Ghost Chicken Pot Pie: An Easy Halloween Dinner

Halloween season is busy! Between costumes, school parties, and trick-or-treating, we need a dinner that is cozy, filling, and doesn’t take all night. Enter this ghost chicken pot pie. It’s our classic homemade chicken pot pie with one fun little twist: instead of a regular top crust, we cut out ghosts with a cookie cutter and let them float right on top.

It’s such a hit with our kids and they love taking little bites out of the ghosts!

Why We Love This Ghost Chicken Pot Pie

• It’s real comfort food. Tender seasoned chicken, carrots, celery, and peas in a thick, creamy sauce.
• The ghosts make it festive without any extra cooking skills. If you can use a cookie cutter, you can make this.
• Kids can help. Cutting out and placing the ghosts is the perfect job for little hands.
• Store-bought crust is totally fine. We use refrigerated pie crusts to keep it easy on a weeknight.

What You’ll Need

Just the ingredients in the recipe card below, a 9-inch glass pie plate (Amazon or Target) (we love glass so you can peek at the bottom crust), a large skillet, and a ghost cookie cutter (on Amazon, or grab this Halloween cutter set from Target with a bat and pumpkin too). Any size works, but a medium ghost (about 2 to 3 inches) covers the pie nicely with a few cute gaps. You’ll also want a plain drinking straw for punching out the eyes.

Tips for the Ghost Crust

• Overlap the ghosts a little. The small gaps between them let steam escape, so you can skip cutting slits.
• Use a straw for the eyes. Press a straw straight down into each ghost twice to punch out two little eye holes. The kids love this part, and the holes double as steam vents!
• Keep the dough cold. If the crust gets soft and sticky, pop it in the fridge for 5 minutes and the ghosts will cut out cleaner.
• Re-roll the scraps once to get a few extra ghosts.
• Watch the bake. Ghosts are thinner than a full crust, so start checking around 25 minutes and cover the edges with foil if they brown too fast.
• Make it ahead. Make the filling earlier in the day, refrigerate it, then assemble and bake at dinnertime (add a few extra minutes to the bake).

Ghost Chicken Pot Pie

A classic, creamy homemade chicken pot pie topped with cookie cutter ghosts for an easy, kid-approved Halloween dinner.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Filling

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast diced into small pieces
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup frozen peas

Chicken Seasoning

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground thyme

Sauce

• 1/3 cup butter plus about 1 tablespoon butter or oil for browning the chicken
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 2/3 cup milk

Crust

• 2 (9-inch) unbaked pie crusts
• 1 egg beaten, for brushing the ghosts

Method

 

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Season the chicken. Place the diced chicken in a bowl and toss with ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ⅛ teaspoon ground thyme.
3. Brown the chicken. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1 tablespoon butter or oil and the seasoned chicken. Cook 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. It does not need to be cooked through yet. Remove the chicken and set aside.
4. Cook the vegetables. In the same skillet, melt the ⅓ cup butter. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and the vegetables start to soften.
5. Make the roux. Stir in the flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon thyme. Cook and stir for about 1 minute.
6. Make the sauce. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, then the milk. Keep stirring until smooth.
7. Thicken. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce is thick and creamy.
8. Add the chicken and peas. Stir the browned chicken and frozen peas into the sauce just until combined and the peas are warmed through.
9. Assemble the pie. Place one pie crust into a 9-inch glass pie plate (or Target). Pour in the filling and spread it evenly. Fold or crimp the edge of the bottom crust.
10. Cut out the ghosts. Unroll the second pie crust and cut out as many ghosts as you can with a ghost cookie cutter (or Target). Use a straw to punch out two little eye holes in each ghost. Arrange them on top of the filling, overlapping slightly. The gaps between the ghosts (and the eye holes!) let steam escape, so no slits needed!
11. Brush the ghosts. Lightly brush the tops of the ghosts with the beaten egg so they bake up shiny and golden. No pastry brush needed: the back of a spoon or clean fingers work perfectly.
12. Bake. Bake at 425°F for 30 to 35 minutes, until the ghosts are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. If the edges get too brown, loosely cover them with foil.
13. Rest before serving. Let the pot pie cool 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Pie crust ghosts are thinner than a full top crust, so start checking at 25 minutes. Leftover dough scraps can be re-rolled once for a few extra ghosts.

More Halloween Fun

Pair this spooky dinner with our Marshmallow Ghost Chocolate Milk and finish with Brownie Bats and Milk for a full ghostly menu. Looking for something to do after dinner? Our DIY Ghost Garland is a sweet craft to make together.

Will you be making ghost pot pie this Halloween? Let us know in the comments what shapes your kids want to try next!