Why spend money on store-bought pies when you can make these delicious yet simple chicken and mushroom bakes with a creamy filling and a golden puff pastry crust at a fraction of the cost? Once you try them, you’ll want to make them time and time again!
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Chicken and mushroom bake
This recipe is based on the chicken bake from Greggs, the iconic British pie company that makes the most delicious pies.
Following on from the success of my puff pastry steak bakes which were based on the Greggs steak bake, I thought it would be nice to add to the repertoire and make a similar bake, but this time using chicken and mushrooms as the filling.
I’ve got to tell you, with a recipe this so easy to make, and tastes so good, it’s no wonder that Greggs pies and sausage rolls are some of the top-selling takeaways in the UK. Mention Greggs to any UK resident and they’ll tell you ‘Oh yes, I love their pies’.
The filling for these chicken bakes is made with chicken and mushrooms cooked in a sauce that is enriched with cream and cream cheese.
Once the filling has cooled, it is encased in puff pastry and popped into the oven to bake until the pies are puffed and golden.
I’ve used shop-bought puff pastry for convenience but if you’ve got time on your hands and want to make your own, you can get a homemade puff pastry recipe from the Feast Glorious Feast website.
I like to serve the chicken bakes hot along with french fries and peas, and perhaps a green salad, but they are equally enjoyable served cold as an easy lunch option.
So let me show you how easy they are to make.
What you will need
Equipment
You will need a frying pan for making the filling, and a couple of baking trays for baking the pies in the oven. If you line your baking trays with baking parchment it will make for easier cleaning up afterwards. There’s nothing worse than having to scrub burned-on food off baking trays.
You will also need a sharp knife and a chopping board for cutting up the chicken and mushrooms.
Ingredients
This recipe will make 8 chicken and mushroom bakes. If you want to make more (and perhaps freeze them) you can simply double up on the filling ingredients and buy an extra roll of puff pastry. You will get 4 pies out of each roll of pastry.
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making these chicken and mushroom bakes on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Puff pastry – store-bought puff pastry is fine. If you have the time and inclination to make your own I’ve included a link to a recipe for puff pastry at the top of this post. One roll of puff pastry will make 4 chicken bakes. If you can only get a block of puff pastry (or if you make your own) you should roll it out into a rectangle approximately 11 inches by 15 inches in size and about one-eighths of an inch in thickness.s
Chicken breasts – skinless and cut off the bone. You should cut these up into smallish pieces – about half an inch, or just over 1 centimetre in size. You will find the smaller pieces will firstly fit better when you come to put the pies together, and secondly you will be able to get more filling into the pie.
Mushrooms – I just used white closed cap mushrooms, but you can use your mushrooms of choice. They should also be cut into smallish pieces.
Butter – salted or unsalted – it doesn’t really matter. It is used for frying the chicken and will also form the base for the sauce. If you do use salted butter bear this in mind when seasoning the filling – you don’t want to oversalt it.
Stock – this is just a chicken stock cube dissolved in one cup of boiling water.
Cornflour (or cornstarch) – used to thicken the filling.
Double cream – this adds richness to the sauce. You may know it as heavy cream or whipping cream. You can use single cream, but then you may need extra cornflour as single cream will tend to thin the sauce slightly.
Cream cheese – I’ve used Philadelphia (because it was on special in my supermarket). You can use supermarket’s own brand if you prefer. It gets stirred into the sauce at the end to add extra creaminess and flavour.
Egg – this is used to egg-wash the chicken bakes to promote a nice brown colour in the oven.
Salt – for seasoning – use to your own taste.
What to do
Make the filling
Remove the puff pastry from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. This will ensure the puff pastry unrolls easily and does not crack.
Start off by cutting up the chicken and mushrooms. As I mentioned above, you should make the pieces quite small so that they fit nicely into the chicken bakes.
Dissolve the cornflour in 2 tablespoons of water and stir to form a paste. Set it aside until you need it.
Melt the butter in a frying pan, then add the chicken and stirfry over a medium heat until the chicken turns white (about 3 minutes). Don’t worry about cooking the chicken all the way through, it will continue to cook once it goes into the oven.
Add the mushrooms and continue to stirfry until the mushrooms soften (2 to 3 minutes). You will find you have quite a bit of moisture in the pan at this stage. That’s perfectly fine.
Pour in most of the stock. The actual amount will depend on how much liquid was in the pan after frying the chicken.
Stir the cornflour mix and stir it into the chicken. Stir over a low heat until the mixture thickens. Add the remaining stock only if needed. You should be able to see a trail on the bottom of the pan when you draw a spoon through it.
Add the cream and cream cheese and stir until the cheese has dissolved.
Season with salt to taste.
Set the mixture aside to cool. You don’t want to be putting the hot mixture onto the pastry or the pastry will turn soggy and become unmanageable.
Assemble the chicken and mushroom bakes
Break the egg into a small bowl and beat it lightly. Set aside until needed.
Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment, or brush the baking trays lightly with oil to prevent the chicken bakes from sticking.
Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F
Unroll the puff pastry and cut it into 8 equal rectangles.
