A fantastic, comforting, creamy pie absolutely stuffed with chicken, shredded ham and lots of sauce. I use a couple of shortcuts (shop-bought pastry and rotisserie chicken) to make this chicken and ham pie a bit simpler, whilst still having that loving homemade feel.
Nothing says Autumn to me like a nice, hearty pie. The creamy, comforting filling mixed with cooked chicken and little bites of salty ham is the perfect dinner to fill you up!
It’s also perfect if you have any leftover shredded chicken from your Roast Chicken.
Trust me, the whole family will be coming back for seconds!
📋 Ingredients
Shredded Chicken – You can use shredded chicken from a store-bought rotisserie chicken, or from a homemade Roast Chicken, so you get a nice mix of light and dark meat.
Shortcrust Pastry – Another shortcut for this recipe is to use store-bought ready rolled shortcrust pastry, make sure to defrost if you bought it frozen.
Strong Chicken Stock – I used 2 stock cubes and 1 1/4 cups of water.
Fresh Lemon Juice – The juice from a whole lemon.
Cooked Ham – Buy ready-chopped ham chunks or shredded ham hock or chop some ham from a cooked ham.
📺 Watch how to make it
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
- Start off by blind-baking the bottom pastry of the pie to prevent a soggy bottom. While it’s baking, start making the filling.
- Soften the onion in a pan with oil and butter then stir in flour. Then we stir in stock and milk, continuing to stir until the sauce bubbles and thickens.
- Add in the seasonings, parmesan, chicken and ham and stir together, then pour the filling into pie base.
- Top the pie more with pastry and brush on some egg wash, then bake until golden.
Pro Tip
If you want to add a little decoration on the top, just cut some leaf shapes out of the remaining pastry and score the tops at an angle, pop them on before you brush with egg wash.
The perfect, hearty, warming dinner for the whole family!
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🍽️ What to serve it with
I could really eat that filling by the ladle-full! Word of warning – it is a saucy pie! I had to push this back together before photographing it, as the sauce wants to ooze out everywhere!
🍲 More fantastic pie recipes
? Frequently Asked Questions
Since we’re already using cooked chicken, I wouldn’t want to cook the pie (heating the chicken a second time) and then reheat the pie (therefore heating the cooked chicken a third time.
If you REALLY wanted to make this ahead, my recommendation would be to blind bake and cool the pie base. Make and cool the sauce. Add the chicken and ham to the cooled sauce and spoon into the pie base. Then place the pastry on top. Cover and refrigerate (for no more than a day). Then take out of the fridge and leave at room temperature for two hours – to take the chill off the filling.
Then egg wash and bake the pie at 200C/400F (fan) for 35-45 minutes until golden brown and piping hot all the way through to the middle. You may need to cover with foil for the last 15 minutes, to prevent the pastry from browning too much.
I don’t recommend freezing this pie, as we’re using cooked chicken. I wouldn’t want to cook the pie (heating the chicken a second time) and then freeze and reheat the pie (therefore heating the cooked chicken a third time). Try my chicken and mushroom pie for a pie you can freeze.
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Blind Bake
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Preheat the oven to 200C/400F (fan).
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Line a round, 22.5cm (9″) diameter, deep (1.5-2″ deep) pie dish with one of the pastry sheets, you may need to cut and join the pastry to ensure it fully covers the pie tin. Trim the edges, leaving a 1cm overhang, as the pastry will shrink back slightly.
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Prick the base of the pastry several times with a fork. Line the pastry with baking parchment so that it completely covers the pastry. I find it easier to scrunch up the parchment first, and then un-scrunch it, so it fits into the shape of the pie dish better.
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Fill the pie with baking beans (or dried beans or uncooked rice) and place in the oven to ‘blind bake’ for 10 minutes. This helps to prevent the pie having a soggy bottom.
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Take out of the oven and put to one side. When cool enough to handle, remove the baking beans and parchment paper.
The pie filling
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Now start on the filling. Add the oil and butter to a large saucepan and heat over a medium heat until the butter melts.
1 tbsp oil, 45 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter
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Add the onion and cook, stirring often for 5-6 minutes until the onion is soft.
1 onion
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Add the flour and stir until the flour coats the onion. Cook for 1 minute whilst stirring.
4 tbsp plain (all purpose) flour
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Add the stock, a splash at a time, whilst stirring with a balloon whisk, until all of the stock is used. Adding it in a splash at a time, whilst stirring, will ensure you have no lumps.
300 ml (1 1/4 cups) strong chicken stock
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Add the milk and continue to stir until the sauce starts to bubble and thickens.
300 ml (1+1/4 cups) whole (full-fat) milk
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Stir in the lemon juice, thyme, black pepper and parmesan.
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, ½ tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp black pepper, 50 g (1/2 packed cup) grated parmesan
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Add the chicken and ham and stir again until combined and turn off the heat.
300 g (10.5oz) cooked shredded chicken, 200 g (7oz) cooked ham
Bake the pie
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Fill the pie base with the chicken and ham mixture.
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Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash (whisked egg), then top the pie with the remaining piece of pastry. Pinch the edges to seal.
1 egg
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Trim off any excess pastry (you can use the trimmings to make little pie decorations such as leaves if you like), then brush the top with more egg wash and pierce a couple of small holes in the top of the pie with a sharp knife.
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Place in the oven (still at 200C/400F (fan)) and cook for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
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It’s a saucy pie, so be prepared to spoon out the filling! I find the best method is to slice the pastry lid into portions and place on plates, then spoon out the filling and pastry base. Then place the pastry topping back on top.
Nutritional information is approx. per serving, based on this pie serving 6.
If serving for 4, you’ll need to multiple the calorie amount (and other nutritional amounts) by 1.5.
Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 1222mg | Potassium: 298mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 388IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 163mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
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