Chicken-Tarragon Pot Pie Recipe (2024)

Recipe from Julia Child and Jacques Pépin

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Chicken-Tarragon Pot Pie Recipe (1)

Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Rating
5(2,435)
Notes
Read community notes

This recipe, which is adapted from “Julia and Jacques at Home” by Julia Child and Jacques Pépin and was featured in a New York Times article about roast chicken, makes delicious use of leftovers (it would be excellent with the Thanksgiving turkey remainders as well). It is rich, but packed with vegetables. You can substitute dried tarragon for fresh, but use less than a tablespoon, and season to taste. —Julia Moskin

Featured in: In Quest of the Perfect Roast Chicken

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have

    10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers.

    Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Print Options

    Include recipe photo

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For the Crust

    • 2cups all-purpose flour
    • 14tablespoons (1¾ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
    • 1tablespoon cold vegetable shortening
    • Scant ½ teaspoon salt
    • Scant ½ teaspoon sugar
    • 1egg

    For the Filling

    • 5tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 1cup chopped carrot
    • 1cup chopped celery
    • 1cup thinly sliced leeks
    • 1tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
    • 1cup frozen baby green peas
    • 4tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • cups chicken broth
    • 1cup heavy cream
    • ¼teaspoon salt
    • ¼teaspoon freshly ground pepper
    • 3cups leftover roast chicken, cut into ½-inch chunks

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

631 calories; 45 grams fat; 26 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 412 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Chicken-Tarragon Pot Pie Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    To make the crust, combine flour, butter, shortening, salt and sugar in a food processor. Pulse together just until the mixture is crumbly and butter is broken into small pieces. Pour ⅓ cup ice water into the machine, and pulse 3 or 4 times. Squeeze a little dough in your hand to see whether it clumps together and is evenly moist. If not, add another tablespoon of water, and pulse 1 or 2 times more. Don't overmix so that the dough forms a ball.

  2. Step

    2

    Turn out dough on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Lift ends of plastic to gather dough together inside. Press into a large disk, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 days.

  3. To make the filling, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrot, celery, leeks and tarragon, and cook, stirring, just until slightly softened but not browned (reduce the heat if necessary to prevent browning), about 3 minutes. Transfer cooked vegetables to a bowl, wipe out the skillet, and place it back on the stove.

  4. Step

    4

    Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter, and melt over medium heat. Whisk in flour, and cook, whisking, until the mixture bubbles and smells cooked. Do not let it brown. Whisk in 2 cups broth, and cook, whisking, 1 minute. Whisk in cream, and cook 2 or 3 minutes, just until thickened. Add salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in remaining broth.

  5. Step

    5

    Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Add cooked vegetables and peas, chicken and sauce to 8-inch deep pie dish or other baking dish, mix gently, and taste for seasoning.

  6. Step

    6

    Flour a work surface. Remove dough from refrigerator. Roll out the dough, turning and flouring often, and cut a shape approximately the size of your baking dish plus 1½ inches overlap all around.

  7. Step

    7

    Roll dough up onto the rolling pin, and unroll over dish, so it rests evenly on top of filling. Fold the edges under and crimp. Poke tip of knife through crust to create 3 vent holes near the center. Whisk the egg with a teaspoon of cold water. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the entire crust with egg wash. Place on cookie sheet, and place in oven.

  8. Step

    8

    Bake 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375 degrees. Bake 25 to 30 minutes more, until crust is golden and filling is bubbling through vents. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Ratings

5

out of 5

2,435

user ratings

Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

C. Collier

I use a double pie crust; one on the bottom and one on the top because we like a lot of crust. Before pouring the filling into the raw pie crust, I brush it with an egg white. This keeps the bottom crust from getting soggy.

Edward Chrzanowski

When making poultry stock I would leave it in the fridge overnight and then remove the fat on top. This fat I would then use in making the crust for an intense flavor. This also works for duck, goose, and turkey.

California_Zin

I regularly make chicken pot pie with a recipe similar to this, and use 2% milk instead of cream… works beautifully!

Spatchcock

This is a great template for any kind of pot pie you like. I confess I use pre-made crusts, mainly because I loathe baking in all its forms and making a pie crust counts as baking.

Diane

I had trouble with the crust, so I compared this recipe to the original by Child and Pepin. They recommend a half batch of the crust recipe. They use an oval eight-cup baking dish, preferably about 10" long and 3" deep. Other useful instructions: The sauce should barely cover the chicken and vegetables, and it should be within 1/2" of the top of the dish. To help the crust adhere to the baking dish, brush a thin layer of the egg wash on the rim of the dish before adding the crust.

M. Carlson

This is a fine basic savory pie recipe for using up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Don't forget to season the roux to taste. The dish will be dismally bland if you skip that step. Eight main-course servings is optimistic. Six is more like it. Make that four if you've got teenage mouths to feed.

awakenow

Love the simplicity of this recipe.

To take advantage of Thanksgiving leftovers- substituted chicken w/ 4 cups shredded turkey and 4 cups turkey broth also included mushrooms and potatoes. Substituted tarragon with fresh sage and dried thyme. Yummy!!

MaryN

I have made this dish several times, and every time it was a hit. I did use half & half rather than cream, however; once I omitted it altogether (for the lactose intolerant), substituting a bit more broth, and it still came out well. I use a double crust, so I followed the suggestion to use egg white on the crusts (inside and out), using an oversized 9" glass pie pan. This recipe is now in rotation with a couple dozen regulars.

