How to Reheat a Chicken Pot Pie (and Have it Taste Like the Day it Was Made!) - Balancing Motherhood (2024)

Everyone loves a rich and delicious chicken pot pie with a buttery flaky crust. With its hearty chicken and vegetable mixture, creamy sauce, and buttery crust, this savory pie is the ultimate comfort food. It’s the perfect warm and satisfying meal on those chilly days, a sure crowd-pleaser for a dinner party or potluck, or a simple family dinner that will have everyone coming back for seconds.

Not only that, but there are lots of easy and delicious recipes out there, so you can make this comforting homemade meal in a snap. If you’re looking for a great recipe, this easy chicken pot pie is one of our favorites.

When it comes to the leftovers, your pot pie can be just as delicious the next day. There are lots of different methods to reheat a leftover chicken pot pie, some of which are better than others. The trick is to maintain the flaky texture of the crust while ensuring that the inside stays moist and creamy. We don’t want a soggy crust. Here, we’ll break down all your options for reheating a chicken pot pie and give you the simple steps for each method, so you can find the best way for you. Follow these steps and your pie will taste so good the next day that you’ll look forward to your leftovers.

Try any one of these reheating methods to get your leftover pie to still be the most tasty chicken pot pie.

Reheating Methods

Note: the methods described below are for a refrigerated chicken pot pie. If you’re heating a frozen chicken pot pie, you’ll need to increase the cooking times.

Air Fryer Method

This is one of our favorite methods by far. To be honest, we love just about anything cooked in the air fryer, but it’s particularly good for chicken pot pie. Nobody wants a soggy mess of a pie crust, and this method helps to keep your crust perfectly crisp and flaky, plus it’s quicker than the oven method, which is a huge plus when you need to get dinner on the table fast.

Air Fryer Instructions

• Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees. If the chicken pot pie is in a metal or foil pan, you can keep it in this, or place it in an oven-safe baking dish.
• Place the chicken pie into the air fryer basket or tray. Cook for about 8-12 minutes or until the center is heated through and the crust is a crisp and flaky golden brown.
• You’ll want to check the pie several times while it’s cooking to ensure that it doesn’t burn. If the crust starts to brown too much, you can cover it with aluminum foil. This will prevent it from burning while the inside of the pie cooks.
• Once the pie is heated throughout, remove it from the air fryer and let it cool for a few minutes before you serve it.

Oven

If you don’t have an air fryer, don’t worry. The oven will produce the same delicious crispy crust and creamy filling that makes it taste just as good as when it was first baked. The downside of using the oven is that it may take a bit longer than the air fryer, but it’s great for larger chicken pot pies that may not fit easily into all air fryers.

Oven Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• If the chicken pot pie is not already in a foil or metal pie pan, place it in an oven-safe baking dish.
• Cover the pie with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until heated through.
• To get the perfect crispy crust, remove the aluminum foil and bake for 5 to 10 additional minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
• Let the pie rest at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.

Microwave Oven

The advantage of the microwave method is that it’s the quickest way to reheat your pie, so if you need to get your leftovers ready in a rush, this is the method for you. Unlike the oven and air fryer, the microwave isn’t great for getting your crust nice and crispy, so if you’ve got some extra time, I’d recommend one of the other methods.

And if you want the best of both worlds, you can always heat it in the microwave until it’s warmed throughout, then put it in the oven or air fryer for a few minutes to help crisp up the crust.

Microwave Method

• Before placing your chicken pie in the microwave, remove any plastic wrap or aluminum foil. If it’s in a foil or metal pie pan, be sure to remove it from the pan and place on a microwave-safe plate, microwave-safe dish or in a microwave-safe container.
• For best results, poke several holes in the top crust of the pie. The holes will allow steam to escape and will help to prevent the crust from becoming soggy.
• Cover the pie with a microwave-safe lid and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes. Note: Exact cooking times will vary depending on the wattage of the microwave.
• Check the center of the chicken pot pie to see if it is heated through. If not, you can continue to microwave a minute or two at a time, until it’s heated throughout.

Stove Top

Did you know that you can reheat your chicken pot pie in a frying pan on the stove top? This might not be the first method that comes to mind when you think of reheating leftovers, but it works great and has several advantages. It gets you a crispy crust like the oven and air fryer methods, but is super quick like the microwave method. This method does tend to work better with smaller pies, so if yours is a large pie, this might not be the ideal method for you.

Also, you’ll need to watch it carefully, because you could easily burn the pie crust if you don’t keep a close eye on it. But if you got a mini pot pie or a slice of a whole pie, and you want the fastest way to a crispy crust, give this method a try.

Stove Top Skillet Method

• Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium to medium-high heat.
• Place the chicken pot pie into the pan and heat for 3-5 min. Take care not to overcook the crust.
• Flip over the pie and continue heating until it’s thoroughly cooked through.
• Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Toaster Oven

Although it’s pretty similar to the conventional oven method, we’re including the toaster oven here, because sometimes you don’t want to bother with preheating the large oven, especially in the summer. The toaster oven produces the same great results, and it’s so simple. You don’t even need to cover the pie before heating – just place it in the preheated toaster oven and you’re good to go!

Toaster Oven Instructions

• Preheat your toaster oven. We’ve found that this usually works best between 380 to 400 degrees.
• Make a few small cuts on the top of your chicken pot pie crust to allow the steam to escape.
• Place the pie on a baking sheet in the middle of your toaster oven.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, then allow the pie to rest for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Since it’s already been fully cooked, you don’t need to worry about the internal temperature of the pie.

Who knew there were so many possibilities for heating up your leftovers? With all these great options, you’re sure to find the best method for you! Go ahead and make that big chicken pot pie, and don’t worry about trying to finish it all at once. You can enjoy that flaky golden crust and the creamy and hearty filling knowing that it will taste just as good the next day, or even a few days later! We like to make two of our classic chicken pot pie so we can eat one and freeze one for later to reheat.

Another way to keep your chicken pot pie hot for eating is to make our crockpot chicken pot pie. It’s an easy version that tastes amazing.

And if you’re starting to get hungry from all this chicken pot pie talk, you’re not alone. So let’s get baking – the perfect hearty and delicious pot pie dinner awaits.

Some of our Best Comfort Foods

• Corn Casserole Jiffy
• Ham and Cheese Sliders on Hawaiian Rolls
• Easy Chicken Tetrazzini