Description

This cozy Halloween Pot Pie features a creamy chicken and vegetable filling topped with buttery, flaky ghost-shaped puff pastry. It’s a festive, crowd-pleasing dinner perfect for parties or a fun family meal before trick-or-treating.

Ingredients

Scale

2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded (about 8 oz, rotisserie works great)
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup Yukon Gold potatoes, diced and peeled
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup heavy cream (or half-and-half)
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1 box ready-made puff pastry sheets (about 14 oz)
1 large egg (for egg wash)
Black olive slices or black sesame seeds (for ghost eyes and mouths)
Flour, for dusting

Instructions

Chop carrots, celery, onion, and potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Shred chicken. Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes.
Stir in carrots, celery, and potatoes. Cook for 5–7 minutes, until veggies start to soften. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute more.
Sprinkle flour over veggies, stir and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add chicken broth while stirring constantly.
Add cream, thyme, salt, pepper, and optional paprika. Simmer 8–10 minutes until thickened and veggies are fork-tender. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Fold in shredded chicken and frozen peas. Simmer another 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat. If mixture seems too thick, add a splash more broth.
Pour hot filling into a large oven-safe casserole or pie dish. Smooth the top with a spatula.
On a floured surface, roll out puff pastry to 1/8-inch thick. Use ghost cutter or knife to cut out ghost shapes. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Add olive slices or sesame seeds for eyes and mouths.
Beat egg in a bowl. Brush tops of ghosts lightly with egg wash.
Bake ghosts separately at 400°F for 10–12 minutes until puffed and golden. For softer ghosts, bake for 8 minutes.
Place filled dish in oven and bake for 20–25 minutes until filling bubbles at edges and top starts to brown.
Remove pot pie from oven. Arrange baked ghosts on top while hot, pressing gently so they nestle into the filling. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Chill pastry ghosts before baking for best puff. For vegetarian, swap chicken for mushrooms or chickpeas and use vegetable broth. For gluten-free, use gluten-free flour and pastry. Bake ghosts separately for crispness. Filling can be made ahead and refrigerated. Leftovers taste even richer after a night in the fridge.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Category: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1/6 of casserole
Calories: 420
Sugar: 6
Sodium: 620
Fat: 22
Saturated Fat: 11
Carbohydrates: 38
Fiber: 5
Protein: 22

Keywords: Halloween, pot pie, ghost pastry, chicken pot pie, festive dinner, autumn, comfort food, party recipe, kid-friendly, easy dinner