Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie Soup (Weeknight Easy!)
Developed and tested by Robyn Conley Downs
on Nov 8, 2016 (last updated Jul 11, 2025) 
If you love the cozy, nostalgic taste of chicken pot pie but want an easier way to get it on the table, this Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie Soup is for you. It’s creamy, comforting, and hands-off, just toss in simple ingredients, walk away, and come home to a bowl of a lightened-up classic comfort (with a dairy-free option if you need it)!
5 star review
“ This is a winner! I am adding it to my regular rotation. Thank you. Both hubby and I love it.”
– Vanessa
Chicken Pot Pie, Lightened Up + Weeknight Dinner Easy!
Guys. This chicken pot pie is lightened up, made without canned soup, and tastes ahhhhhhmazing. Okay, so it’s not exactly chicken pot pie, as it clearly doesn’t have the pastry topping (thought, BTW, if that’s more of your vibe you’re going to love my chicken & stuffing casserole – seriously it’s amazing!). But it is just like the filling of a pot pie, and full of all the good stuff: juicy chunks of chicken, tons of vegetables, and a creamy, savory sauce.
This recipe is actually comes from a reader request, and at first I had no idea how to recreate such a rich, heavy dish, especially one that’s usually made in the oven. After several failed trails, however, I settled on this version, which is packed with chicken, vegetables, and a creamy broth that comes together with the addition of cream or coconut milk for my dairy-free friends. I couldn’t be more excited with how it worked out! It really couldn’t be simpler, which is exactly my philosophy around here. Crockpot meals are great for busy weeks when you feel short on time.
The broth itself is light, since it doesn’t use flour as a thickener, but the flavor is still there and it maintains the same spirit of its heavier, cream-based cousin. I purposely left the ingredient list short on this one so you can whip it up any night of the week without fuss. It also freezes well, so if you have leftovers and don’t feel like eating it over and over, simply pop a few single servings in the freezer and enjoy it later in the month. I have a feeling this will become a new weeknight staple, due to its ease of preparation and amazing flavor. I hope you’ll make it soon!
this recipe is…
Dairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreePaleoWhole30
Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie Soup (Weeknight Easy!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 3 cups chopped carrot
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 32- oz chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ¾ cup heavy cream (or full-fat coconut milk for dairy-free)
Equipment
Instructions
- Add the onion, carrot, celery, salt and chicken stock to a 6-quart slow cooker, stirring to combine. Add the chicken and bay leaf, stirring again.
- Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours, or until the veggies are very tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken and cut into 1-inch pieces or shred with two forks. Add the chicken back to the slow cooker along with the cream and peas (if using). Keep on warm for 5 minutes for the peas to warm through. Taste and add additional salt if desired.
Notes
- Instant Pot: Add the onion, carrot, celery, salt and chicken stock to a 6-quart pressure cooker, stirring to combine. Add the chicken and bay leaf, stirring again. Secure the lid, select the manual setting, and set it to high pressure for 15 minutes for raw chicken or 20 minutes for frozen chicken. If chicken is frozen be sure it’s spread in an even layer and stuck together. When the pressure cooker timer is done, quick release the pressure. Remove the chicken and cut into 1-inch pieces or shred with two forks. Add the chicken back to the pressure cooker along with the coconut milk and peas (if using). Taste and add additional salt if desired.
- Topping: For a more authentic pot pie experience, serve with crusty bread, or biscuits for topping and dunking.
Hi Robyn!
You are my cooking hero! The ease of your recipes and short ingredient lists make it possible for me to continue cooking/eating healthy with a brand new 3 month baby. Your recipes were also perfect when coming home exhausted from a long day of work. I tell everyone I know about your weekly meal plans and site. Thank you for sharing your genius! Question – have you tried dropping the 5 ingredient drop biscuits on the pot pie for the last 30 or so minutes? I’m debating trying but don’t want to ruin dinner with an experiment. 😉 Thanks!
Diana, wow, thank you so much for your kind words. I’m thrilled to hear the recipes are working for you and your family! Funny you ask about those drop biscuits, I developed them with the idea that they could be used with the slow cooker pot pie, sort of a chicken and dumpling situation. I haven’t tried it yet, though, and I’m not sure how long they’d take to cook. I’ll experiment with it and let you know how it turns out. If you give it a try let me know! 🙂
The chicken and dumplings sound like a great idea! I had promised the hubs pot pie so I ended up getting refrigerator crescent rolls and laying a sheet on top after I added the peas and coconut milk. I also only used about 20 oz of stock and ladled out about 1-2 cups to make it creamier and less watery. The dough took about 1 hour on high to get nice and golden and the whole thing was delish! I’d love a real food substitute for the crescent roll topping though! 😉
These are awesome notes, Diana! I will start working on one! 🙂
Hi. Do you know the nutritional info on this yummy dish?
Hi Grace, we focus on real food so no nutritional numbers. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
This is a winner! I am adding it to my regular rotation. Thank you. Both hubby and i love it. I hope our toddler does too.
