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chicken and leek pie

Golden Chicken and Leek Pie

This golden, flaky chicken and leek pie is the ultimate comfort food—creamy filling, tender chicken, and buttery pastry in every bite. With its velvety sauce and crisp crust, it’s perfect for cozy dinners or impressing guests.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: British, European
Calories: 560
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Chicken
  • 50 g unsalted butter divided
  • 750 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 0.25 tsp kosher salt
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper
For the Filling
  • 80 g streaky beef or bacon chopped small
  • 2 medium leeks trimmed, cleaned, sliced
  • 2 celery stalks thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic finely minced
  • 0.33 cup dry white wine e.g. Chardonnay
  • 0.25 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 0.5 tsp dried
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup chicken stock low sodium
  • 1 cup heavy or thickened cream or full-fat milk for lighter version
  • 0.5 tsp kosher salt
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper
For the Pie
  • 2 sheets frozen puff pastry semi-thawed
  • 1 egg separated, white for sealing, yolk for glazing

Method
 

  1. Step 1: Melt half the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, cook until just white on the outside. Transfer to a bowl.
  2. Step 2: In the same pan, cook beef/bacon for 1 minute. Add leeks, celery, and garlic. Cook gently 5 minutes until softened.
  3. Step 3: Pour in wine, simmer until nearly evaporated, scraping the pan.
  4. Step 4: Lower heat. Add remaining butter, sprinkle flour, and stir for 1 minute.
  5. Step 5: Gradually whisk in stock. Stir in mustard, cream, thyme, bay leaves, and seasoning. Return chicken and juices. Simmer 5 minutes until sauce coats the back of a spoon.
  6. Step 6: Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and cool filling at least 1 hour.
  7. Step 7: Preheat oven to 200°C/375°F (180°C fan). Fill pie dish with cooled filling. Top with pastry, trim, and crimp edges. Optionally line rim with pastry strips.
  8. Step 8: Brush pastry with egg yolk, cut a small steam vent, and bake 40–45 minutes until golden. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Keep puff pastry chilled until use for best puff. No wine? Use stock + 1 tsp lemon juice. Sauce should coat the back of a spoon; adjust thickness with stock or simmering. Freeze unbaked pie for up to 2 months. For lighter pie, swap cream with whole milk.