Flaky, golden pastry on the outside, a homemade butter chicken on the inside. These sensational pies are guaranteed to please you and your family. Made with chicken breasts and simple spices, these pies are perfect for dinner or lunch.
You can't beat a good pie and this Butter Chicken Pie really knocks it out of the park. Combining two of New Zealanders favourite meals (butter chicken and pies), this is a match made in heaven. Either serve your pie by itself, or with some of my favourite potato side dises like Hasselback Potatoes or Easy Cheesy Potato Bake.
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Ingredient notes:
- Chicken: Chicken breast is ideal for this recipe. It cooks and shreds easily. If you have any leftover cooked chicken from a roast, you could use that instead. Or you could purchase pre-cooked and shredded chicken from the supermarket.
- Spices: If you don't have all of these spices in the cupboard, don't fret! It will still taste great if you leave one out (try not to leave out the garam masala though!)
- Butter: The namesake ingredient! In some recipes, oil can be substituted for butter when it comes to frying. Don't be tempted to do that here, the butter provides a key flavour.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card for the ingredients, quantities and the full method.
Step by step instructions:
Cut chicken breasts in half horizontally. Drizzle over olive oil then season well with salt and pepper. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, then add the chicken breasts.
Cook for a few minutes each side until the chicken is cooked through. Place the chicken in a bowl, cover with tin foil and rest until cooled.
In the same frying pan the chicken was cooked, start making the gravy. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and the onion to the pan. Sauté over a gentle heat for a few minutes.
Add the garam masala, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon and sugar to the pan. Cook off for a few minutes then add the garlic, ginger and tomato paste, stirring to combine.
Add the rest of the butter, let it melt then sprinkle over the flour and fry it off, mixing as you go. Add the water, half a cup at a time. Stir to combine.
Pour in the cream and cook for a few minutes until nice and thick. Take off the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake. Grease 4 small pie dishes or 1 large pie dish.
Shred the chicken breasts then add them to the sauce with any cooking juices. Stir to combine.
Line the pie dishes with puff pastry, trimming the edges as you go. Spoon the butter chicken filling into the pastry, distributing evenly. Place a second piece of pastry on top of the pies. Push down the edges to seal the two pieces together.
Brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until the pastry is golden and flaky.
Recipe FAQs:
A cooked butter chicken pie can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. Either eat cold or reheat until piping hot
I like to serve my pies with some form of potatoes and some veggies. Whether it's mashed potatoes and peas, or chips and a salad.
Storage:
The filling can be made ahead of time if you prefer. Simply allow it cool then place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Create your pie then cook as per the recipe.
Or, you can also freeze an uncooked pie. Simply allow the filling to cool completely, place in pastry lined tins then cover with tin foil or cling film until you are ready to cook your pie.
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Butter Chicken Pies
Butter chicken pies made from a delicious homemade gravy and shredded cooked chicken breast.
Ingredients
- 500g chicken breast
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 sheets puff pastry
- 1 egg, whisked
Butter chicken gravy
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp crushed garlic
- 1 Tbsp crushed ginger
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp plain flour
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup cream
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts in half horizontally. Drizzle over olive oil then season well with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat then add the chicken breasts.
- Cook for a few minutes each side until the chicken is cooked through. Place the chicken in a bowl, cover with tin foil and rest until cooled.
- In the same frying pan the chicken was cooked, start making the gravy.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and the onion to the pan. Sauté over a gentle heat for a few minutes.
- Add the garam masala, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon and sugar to the pan. Cook off for a few minutes then add the garlic, ginger and tomato paste, stirring to combine.
- Add the rest of the butter, let it melt then sprinkle over the flour and fry it off, mixing as you go. Add the water, half a cup at a time. Stir to combine.
- Pour in the cream and cook for a few minutes until nice and thick. Take off the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake. Grease 4 small pie dishes or 1 large pie dish.
- Shred the chicken breasts then add them to the sauce with any cooking juices. Stir to combine.
- Line the pie dishes with puff pastry, trimming the edges as you go. Spoon the butter chicken filling into the pastry, distributing evenly.
- Place a second piece of pastry on top of the pies. Push down the edges to seal the two pieces together.
- Brush the top of the pastry with the egg wash. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until the pastry is golden and flaky.
Notes
- You could use pre-cooked or leftover shredded chicken if you prefer.
- This recipe can be made as individual pies or one large family sized pie.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 613Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 202mgSodium: 828mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 45g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
Thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you enjoy making and eating it! If you have any questions, queries or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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Vanya
Margaret tillott says
Pie was very tasty,but I used left over barbecue chicken and found the pie a little too salty,used table salt.what kind of salt do you use for cooking
VJ cooks says
Hi Margaret, yes I use table salt. My recipe only has 1 teaspoon of salt in it and I have never found it too salty. Perhaps it was your BBQ chicken?
Ellie says
Made this last night and oh my gosh, it was soooo good!! It was the exact flavour I was craving. Kids gave it a 10/10 as well. My youngest can't have much dairy so I add the chicken back in before the cream and then served that to him with some vege on the side and he was a happy chappys
VJ cooks says
What a great work-around! So pleased everyone enjoyed it, thank you for the feedback!
SARAH B says
I've successfully sub-ed the cream for coconut cream in this recipe. Still a 10/10 recipe!! 🙂
Amber says
Have you tried cashew cream instead of dairy
VJ cooks says
I haven't sorry. I see others have used coconut cream successfully though. If you give it a go, let know how it turns out.
Paula says
What size of pie dish is "large"?
VJ cooks says
I've made it in a 23cm pie dish before and that worked great. Anything around that size should work.
Julia says
Hello! What size pie pan for this if you’re making one large pie? Thank you!
VJ cooks says
Hi Julia, I think a regular 23cm round pan would be sufficient. I often make my pies in a rectangle enamel dish which is 25 x 15 cm. I hope this helps.
Dylan says
Hi! What kind of cream did you use?
VJ cooks says
Hi Dylan, I use regular pouring cream.
John Carruthers says
Another Kiwi and myself had a discussion about butter chicken pies which lead me to finding this recipe. First I made pies, which were out of this, world, then the recipe mix only on rice. WOW, its fantastic!! Thank you for sharing it!!
VJ cooks says
Awesome, so pleased you enjoyed it 🙂
Michelle says
This is amazing. Wow!!!!!
Eloise says
I made this tonight. It was excellent ! I have added it to my recipe binder. For the people living in The Netherlands, the AH bladerdeeg op rol works brilliantly. You need 2 packs.
VJ cooks says
Thanks for your feedback and tips!