Classic Chicken And Mushroom Pie

This recipe is an absolute classic and is comfort food at its finest. For a pie recipe, it’s not actually got a huge number of ingredients, but they all come together to create something so delicious. Follow me…

Crispy Chicken Skin

One thing I often do when making any form of chicken pie is use skin-on thighs. This is because you can remove the skin and roast it until crispy, which makes the perfect accompaniment to the pie – both it terms of flavour and texture! To do this, all you need is salt. Because there’s so much fat in the skin, you don’t need any oil to get it crispy! To make the crispy skin, just lay it flat on a tray with baking paper on top, then pop another tray on top to stop it from curling up. From there, just bake, then pat dry and rest with a good pinch of salt. The skin will crisp as it cools; the salt helps to draw out the final bit of moisture.

Can I just use skinless thighs instead?

You can indeed! Boneless, skinless thighs are the easier option, you just lose out on the bonus chicken skin. Process shots: remove skin from thigh (photos 1&2), lay on tray (photo 3), add baking paper and tray (photo 4), bake (photo 5), cool (photo 6).

Chicken and Mushroom Pie Filling

For the pie filling, there’s not a huge long list of ingredients. Which is surprising, because it tastes like there is!

Chicken Mushroom Pie Filling Ingredients

Smoked Bacon Lardons – these add heaps of flavour and compliment the chicken delightfully. Chicken Thigh – just remove the bone if there is one, then dice into bite-sized pieces. Onion & Garlic – the flavour base of dreams. Mushrooms – diced into chunks, just so they hold their own against the larger pieces of chicken. Flour & Butter – to create a roux. Chicken Stock & Cream – to create the sauce. Thyme – adds a lovely burst of flavour that compliments all of the other ingredients really nicely. Mustard – I love adding a dollop of wholegrain mustard to cut through the rich, salty sauce.

No oil needed

You actually don’t need any oil for this recipe at all. You start the bacon in a dry pan and gently render down the fat. You can then use that to fry the chicken, then use the chicken fat to fry the onion. This way you can utilise all of the fat and keep all that gorgeous flavour!

Simmering is essential

Once you’ve built up the filling, simmer it for 10 minutes or so. This will not only begin marrying the flavours together, but it’ll also thicken the sauce (this is important as it won’t thicken much underneath the pastry in the oven). Process shots: fry bacon (photo 1), fry chicken (photo 2), fry onion, mushroom & garlic (photo 3), melt butter, stir in flour then stir in stock, cream, thyme and mustard (photo 4), stir in chicken and bacon (photo 5), simmer (photo 6).

Chicken and Mushroom Puff Pastry Pie

Once you’ve simmered the filling, add it to a baking dish and let it cool. Cooling the filling prevents it from steaming the pastry, which makes it hard to work with AND reduces the chance of it getting crispy in the oven. For the topping, we’re going in with a sheet of puff pastry. I’m sure there’s someone reading this right now screaming THAT’S NOT A PIE, but for this recipe, I prefer the pastry just on top ‍♂️ Once the pastry is on, crimp around the edge with a fork to secure it, then brush with egg wash and slice a few steam holes. Process shots: add filling to dish (photo 1), add pastry (photo 2), crimp outside, brush with egg then slice steam holes (photo 3), bake (photo 4).

Can I use chicken breast instead of thighs?

I highly recommend using chicken thighs as they are far less susceptible to overcooking. You could use breast, but just be aware it won’t come out as tender.

Can I use dried thyme instead of fresh?

Fresh is best, but you could sub 1/4-1/2 dried if you’d prefer.

What kind of mushrooms should I use?

I use chestnut mushrooms, but in reality, you can use any type you fancy!

Serving Chicken and Mushroom Pie

Once the pie is out of the oven I recommend letting it sit for 5 or so minutes, just to help the filling form shape a little. I serve this by itself, but you could certainly add a Side Dish if you’d like! Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this chicken and mushroom pie shall we?!

How to make Chicken and Mushroom Pie (Full Recipe & Video)

For more chicken and mushroom recipes check out my Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken, Chicken and Mushroom Pasta and my Chicken Schnitzel with Mushroom Gravy! For more similar recipes check out these beauties: