My mother used to make Chicken pot pie in the winter when it got really cold outside and she’d work in the kitchen for quite some time putting it together. She did the traditional type that was basically small pies using pie crust and leftover roasted chicken meat. The whole family loved it but it was a bit of a labor of love. There are shortcuts to making it, like using puff pastry on top and not using individual small pie pans, but it will never be the same as Mom’s recipe!
What is Pot Pie?
Pot Pie, also known as Meat Pie, is considered a savory pie since it’s not sweet and full of fruit. It is usually made with types of meat, chicken being the most common, but beef, pork, and seafood also being pretty popular. You can even make vegan pot pies with mushrooms or tofu being a good substitute for meat. The filling is usually some type of thickened stock with vegetables and herbs to give it flavor. It’s traditionally baked in a pie shell with pie crust but there are some variations with cornbread for the top or in the case of Trader Joe’s Pot Pie, they use puff pastry on the top.
On to Trader Joe’s Chicken Pot Pie… So, this is a “refrigerated” item. It’s usually sold in the same place as the cheese and the lunch meats but different Trader Joe’s might put it in a different location. It’s fully cooked so you could technically eat it cold right out of the container, but that would be a pretty bad experience. At the very least you want to microwave it to heat it up.
It comes in a cardboard outer shell that just slips off and then it’s in a hard plastic bottom with a thin clear film. If you are going to bake it, which I highly recommend, you will need to remove the clear plastic top. I’ve had this Trader Joe’s Chicken Pot Pie several times and once I made it in the microwave. I’ll never do that again. While it was technically cooked, the pastry on the top just turns soggy. When you bake it in the oven, the top gets nice and crunchy and turns a nice golden brown.
To make this in the oven, pull off the top clear plastic and put it in an oven at 350 degrees for a good 25 minutes. You want the top to crisp up and the filling to be bubbling up around the edges. Also, make sure to let it sit for a while, that filling is like molten lava when you pull it out of the oven and if you try to eat it too quickly, you’ll burn your mouth. Ask me how I know this!
The filling on this Trader Joe’s Chicken Pot Pie is made up of chicken, broth that has been thickened with cornstarch, and then a bunch of veggies like carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, peas, celery, and onions. If you look at the ingredients below, there aren’t a lot of whacky additives. It’s pretty much the same ingredients my mother used.
When I took it out of the oven, it smelled like Sunday night dinner at my house growing up. It looked yummy! Serving pot pie is a little tricky because you don’t want to be a slob and eat it right out of the container. Plus, it’s really too much food for the average person to eat all on their own. I have a metal spatula that I use to cut through the crust and scoop out a good chunk. It’s a little messy and the filling will ooze out. The top mostly stayed intact, which is what I was shooting for.
My rating for Trader Joe’s Chicken Pot Pie
Eating this brought back a lot of memories of my mother’s cooking. The recipe is very similar to my mother’s, except for the crust part. My mother used traditional pie crust. I can see why Trader Joe’s opted for a puff pastry on top since it probably wouldn’t turn completely soggy from the time they make it to the time you pop it in the oven. There were plenty of vegetables and I could taste the thyme and parsley. The sauce was nice and thick. The only downside was the chicken. While there was plenty of chicken and some really nice big chunks, they were pretty tough. The puff pastry was slightly soggy probably just from the fact that it was in contact with the filling for such a long time. But I think this is a great meal for two people if you make a salad to go along with it.
I am going to rate this Trader Joe’s Chicken Pot Pie a solid 8 Bells!
INGREDIENTS:
POT PIE FILLING (COOKED CHICKEN BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN
BREAST, BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN THIGH, WATER, CHICKEN BROTH SEASONING
{SALT, CORNSTARCH, CHICKEN BROTH (CHICKEN BROTH, SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR),
ONION POWDER, SPICES, NATURAL FLAVORS) 1, WATER, HALF AND HALF (MILK,
CREAM], CARROT, MUSHROOM, POTATOES, PEAS, SALTED BUTTER [PASTEURIZED
CREAM, SALT, CELERY, ONIONS, UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR,
MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE,
RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), CHICKEN BROTH CONCENTRATE CHICKEN STOCK,
NATURAL FLAVOR, CHICKEN FAT, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, CULTURED NONFAT DRY
MILK POWDER, SALT, PARSLEY FLAKES, THYME, WHITE PEPPER, BLACK PEPPER),
PUFF PASTRY (UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY
FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC
ACID), BUTTER (PASTEURIZED CREAM, NATURAL FLAVOR1, WATER, SEA SALT).
CONTAINS MILK, AND WHEAT.
HEATING INSTRUCTIONS
CONVENTIONAL OVEN:
PREHEAT OVEN TO 350°F. REMOVE TRAY FROM OUTER
PACKAGING AND PEEL OFF FILM. PLACE TRAY ON A
BAKING SHEET ON CENTER RACK OF OVEN (DO NOT
PLACE TRAY DIRECTLY ON OVEN RACK). HEAT FOR 20
TO 25 MINUTES OR UNTIL HEATED THROUGH. REMOVE
FROM OVEN AND LET STAND FOR 1 OR 2 MINUTES
BEFORE SERVING
MICROWAVE (1200 WATT):
MICROWAVE HEAT TIMES MAY VARY DEPENDING ON
OVEN WATTAGE. REMOVE OUTER PACKAGING AND
PUNCTURE FILM. HEAT ON HIGH FOR 3 TO 4 ½
MINUTES OR UNTIL HEATED THROUGH. LET STAND
FOR 1 MINUTE. CAREFULLY REMOVE FILM AND SERVE.
We just had the Trader Joes chicken pot pie and it was really salty. Both my husband and I agreed it was way too salty. Will try it again to see if this was a one time occurrence or the way it usually is.
I just tried it and will never buy it again. The pot pie they sold in the past was far better. I am a huge TJ fan and can honestly say this is the first time I’ve been disappointed.
Absolutely agree. This was the worst product we’ve ever gotten from TJ’s. It was cooked in the oven exactly according to the instructions and my wife and I immediately had the same reaction to a very “off” taste on the first bite. She called it “vinegary”, and while I too think it was very acidic, it tasted more like too much lemon juice (which is listed as an ingredient), and perhaps the plastic tray imparting some flavor. Won’t try it again.
[…] tough to find a more comforting meal than chicken pot pie. Creamy and hearty with a flaky top, the only thing we’ve found to beat out a chicken pot pie is […]
The instructions are way off! I’ve baked 3 separate chicken pot pies from TJ’s and the recommended time is not nearly enough. It’s always cold in the middle and not bubbling around the edges, and yes, my oven is calibrated. It needs an extra 15 minutes, so crank that bad boy up to 40 minutes in total!
I find that a lot of these long baking frozen meals from Trader Joe’s take much longer to cook than they say. Best to get a digital thermometer and check before you pull it out of the oven.
Yuck.
I thought I tasted vinegar as well. Now my daughter and myself who both had it tonight are awake with GI symptoms. Hoping it’s just coincidence.
Yeah. Very vinegary and can’t taste anything else but the vinegar. They should stop selling these.
I put it in the freezer to eat later my mom was in the hospital so I wanted to fix it when she comes home, has anyone ever freeze it and how was it?
super gross. each bite of chicken was mostly fat.
Just Googled re: this chicken pot pie tasting vinegary, & found this sight. I wonder if the issue is quality control in some batches? I tasted only vinegar in the first one I’ve ever had, but it seems like some people like theirs?? Mine was horrible.
I think you are right. It must be batch variations. I’ve had it a couple of times and it’s been good, not great and none of the weird vinegary flavors people complained about.