There’s a certain magic that happens when a rich, savoury filling meets a fluffy, golden-brown topping. It’s the kind of meal that gathers everyone around the table, filling the kitchen with an aroma that signals pure comfort. This Homemade Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits is exactly that kind of dish. It ditches the traditional pastry for soft, scone-like biscuits that bake right on top of the creamy filling, soaking up all that delicious sauce from underneath. I stumbled upon this combination by accident one evening, out of pastry but with all the ingredients for biscuits, and it’s been a firm family favourite ever since.

What we’ve created here is a truly satisfying meal, one that feels both rustic and a little bit special. The filling is a velvety blend of tender chicken, sweet carrots, peas, and celery, all swimming in a sauce enriched with thyme and a touch of double cream. The biscuits aren’t just an afterthought; they’re buttery, light, and the perfect vehicle for scooping up every last bit of the pie. It’s a wonderful recipe for a chilly Sunday afternoon or a weeknight when you want to put something genuinely heart-warming on the table.

Recipe Overview

This recipe brings together a classic chicken filling with a simple, no-fuss biscuit topping. Expect a deeply savoury flavour from the chicken and vegetable base, beautifully complemented by the fresh thyme and creamy sauce. The texture is key here: tender chunks of chicken and veg are contrasted by the soft, pillowy biscuits. After testing this recipe five times, I finally got the biscuit-to-filling ratio just right, ensuring you get a bit of that wonderful topping in every single spoonful.

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Servings: 6 people
• Difficulty: Medium

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Chicken Pot Pie With Biscuits

• Genuine Flavour: The sauce is made from scratch with a proper roux, chicken stock, and double cream, giving it a rich, velvety texture that you just don’t get from a tin. The fresh thyme adds a lovely, earthy note that runs through the entire dish.
• Ready in Under an Hour: From chopping the veg to pulling it bubbling from the oven, the whole process takes about 55 minutes, making it achievable for a weeknight dinner.
• Flexible Recipe: You can easily swap the vegetables based on what you have. Leeks work wonderfully instead of onions, and a handful of sweetcorn or chopped mushrooms adds another layer of flavour. Don’t have chicken? My Juicy Chicken Recipe has great tips for cooking chicken, but leftover turkey works brilliantly too.
• Great for Family Dinners: This is a substantial, one-dish meal that works beautifully for a family supper. It’s satisfying and feels like a complete meal with minimal fuss.
• Family Tested: My kids always ask for this one! They love breaking through the biscuit topping to get to the creamy chicken filling underneath. It always gets compliments when we have guests over.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie With Biscuits

⏱️ 20 min prep  •  🍳 45 min cook  •  👥 6 servings

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Ingredients You’ll Need

For this recipe, we’re using simple, fresh ingredients. The key to the fluffiest biscuits is using very cold butter – I always use a good quality salted butter, like Lurpak, straight from the fridge. It creates little pockets of steam as it bakes, resulting in a lighter texture. The history of the pot pie is long and varied, but this modern take focuses on wholesome ingredients you can find in any supermarket.

• For the Filling:
• 50g salted butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 50g plain flour
• 600ml chicken stock, preferably warm
• 150ml double cream
• 500g cooked chicken breast or thigh meat, shredded or cubed
• 150g frozen peas
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• For the Biscuits:
• 250g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 85g cold salted butter, cubed
• 175ml buttermilk (or whole milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice, left for 5 mins)
• 1 tbsp milk, for brushing

Sara’s Tip: Using leftover cooked chicken from a Sunday roast is a fantastic time-saver and adds even more flavour to the pie. If you’re cooking chicken from scratch, poaching it gently in stock keeps it lovely and moist.

How to Make Homemade Chicken Pot Pie With Biscuits

The process is straightforward. We’ll first create the creamy filling on the hob, then quickly mix the biscuit dough to spoon over the top before baking everything together until it’s golden and bubbling.

1. Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Have a 2-litre ovenproof dish ready.
2. Sauté the Vegetables: In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt 50g of butter over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened but not browned.
3. Make the Sauce: Stir the 50g of plain flour into the vegetables and cook for one minute – this gets rid of the raw flour taste. Gradually pour in the warm chicken stock, whisking continuously to avoid lumps. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and it will start to thicken.
4. Finish the Filling: Once thickened, stir in the double cream, cooked chicken, frozen peas, and fresh thyme leaves. Season generously with salt and black pepper. Let it simmer gently for 2-3 minutes. Pour the filling into your ovenproof dish and set aside.
5. Make the Biscuit Dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the 250g plain flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the cold, cubed butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. I find that working quickly here is key to keeping the butter cold.
6. Form the Biscuits: Pour in the buttermilk and use a fork to gently mix until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms. Be careful not to overmix; just bring it together.
7. Assemble the Pie: Drop spoonfuls of the biscuit dough over the hot chicken filling, leaving a little space between each one as they will expand. You should get about 8-10 rustic-looking biscuits on top.
8. Bake to Perfection: Brush the tops of the biscuits lightly with milk. Place the dish on a baking tray (to catch any potential drips) and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the biscuits are tall, golden brown, and cooked through. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Tips From My Kitchen

