There’s not many meals that are more delicious than mini chicken and leek pies, it’s comfort food at it’s finest; a creamy chicken filling wrapped in flaky pastry. Heaven!
I inherited my pie maker from my mother-in-law — one of those little kitchen gadgets I wasn’t sure I’d use… until I did. Now it’s a regular part of our meal rotation, especially for quick dinners or lunchbox-friendly leftovers.
You can absolutely make this chicken and leek filling into one big family-sized pie (and it’s delicious that way too), but there’s just something fun about these mini pies. They’re cute, perfectly portioned, and a total hit with the kids. The creamy chicken filling is comforting and packed with flavour, and the puff pastry turns golden and flaky in the pie maker.
Whether you’re feeding the family or stashing a few for the freezer, this is a recipe you’ll come back to again and again.
How to make mini chicken and leek pies
- Prep your gear and pastry
Get your pie maker out and ready to go, but don’t turn it on just yet — we’ll get to that soon. Take your puff pastry sheets out of the freezer so they can start to defrost while you make the filling.
- Make the creamy leek base
Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Once it’s bubbling, add the chopped leek and cook for around 5 minutes, stirring often, until it’s soft and glossy. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute — this helps thicken your sauce later. Slowly pour in the stock, a little at a time, stirring constantly to keep it smooth and lump-free. You’re looking for a silky sauce here.
- Add the creamy goodness
Pour in the cream and let the sauce bubble gently for a few minutes. Stir through the cooked chicken, peas, and corn. Then remove from the heat and add a good squeeze of lemon juice — it brightens everything up beautifully.
- Build your pies
Cut each sheet of puff pastry into quarters. Place one quarter into each hole of the pie maker, pressing gently to cover the base and sides. Spoon in the warm filling (don’t overfill or you’ll get a pastry explosion!). Top each with another pastry quarter for the lid. You can trim the edges now or wait until they’re cooked — pie makers are forgiving like that.
- Cook to golden perfection
Close the pie maker and turn it on. Most pie makers have a light that turns off when they’re done, but keep an eye out — they’re usually ready in 10–15 minutes. They should be golden, crispy, and piping hot.
- Serve and enjoy!
Carefully lift the pies out and serve with some simple steamed veggies or a fresh salad. They also freeze beautifully if you want to stash a few for later.
Mini chicken and leek pies
Ingredients
1 leek, thinly sliced
50g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
300ml chicken stock
100ml thickened cream
300g shredded, cooked BBQ chicken
75g frozen peas and corn
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and Pepper
4 sheets of puff pastry
Instructions
- Get your pie maker out and at the ready. Don’t turn it on just yet. Defrost your puff pastry.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the leek for five minutes until softened. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute, then stir in the stock a little at a time, to make a smooth sauce.
- Add in the cream, and cook until the sauce starts to bubble. Stir in the chicken and peas and corn. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.
- Cut the pastry into quarters, and place one quarter onto the pie maker until all holes are covered for the bases. Fill with filling and then place another quarter on top. Trim if needed (with pie makers sometimes it’s easier to trim once cooked). Cook until cooked through (the pie maker will usually turn the light off when it’s cooked).
- Serve with vegetables!
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I think I need a pie maker in my life – this looks delicious!
You do! Sorry waistline!
I’ll see your fussy eater and raise you an even fussier eater!!! My miss 7 is the worst. So sadly I don’t have any answers for you in that department…..I’d suggest one of those cute dinner plates that has a little trail of compartments leading up to a treat (which could be a healthy treat of course) and just put the tiniest morsel of something in each and gradually increase it. I’ll be checking back to read others advice!
Oh we have that plate. I’m sure she’ll just tear open the treat section and have a tantrum. Gah!
I am with you – why oh why must dinner roll around EVERY single night particularly when your energy has been sucked out all day. Thankfully my husband does 90% of the cooking and he is an awesome cook. Raya went through a very fussy period when she was 2 and we were travelling where all of a sudden she wanted only white things – white bread, plain white pasta. Apparently their tastebuds change and things can taste quite bitter for them – an old survival tool. We still gave new foods but on the plate with things we knew she liked. She grew out of it.
Ah, that’s interesting. That would make sense that tastebuds have changed, because she does want plain things – perhaps bolognese meat is too rich?
Thanks for sharing. x
Yum – you could also do this in a jaffle maker/sandwich maker. Puff pastry in those things rocks. Just like pies but different shape!
That is a brilliant idea!
We do “dinner” at lunch time and then a pick plate at dinner time to help with our pain in the bum toddler. Only works because I’m home with her though. We do the main meal at lunchtime when I’m not so rushed and cranky so that at the crazy 6pm I can just give her a little platter of crackers, cheese, a bit of protein, piece of fruit kind of thing. Sometimes a smoothie on the side. Her lunch is normally hot leftovers of whatever we ate the night before. Seems to work currently! She definitely is less fussy when she isn’t as tired.
THIS IS THE BEST ADVICE EVER.
Thank you. This is what I do sometimes to, and I love that others do the same. x
Yum I’d like these too & a pie maker! I’m with you on the dinner time tedium. My 7 year old is the fussy one (maybe it’s a second child thing). There is no logic behind what she likes and doesn’t, now I’m convinced she does it just to mess with my mind!
I agree! It’s unpredictable. You can just a jaffle-maker for the pies if you like. 🙂
Breakfast for dinner! Bacon, eggs, tomato etc. I’ll generally do that once a week:)
I like it!
Welll, good luck with that! When my daughter was young, the only thing she would eat was marmite sandwiches and the occasional satsuma. She only ate these things until she was about 12, and started getting invited out with friends. She is now 34 and has never eaten eggs, gravy or vegetables…….
Oh my goodness, that would have sent me batty. The good thing is Lulu has liked veggies in the past, she’s just going through a ‘moment’!
Now, I’m off to Google ‘satsuma’. x
My 6 yr old changes from day to day. I’ll give her something that she has eaten for years and she’ll say “Mmmm. No. I don’t like that today.” Very annoying when you are cooking something she ate last week.
I’m wondering if these would work in a muffin tin?
I did them in a muffin tin. Worked perfectly. Super yummy too.
I have a 6 year old that is very picky, always has been. She eats a very limited range of food, basically sausages, chicken drumsticks, carrot that is raw, cos baby lettuce that is crunchy, broccoli steamed and hot chips…thats it really! If I don’t give her these things for a while she stops eating them so I try to always give her things from the above list plus one new thing to try. Every now and then we have success, she has recently taken to like eating tacos so i think we are coming out of it…although slowly.