St. Patrick’s Day Guinness Chicken Pot Pie

Be sure to watch the video recipe to see how we make our homemade pie crust and how to make the ultimate hearty chicken pot pie filling! If you’re not already, I would really appreciate it if you could please subscribe to my YouTube channel, and don’t forget to hit the bell button so you get notified when my video recipes go live with the written ones! Let’s get cooking!

Spoon lifting a bite of Guinness chicken pot pie filling from a golden pastry crust bowl.

Why You’ll Love St. Patrick’s Day Guinness Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Everything made from scratch: From start to finish everything will be homemade in our St. Patrick’s Day Guinness Chicken Pot Pie! No pre-made pie crusts, no cream of chicken soup for the gravy, just all-natural goodness. Trust me, it’s worth the effort!
Good use of veggies and chicken: Got lots of extra veggies in your fridge and need to cook up that chicken breast? However, as I mention in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!!, using what you already have in your home can be an excellent source of inspiration! Those veggies that you purchased but you’re just not sure what to do with them are perfect to incorporate in this St. Patrick’s Day Guinness Chicken Pot Pie recipe! Although I’ll be freshly poaching my chicken for the sake of the recipe, if you’ve got some cooked chicken, you can cube it up and use it in this special chicken pot pie recipe!
Flaky pie crust: I recently released my Easy Flaky Pie Crust recipe that’s perfect for desserts and for savoury pies! This full-proof pie crust recipe was my go-to here, and it worked like a charm! The flaky pie crust is so delicious and tastes amazing with the chicken pot pie filling.
Individual portions: While a large pie is satisfying to make and eat, I tend to prefer individual portions because they stay hotter for longer, and you don’t have to worry about someone stealing your piece! I also like to do this for lasagnas, such as my Lasagna alla Bolognese, or for other casseroles, such as my Easy Family-Style Baked Spaghetti Casserole or my Cheesy Oven-Baked Meatball Casserole in Marinara Sauce. These ceramic soup bowls are excellent because they are oven-safe and the two handles make it easy to hold!
Packed with flavor: The flavors in this St. Patrick’s Day Guinness Chicken Pot Pie recipe are truly unmatched! You’ll love the thickness of the gravy and the warm flavors found here. The veggies add a subtle sweetness, and the chicken is absolutely hearty and satisfying!

Individual Guinness chicken pot pie with golden pastry crust and savory filling visible through opening.

Questions You May Have

What is the Sauce in Guinness Chicken Pot Pie?▼

The sauce is rich gravy full of flavours from the veggies, cream, Guinness beer, thyme and thickened with a roux made from flour. It is very similar to the kind of gravy you can expect in a chicken harvest stew.

Guinness chicken pot pie in a blue ceramic bowl with golden pastry crust opened to reveal creamy filling with vegetables and meat.

What makes chicken pot pie creamy?▼

The roux is the primary contributor to help create a thick and creamy consistency in the sauce. The chicken bouillion paste and water helps add depth of flavour while the veggies and chicken add heartiness and substance to the sauce. The heavy cream also works with the roux and the gravy to emulsify the sauce, resulting in a rich and velvety texture.

By carefully combining these elements, chicken pot pie transforms into a comforting, creamy dish that satisfies the soul.

St. Patrick's Day Guinness chicken pot pie with golden pastry crust and savory filling visible through opening.

How do you thicken chicken pot pie filling?▼

To thicken chicken pot pie filling, you can use several techniques:

Flour or Cornstarch Slurry: Mix equal parts of flour or cornstarch with cold water to create a smooth slurry. Gradually stir this mixture into your filling while it’s simmering. Allow it to cook for a few minutes, and you’ll notice the filling begin to thicken.
Roux: Similar to what we did in the recipe. Sauté the veggies in butter and chicken first and then add the equal parts flour (same amount as butter), cook out the rawness and then the liquid from the beer creates the thick gravy.
Cream or Dairy: Adding heavy cream or milk can not only thicken your filling but also add richness. Use it in conjunction with a roux or slurry for optimal results.
Reduce the Liquid: Simmer your filling longer to evaporate some of the liquid, naturally thickening the mixture. Be sure to stir frequently to prevent burning.

Golden-brown baked chicken pot pie with flaky top crust in a blue ceramic dish on cork trivet.

Why are You Putting a Top Crust For this Chicken Pot Pie Recipe?▼

For this personal sized chicken pot pie, I did not find the need to double up on the crust, top and bottom. This is just personal preference however. In case you want to layer the bottom of the ceramic bowl with pie crust, I would suggest blind baking it first and then adding the filling, top layer of pie dough before finishing the dish.

