This curried chicken pot pie is a twist on the classic, flavoured with Indian spices and topped with easy, store-bought puff pastry. Coconut milk brings some creaminess to this chicken pot pie, while peas and sweet potatoes (or butternut squash) bring heartiness to the chicken filling for a great all-in-one meal.
I love the flavour twist of this Indian-spiced curried pot pie. It’s just as comforting as the classic but with the addition of warm spices and coconut milk creaminess. The other twist here is the vegetables, with bell pepper, peas and sweet potato added to the mix.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Chicken – You can start with either boneless chicken breast or boneless chicken thighs and cook it up ahead or start with cooked leftover chicken or even chicken from a rotisserie chicken, if you like.
Coconut Milk – Either full-fat or fat-reduced coconut milk will work for the filling. You’ll only need a mini can of coconut milk. If you need to open a larger can, stir it well before measuring. You can freeze the remaining coconut milk.
Madras Curry Paste – You’ll easily find this curry paste in with the Indian foods at the grocery store. I find Madras curry paste a great all-purpose Indian curry paste, so it’s a useful addition to your pantry if you enjoy Indian flavours. Tikka Masala curry paste would be a good substitute.
Indian curry powders are an option but will lack the extra aromatics that the curry paste has. You may wish to add a bit of garlic and ginger to the filling. The amount of curry powder you’ll need will be less than the paste. Add a bit at a time and taste until satisfied with the flavour.
Butternut squash or sweet potato – I used sweet potato here, starting with a fresh peeled sweet potato that I diced up. You could also use fresh peeled butternut squash as well. You could use frozen, diced butternut squash, though it may break down more than you like. Be careful not to over-cook it which will help it to retain its shape.
Bell pepper – you can use red, orange or yellow bell pepper. I don’t recommend green bell pepper as the flavour profile is a bit strong and can overpower. If you prefer, you could omit the bell pepper.
How to make curried chicken pot pie
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Always refer to the complete ingredient list and instructions in the Recipe Card below.
- Start the curried chicken filling by softening the onions and then adding the Madras curry paste to the skillet. Cook the curry paste with the onions briefly.
- Add the chicken broth to the skillet.
- Add the small can of coconut milk to the skillet.
- Add the cubed sweet potato (or butternut squash) to the skillet.
- Add the bell pepper to the skillet. (I only had orange bell pepper on hand. Red bell pepper would bring a nicer colour contrast to the filling.)
- Add the cooked chicken to the skillet. I’m using two boneless chicken breasts here that I quickly cooked and cubed up. You don’t want to over-cook the chicken, as it will get some additional cooking in the skillet. I just cook it enough to cube it, to avoid drying it out.
- Add the frozen peas to the skillet.
- Spoon the finished sauce into a bowl and refrigerate to cool before assembling the pot pies.
- Spoon the cooled filling into the baking dish or dishes. Brush the puff pastry with melted butter and place over the baking dishes. Bake and enjoy!
Recipe video
Recipe tips
- It’s important to make sure the filling is cooled before topping with the puff pastry or the heat from the filling will soften the puff pastry and may affect the finished topping. Pop it into the fridge to speed up the process if you need to.
- When placing the puff pastry on top of the baking dish or dishes, leave a bit of space open along the sides, if possible, for the steam to escape. This will prevent a watery filling. If the pastry fully drapes the dish, cut a slit in the middle as a steam escape.
- This recipe will make 3 large pot pies. (I only show 2 here as I only had 2 of the dishes shown here, but it did make a similar-sized 3rd pie.) You would easily get 4 medium-sized pot pies from this recipe.
- You can make one large pot pie if you prefer. Opt for a medium-sized, shallow baking dish (smaller than a 9×13-inch). Something in the 8×11-inch range works well.
- If you are feeding more, double the recipe and make in a 9×13-inch pan.
- These pot pies are not super saucy. If you prefer a saucier pot pie, you could double up the broth, coconut milk and thickener.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
This curried chicken pot pie is best enjoyed freshly baked as the puff pastry will be at its best. If made ahead and refrigerated, the puff topping will soften to some extent. It can be revived a bit by reheating in the oven covered with foil so it doesn’t over-brown.
You can freeze these pot pies either before or after baking. Wrap well and freeze up to 3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Curried Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
- 1/3 cup onion, peeled and diced
- 1 Tablespoon Madras curry paste, plus more to taste *see Note 1 below
- 3/4 cup (165 ml) coconut milk, full-fat or fat-reduced *see Note 2 below
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups sweet potato or butternut squash, peeled and diced *see Note 3 below
- 3/4 – 1 cup red or orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 3 cups cooked chicken, diced
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice, or water
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
For topping:
- 1/2 lb puff pastry, thawed, about 1 large sheet
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon cold water
Instructions
- Tip! This recipe calls for cooked chicken. You can use leftover cooked chicken, frozen cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken. If you only have fresh chicken, cube it up and quickly cook it in the skillet before starting this dish.
- In a large skillet, heat the cooking oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until the onion is softened and just starting to colour. Add the curry paste and cook together with the onion for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and stir to combine. Add the coconut milk and stir in. Add the sweet potato (or butternut squash) and the bell pepper.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover the skillet with a lid (or place a large baking sheet overtop) and simmer until the sweet potato is tender, about 10 minutes, depending on the size of the dice. Test the sweet potato with a fork to be sure it is tender. Remove the lid and stir in the chicken. Bring the mixture back to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and lime juice. (You can substitute water if you don't have a lime on hand, or you can use part lime juice/part water). Stir the cornstarch mixture into the skillet and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes while the mixture thickens. Stir in the frozen peas.
- Taste the filling and add salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed. If the flavours test a bit flat, it needs more salt! You can also stir in a bit more curry paste at this point if you like.
- Transfer the curried chicken filling to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until well cooled, about 45-60 minutes.
- Tip! It is important that the pot pie filling be cooled before placing the puff pastry on top. Otherwise, the heat from the filling will soften the puff pastry and affect the rise once it goes in the oven.
- Preheat oven to 425F (non-convection/not fan-assisted).
- In a small bowl, stir together the egg and cold water to make the egg wash. Set aside.
- Tip! You can make individual chicken pot pies or one large chicken pot pie. You should get 3 or 4 individual chicken pot pies, depending on the size of the individual making dishes. For one large curried chicken pot pie, use an oven-safe, shallow baking dish in the 8×11-inch range (smaller than a 9×13-inch).
- Spoon the cooled pot pie filling into the baking dishes or single dish. If making individual pot pies, cut the puff pastry sheet into pieces sized to fit nicely overtop of the baking dishes. Either leave a little gap around the edges or cut a slit in the centre of the pies with a knife to allow the steam to escape during cooking. If making one large pie, simply place the sheet over your single baking dish and trim if necessary. Cut a slit in the centre of the pastry if there is no gap along the sides to allow steam to escape. You can assemble to this point and refrigerate for up to 12 hours before baking. Remove from the refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking.
- Brush the top of the puff pastry with the egg wash.
- If making individual portions, you may wish to place them onto a baking sheet to make it easier to transfer to the oven and to catch any bubble-overs.
- Bake the pot pies for 15 minutes, then loosely cover with foil to prevent over-browning and continue baking for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is bubbly.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
