is mixed in, it helps the pie’s gravy maintain its creamy texture – without adding any cream.
- Chicken Stock: the base of the pies filling. Chicken stock mixed with the flour creates a flavourful base that supports the rest of the pies filling.
- Puff Pastry: the star topper! Using puff pastry adds a delicious crisp top that compliments the creamy (texture) of the chicken filling. This helps to keep the pie light, and doesn’t leave you feeling heavy afterwards.
- Seasonings: for this chicken pie the key seasonings are paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken powder, and italian herbs.
How to make a chicken leek and mushroom pie
Prepare the vegetables for the chicken leek and mushroom pie.
Finely slice the mushroom, leek, and onion. Then peel and grate the carrot.
Brown the chicken.
Place the chicken thighs in an oiled medium-high heat pot. Let these cook until they start to brown – they do not need to be fully cooked.
Sauté the garlic and onion.
Once the chicken thighs have some colour, remove them from the pot. Use a small amount of chicken stock to deglaze the flavour on the bottom. After doing this, add in the sliced onion and crush the garlic. Sauté the garlic and onion until the onion begins turning translucent.
Sweat the leeks and mushrooms.
Now that the onion has started turning translucent, it is time to add in the leek and mushrooms. Mix these in and pop a lid on the pot. Leave to sweat for a few minutes to soften.
Add the chicken.
Whilst the vegetables are sweating, it is time to cut the chicken thighs into bite size pieces. After doing this, place the chicken back into the pot.
Season and thicken.
Season the pot’s contents with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken powder, and italian herbs. Then, sprinkle the flour over the chicken and vegetables. Make sure to coat everything, wait a couple minutes to cook the flour.
Pour in the chicken stock.
After cooking off the flour, it’s time to pour in the chicken stock. Thoroughly mix so that the flour and stock are combined.
Form the gravy.
Bring the liquid to a rolling boil, then place a lid on the pot. Lower the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. This will give time for the gravy to thicken.
Preheat the oven.
Whilst the gravy is cooking, preheat the oven to 180℃.
Form the chicken leek and mushroom pie.
After the 20 minutes have finished, you should have a nice thick gravy. Either pour or spoon the pie’s filling into an oven safe dish. Place a layer of puff pastry over top, make sure all is covered.
Make an egg wash.
In a small bowl, combine melted butter with an egg. Poke holes in the pastry with a fork, then use a pastry brush to spread the egg wash over it.
Cook the chicken leek and mushroom pie.
Place the chicken, leek, and mushroom pie in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Cook until the pastry puffs up and is golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes then it’s ready to serve!
Why should you make this chicken leek and mushroom pie?
- Delicious flavour: with a combination of flavourful ingredients, this pie is a hearty and comforting dish. Light crisp pastry, with a thick flavour packed gravy underneath, tender chicken thighs and aromatics… perfection.
- Easy: despite its impressive flavours, this recipe is relatively easy to follow. The gravy is easily made in one pot, and the use of puff pastry simplifies the process. With just a bit of chopping, sautéing, and assembling you can create an impressive chicken, leek, and mushroom pie.
- Comfort: who doesn’t love comfort food? By making this pie you get a warm, cozy meal that is both nourishing and delicious! This chicken, leek, and mushroom pie leaves you feeling satisfied but not groggy.
Dietary substitutes for chicken leek and mushroom pie
Gluten free:
Of course, gluten free flour to thicken the gravy instead. If you can find a gluten free puff pastry that you like, then that’s good too. But, I actually made two versions of this pie at the same time; one topped with pastry and one with cheesy mashed potato. Honestly, neither was better than the other, they were both equally delicious. With the mashed potato I also placed it in the oven alongside the pastry, to let it broil and add a nice texture on top. Even if you’re not gluten free, I would definitely recommend trying this version of the chicken, leek, and mushroom pie!
Dairy free:
The great thing about this pie is that it has a creamy gravy without using any dairy! The only thing you will need to replace is the butter for the egg wash. You could skip the butter and just use egg, or mix in a light amount of olive oil instead.
How to get a thick gravy without the flour lumps?
There are two ways to avoid this in your chicken pie: a) you could make a slurry, b) coat the filling ingredients in flour before adding the chicken stock. To make a slurry you mix some flour and stock in a separate bowl first to create this liquidy paste, then pour it in with the rest of the stock. In my recipe, I coat everything in flour first, then add the chicken stock. I find this helps to even out the flour and avoid any lumps.
More chicken recipes:
- The Best Chicken Soup
- Chicken, Bacon, Pesto Pasta
- Chicken Fricassee
- Red Wine Chicken
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken
- Caesar Salad
- Chicken & Quinoa
Alrighty, let’s get to cooking this delectable chicken, leek, and mushroom pie! You don’t want to miss out on this cosy recipe…
Chicken, Leek, and Mushroom Pie
Ingredients
- 5 chicken thighs
- 1 L chicken stock
- 1 carrot
- 1 brown onion
- 1 leek
- 3 cloves garlic
- 200 grams button mushrooms
- 5 tbsp flour
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp chicken powder
- 1 tbsp italian herbs
Instructions
- Finely slice the mushroom, leek, and onion. Then peel and grate the carrot.
- Place the chicken thighs in an oiled medium-high heat pot. Let these cook until they start to brown – they do not need to be fully cooked.
- Once the chicken thighs have some colour, remove them from the pot. Use a small amount of chicken stock to deglaze the flavour on the bottom.
- After doing this, add in the sliced onion and crush the garlic. Sauté the garlic and onion until the onion begins turning translucent.
- Add in the leek and mushrooms. Leave to sweat for a few minutes so they soften.
- Whilst the vegetables are sweating, cut the chicken thighs into bite size pieces. Place the chicken back into the pot with the vegetables.
- Season with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken powder, and italian herbs.
- Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and vegetables. Make sure to coat everything, wait a couple minutes to cook the flour.
- Pour in the chicken stock, thoroughly mix so that the flour and stock are combined.
- Bring to a rolling boil, then place a lid on the pot. Lower the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Whilst the gravy is cooking, preheat the oven to 180℃.
- After the 20 minutes have finished, spoon the pie’s filling into an oven safe dish. Place a layer of puff pastry over top, make sure all is covered.
- Combine melted butter with an egg in a small bowl. Poke holes in the pastry with a fork, then use a pastry brush to spread the egg wash over it.
- Place the pie in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Cook until the pastry puffs up and is golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes then it’s ready to serve!
