Butter Chicken Pie

This Butter Chicken Pie recipe is a top tier comfort food. Creamy butter chicken curry inside a warm puff pastry pie shell. Easier than you think, and just as delicious as you can imagine. This recipe can be ready in 3 hours (mostly marination time!).

I love fusion dishes, and few come together as naturally as Butter Chicken Pie. Inspired by chicken pot pie and butter chicken curry, this recipe melds the creamy, flavorful curry with a flaky puff pastry to create a delicious savory pie.

This is something we love to serve guests who visit for dinner during the weekend. It’s always such a hit!

this recipe

What is butter chicken pie

Butter Chicken Pie is a fusion recipe inspired by Indian and British cuisines. It takes the popular and flavorful butter chicken curry, and uses it to fill a Chicken Pot Pie (made using puff pastry). It can be prepared in individual portions, using small pie dishes (so you’d have butter chicken pot pie!), or in a large oven-safe casserole dish like I’ve done here.

I love this combination because it marries the rich, complex spices of Indian cuisine with the comforting embrace of British-style pie. It’s basically a warm hug in food form!

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts, chopped
• Garam masala
• Turmeric powder
• Chilli powder
• Black pepper 
• Salt
• Grated garlic
• Grated ginger
• Lemon juice
• Greek yogurt
• Butter
• Onion
• Tomato paste
• Heavy cream
• Olive oil
• Puff pastry dough, rolled out
• Egg yolk

How to make butter chicken pie

Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients – like in many Indian curries, a lot of these ingredients are simply mixed into a pan. And in this case, they combine to create a delicious butter chicken sauce.

Start with a large bowl of your chopped chicken breasts. Mix in your spices (garam masala, turmeric, chilli powder, salt and pepper) as well as the grated garlic, ginger, and lemon juice, the Greek yogurt, and some olive oil. Mix well, cover and let it marinate in the fridge for at least two hours.

In a deep skillet or frying pan over medium-low heat, melt some butter and add in the diced onions. Stirring frequently until fragrant. Time to add in the marinated chicken mixture. Mix well, and allow the outside of the chicken to begin browning, three to five minutes. Add the tomato sauce, and heavy cream. Mix again, and let cook until the chicken is cooked through, and the curry has come to a simmer, about five to ten minutes.

Time to prepare the butter chicken pie crust. Add a little olive oil to the bottom of a large oven-safe casserole or baking dish, and use a brush to make sure it coats the entire bottom of the dish (this is to stop the bottom crust of the pastry from sticking).

Gently add the first layer of thawed and rolled out puff pastry dough. Fill it with the delicious butter chicken you just cooked. And top with another layer of the rolled out puff pastry dough. Cut off any excess dough around the sides, and crimp the edges of the remaining dough together to seal the pie. 

Using a knife, cut a few slits for ventilation, and then generously brush the top of your pie dough with an egg wash (I’m using a simple egg yolk only wash) to help brown it. Bake at 390 degrees F for about 25 minutes (or per your puff pastry instructions), until the pie is a beautiful and crispy golden brown. Serve, and enjoy!

Tips

What chicken to use

This Butter Chicken Pie recipe can be made using chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Generally, I opt for chicken thighs (they’re a bit juicier) whenever I’m making chicken, but it doesn’t make much of a difference here. Make sure to opt for boneless, skinless pieces.

Basic puff pastry tips

• Always thaw your puff pastry in the refrigerator
• Don’t stretch the pastry (it can shrink while baking!)
• Keep the pastry cold until you’re ready to use it.

Make it to taste

Once you’ve made this recipe, or if you’re a very seasoned home cook, feel free to adjust the spices to make them your own. I’ve prepared a butter chicken recipe that compliments the puff pastry while staying somewhat true to the standard expectations of butter chicken curry and puff pastry pies.

If you know you’d enjoy a bit of cumin or ground coriander (my wife loves to add this!), feel free to add some in. Make sure to taste test your curry though!

Variation ideas

Make it spicy. Add extra chilli pepper or even some fresh green chilies if you love the heat.

Make it veggie. For a vegetarian-friendly option, replace the chicken with firm tofu or chickpeas. (Chickpea recipes are actually very popular in India.) You can also simply add some chopped vegetables (think: peas and carrots) to give it more a traditional pot pie feel.

Serving suggestions

Butter Chicken Pie can be served by itself (it makes a wonderful main dish), but to add a little extra oomph for your meal, consider pairing it alongside Mucver (zucchini fritters).

Storage suggestions

Refrigeration. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days.

Freezing. Butter Chicken Pie can be frozen before baking. Wrap the prepared pie tightly and freeze for up to one month.

Reheating. Best reheated in the oven to maintain pastry crispness. If you’re reheating the frozen pie, it will take a little longer but do make sure that the pie has thawed and heated through completely. (You can insert a thermometer into the pie to check this.)