Ted Blumenschein

If you like more crust, make one for the bottom too, but pre-bake it so it remains crusty and doesn't get soggy from the pie filling (about 15 min. @ 400 deg) You may need to weigh it by filling it with dry beans while baking to prevent it from rising up. Then coat it with egg to further seal it from getting soggy. Makes a really nice crusty bottom.

Liz W.

I make this often, but to save time on a weeknight I sometimes use puff pastry instead of making a pie crust. With a salad and a dry white wine, it makes a company-worthy meal in under an hour.

Meg McAlister

I freeze pot pies and they come out great. I make the pies in disposable aluminum mini pie plates, put the uncooked dough on top (I usually cheat and use store bought pie pastry or puff pastry), put the pies on a baking sheet to flash freeze them in the freezer, then transfer them to a large ziploc bag for long term freezer storage. When I'm ready to bake them, I let them thaw in the refrigerator for a day, then brush the dough with egg wash, cut a slit in the top, and bake in the oven.

Hopbell

I often make this with left over roteserie chicken and pre-made pie crusts.

charlotte

New cooks will be puzzled about the egg. There is no mention of its use anywhere. I'd think the egg is brushed on the crust prior to placing pie in the oven.

Christine

I used a fillo dough crust and half and half instead of the cream, but otherwise followed the recipe. Super yummy! Notes: 2 large stalks of celery, 2 large carrots and 1 large leek work for the quantities needed in the recipe.

Laura

One can make a perfectly delectable filling without cream. Just make the roux with broth and skip the cream. It's still creamy and flavorful. Adding some white wine is also nice.

Katie

For a vegetarian option I substituted 2 cans of chickpeas for chicken. I mashed them a little before adding them to my gravy and it turned out great!

amazing!!

Made as recipe calls for except: I did use better than bouillon (about 1 tbsp) for the 2 cups of broth. I also added some fresh ground nutmeg to the roux and omitted the peas. Amazing. One of our new favorites!!

Mlsjazz

The recipe for the filling resulted in a very delicious dish. Not sure what happened with the crust recipe, but mine was an utter failure… the pastry seemed undermixed following the directions… must not have ever gotten fully incorporated in the food processor… as it baked with a very grainy texture and nearly completely disintegrated as it baked..

Roberto Cipriano

This is wonderful - I usually use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store which makes it a relatively fast dinner to prepare and it always feels special.

AmyK

Absolutely wonderful and perfect for leftover roast chicken! We were lucky enough to have on hand some leftovers from Nigella Lawson’s Tarragon Chicken recipe. The light lemon and tarragon in the leftovers was an added boost to the already delicious savory pie, plus I added one mined shallot. I make my own bone broth so used a combo of 3 parts chicken to 1 part beef broth. This recipe shines. So good, lots of mmmmm mmm at the dinner table!

Liana

Delicious! I used leeks, shallots and part of an onion in place of just leeks. Otherwise, I followed the recipe except for topping with high quality refrigerated biscuits, which my family prefers to crust, I divided each biscuit in 1/2 before baking in order to cover the entire pan. I cooked everything in my Le Creuset braiser and baked in the same pan for 20 minutes. So good and easy!

Kami

I am making this today, and just noticed there isn't a bottom crust. I told my English husband and his expression was priceless. He said, "Is it too runny for a bottom crust or is it just sheer laziness?"

amy g

So delicious! Added thyme with the tarragon. My turkey dinner leftovers were so amazing with this including green beans with mushrooms. And since I had been cooking all weekend I used frozen pie crusts. I didn’t make extra homemade crusts when I made my pies. But the pot pie turned out delicious!!

Suzanne

I use puff pastry for the top. I make this every thanksgiving with leftover turkey!

MM

This worked well with rotisserie chicken! 1/2 cup cream was enough, and it might have been too liquidy with the whole cup. I made this in an 8x11 rectangular baker, and there was still a lot of extra crust. I wouldn't hesitate to use a 9" pie plate, if that's what you have (instead of recommended 8"). Delicious-my family loved it.

Paul

Too watery, cook down the roux mixtureDon’t to a bottom crust, it’s better without oneUse this crust recipeTaste the inner mixture to make sure there is enough salt

Nina

This is tasty but way too creamy for my taste. I used a hearty homemade chicken stock, but it was just overwhelmed by the cream. Next time I would use 1/2 cup. I also added some fresh oregano and thyme from the garden, and some ground coriander and nutmeg.

Kwp

This is my go-to recipe. If no leftover chicken, poach it and use the broth.Too much broth, i use 1.5 cups, shot of tabasco, drop of fish sauce, dry sherry, more s&p. Dried tarragon can go in early, fresh goes in at the end. Sprinkle crust with dried tarragon, pepper, flaky salt. Yowza!

norsema

Use one full bag of organic frozen veggies from Trader Joe’s. Cut the chicken broth back, so as it’s not too runny

GG

My stock did not thicken...I had to drain a lot of it. Used TJ's pie crust for both top and bottom crusts. Tarragon taste was a winner. Used frozen post Thanksgiving turkey and turkey stock. Any suggestions on how to thicken the stock? HELP, please!

Private notes are only visible to you.

Chicken-Tarragon Pot Pie Recipe (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Allyn Kozey

Last Updated:

Views: 6641

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (43 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Allyn Kozey

Birthday: 1993-12-21

Address: Suite 454 40343 Larson Union, Port Melia, TX 16164

Phone: +2456904400762

Job: Investor Administrator

Hobby: Sketching, Puzzles, Pet, Mountaineering, Skydiving, Dowsing, Sports

Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.