Tools Needed to Make St. Patrick’s Day Chicken Pot Pie

Guinness chicken pot pie with golden pastry crust in blue bowl, spoon scooping savory filling with chicken and vegetables

Ingredients for Guinness Chicken Pot Pie

To see all ingredients and their quantities and to save the recipe for later, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD or press the “Jump to Recipe” button. The recipe card will also allow you to scale the recipe so that you’ve got the perfect amount of homemade pie crust and chicken pot pie filling for the amount of pies you want to make! By default, the recipe will yield 3 small chicken pot pies or 2 full sized pies in a 9 and a half inch pie dish.

Ingredients laid out for Guinness Chicken Pot Pie including chicken breasts, vegetables, potatoes, peas, and a Guinness beer bottle.

For the Pie Crust

Shortening: I like to use shortening because it has a neutral flavour and it is 100% fat, whereas butter is 80% fat and 20% water. You can use all butter or a blend of both, but I find that shortening is easier to work with and has more consistent results in the flakiness of the pie crust.
All purpose flour: Bread flour will also work here if that’s what you have.
Baking powder: The leavening agent to allow the pie crust to rise.
Water
Salt: To add flavour to the pie crust.

For the Poached Chicken

Chicken breast: You can use either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or you can use bone-in skin-on chicken breasts. I actually recommend the latter for even more flavour!
Onions: I used red onions here, and I’ve cut them into large chunks.
Garlic cloves: For even more flavour, I used roasted garlic cloves.
Bay leaf
Fresh thyme: Alternatively, you can add fresh cilantro or fresh rosemary.
Better Than Bouillon Chicken Flavoured Paste: I find this has a lot more flavour than boxed chicken broth, but if you don’t have
Lemon: Optional, but freshly squeezed

For the Chicken Pot Pie

Vegetables: We’ll be using celery, baby carrots, fingerling potatoes and peas. The peas I used were frozen and they were thawed before using.
Garlic cloves: I used roasted garlic cloves.
Butter: You can use either salted butter or unsalted butter, but my preference is actually salted butter since it’s much more flavorful. If you’re using unsalted butter, you’ll need to add extra seasoning to the mixture.
All purpose flour: Mixed with butter to make the roux.
Fresh thyme: A few sprigs to bring in some aroma.
Guinness: This is the key to make this St. Patrick’s Day Chicken Pot Pie! You’ll need a whole can of Guinness.
Better than Bouillon chicken paste: As before, you can use a boxed chicken broth if you don’t have this.
Water: To gently simmer the whole gravy and allow the flavours to meld together. If you are using a boxed chicken broth, then you don’t need water.
Heavy cream: Helps thicken the gravy and make it creamy. It will also help cut through the bitterness of the Guinness and add some sweetness alongside the vegetables to complement the beer.
Salt and pepper
Pie crust: As described above. For more details on how to make the best flaky pie crust for sweet and savoury dishes, then be sure to check out the complete recipe here.
Egg: One whole egg with some water whisked well for the egg wash on top.

How to Make St. Patrick’s Day Guinness Chicken Pot Pie

For the Pie Dough

In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the shortening with the flour mixture using your hands or a dough scraper until the flour becomes crumbly.

Add water, little bit at a time and mix until the dough just comes together. There is no need to knead the dough. Form the dough to a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Hands holding a round ball of pie dough with a smooth, slightly floury surface.

For the Poached Chicken

We’ll quickly go over how to poach the chicken for this St. Patrick’s Day Chicken Pot Pie recipe. For more details on making the perfect poached chicken, be sure to check out the full recipe here.

In a cold pot, add chicken and fill the pot with water. Add the rest of the ingredients and turn the heat to high.

Tongs lifting poached chicken breasts from simmering water in a skillet on an induction cooktop.

Pouring water from a measuring cup into a pot of raw chicken for poaching.

Diced poached chicken in a glass bowl, ready for use in chicken pot pie filling.

Hand adding pink rose petals to gently simmering water in a pot on an induction stovetop.

Poaching chicken in broth with fresh herbs and pink peppercorns in a wide shallow pan on stovetop.

Chicken poaching in broth with herbs, onions, and radishes in a large pot on the stove.

Once the water starts boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low to bring the water to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 - 20 minutes. Once the chicken registers 165 F, take the pot off the heat and let the chicken rest in the water for 5-10 minutes.

Chicken simmering in broth with vegetables in a pot, being lifted with tongs during cooking.

Dice the chicken into 1/2 inch cubes for use in the chicken pot pie.

Diced chicken pieces in a white bowl, cut into small cubes for the pot pie filling.