Take one piece of pastry and brush the edges with the beaten egg. Arrange a spoonful of filling in the centre of the pastry.
You may find it easier to do this if you place it on a baking tray first.
Use a fork to seal the edges of the pastry. Make shallow cuts on top of the pastry and brush the top of each pie with beaten egg.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden.
Repeat with the remaining filling and a second roll of puff pastry.
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Chicken and mushroom bake FAQ
You can freeze these chicken and mushroom bakes either baked or unbaked.
To freeze unbaked – assemble the chicken bakes on a baking tray and then place the tray into the freezer until the pies are solid. Transfer the frozen pies to a freezer bag (separate them with baking parchment to stop them from sticking together) and freeze them for up to 4 months. To use, bake from frozen as per the recipe instructions, but allow a few minutes extra cooking time to compensate for them being frozen.
To freeze baked – allow the chicken bakes to cool to room temperature and then wrap them individually in tinfoil. Place them in a large plastic bag and freeze them for up to 4 months. To use, remove them from the freezer and allow them to defrost in the refrigerator. Reheat the defrosted chicken bakes on a tray in a hot oven (200C / 400F) for 8 to 10 minutes until heated through.
The baked pies can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
You can also make the filling up to 3 days in advance (and store in the refrigerator) before assembling and baking the pies.
Save for later
If you would like to make these chicken and mushroom puff pastry pies yourself, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Other recipes
You may also like to take a look at some of my other pie recipes:
- Steak and mushroom pie with crispy puff pastry – a full-sized pie, packed with tender steak and mushrooms and covered with a layer of crunch puff pastry.
- Granny’s homemade chicken pie – an old-fashioned pie that always gets rave reviews – filled with chicken and mushrooms.
- Raised beef and onion pie with crispy yoghurt pastry – this is a deep-dish pie, absolutely packed with a tasty beef filling, encased in crispy pastry.
- Creamy mushroom tarts with puff pastry – the perfect little hand pie for snacking on at Christmas (or any other time really.
- Leftover chicken and ham pie – this is the recipe you need to use up all the Christmas leftovers.
The recipe
Chicken and mushroom bake with puff pastry
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 rolls puff pastry
- 1 pound / 450 grams skinless chicken breast fillets
- ¼ pound / 100 grams white mushrooms
- 2 ounces / 60 grams butter
- 1 cup / 240 ml chicken stock you can make it with a stock cube
- 2 tablespoons / 15 grams cornflour / cornstarch
- ¼ cup / 60 ml double cream
- 1½ ounces / 40 grams cream cheese
- 1 small egg for egg washing
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Preparation
- Remove the puff pastry from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature.2 rolls puff pastry
- Cut the chicken and mushrooms into approximately 1 cm pieces.1 pound / 450 grams skinless chicken breast fillets, ¼ pound / 100 grams white mushrooms
- Dissolve the cornflour/cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water and set it aside until needed.2 tablespoons / 15 grams cornflour / cornstarch
Make the filling
- Melt the butter in a frying pan, then add the chicken and stirfry over a medium heat until the chicken turns white (about 3 minutes). Don't worry about cooking the chicken all the way through, it will continue to cook once it goes into the oven.2 ounces / 60 grams butter
- Add the mushrooms and continue to stirfry until the mushrooms soften (2 to 3 minutes). You will find you have quite a bit of moisture in the pan at this stage. That's perfectly fine.
- Pour in most of the stock. The actual amount will depend on how much liquid was in the pan after frying the chicken. Stir the cornflour mix and stir it into the chicken. Stir over a low heat until the mixture thickens. Add the remaining stock only if needed. You should be able to see a trail on the bottom of the pan when you draw a spoon through it.1 cup / 240 ml chicken stock
- Add the cream and cream cheese and stir until the cheese has dissolved.Season with salt to taste.Set the mixture aside to cool. You don't want to be putting the hot mixture onto the pastry or the pastry will turn soggy and become unmanageable.¼ cup / 60 ml double cream, 1½ ounces / 40 grams cream cheese, Salt
Assemble and bake
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F
- Break the egg into a small bowl and beat it lightly. Set aside until needed.1 small egg
- Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment, or brush the baking trays lightly with oil to prevent the chicken bakes from sticking.
- Unroll the puff pastry and cut it into 8 equal rectangles.
- Take one piece of pastry and brush the edges with the beaten egg. Arrange a spoonful of filling in the centre of the pastry.You may find it easier to do this if you place it on a baking tray first.
- Use a fork to seal the edges of the pastry. Make shallow cuts on top of the pastry and brush the top of each pie with beaten egg.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden.
- Repeat with the remaining filling and a second roll of puff pastry.
- Serve hot as a main meal with potatoes and vegetables or serve cold as a snack.
Notes
To freeze baked – allow the chicken bakes to cool to room temperature and then wrap them individually in tinfoil. Place them in a large plastic bag and freeze them for up to 4 months. To use, remove them from the freezer and allow them to defrost in the refrigerator. Reheat the defrosted chicken bakes on a tray in a hot oven (200C / 400F) for 8 to 10 minutes until heated through.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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