Chicken and mushroom pie is a traditional British comfort food topped with flaky pastry and filled with hearty meat and mushrooms. You'll love each bite of the flavorful filling and pastry on a cold rainy evening!
If you love chicken pies, you'll definitely want to check out our recipes for chicken and leek pie and chicken, bacon, and apricot pies.
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Why This Recipe Works
- It's made with dark and white meat. This provides a greater depth of flavor and range of textures in the filling, as well as pleasing both dark and white meat lovers.
- You'll be using the right cooking techniques to add flavor. Cooking the onions and garlic until golden, deglazing the pan to remove the brown fond, and blooming the spices add complex flavors to the filling.
- The sauce is well seasoned. Besides salt and pepper, the sauce is flavored with white wine, lemon juice, nutmeg, and tarragon for a balanced flavor, and is made with a combo of milk and chicken broth.
- It uses homemade pastry. Using our flaky shortcrust pastry for this pie will ensure a beautiful, golden crust that everyone will love eating!
Ingredients
Although this chicken and mushroom pie takes a number of ingredients, most of them are pantry staples that you'll already have at home. The rest are easy to find at your local grocery store. Before you get cooking, let's talk about the most important ingredients.
- Chicken: We used a mixture of white and dark meat for the best flavor. Use leftover roasted or grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or poached chicken breasts and thighs.
- Mushrooms: A pound of sliced white mushrooms is what you'll need here. However, you can use any kind of mushroom that you want--even a mixture of different kinds.
- Spices: We used a mixture of dried tarragon, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper, but feel free to change this up a little if you like. You can always use black pepper instead of white if you prefer.
- Liquids: We used a mixture of homemade chicken broth and milk. For a creamier result, you can use half and half or heavy whipping cream instead of the milk.
Variations
- Try a variety of different mushrooms for more flavor and texture. Baby portobello mushrooms would be delicious in this recipe!
- Vegan: Swap the chicken for an equal weight of cooked lentils, quinoa, browned tofu crumbles, or another vegan protein source. Use vegan egg wash and vegan shortcrust pastry as well.
- Dairy Free: Use coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk in the sauce, and use oil for sautéing the veggies and making the roux. Use a dairy free shortcrust pastry as well.
How to Make
- Sauté the mushrooms in oil until they are soft but still slightly firm.
- Cook the onions in oil until they are golden brown, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the dried spices and cook for 1 minute.
4. Deglaze the pan with white wine and scrape off the brown fond from the bottom of the pan, then put the cooked aromatics in a bowl.
5. Heat the oil in the same pan, then add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes.
6. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, then whisk in the milk and simmer until thickened.
7. Add the mushrooms, cooked aromatics, and chicken to the sauce and stir until heated through. Adjust seasonings to taste, then remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
8. Line a 9-inch round pie dish with pastry, then place the filling inside. Top with more pastry and brush with a beaten egg. Cut a few vent holes to allow the steam to escape during baking.
9. Bake the chicken and mushroom at 400°F for 40-45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.
10. Let the pie cool for 45 minutes to let the filling thicken, then slice and serve. Enjoy this mushroom-filled pie while it's hot.
Recipe FAQs
Although puff pastry is the most popular choice, you can also use a good flaky shortcrust recipe, too. Either one tastes delicious and complements the filling well.
Yes, you definitely can! It won't puff up as much as the top crust would, and it won't get as crispy, but you can still do it.
Make sure that the filling isn't too wet, as a liquidy filling will make the pastry go soggy. You can also use a ceramic pie bird to vent additional steam from the pie, creating a crisper bottom crust. Make sure to bake the pie in a metal dish on a metal cookie sheet, too, as metal conducts heat better in the oven and will make for crispier pastry.
Mashed potatoes and mushy peas are great side dishes to serve with chicken and mushroom pie. You can also try serving it with roasted veggies, a salad, or freshly baked bread.
Serve
Want to round out your meal with other British favorites? Sour cream mashed potatoes, mushy peas, or sautéed beet greens would all taste delicious with this chicken and mushroom pie!
