Coconut Curry Chicken Pot Pie
Two of my favorite comfort foods combined into one irresistible dish— traditional pot pie meets chicken coconut curry.
I have rarely been as excited about any dish as I was about this coconut curry chicken pot pie as I pulled it from the oven. The lattice crust was golden brown, the filling was bubbling through the cracks, and the smell… oh, the smell!
It was incredible. Comfort food to the millionth degree on a cold winter day.
I’ve been craving chicken pot pie all winter and one day it just clicked that I should curry it up a little. And since I can’t resist adding coconut milk to all of my curry dishes, it’s in here too.
While I was preparing the pie crust I had one final stroke of genius, and made it with coconut milk to tie everything together. The end result is possibly the best pie crust I’ve ever baked— rich and buttery, and the perfect compliment to the savory filling.
I’m a fan of pie, no doubt about that, and I hate to pick favorites. So I’ll just say that this one disappeared in record time.
baking tip:How to make pie crust in the food processor
1) Pulse the dry ingredients to combine.
2) Add the cubed cold butter and pulse 3-4 times to break up into smaller chunks.
3) With the food processor running, add the liquid.
4) Continue running the food processor until the dough begins to come together. The food processor will actually start to make a different sound as the dough thickens. This should take 5 – 10 seconds total, do not over mix.
5) Mixture should still be crumbly. Dump out onto a clean surface and bring together into a ball with your hands.
For more tips and step-by-step photos, see my full tutorial.
Coconut Curry Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter , cold and cubed (113 grams)
- ½ cup cold coconut milk or water (see note) (120 ml)
- 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water , for egg wash
For the filling:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (42 grams)
- 1 lb chicken , cubed (455 grams, 1 large breast)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup onion , chopped (140 grams)
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 15 oz can unsweetened coconut milk (445 ml)
- 1 cup chicken stock (237 ml)
- 2 cups cubed potatoes (280 grams)
- 1 cup carrots , sliced (140 grams)
- 1 cup peas , fresh or frozen (150 gram)
- Additional salt and pepper , to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro , chopped
Instructions
To make the crust:
- In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to combine. Add the cubed cold butter and pulse 3-4 times to break up into smaller chunks. With the food processor running, add the cold coconut milk or water and continue to process until mixture thickens and starts to come together but is still crumbly. This should take about 10 seconds.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean surface and gather into a ball. Cut in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours. Dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days or double wrapped in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To make the filling:
- Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to a large skillet placed over medium heat. Season the cubed chicken with salt and pepper and add it to the skillet. Do not overcrowd the pan, cook in batches if needed. Cook until edges turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Place remaining 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the tomato paste, curry powder, and flour. Add the coconut milk very gradually while whisking constantly. Add the chicken stock. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the cooked chicken, potatoes, and carrots and cook until vegetables are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the peas and cilantro, and add additional salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat to let cool slightly while you prepare the crust.
To assemble the pie:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. On a floured surface, roll out one of the disks to a rough 13-inch circle. Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie dish.
- Roll out the second disk of dough into a large circle. Cut into strips for a lattice or keep intact. Pour the filling into the bottom crust and top with lattice or circle of crush. Trim edges of crust to 1 inch overhang, pinch together and tuck into pie dish.
- Brush with egg wash and cut vents in the top crust if not using lattice. Bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbly, 45-60 minutes. If crust browns too quickly, cover with foil for the remainder of baking time.
- Let cool 15 minutes, then serve. If baking the pie ahead of time, reheat in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
NOTES
- If using coconut milk in the crust, make sure it is well-shaken. It is also thicker than water, so you may need to add up to an additional 1/4 cup. Add 1 tablespoon at a time to avoid over moistening the dough.
- The dough can also be made in a large bowl with a pastry blender if you don't have a food processor.
Chicken pot pie is definitely one of my favorite winter comfort foods and this version looks truly yummy! I’ve never used coconut milk before, and I have to admit it sounds a little bit weird to use in a savory recipe but if the final result is worth the definition of “your favorite pie crust”…well, in this case I can’t miss it!
xo, Elisa
Such a gorgeous crust! And so genius to put curry chicken in a pot pie 🙂
Can you please make this for lunch next time we get together? Seriously in love with this!
Oh my this chicken pot pie is just lovely.
This is the SEXIEST pot pie I have ever seen!!!!!! And the crust, swoon!
What an awesome idea! I LOVE chicken pot pie, but add in some coconut and curry and I’m an even happier girl!
I don’t normally swoon over pot pies, but WHOA! This one has me hooked.
Looks amazing!
Finally I am making this for dinner tonight! I have drooled over this for the past week. Thank you for the recipe!
I hope you like it!
LOVED the Coconut Curry Chicken Pot Pie!!!! My daughter took some left overs for lunch today. Thank you!!!
Yay! So glad, Kellie.
It was amazing! Thanks so much. This was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I didn’t want to make regular chicken pot pie, and I had coconut milk, so I did a specific search and found this. My whole family loved it.
Yay! So glad to hear you enjoyed it, it’s one of my faves!
I used bbq’d Tandoori chicken in the recipe and it was simply devine!
This looks really great – can’t wait to try it 🙂
What I am even more impressed by is the lattice-work of pastry on the top of the pie. I have no idea how you managed to do that, I’m lucky if I get a pastry I can even work with, let alone achieving that sort of fancy finish!
By unsweetened coconut milk, do you mean the refrigerated half-gallon kind or in a can?
I use canned unsweetened coconut milk. The refrigerated kind might also work, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure.
This was so great! I made as written except used sweet potatoes. I had enough filling to use a 9×13 rather than a pie dish. Thank you for the great recipe! I’ll be making this again.
This looks simply divine, and I will post an updated comment after I bake this pie!
I just had a few questions – do you have a recipe on this website for an original chicken pot pie recipe? And also – does this pot pie recipe, crust included, freeze well? I normally make pot pies to give to friends/family for an easy dinner…I cook the filling and assemble the pie, leaving the crust in raw dough form before freezing. Have you tried this before with any of your savory pies?
Thanks so much!
While I haven’t tried it with this pie, I do know that you can freeze unbaked pot pies no problem. Wrap well in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 1-2 months. When ready to bake, unwrap and bake from frozen at same temp, baking time may be 15-20 minutes more. Hope this helps!
Love love this pie
Wow!!! This was such an amazing recipe! Mine turned out so good! It was simple to make and it was absolutely delicious! I wish that I could upload a picture.
Wonderful! Thanks for the feedback. If you’d like to send a photo to completelydelicious@gmail.com, I’d love to see it!
My husband made it but cheated with a puff pastry crust…still delicious!
Love that shortcut! Glad you both enjoyed the recipe.
This looks incredible! Do you think I could substitute a firm white-fleshed fish for the chicken?
Sure!
This was delicious! And that dough made with the coconut milk is so easy to work with. We had about a pound of leftover pork tenderloin that I used instead of chicken and we added a bit more curry powder for extra flavor but other than that, followed the recipe to a T. We all agreed it was some of the best pot pie we’ve ever had. This will definitely be made at least once a month! Thanks for sharing.
Won a friend’s pie contest with this.