For the Chicken Pot Pie

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Heat a pot over medium heat. Add butter, onions, carrots, and celery. Add a pinch of salt and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the veggies soften.

Butter pieces melting in a stainless steel pot for St. Patrick's Day Guinness Chicken Pot Pie.

Diced celery, carrots, and red onion arranged on a plate before cooking for pot pie.

Add garlic, potatoes, and thyme sprigs to the pot, and sauté for 3-5 minutes.

Pot of sautéing diced onions, carrots, peas, and celery in butter on stovetop.

Diced vegetables including onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, and peas cooking in a large pot over heat.

Pot of sautéed vegetables including potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, and fresh thyme being stirred with a wooden spoon.

Add diced chicken and Better Than Bouillon paste, mixing well. Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the raw taste of the flour is cooked out. Scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent the flour from burning.

Diced chicken and cubed potatoes mixed with carrots and onions in a large pot during preparation.

Diced chicken and potatoes being stirred in a pot with a wooden spoon during preparation of chicken pot pie filling.

Pouring liquid into a pot of chicken, potatoes, peas, and carrots for St. Patrick's Day Guinness chicken pot pie filling.

Pouring liquid into a pot of chicken, potatoes, carrots, and peas for Guinness chicken pot pie filling.

Deglaze the pot with Guinness beer and simmer gently until a thickened gravy bubbles up.

Pouring Guinness beer into a pot of diced chicken and vegetables to deglaze for pot pie filling.

Stirring chicken and vegetable filling in a pot with a wooden spoon during preparation of Guinness chicken pot pie.

Add ½ to 1 cup of water, frozen peas, and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.

Chicken pot pie filling simmering in a pot with visible chunks of potato, carrot, peas, and chicken in a brown gravy.

Green peas and herb sprigs added to simmering Guinness chicken stew in a red pot.

Once the gravy thickens, add heavy cream and simmer for an additional 1-2 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs.

Cream-colored Guinness chicken stew simmering in a pot with peas, carrots, and chicken pieces.

Creamy Guinness chicken pot pie filling simmering in a pot with visible peas and carrots, being stirred with a wooden spoon.

Creamy Guinness chicken pot pie filling simmering in a pot with peas and carrots, wooden spoon stirring.

Portion the chicken pot pie mixture into a pie dish or oven-safe ceramic bowls, filling them about ¾ of the way up.

Creamy chicken and vegetable pot pie filling being spooned into a turquoise ceramic bowl.

Creamy Guinness chicken pot pie filling in a light blue ceramic bowl, garnished with green onions.

Roll out the pie crust dough to about ¼ inch thick. Cut out a circle of dough that’s about an inch wider than the dish. Place the dough circle over the dish, ensuring it covers the top tightly. Crimp and secure the edges.

Hands rolling out pie dough with a wooden rolling pin on a dark surface, with a blue bowl in the background.

Rolled-out pie crust dough on a dark surface, dusted with flour, ready to be placed over pot pie filling.

Pie dough being placed over a blue ceramic bowl filled with chicken pot pie mixture on a work surface.

Hands placing pie crust dough over a blue ceramic bowl filled with chicken pot pie filling on a dark work surface.

Place the dish, wrapped with plastic wrap, in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.

Pie crust dough draped over a blue round dish, ready for baking in a Guinness chicken pot pie recipe.

Remove the plastic wrap, brush the pastry with egg wash (1 egg + 1 tsp milk or water), and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and crispy.

Brushing egg wash onto unbaked chicken pot pie crust in a blue dish with a pastry brush.

Hands placing a blue dish with unbaked pot pie into an oven rack for baking.

Enjoy!

Golden-brown Guinness chicken pot pie with pastry top being lifted to reveal creamy filling inside.

How to Serve St. Patrick’s Day Guinness Chicken Pot Pie

This St. Patrick’s Day Guinness Chicken Pot Pie recipe is quite heavy if I’m honest! Therefore, it’s perfect as a main dish. However, if this is going to be served as part of a St. Patrick’s Day party, then you may want an appetizer to start out. I recommend my St. Patrick’s Day Deviled Eggsrecipe because it’s a light and nutritious appetizer, and it’s bright green thanks to the avocado filling! You could also pair this chicken pot pie recipe with a light salad, such as my Arugula Goat Cheese Salad with Roasted Almonds. No party is complete without dessert! Desserts that are easy to make and great for parties are brownies, such as my Gluten-Free Fudgy Banana Brownies or my Espresso Brownies with Peppermint Mocha Cream Glaze.My Air Fryer Crescent Roll Baby Cinnamon Rolls are also easy to make and perfect for a crowd! If you can’t get enough pie, then try my Banana Cream Pie - it’ll be great to use with the pie crust you’ve made for this chicken pot pie! To keep the Irish spirit going for St. Patrick’s Day, then you can definitely whip up a batch of Bailey’s Whipped Hot Chocolate to pair with whatever dessert you choose!

