Chicken Pie and Mash by The feel-good family cookbook
Adding vegetables to a pie filling is a great way to eat more plants, giving a variety of fibre which supports healthy gut bacteria. Try using different mushrooms like button and chestnut in this recipe to boost plant fibre variety even more.
Equipment
- 1 Preheated oven 190FAN
- 1 frying pan
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Masher
- 1 Oven proof pie dish
Ingredients
- 15 ml vegetable oil extra for drizzling
- 600 g chicken breast diced
- 1 large leek chopped
- 200 g mushrooms chopped
- 250 ml chicken stock use stock cube
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 150 ml milk
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 150 g spinach frozen for cheaper (squeeze out liquid)
- 320 g Puff pastry
Mashed Potatoes
- 600 g white potatoes peeled, quartered
- 1 knob butter
- 30 ml milk
Sides
- 400 g frozen peas
- 2 tbsp gravy granules for instant gravy
Instructions
- Wash and prep your vegetables and dice your chicken.
- Next, heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat and add the diced chicken fry for a minute then add the leeks and mushrooms. Continue cooking for a further 5 minutes.
- Then pour in the stock, milk and Dijon mustard and continue simmering for 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl or mug, mix the cornflour with equal quantity of cold water to make a slurry, then pour into the frying pan and stir. Turn up the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and add the chopped spinach. Let cool slightly before transferring the mixture into an oven proof dish.
- Gently place the rolled-out puff pastry on top of the dish with the filling, trim the edges and make 2 holes in the middle to let the steam escape.
- Optional: brush with a little milk for a golden finish.
- Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden brown.
- When the pie is ready, take it out of the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving with steamed greens or roasted vegetables and gravy.
Mashed Potato
- Boil the diced potatoes in salted boiling water until tender, drain, mash, add butter and milk, season.
- Make gravy with gravy granules.
Peas
- Microwave peas half covered in some water for 4 minutes or until piping hot. Drain and serve
Serve
- A slice of pie on mash with gravy!
Flexitarian Option
Cooking tip and alternative flavours:
Use leftover roast chicken instead of raw fillets – this will cut the preparation time. Instead of mushrooms, you can use diced carrots, diced butternut squash, green peas or sweetcorn. Instead of spinach, you can use chopped fresh parsley or dill.
Recipe Credits:
Tylenda, E., Fletcher, K., Catignani, C., Marsh, H., Dickinson, A., Templeton, P. and Thompson, C. (2026) The feel-good family cookbook: tasty meals that save you money, Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire.
This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC IAA), grant reference number: ES/X004309/1.
Notes
Cooking tip and alternative flavours:
Use leftover roast chicken instead of raw fillets – this will cut the preparation time. Instead of mushrooms, you can use diced carrots, diced butternut squash, green peas or sweetcorn. Instead of spinach, you can use chopped fresh parsley or dill.
Recipe Credits:
Tylenda, E., Fletcher, K., Catignani, C., Marsh, H., Dickinson, A., Templeton, P. and Thompson, C. (2026) The feel-good family cookbook: tasty meals that save you money, Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire.
This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC IAA), grant reference number: ES/X004309/1.