17 Ingredients For An Even Better Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

One dish that has been consumed for thousands of years by emperors and commoners alike is the humble meat pie. Once served in ancient Rome with live birds under the crust, or in the 19th century U.S.A. using robins, meat pies have come a long way. One of the most famous American meat pies, a staple as ubiquitous as fish and chips are to England, is the chicken pot pie.

The classic chicken pot pie, a creamy sauce of vegetables and chicken perfectly blanketed in flaky pie crust, is one of those heartwarming dishes you crave time and time again. While it's excellent on its own, it is also a perfect baseline to add whatever spices and flavorings your heart desires. Whether you opt to pick unique herbs, add wine, or change up the crust, the possibilities are truly endless. The original chicken pot pie was once made by using the week's leftovers, so look through your pantry or scour through the back of your fridge and let your creativity flow.

You might be familiar with leeks from leek and potato soup, but this hardy plant shouldn't be limited to that classic dish. They can often be overlooked and underappreciated, but there is so much potential when it comes to cooking with leeks. For one, they are packed with antioxidants and promote gut health.

They also taste delicious, and work well in soups and stews, making them a great addition to your chicken pot pie filling. Sliced leeks, sauteed with the onions, carrots, and other vegetables of your filling, will add delicate allium flavor with a hint of sweetness, which will further enhance the flavor of the onions.

When choosing a leek at the grocery store, make sure they are firm and that the bulb at the bottom of the leek isn't split or bruised in any way. Before cooking, thoroughly wash the leeks, because dirt tends to hide in between the leaves. Those dark green outer leaves should be peeled off because they can be too tough for cooking. But don't rush to discard them! Those leftover leek trimmings, when stuffed with herbs and tied with kitchen twine, can be used as a bouquet garni.

Although it isn't common in a traditional chicken pot pie, the addition of garlic makes everything better. When raw, garlic is pungent and spicy, but once it is cooked down, it transforms into a mild, sweet, and almost nutty flavor. Not only does it taste amazing, but it's good for you, too. It has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial qualities and is a known antioxidant.

Both dried and fresh garlic will add complexity to your pot pie, but there are differences in the intensity of flavor, so measuring adjustments are needed. With garlic powder, a little goes a long way, so sprinkle it lightly. One garlic clove minced will convert to ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder and vice versa. For chicken pot pie, chopped garlic cloves would work well and can be added to the recipe during the step of sauteing onions. If adding garlic powder, consider trying roasted garlic powder rather than the regular dried garlic powder. The roasting process mellows out the flavor, adding caramelized notes that will deepen the complexity of the pot pie filling.

If you want to add additional meatiness to your pot pie, bacon is a simple and easy addition. Whether it's cured, smoked, thick, or thin cut, it will add that fatty, savory goodness you didn't know your pie needed. The best way to include bacon is by making bacon lardons. Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry them.

Once they are golden and crispy, remove them from the pot, but don't get rid of the rendered fat. It can be used to saute the rest of the veggies. Although any bacon can be used, thick-cut slab bacon works really well in this case and if it is smoked, it adds yet another layer of depth to the final meal. Although it seems like a small step, adding bacon will make all the difference.

If there's one thing that elevates a hearty dish like chicken pot pie, it's umami. Umami elevates the savory quality of a dish, and mushrooms do that job incredibly well. There are a variety of mushrooms, and they all have different flavor notes to them. Some are relatively mild, like button or crimini mushrooms. Others are woodsy, like shiitakes and porcini.

All of these would be viable additions to a pot pie. To bring out even more umami flavor, try sauteing them separately with a splash of soy sauce before adding them to the rest of the filling. Mushrooms can also be added to chicken pot pie by stemming and slicing them and then sauteing them along with the onions.

When choosing mushrooms at the store, there are a few things to look out for. Avoid mushrooms that have soft spots or discoloration on their caps. This is a signifier of decay. For mushrooms with gills, look at the gills for changes in color or texture as well. Some mushrooms will have dirt on them, which is to be expected. It is perfectly okay to rinse and dry the mushrooms.

The typical chicken pot pie tends to lack that spicy heat, but for all of you spice lovers out there, adding a dash or two of hot sauce will give that hearty filling a nice little kick. Hot sauce is typically made with chili peppers, vinegar, citrus, and seasonings. It provides both heat and acidity to dishes. It is a great accompaniment to meat-based stews or fillings because it adds brightness while also enhancing the savoriness of the dish itself. 

When added during the cooking process, it extracts new flavors in the hot sauce that wouldn't otherwise be apparent. Additionally, you can top the finished dish with hot sauce for an extra kick of heat. Hot sauces can vary in their flavor profiles, with some having sweet notes to smoky and beyond. For this dish, the best hot sauce pairings would be hot sauces with smoky, fruity pepper notes, like habanero or Scotch bonnet.

If you are looking for a twist on the classic pot pie, curry powder is sure to impress. A mix of multiple spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chili, curry powder is a flavor and color bomb that will liven up your dish. It can be store-bought or homemade, and there are a few varieties to choose from.

Common curry powders are Jamaican, Japanese, and Indian curry powder. Japanese and Jamaican curry powders are mild compared to Indian curry powder. The Japanese variety has a hint of sweetness to it due to the addition of cinnamon or clove, while the Jamaican has heat from fresh Scotch bonnets. The Indian variety uses dried chilies rather than fresh. Whichever powder you choose, it is sure to bring a robust, layered flavor to your chicken pot pie.

If you are looking for strong chicken flavor, look no further than chicken bouillon. Made by dehydrating chicken stock with vegetables, fat, and seasonings, this ingredient is a must-have in your pantry. A popular pantry staple in Latin America, it can come as a paste, liquid, in dried blocks, or as a powder. When mixed with water, it becomes a flavorful chicken stock, or it can be added directly into the dish for a more concentrated flavor.

Bouillon is a great all-purpose seasoning. It provides a deep meaty, salty flavor that increases the savoriness of whatever it is added to. It also has a hint of sweetness and umami. If you have bouillon cubes, but only want to use a little, you can grate or microplane it until you have the exact amount required.

Chicken pot pie has the potential of being bland if you don't add enough spices. Luckily, there are a variety of dried spices that can help elevate the pie. For a hearty dish like this, warming spices work really well in adding an additional layer of depth and flavor. Nutmeg, cardamom, and paprika are some great additions.

Nutmeg, a spice native to Indonesia, has warm undertones and is sweet, spicy, and bitter all at once. It is a complex flavor that can be grated directly into the filling, or sprinkled in its powdered form. Cardamom is another complex spice that hails from Asia. Common in Indian cuisine, it is fragrant and herbal and comes in two forms: black and green. For this dish, green cardamom is the better option. You can use powdered cardamom, or break open a pod, toast the seeds, and ground them yourself.

Both nutmeg and cardamom are common in desserts but are also used to add warm, herbal flavor to savory dishes. Paprika is a great addition for those who like a bit of heat. Popular in Hungary, paprika can be plain or smoked. It is mild in flavor, but has slight heat and adds a burst of color to any dish.