Tips & Tricks for a Super Comforting Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Choose the Right Chicken: Poach the chicken with aromatics and herbs as I have for delicious tasting chicken, you can opt for bone in chicken breast or thighs instead for even more flavour. Alternatively, you can also opt for rotisserie chicken for a quick and easy alternative.
Properly Cook Your Vegetables: Sauté your vegetables—like carrots, peas, celery, potatoes well to create a robust hearty based for the chicken pot pie. Using garlic or oven roasted cloves of garlic help enhance the flavour even more.
Create a thick gravy: For a hearty chicken pot pie, a rich thick gravy is a must. Make sure to use equal parts butter and cream to create a roux that will help assimilate and intensify all the flavours from the veggies, herbs and chicken in a delicious gravy.
Season Generously: Taste and adjust your seasoning! Don’t shy away from salt, pepper, and herbs. A squeeze of lemon juice at the end can also brighten the flavor.
Add an Egg Wash: For a beautiful golden crust, brush your pie with an egg wash (a mixture of beaten egg and a splash of milk) before baking. This will give it a lovely sheen and color.
Let It Rest: After baking, let the pot pie rest for about 10-15 minutes before slicing. This allows the filling to set, making it easier to serve and enhancing the flavor.
Freeze for Later: Chicken pot pie freezes well. Assemble it, but don’t bake, then wrap it tightly and store it for up to three months. When ready, bake it from frozen, allowing extra time in the oven.

Spoon breaking into golden-brown Guinness chicken pot pie in light blue ceramic dish with cork trivet.

How to Store Chicken Pot Pie

Short-Term Storage (up to 3 Days)

Cool the Pie: Allow the chicken pot pie to cool to room temperature. This helps prevent condensation, which can make the crust soggy.
Cover: Wrap the pie tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Alternatively, you can place it in an airtight container.
Refrigerate: Store the wrapped or contained pie in the refrigerator. Consume within three days for the best taste and texture.

Long-Term Storage (up to 3 Months)

Cool Completely: Just like short-term storage, ensure your pot pie is completely cooled.
Wrap: Wrap the pie securely in plastic wrap. Then, cover it with a layer of aluminum foil to further protect it from freezer burn.
Label and Freeze: If using a container, place the wrapped pie inside it and label it with the date. Store in the freezer for up to three months.

Baked chicken pot pie in a blue ceramic dish with handles, sitting on a cork trivet.

Can I Freeze Chicken Pot Pie?▼

Yes, you can freeze chicken pot pie! Freezing is a great way to preserve its deliciousness for future meals. Here’s how to do it:

Assemble the Pie: If you haven't baked it yet, you can prepare the pie as usual but stop before baking.
Cool Down: If your pie is baked, allow it to cool completely at room temperature before freezing. This prevents ice crystals from forming and keeps the texture nice.
Wrap It Up: Wrap the chicken pot pie tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. If you have a large enough airtight freezer bag, you can place the pie inside that for extra protection.
Label and Date: Don’t forget to label the pie with the date and contents. This helps you keep track of how long it’s been in the freezer.
Freezing: Place the wrapped pie in the freezer. It can be stored for up to 3 months.

To reheat, simply bake it from frozen or thaw it in the fridge overnight. Adjust your baking times accordingly, and enjoy the comforting goodness of homemade chicken pot pie any time!

Guinness chicken pot pie in a blue ceramic dish with golden pastry crust, showing creamy filling with vegetables visible through opening.

How Do I Reheat Chicken Pot Pie?

Oven Method (Recommended)

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Place the pot pie in a baking dish to catch any drips.
Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from burning.
Heat for about 25-30 minutes or until the filling is hot and the crust is golden brown.
Check the internal temperature; it should reach 165°F (74°C). If it’s not hot enough, continue reheating, checking every 5 minutes.

Microwave Method (Quicker, but May Affect Crust)

Slice the pot pie into individual servings for faster heating.
Place a slice on a microwave-safe plate and cover it with a microwave-safe lid or paper towel to retain moisture.
Heat on medium power for 3-4 minutes, checking every minute to avoid overheating.

Let it sit for a minute after microwaving, then check the temperature to ensure it’s thoroughly heated.

Golden-brown Guinness chicken pot pie in a blue bowl with flaky pastry crust and savory filling visible through opening.

Recipe by Anadi Misra