• Temperature Control: For the biscuits, your butter and buttermilk must be cold. This is non-negotiable for a fluffy, tender result. Cold fat creates steam pockets when it hits the hot oven, which gives the biscuits their rise. If your kitchen is warm, pop the cubed butter in the freezer for 10 minutes before using it.
• The Secret Step: After you sauté the vegetables, there might be some lovely browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. When you add the first splash of chicken stock, use your whisk to scrape these up. I learned that this little step, known as deglazing, adds a huge amount of savoury depth to your sauce.
• Make-Ahead: The chicken filling can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat, simply reheat it gently on the hob until hot, then pour it into your dish and top with freshly made biscuit dough before baking.
• Storage: Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days. The biscuits will soften slightly upon reheating, but it’s still delicious. Reheat in the oven at 180°C (160°C fan) for 15-20 minutes until warmed through.

Equipment You’ll Need

• Large saucepan or Dutch oven
• 2-litre ovenproof baking dish
• Whisk
• Mixing bowl
• Baking tray

Delicious Variations to Try

One of the best things about a recipe like this is how easily you can adapt it. If you’re looking for other hearty chicken meals, my Low Carb Chicken Casserole is another one we love.

• Spicy Version: Add a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper or a pinch of red chilli flakes along with the flour to give the filling a gentle background heat.
• Vegetarian Option: Replace the chicken with 500g of mixed mushrooms (like chestnut and shiitake), sautéed until golden. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock for a rich, earthy flavour.
• Different Topping: If you don’t fancy biscuits, you could top this with cheesy mashed potatoes for a cottage pie-style dish, or even a puff pastry lid. For a different chicken idea altogether, check out my simple Chicken Breast and Green Beans recipe.

What to Serve With Homemade Chicken Pot Pie With Biscuits

This is a wonderfully complete meal on its own, but a little something green on the side never hurts and helps to balance the richness of the pie.

• Steamed Green Beans: A simple side of steamed green beans or tenderstem broccoli, perhaps tossed with a little butter and lemon juice, provides a fresh, crisp contrast.

– A Simple Leafy Salad: A salad of mixed leaves with a sharp vinaigrette dressing cuts through the creamy sauce beautifully.

– Drink Pairing: A crisp, unoaked Chardonnay works wonderfully with the creamy sauce, while a classic British pale ale complements the savoury notes of the chicken and thyme.

Frequently Asked Questions

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie With Biscuits

A comforting and hearty classic, featuring a creamy chicken and vegetable filling baked under a blanket of fluffy, golden-brown buttermilk biscuits.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Calories: 660

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

For the Filling

• 50 g salted butter
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 50 g plain flour
• 600 ml chicken stock preferably warm
• 150 ml double cream
• 500 g cooked chicken breast or thigh meat shredded or cubed
• 150 g frozen peas
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Biscuits

• 250 g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 85 g cold salted butter cubed
• 175 ml buttermilk or whole milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice, left for 5 mins
• 1 tbsp milk for brushing

Method

 

1. Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Have a 2-litre ovenproof dish ready.
2. Sauté the Vegetables: In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt 50g of butter over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened but not browned.
3. Make the Sauce: Stir the 50g of plain flour into the vegetables and cook for one minute – this gets rid of the raw flour taste. Gradually pour in the warm chicken stock, whisking continuously to avoid lumps. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and it will start to thicken.
4. Finish the Filling: Once thickened, stir in the double cream, cooked chicken, frozen peas, and fresh thyme leaves. Season generously with salt and black pepper. Let it simmer gently for 2-3 minutes. Pour the filling into your ovenproof dish and set aside.
5. Make the Biscuit Dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the 250g plain flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the cold, cubed butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. I find that working quickly here is key to keeping the butter cold.
6. Form the Biscuits: Pour in the buttermilk and use a fork to gently mix until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms. Be careful not to overmix; just bring it together.
7. Assemble the Pie: Drop spoonfuls of the biscuit dough over the hot chicken filling, leaving a little space between each one as they will expand. You should get about 8-10 rustic-looking biscuits on top.
8. Bake to Perfection: Brush the tops of the biscuits lightly with milk. Place the dish on a baking tray (to catch any potential drips) and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the biscuits are tall, golden brown, and cooked through. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

For the flakiest biscuits, ensure your butter and buttermilk are very cold. The unbaked pie can be assembled and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking.

I really hope you enjoy making this Homemade Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits. It’s a recipe born from a happy accident in my kitchen that has brought so much warmth to our dinner table. If you give it a try, I would absolutely love to hear how it turned out for you. Please leave a comment below and let me know! Happy cooking, Sara.