A picture of rooster pot pie—with its steaming-hot, golden-brown crust and savory filling of rooster, peas, and carrots—may sit beside the dictionary definition of consolation meals. Cracking your spoon via the flaky pastry and into the stew appears like a heat hug—and after enduring the coldest days of the yr, that’s precisely the form of meal we crave.

Although making rooster pot pie from scratch isn’t troublesome, it may be time-consuming—that’s the place frozen, store-bought choices are available in. So which of them are value shopping for? To search out the perfect rooster pot pie, we cooked every in accordance with its bundle instructions and tasted them with out figuring out which model was which. After sampling seven pies, we tabulated the outcomes and topped an general winner, together with three runners-up.

The Standards

One of the best rooster pot pies are wealthy and savory, with a definite depth of umami. The crust can take a number of varieties: Some pies are topped with flaky puff pastry, whereas others—like this home made pot pie from former Critical Eats editor Stella Parks—characteristic fluffy drop biscuits. Regardless of the model, the crust ought to be buttery, flavorful, and totally cooked, by no means uncooked inside. The filling ought to be homey and comforting, with savory rooster enhanced by aromatics comparable to carrots, onions, and celery. Each the rooster and greens ought to be tender, by no means chewy or rubbery. The gravy ought to be well-seasoned and thick with out being gloopy or jellied, and it shouldn’t be watery or seep via the crust.

Total Winner

Kirkland Signature Rooster Pot Pie With Rotisserie Rooster Breast

This pot pie stood out for its dimension. Weighing about 5 kilos, it may simply feed six to eight folks—way over the single-serving pies in our lineup. The pastry was quick and tender, crumbling simply, and the pie was generously stuffed with lengthy shreds of rooster. The gravy was well-seasoned and lighter than among the others, which leaned gloopy. Flecks of herbs have been seen all through the stew.

Our affiliate editorial director, Megan, appreciated the “crispy crust” and particularly appreciated that the rooster “really had the feel and taste of rooster,” and famous that she’d fortunately eat this pie on function. Our senior editor, Genevieve, praised the “good creaminess” of the sauce, described the pastry as “properly crisp,” and gave the pie bonus factors for the rooster not being dry. 

Our solely main grievance was the inclusion of complete child carrots: “Why are there complete child carrots in it? That’s lazy,” mentioned our editorial director, Daniel. Although he didn’t love this rooster pot pie—remarking that it wasn’t “as scrumptious accurately” and that it isn’t a large-format pie he’d advocate—a number of different tasters ranked it as their favourite, making it our winner.

Runners-Up

Total Runner-Up: Blake’s Rooster Pot Pie

“A lot better than it appears to be like. First rate texture to the rooster and a crispy, flaky crust,” Megan remarked, naming it her runner-up. I additionally cherished the crust; its flaky texture jogged my memory of home made pastry. Nevertheless, Daniel, Genevieve, and I wanted the pie had extra filling and have been dissatisfied there wasn’t extra sauce. In the event you’re extra of a crust individual than a filling individual, this single-serving pot pie would be the one for you.

The Finest Rooster Pot Pie for Crust Lovers: Mrs. Budd’s Full Baked White Meat Rooster Pie

This pot pie earned excessive marks for its crust. “The pastry on that is actually good,” mentioned Daniel, who gave this pie the very best marks for texture of the bunch. “It’s extremely biscuity, thick and beneficiant, crisp, and never underbaked on the underside facet.” Genevieve agreed, saying that the crust’s texture was “good and quick.” 

The filling was too heavy for Genevieve and me; the gravy had a really poultry-forward taste paying homage to rooster bouillon cubes. The sauce was additionally fairly thick. Daniel agreed that it wasn’t an ideal filling, saying, “This stew is not a stand-out, nevertheless it’s nonetheless fairly good.”

The Finest Rooster Pot Pie for Pea Lovers: Blount’s Household Kitchen Totally Baked Rooster Pot Pie

This pot pie divided our tasters. Some loved it, whereas others didn’t. Daniel referred to as it “tasty and comforting,” including that whereas it “appears to be like junky,” it scratched his rooster pot pie itch. Megan additionally appreciated it, noting that the crust was “really first rate, with some crunch and butteriness.” Daniel praised the crust as “good, tender, and crisp on high.”

Some tasters appreciated the filling—Daniel appreciated the black-pepper “spine” within the stew and counted it amongst his favorites. Others discovered it fairly bland. The gravy had a faint inexperienced sheen—probably from the peas—and a pronounced pea taste that wasn’t a success with everybody.

The Contenders

• Blake’s Rooster Pot Pie
• Blount’s Household Kitchen Totally Baked Rooster Pot Pie
• Boston Market Rooster Pot Pie
• Kirkland Signature Rooster Pot Pie with Rotisserie Rooster Breast
• Marie Calendar’s Rooster Pot Pie
• Mrs. Budd’s Totally Baked White Meat Rooster Pie
• Willow Tree Premium White Meat Rooster Pie

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

Not like a lot of our contenders, that are offered frozen, our winner—Kirkland Signature Rooster Pot Pie—is offered refrigerated. Most rooster pot pies are topped with flaky puff pastry, however Kirkland’s crust is shortcrust-style, giving it a young, crumbly texture. Whereas conventional home made shortcrust pastry is made with butter, Kirkland’s model makes use of a mix of canola, palm, and palm kernel oils. Butter usually comprises 80% to 82% butterfat, whereas oil is 100% fats. That larger fats content material coats gluten proteins extra successfully, limiting gluten growth—which might make dough robust and chewy—and leading to a extra tender crust.

The Kirkland pot pie additionally stood out for its flavorful filling, made with shredded rotisserie rooster, carrots, inexperienced peas, onions, and seasonings comparable to onion powder, parsley, thyme, and black pepper.

Our runner-up, Blake’s Rooster Pot Pie, had a flaky, conventional pastry crust made with wheat flour and palm oil. Relatively than enclosing the whole pie, the crust seems solely as a disc on high. Daniel, Genevieve, and I wished extra sauce and filling and agreed we might have appreciated it much more if the crust surrounded the pie, because it was one of many richest, flakiest pastries of the bunch.

In the event you’re feeding a crowd, head to Costco for the Kirkland Signature Rooster Pot Pie. (Or freeze the leftovers for one more day.) Full of Costco’s rotisserie rooster, it’s a hearty, satisfying choice for a comfortable weeknight dinner. For a single-serving frozen choice, Blake’s delivers that very same comfort-food attraction.

Our Testing Methodology

All style exams are carried out with manufacturers utterly hidden and with out dialogue. Tasters style samples in random order. For instance, taster A could style pattern one first, whereas taster B will style pattern six first. That is to stop palate fatigue from unfairly giving anyone pattern a bonus. Tasters are requested to fill out tasting sheets, rating the samples in accordance with varied standards. All information is tabulated, and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter to offer probably the most neutral illustration of precise outcomes attainable.