A light salad, like this bell pepper salad, or a slice of crusty bread like Cob loaf or English bloomer bread would also taste delicious with a slice of this hearty meat pie.
For dessert, try a traditional British pudding, like vegan sticky toffee pudding or treacle sponge pudding if you're looking for something warm and cozy. Try this Scottish cranachan if you want something lighter.
Store
Make Ahead: You can make this pie and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or the oven.
Freezing: Freeze the baked pie for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge, then reheat.
Expert Tips
- Make your own pastry for the best flavor and texture.
- Speed up the process by using rotisserie chicken or leftover gravy instead of the sauce.
- Change up the veggies based on your personal taste.
- Add a fancy touch by making a design out of leftover pastry on top of the pie.
- Make Ahead: mix up the filling and refrigerate for up to 3 days, then bake with the pastry when needed.
Other Savory Pies You'll Enjoy
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Recipe
Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 15 oz flaky shortcrust pastry
- 1 large egg, beaten
For the Creamy Gravy
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups unsalted chicken stock
- 1 cup whole milk or unsweet almond milk
- 2 ½ teaspoons dried tarragon leaves
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup sweet peas, frozen
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For the Filling
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
- 1 ½ cup yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped, white and dark meat
Instructions
Preparing the Veggies
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add half of the mushrooms and cook until they are soft but not mushy, stirring frequently. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat, then cook the onions until they are golden brown, stirring frequently. Lower the heat to medium once the onions begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the dried spices to the aromatics and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. This will bring out the flavors of the herbs and spices.
- Deglaze the pan to remove the brown fond from the bottom by pouring in the white wine. Use a wooden turner to scrape the fond off of the pan, adding more wine as needed. Spoon the aromatics into a bowl and set aside.
Making the Sauce
- Heat the oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the flour to make a roux, and whisk constantly for 2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste.
- Slowly whisk in the stock and the milk, making sure the sauce is smooth, then bring it to a simmer. Cook until thickened, whisking frequently.
- Turn the heat to low and stir in the cooked aromatics, mushrooms, chicken, and peas. Gently simmer for 10 minutes, then adjust seasonings to taste. Set aside the filling to cool and stir in the lemon juice.
Baking the Pie
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and put a rimmed cookie sheet in to preheat.
- Roll out half of the shortcrust pastry on a lightly floured surface, then line a 9-inch pie plate with it. If you're using a pie bird, place it in the center of the pie, then add the filling around it. If not, simply spread the filling in the pastry-lined dish.
- Brush the rim of pastry with beaten egg, then roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid. Place it on top of the pie, then cut off the excess pastry and crimp the edge to seal. Brush the top with beaten egg and cut a few vent holes.
- Bake at 400°F for 40-45 minutes, or until well browned. Let it cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes before serving to allow the filling to set.
- Cut in slices and serve hot with mashed potatoes and mushy peas.
Video
Notes
- Make your own pastry for the best flavor and texture. Here's a great and easy-to-follow shortcrust recipe.
- In a hurry? Use leftover gravy and rotisserie chicken.
- Change the veggies based on your taste.
- Make it fancy by putting a design of flowers or leaves made from leftover pastry on top of the pie.
- Make Ahead: mix up the filling and refrigerate for up to 3 days, then bake when desired.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Alex
The chicken is delicious with the medley of spices. The peas in the filling are good, too. The pastry is buttery, and melts in your mouth.
Emma
That's wonderful to hear, Alex! We're so glad that you enjoyed the pie!
Gallo Ping
Where do 'the veggies come from? There is no mention of them in the ingredients?
Emma
The veggies are the onions, garlic, peas, and mushrooms in the filling, which are listed in the ingredients.
Beth
This is a wonderful savory pie! The sauce and mushrooms stewed together are divine, and the pastry melts in the mouth. This pie has a lovely flavor, and smells as good as it tastes!
Emma
Thank you, Beth! Chicken and mushrooms are an epic flavor combination!