Wolfgang Puck’s Chicken Potpie
Updated March 15, 2026
- Total Time
- 1 hour 50 minutes, plus 1 hour’s chilling
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 ½ hours, plus 1 hour’s chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2pounds boneless, skinless chicken (thighs or breasts), cut into 1-inch chunks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided, plus more if needed
- 4tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ½ pound red potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ½ pound carrots, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1medium yellow onion, diced
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- 1fresh thyme sprig
- 1bay leaf
- 1cup white wine
- 2cups chicken stock
- 1cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- ½ cup shelled or frozen peas
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- 1(14- to 16-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, defrosted following package instructions
- 1large egg
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1538 calories; 101 grams fat; 36 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 47 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 82 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 63 grams protein; 1839 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and toss in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons flour until evenly coated.
- Step 2
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high. Add the chicken, reduce the heat slightly, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until light golden and thoroughly cooked, 5 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Step 3
Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet, then add the potatoes, carrots and onions and sauté until they begin to look glossy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the garlic, crushed red pepper, thyme and bay leaf and sauté just until the vegetables begin to color slightly, 2 to 3 minutes more.
- Step 4
Add the wine, turn up the heat to medium-high, and deglaze, scraping the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the liquid reduces by about half, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the stock and 1 cup of the cream. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and simmer briskly until the liquid reduces by half again and is thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. Discard the thyme sprig and the bay leaf.
- Step 5
Stir in the chicken and any accumulated juices, plus the peas and sherry. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon flour, add to the skillet then stir to combine; season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 6
Transfer the chicken mixture to 4 large, ovenproof 2-cup soup bowls or 4 ramekins of the same size. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the filling is cool, at least 1 hour. (You can prepare the filling and refrigerate it up to 3 days in advance.)
- Step 7
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Make sure the puff pastry is no thicker than ¼ inch. (You can roll it out on a surface dusted with flour, if needed.) With the tip of a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 4 circles that are wide enough to overhang the rim of the serving bowls or ramekins by about ½ inch.
- Step 8
Make an egg wash: In a small bowl, beat together the egg and the remaining 1 tablespoon cream. Brush the tops and outside rims of the bowls or ramekins with egg wash. Place them on a baking sheet and place the puff pastry circles on top, pressing them gently over the sides of the dishes. Pierce the tops with the tip of a paring knife. Brush the pastry with the egg wash.
- Step 9
Carefully transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbling hot and the pastry is a deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.
Private Notes
Comments
Mushrooms and celery are good additions to the filing. And I prefer using chicken thighs instead of breast meat because they have more flavor.
"Minimal sacrifice" here is subjective. Nothing beats fresh carrots in a recipe like this, but frozen peas are standard for my family. There is a huge difference between fresh and dried thyme.
Additional time-savings steps are 1) to use frozen carrots and peas and 2) to substitute dried thyme for fresh. Very little is sacrificed by choosing these options.
I was disappointed in the outcome as the recipe differed significantly from the video and I don’t understand why that is. The sauce was brown from deglazing the pan where Wolfgang created a sauce and took pains to keep it light. The sauce had a Marsala flavor, I expect due to the sherry, and this didn’t match the dish he demo’d in the video. Why is the recipe and the video out of sync?
Made it with turkey meat. Excellent for freezing. We had 2 individual meals then froze the other two with pastry tops and all. Came out great as a meal a month later.
There are several discrepancies between the video and written recipe. First Wolfgang uses poached chicken not sautéed chicken bits. He also puts the vegetables in without sautéing them. Finally, he doesn’t cut a vent in the puff pastry top. I suspect this is why his video shows a domed top and the written recipe to shows a flat top.