Mary Berry’s chicken and leek pie is an old-fashioned puff pastry pie filled with cooked chicken, leeks, portabella mushrooms and thyme in a creamy sauce made from apple juice, chicken stock and crème fraîche, baked at 200°C (180°C fan) for 35 minutes. Berry gives quantities for both 6 and 12 servings in the same recipe.
Berry calls this “an old-fashioned pie, perfect for a winter Sunday lunch” in Cooks Up a Feast (2019). What makes her version different from most chicken pies is the apple juice in the sauce. She uses 300ml of apple juice alongside 450ml of chicken stock, which gives the filling a subtle sweetness that balances the Dijon mustard and thyme.
The technique Berry is most particular about is cooking the leeks properly before anything else goes in. She fries them on high heat for 2 minutes, then covers them and cooks on low for a full 10 minutes until tender. Rushing this step leaves the leeks crunchy inside the pie, which no amount of oven time will fix.
Mary Berry Chicken and Leek Pie Recipe
Course: DinnerCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy6
servings25
minutes35
minutes660
kcal1
hourBerry’s Traditional Chicken, Leek, and Mushroom Pie from Cooks Up a Feast (2019), with apple juice and chicken stock sauce, Dijon mustard, thyme and crème fraîche under an all-butter puff pastry lid.
Ingredients
75g (2½ oz) butter
3 large leeks, sliced
75g (2½ oz) plain flour, plus extra to dust
300ml (10 fl oz) apple juice
450ml (15 fl oz) chicken stock
250g (9 oz) portabella mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp freshly chopped thyme leaves
3 tbsp full-fat crème fraîche
750g (1 lb 10oz) cooked chicken, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g packet all-butter puff pastry
1 egg, beaten with a little milk
Directions
- Cook the leeks: Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 (400°F). Melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the leeks, and fry over a high heat for 2 minutes. Cover with a lid, lower the heat, and cook for 10 minutes or until tender.
- Make the filling: Turn up the heat, stir in the flour, then blend in the apple juice and stock. Bring to the boil, stirring all the time, then add the mushrooms, mustard, thyme, and crème fraîche. Add the chicken, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes. Spoon into the pie dish and set aside to cool.
- Top with pastry: On a worktop lightly dusted with flour, roll out the pastry until a little bigger than the dish. Cut strips of pastry to the size of the lip of the dish, then wet the lip with water and attach the strips on top. Wet the top of the strips with water, then lay the pastry lid on them and press to seal the edges. Crimp the edges with your fingers.
- Bake: Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and bake for 35 minutes (1 hour for a large pie for 12, covering with foil if it browns too quickly) or until the pastry is crisp and golden and the filling is piping hot.
Notes
- Serves 12: 175g butter, 6 leeks, 175g flour, 600ml apple juice, 900ml stock, 450g mushrooms, 2 tbsp mustard, 2 tbsp thyme, 6 tbsp crème fraîche, 1.5kg chicken, 2 x 500g puff pastry, 2 eggs.
FAQs
Can I make this pie ahead of time?
Berry’s prepare ahead note says the pie can be assembled up to 1 day in advance, ready to bake. It also freezes well at that stage for up to 2 months. Don’t egg wash the pastry until you’re ready to bake, or it goes soggy sitting in the fridge.
Her Family Sunday Lunches (2016) shortcrust version says it can be assembled up to 8 hours ahead. Either way, take the pie out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking so the filling isn’t ice cold when it hits the oven, otherwise the pastry will be done before the centre is hot.
What is the difference between Berry’s chicken and leek pie versions?
Berry has three distinct versions. This Cooks Up a Feast (2019) recipe uses puff pastry with apple juice and chicken stock sauce, thyme, Dijon mustard and portabella mushrooms. It’s the richest and most flavourful.
Her Cookery Course (2015) version swaps the apple juice for milk, uses tarragon instead of thyme, adds Cheddar cheese to the sauce, and uses chestnut mushrooms. It’s more of a classic white sauce approach. Her Family Sunday Lunches (2016) version is the only one with homemade shortcrust pastry, adds carrots and lemon juice, and skips the mushrooms entirely. Three different pies, all worth making.
Can I use shortcrust pastry instead of puff?
Berry herself does exactly this in Family Sunday Lunches (2016). Her homemade shortcrust uses 350g plain flour, 175g butter, 1 egg and 3 tablespoons of water, processed until it comes together. She bakes it hotter at 220°C/200°C fan for 25-30 minutes rather than the 35 minutes for puff.
Puff gives a lighter, flakier top that puffs up dramatically. Shortcrust gives a firmer, more robust lid that slices more neatly. I prefer puff for a pie dish with no base, and shortcrust if I want clean portions at a dinner party.
Why does Berry use apple juice in the sauce?
Most chicken pie recipes use milk or stock or both. Berry’s apple juice adds a gentle sweetness that lifts the whole filling without tasting fruity. It works because apple and chicken are natural partners in cooking, the same reason roast chicken goes so well with apple sauce.
The Cookery Course (2015) version uses 300ml milk and 300ml stock instead, which gives a richer, more traditional white sauce. If you can’t get apple juice, swap it for the same quantity of extra chicken stock, but the pie will taste more savoury and less rounded.
How do I stop the pastry going soggy on the bottom?
Berry only uses a pastry lid on this pie, not a pastry base. The filling sits in the dish and the puff pastry goes on top. This avoids the soggy bottom problem entirely because the pastry is up in the hot air of the oven, not sitting underneath wet filling.
If you want a full pastry case, Berry’s shortcrust version in Family Sunday Lunches would work better because shortcrust holds up to moisture. She also says to chill the assembled pie for an hour before baking, which firms the pastry and gives it a better chance against the hot filling.
