Easy Chicken Pot Pie With Crescent Dough and No-Roll Crust

Chicken Pot Pie With Crescent Dough

Refrigerated crescent dough makes a quick topping for chicken pot pie without mixing, chilling, or rolling pastry. The filling cooks on the stove, then finishes in the oven beneath a layer of crescent triangles. Leave small gaps between the pieces so steam can escape and the dough has room to puff and brown.

This version uses cooked chicken, frozen vegetables, and a simple sauce made from butter, flour, broth, and milk. It serves six in a 9-inch square baking dish or a similar 2-quart casserole dish.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups cooked, shredded or diced chicken
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, such as peas, carrots, corn, and green beans
• 1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent roll dough

Equipment: A large skillet or saucepan, a whisk, and a 9-inch square or similar 2-quart baking dish.

Make the filling

Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease the baking dish.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and stir for 1 minute. The flour should be moistened by the butter, with no dry patches left in the pan.

Gradually pour in the chicken broth while whisking. Add the milk, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring often, until it thickens enough to coat a spoon, about 3 to 5 minutes. The sauce should still be loose enough to spread through the casserole; it will thicken further as it bakes and rests.

Stir in the cooked chicken and frozen vegetables. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, just until the vegetables are no longer icy and the filling is hot. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Pour the filling into the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly.

Add the crescent dough and bake

Open the crescent dough and separate it along the perforations into triangles. Arrange the triangles over the hot filling in a single layer, leaving small gaps between them. A little filling may show through. Avoid piling dough in the center or overlapping thick sections, which can stay soft while the exposed edges brown.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crescent topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges. Check the thickest parts of the dough before removing the dish from the oven. If the top is browning quickly but those areas still look pale or doughy, loosely cover the casserole with foil and bake a few minutes longer.

Let the pot pie stand for about 10 minutes before serving. The filling will be very hot when it comes out of the oven, and a short rest gives the sauce time to settle.

Getting the topping right

Crescent dough bakes differently from a rolled pie crust. It puffs into soft, layered pieces, with browned tops and edges where the filling bubbles through. It won’t form a firm pastry shell, and the underside will remain softer where it touches the sauce.

The arrangement makes a difference. Small gaps let moisture escape from the filling and expose more dough to the oven’s heat. They also make it easier to see whether the filling is bubbling. Keep the triangles mostly flat and in one layer. If your baking dish is a different shape, move the pieces around to cover most of the surface without forcing every corner closed.

Use a filling that is already hot before adding the dough. A cold filling takes longer to heat through, leaving the topping at risk of overbrowning before the casserole is ready. The brief simmer on the stove also lets you check the sauce’s thickness and seasoning while both are easy to adjust.

Chicken, vegetables, and make-ahead notes

Leftover roasted chicken or plain rotisserie chicken works well here. Remove the skin and bones, then shred or dice the meat into bite-size pieces. Because the chicken is already cooked, it only needs to heat through in the filling and during baking.

Frozen mixed vegetables can go straight into the skillet. If you prefer fresh vegetables, cook firm ones such as diced carrots until tender before adding the flour and liquids. Peas can go in near the end. Keep the pieces small enough to finish cooking in the casserole.

The filling can be made ahead and refrigerated in a covered container. Reheat it on the stove until hot before transferring it to the baking dish, then open and arrange the crescent dough just before baking. Refrigerating the assembled casserole for a long stretch can leave the dough damp where it sits against the filling.

Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat portions until hot throughout. The crescent topping will soften in storage; an oven or toaster oven can bring back some of its browned texture.

A quick dinner with a different kind of crust

Chicken pot pie with crescent dough keeps the familiar creamy chicken-and-vegetable filling while skipping the work of a rolled crust. Cook the filling until hot and lightly thickened, lay the dough over it with a little space between the pieces, and bake until the topping is golden and the edges bubble. The result is a casserole you can spoon into bowls, with a puffed, buttery piece of crust on top of each serving.