My Easy Chicken and Leek Pie with Puff Pastry is served with mashed potatoes and peas for the ultimate comfort food. It's a family-favourite dinner recipe that always goes down well, even with the pickest eaters. It's a simple dish, but it's packed with flavour and goodness.
Every family has their own comfort food recipes that they always go back to no matter the time of the year. And, to me, a good pie is the ultimate comfort food that is ready to hug you whenever you need it most.
Kids are creatures of habit, aren't they? But even they can't say no to a good old chicken pie served with creamy mashed potatoes and sweet peas, and a generous helping of gravy.
This chicken and leek pie is made with puff pastry rather than shortcrust pastry for a flaky, crispy and golden top that pairs wonderfully well with the moist and juicy chicken and the tender leeks.
I only use the puff pastry to top the chicken and leek pie, I don't usually bother with having a base for the pie, if the top is nicely baked, that's always just right for me, and I get a perfect pastry to pie filling ratio.
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Ingredients used
- chicken breasts - I used 3 chicken breasts that have been chopped into chunks
- puff pastry - ready rolled puff pastry works a treat for this recipe
- leeks - I used both the white and green parts, and had them chopped
- chicken stock - or broth, water could do too, but the stock adds more flavour
- milk - to make the creamy filling
- cornflour - or corn starch for the US audience, it helps thicken the sauce
- oil - for frying the chicken pieces
- salt and pepper - to taste
- onion - it can be any kind
- garlic - the more, the merrier
- butter - if needed for soften the leeks
Variations
Chicken and leek is a classic pie combinatio, but it can certainly be tweaked to your own liking. Other fantastic combinations could be: chicken, ham and leeks, chicken, leek and bacon or chicken, mushrooms and leeks. Puff pastry can be swapped for shortcrust pastry.
How to make chicken and leek pie with puff pastry
- Heat up the oil in a large pan
- Add the chicken breasts cut into chunks, and sear on both sides
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside
- Add the peeled and chopped garlic and onions and fry until golden
- Add the leeks with a knob of butter, and allow them to soften for 2-3 minutes
- Return the chicken to the pan, add the chicken stock, and place a lid on the pot
- Leave it to simmer for 5 minutes until the chicken is tender
- Mix the cornflour with the milk, and add the mixture to the pot
- Stir well until the sauce thickens
- Tranfer the filling to an oven-proof dish and leave it to cool down
- Once the filling has cooled down, top it with the puff pastry, and use a sharp knife or a fork to make a few incisions to allow the steam to escape during baking
- Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 25 minutes or until golden
Expert tips
To avoid a soggy puff pastry, cooling the pie filling beforehand is a crucial step. Never add the puff pastry to a piping hot filling, as the butter in it will melt straight away and it will not puff up in the oven.
I chose not to brush the pie top with egg wash, it always seems like such a waste of a good egg. The puff pastry will still be as golden and flaky even if you skip that step.
Make sure the oven is well preheated before the pie goes in, the hot temperature will puff up the pastry right away and you get a lovely pie with perfect crust.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, the cornflour acts as a thickening agent, and make the filling creamy. Without it, the liquid will be too watery, and the pie will be rather messy.
Absolutely! Shortcrust is the old-fashioned way of making a pie, and it will certainly work for this chicken and leek pie too.
Other pie recipes that use puff pastry
Turkey Hand Pies with Puff Pastry
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Easy Chicken and Leek Pie with Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts, diced
- 2 leeks
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup chicken stock (broth)
- ½ cup milk
- 1 ½ tablespoon cornflour ( corn strach)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ready-rolled puff pastry
Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a large pan.
- Add the diced chicken breasts and sear them on both sides.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
- In the same pan, add the peeled and chopped onion and garlic, and fry them until golden.
- Add the washed and roughly chopped leeks together with the butter, and leave them to soften for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour over the chicken stock, and place a lid on the pan.
- Leave it to cook for 5 minutes until the chicken is tender and some of the liquid has been absorbed.
- Mix the cornflour with the milk, and add it to the pan.
- Stir well until the liquid thickens into a sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper, transfer the filling to an ovenproof dish, and leave it to cool down.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius ( 350 Fahrenheit).
- Top the pie filling with the puff pastry, and use a sharp knife to make incisions into the pastry to allow the stem to escape during baking.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.
Video
Notes
- To avoid a soggy puff pastry, cooling the pie filling beforehand is a crucial step. Never add the puff pastry to a piping hot filling, as the butter in it will melt straight away and it will not puff up in the oven.
- I chose not to brush the pie top with egg wash, it always seems like such a waste of a good egg. The puff pastry will still be as golden and flaky even if you skip that step.
- Make sure the oven is well preheated before the pie goes in, the hot temperature will puff up the pastry right away and you get a lovely pie with perfect crust.
Nutrition
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