It can be difficult to cook during the week, and it is always tempting to just shove a ready meal in the oven or reach for a takeaway leaflet. However, chicken pie may sound complicated but is actually an incredibly simple dish to prepare.

Sarah Rossi, a cook and founder of Taming Twins, has shared her chicken pie recipe is one of her favourite recipes due to how easy it is to cook. She said: “This easy chicken pie recipe has everything you need in a comfort food meal. With tasty meat, extra veggies, creamy sauce, tasty bacon bits and a light fluffy pastry topping, this is an ideal go-to homemade pie recipe that’s simple yet satisfying.”

What is fantastic about this recipe is that is uses ready-made sheet pasty, so you do not have to worry about making a dough or anything complicated like that.

You simply have to cook the meat, vegetables and sauce in one pan, arrange it in a dish, and then put in the oven to bake.

This is a great recipe for families or anyone who likes to prepare meals in advance as it will still taste amazing the next day.

Sarah said:”It’s one of those recipes where the leftovers are every bit as good as the first time round. A slice of cold leftover creamy chicken pie lurking is the ultimate fridge find!”

How to make a midweek chicken pie 

Ingredients (for six people)

For the filling:

• Four skinless and boneless chicken breasts
• 200g of smoked bacon
• One onion
• Three celery sticks
• Three carrots
• Two tablespoons of thyme
• One tablespoon of oil
• 25g of plain flour
• 200ml of chicken stock (or a stock cubes)
• 200ml of milk
• Salt and pepper

For the pie:

• 320g of puff pasty sheet
• One egg

Instructions

To begin, chop the vegetables into small pieces. It is absolutely fine to use frozen prepared vegetables to save time. Make sure to also chop up the bacon as well.

Add the oil to a large frying pan, and once sizzling, add the chicken and bacon. Let it cook for five to 10 minutes until just starting to turn golden brown.

Add the vegetables to the pan and cook for five minutes until they begin to soften up. Then, stir in the flour and thyme and cook for a further five minutes.

Slowly add the milk and chicken stock to the pan, and stir until you have a smooth sauce. Let it cook for 10 minutes so it thickens up. Spoon the pie filling into a pie dish, and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes if you have the time.

Then, place the pasty over the pie dish, beat a egg in a small bowl with a fork, and then brush it over the pasty. When you are ready to cook the pie, then simply preheat the oven to 240C, 220C for a fan oven or Gas Mark 9. Let it bake for 30 minutes and the top should be perfectly crispy when it is ready.