We taste-tested seven chicken pot pies you’re likely to find at your local supermarket. To find the very best one, we sampled each without knowing which was which. Our winner is Costco’s Kirkland Signature Chicken Pot Pie, but we also crowned three worthy runner-ups.
An image of chicken pot pie—with its steaming-hot, golden-brown crust and savory filling of chicken, peas, and carrots—could sit beside the dictionary definition of comfort food. Cracking your spoon through the flaky pastry and into the stew feels like a warm hug—and after enduring the coldest days of the year, that’s exactly the kind of meal we crave.
Though making chicken pot pie from scratch isn’t difficult, it can be time-consuming—that’s where frozen, store-bought options come in. So which ones are worth buying? To find the best chicken pot pie, we cooked each according to its package directions and tasted them without knowing which brand was which. After sampling seven pies, we tabulated the results and crowned an overall winner, along with three runners-up.
The Criteria
The best chicken pot pies are rich and savory, with a distinct depth of umami. The crust can take several forms: Some pies are topped with flaky puff pastry, while others—like this homemade pot pie from former Serious Eats editor Stella Parks—feature fluffy drop biscuits. Whatever the style, the crust should be buttery, flavorful, and fully cooked, never raw inside. The filling should be homey and comforting, with savory chicken enhanced by aromatics such as carrots, onions, and celery. Both the chicken and vegetables should be tender, never chewy or rubbery. The gravy should be well-seasoned and thick without being gloopy or jellied, and it should not be watery or seep through the crust.
Serious Eats / Jessie YuChen
Overall Winner
Kirkland Signature Chicken Pot Pie With Rotisserie Chicken Breast
This pot pie stood out for its size. Weighing about five pounds, it could easily feed six to eight people—far more than the single-serving pies in our lineup. The pastry was short and tender, crumbling easily, and the pie was generously filled with long shreds of chicken. The gravy was well-seasoned and lighter than some of the others, which leaned gloopy. Flecks of herbs were visible throughout the stew.
Our associate editorial director, Megan, liked the “crispy crust” and especially appreciated that the chicken “actually had the texture and flavor of chicken,” and noted that she’d happily eat this pie on purpose. Our senior editor, Genevieve, praised the “nice creaminess” of the sauce, described the pastry as “nicely crisp,” and gave the pie bonus points for the chicken not being dry.
Our only major complaint was the inclusion of whole baby carrots: “Why are there whole baby carrots in it? That’s lazy,” said our editorial director, Daniel. Though he didn’t love this chicken pot pie—remarking that it wasn’t “as delicious as it should be” and that it isn’t a large-format pie he’d recommend—several other tasters ranked it as their favorite, making it our winner.
Runners-Up
Overall Runner-Up: Blake’s Chicken Pot Pie
“Much better than it looks. Decent texture to the chicken and a crispy, flaky crust,” Megan remarked, naming it her runner-up. I also loved the crust; its flaky texture reminded me of homemade pastry. However, Daniel, Genevieve, and I wished the pie had more filling and were disappointed there wasn’t more sauce. If you’re more of a crust person than a filling person, this single-serving pot pie may be the one for you.
The Best Chicken Pot Pie for Crust Lovers: Mrs. Budd’s Full Baked White Meat Chicken Pie
This pot pie earned high marks for its crust. “The pastry on this is really good,” said Daniel, who gave this pie the highest marks for texture of the bunch. “It’s very biscuity, thick and generous, crisp, and not underbaked on the bottom side.” Genevieve agreed, saying that the crust’s texture was “nice and short.”
The filling was too heavy for Genevieve and me; the gravy had a very poultry-forward flavor reminiscent of chicken bouillon cubes. The sauce was also quite thick. Daniel agreed that it wasn’t a perfect filling, saying, “This stew isn’t a stand-out, but it’s still pretty good.”
The Best Chicken Pot Pie for Pea Lovers: Blount’s Family Kitchen Fully Baked Chicken Pot Pie
This pot pie divided our tasters. Some enjoyed it, while others didn’t. Daniel called it “tasty and comforting,” adding that while it “looks junky,” it scratched his chicken pot pie itch. Megan also liked it, noting that the crust was “actually decent, with some crunch and butteriness.” Daniel praised the crust as “good, tender, and crisp on top.”
Some tasters appreciated the filling—Daniel liked the black-pepper “backbone” in the stew and counted it among his favorites. Others found it rather bland. The gravy had a faint green sheen—likely from the peas—and a pronounced pea flavor that wasn’t a hit with everyone.
The Contenders
- Blake’s Chicken Pot Pie
- Blount’s Family Kitchen Fully Baked Chicken Pot Pie
- Boston Market Chicken Pot Pie
- Kirkland Signature Chicken Pot Pie with Rotisserie Chicken Breast
- Marie Calendar’s Chicken Pot Pie
- Mrs. Budd’s Fully Baked White Meat Chicken Pie
- Willow Tree Premium White Meat Chicken Pie
Serious Eats / Jessie YuChen
Key Takeaways and Conclusion
Unlike many of our contenders, which are sold frozen, our winner—Kirkland Signature Chicken Pot Pie—is sold refrigerated. Most chicken pot pies are topped with flaky puff pastry, but Kirkland’s crust is shortcrust-style, giving it a tender, crumbly texture. While traditional homemade shortcrust pastry is made with butter, Kirkland’s version uses a blend of canola, palm, and palm kernel oils. Butter typically contains 80% to 82% butterfat, whereas oil is 100% fat. That higher fat content coats gluten proteins more effectively, limiting gluten development—which can make dough tough and chewy—and resulting in a more tender crust.
The Kirkland pot pie also stood out for its flavorful filling, made with shredded rotisserie chicken, carrots, green peas, onions, and seasonings such as onion powder, parsley, thyme, and black pepper.
Our runner-up, Blake’s Chicken Pot Pie, had a flaky, traditional pastry crust made with wheat flour and palm oil. Rather than enclosing the entire pie, the crust appears only as a disc on top. Daniel, Genevieve, and I wanted more sauce and filling and agreed we would have liked it even more if the crust surrounded the pie, since it was one of the richest, flakiest pastries of the bunch.
If you’re feeding a crowd, head to Costco for the Kirkland Signature Chicken Pot Pie. (Or freeze the leftovers for another day.) Stuffed with Costco’s rotisserie chicken, it’s a hearty, satisfying option for a cozy weeknight dinner. For a single-serving frozen option, Blake’s delivers that same comfort-food appeal.
Serious Eats / Jessie YuChen
Our Testing Methodology
All taste tests are conducted with brands completely hidden and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample one first, while taster B will taste sample six first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving any one sample an advantage. Tasters are asked to fill out tasting sheets, ranking the samples according to various criteria. All data is tabulated, and results are calculated with no editorial input to provide the most impartial representation of actual results possible.
