Homemade Chicken Pot Pie with Crescent Roll Crust
This chicken pot pie is everything you want out of one — browned, seasoned chicken and tender vegetables folded into a creamy homemade sauce, then tucked under a flaky crescent roll crust and baked until golden. I kept the crust real simple with crescent rolls because honestly that's the easiest route to go. Season it to taste as you build the filling and it comes out comforting every single time.
When I filmed it, the goal was pot pie without the pastry project. The move worth stealing is the double seasoning: hit the chicken with olive oil first so the salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder can actually stick, then send that same blend into the sauce along with the thyme, tasting as you go.
It's built for the cook who loves pot pie but has no interest in wrestling homemade pastry. Crescent dough keeps it easy, and you get to pick your bread level — dough on the bottom and the top like I did, or just a top crust from a single can.
Chicken Pot PieThe recipe
Homemade Chicken Pot Pie with Crescent Roll Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs (diced or shredded after browning; rotisserie chicken or chicken breast work too)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (to coat the chicken so the seasoning sticks)
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 2 carrots (diced)
- 2 celery stalks (diced)
- 1 cup frozen peas (or whatever vegetables you like)
- 1/3 cup flour (for thickening)
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (spoken in video; caption lists 2 cups)
- 2/3 cup milk (spoken in video; caption lists 1/2 cup milk or cream)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or mixed herbs (from caption)
- 2 cans crescent roll dough (1 can if you only want a top crust)
- 1 egg (beaten, for a golden sheen on the crust)
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- paprika, to taste
- onion powder, to taste
- garlic powder, to taste
How to Make It
- Chop the onion and set aside.
- Dice the carrots and set aside.
- Dice the celery and set aside.
- Measure out 1 cup frozen peas (or any vegetables you like) and set aside.
- Coat the chicken thighs with the olive oil so the seasoning can stick.
- Season the chicken with salt, black pepper, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder until fully coated.
- Brown the chicken in a pan until golden brown on each side — only cook it halfway through; it finishes in the oven.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
- Add 1/2 stick of butter to the pan.
- Add the prepped vegetables and sauté for about 5 minutes.
- While the vegetables cook down, dice or shred the chicken.
- Stir in 1/3 cup flour to thicken the sauce.
- After the 5 minutes, pour in 1 3/4 cups chicken broth.
- Add 2/3 cup milk.
- Season the sauce with the same seasonings used on the chicken, plus the thyme or mixed herbs, tasting as you go.
- Stir the chicken into the filling.
- Cover the filling with crescent roll dough for the crust (2 cans for dough at the bottom and the top; 1 can, cut in half, for a top crust only).
- Brush the dough with the beaten egg for a golden sheen.
- Bake at 375°F for about 35 minutes.
Curtis's Tips
- You can use rotisserie chicken or chicken breast, but I'm using chicken thighs — dark meat is more tender and more flavorful if you ask me.
- Hit the chicken with some olive oil first just to get that coating on it, so the seasoning can stick.
- Don't cook the chicken all the way through on the stove — we're just cooking it halfway, and it cooks the rest of the way in the oven.
- Dice the chicken or shred it, it's up to you — I chose to dice it.
- The flour is going to help thicken up that sauce, and it gives it a nice little creamy taste too.
- Peas are my choice, but you can add whatever vegetables you like.
- Just make sure you season to taste — keep tasting it as you go.
- For the crust I kept it real simple with crescent rolls — honestly that's the easiest route to go — or you can use biscuits, it's really up to you.
- How much dough you need depends on how much bread you like. I like bread at the bottom and at the top, so I went ahead and got 2 cans. If you just want dough at the top, all you need is 1 can — I just cut the dough in half.
Why this works
Browning the seasoned thighs until golden on each side — but only halfway through — is what sets this pie up: the color happens in the pan, and the chicken finishes cooking during the 35-minute bake. I use thighs on purpose; dark meat is more tender and more flavorful if you ask me. The sauce starts where the chicken left off: half a stick of butter, the vegetables sautéed for about five minutes, then 1/3 cup of flour stirred in before the broth and milk — that flour is what thickens the sauce, and it gives it a nice little creamy taste too. Up top, the beaten egg brushed over the crescent dough is what turns a pale crust golden.
FAQ
Can I use chicken breast or rotisserie chicken instead of thighs?
You can — both work here. I went with thighs because dark meat is more tender and more flavorful if you ask me. Dice it or shred it — I chose to dice.
Can I use cream instead of milk?
Yes — the ingredient list gives you either option. Milk is what went into mine. Whichever you pour, keep tasting the sauce as you season it.
My filling came out thin — what did I miss?
Check the flour step. That 1/3 cup of flour gets stirred into the butter and vegetables before the broth and milk go in — the flour is what thickens the sauce.
Do I really need two cans of crescent dough?
Only if you like bread at the bottom and at the top the way I do. For a top crust only, one can is all you need — just cut the dough in half like I did. Biscuits work too; it's really up to you.
Estimated nutrition, per serving (recipe makes about 8 servings): ~450 calories · 24 g protein · 24 g fat · 33 g carbs. Computed from the ingredient list using standard reference values — an estimate, not a lab analysis; your exact brands and portions will vary.