Yay, so glad you all enjoyed! 🙂
Hi Robyn, do you know if this recipe can be doubled in a 6 quart slow cooker? Thanks! Lynne
Lynne, I haven’t tried it, but off the top of my head I think it would work. You may need to add an extra hour or two because it will take longer to come to a simmer due to the extra liquid. If you try it let us know how it turns out! 🙂
This was absolutely fantastic! Everyone loved it even without the biscuits. Next time we’ll give the biscuits a try too1
Sarah, yay, so glad you all enjoyed!
I made this last night and it was a huge hit with the entire family! My daughter never ever eats soup and she loved it!
Amy, that’s fantastic. So glad you all enjoyed! 🙂
Hi Robyn! This sounds great, but in addition to being GF/DF/nut-free, I also can’t do coconut. Any suggested replacements for the coconut milk? The milk I typically use in recipes is a rice milk, but that tends to be thin. I was also thinking I could try adding some GF flour as a thickener to the broth? Thanks!
Jenny, can you do arrowroot? If so, whisk a few tablespoons together with a few tablespoons of the hot broth, then pour it back in during the last half hour of cook time (you want it to come back to a simmer to thicken). If you can’t do arrowroot, gf flour would also work, though you might taste a bit of the raw flour taste. You could whisk a few tablespoons of the gf flour with a few tablespoons of fat or your choice in a sauce pan over medium heat, then add a cup of broth, whisk, then add the entire thing back to the soup. Hope this helps!
Robyn Can I and how would I sub Lactaid for coconut milk ? Thanks for all these amazing recipies Amy
Amy, hmmmm, I think Lactaid would be very thin as compared to coconut milk and wouldn’t add that creamy flavor. I don’t think it would taste bad, I just think it might be a little thin. If you could give it a try, though, and let us know how it turns out!
I can’t find coconut milk in a can. I did find coconut milk in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Is this the same thing? What section of the store would canned coconut milk be in?
Ali, the coconut milk beverage in the refrigerated section won’t work–it’s a totally different thing. Look for canned coconut milk in the Asian section or ethnic foods aisle of your store. I’ve been able to find it even in small towns, so hopefully it won’t be too hard to track down. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you! I was able to find the canned coconut milk in the Asian section. I am looking forward to sticking this in the crockpot tomorrow morning!
Yay, hope you enjoyed Ali!
Hi there! Wondering if you could add potatoes to this? If so, would I need to add any more broth or coconut milk?
Hi Jennifer, I think small diced potatoes would work well in this one! I don’t think you’d need to add more broth, though it depends on how much potato you add. You can always add a splash more broth after cooking if you want to thin it out a bit. Hope you enjoy!
Hello, In looking at the photo I wonder what the ingredient is in the middle next to the salt? Garlic maybe?
I originally tested this recipe with 2 cloves chopped garlic (which is when I took the photo) but decided it wasn’t totally necessary (I’m always trying to reduce the total number of ingredients when I can). That said, if you love garlic feel free to add 2 cloves chopped along with the ingredients listed in step one. Hope you enjoy!
Can’t wait to make this! Any chance you could share the nutritional information? Thanks!!
I don’t have nutritional info for my recipes, Julie, but some people do enter them into online calculators for ballpark info. Hope you enjoy this one!
After you add the coconut milk and peas do you continue cooking it?
Melissa, nope. Just give it a stir. The heat from the stew will defrost the peas. Stir and serve.
Have you every added tapioca flour at the end to thicken?
Erika, I haven’t. I know arrowroot starch will work. Just add 2 Tb to 2 Tb of the cooking liquid in a bowl, whisk to combine, then add back to the hot mixture and allow to cook until thicker.
What to substitute if you can not have coconut milk
Hi Trudy, heavy cream or half and half would work in place of the coconut milk.
I made this for dinner last night (first time using my Instant Pot!). I admit I was skeptical given how few ingredients there are (i did add thyme) but it was absolutely delicious and satisfies my hot soup comfort food craving on a bitter cold night!
Jennifer, yay, so glad it was a hit!
Do you think this works just fine without slow cooking it? I wanted to just make this quickly tonight.. so I was thinking cook the chicken, steam veggies, add it all into a pot to let it cook with the broth and coconut milk for a little, then serve?
Elisa, I actually have a stovetop version for this recipe as well. Here it is!
Hi. Love this one! I’m wondering what the nutritional information is on this? Serving size, calories, etc?? Thanks
Hi Stefanie, I don’t have the moment! Hope you still enjoy it!
Hi Robyn, can you add cubed potatoes to the pot pie recipe?
Heather, I haven’t tried but I think that could work!
This recipe was so delicious!! I will be making it again and again, thank you. I still do miss the dumplings, but definitely gives me the comfort food vibes I am looking for while keeping healthy lifestyle in mind. 🙌
Megan, yay, so glad you enjoyed this one!
Hello,
I was wondering if the finished product is supposed to be watery? Mine is like a soup. Thank you.
Hi Cathleen, I wouldn’t say it’s supposed to be watery–it should be more stew-like in consistency. You might try thickening it with a tablespoon of arrowroot or cornstarch stirred together with 1/4 cup broth, then adding that into the slow cooker or instant pot and allowing to thicken.
Hi Robyn, haven’t made this yet, but my husband loves chx pot pies! Just curious if you can taste the coconut flavor in the finished product? I love anything coconut but he’s not a big fan. Thanks 😊
Hi Karolyn, the majority of people who’ve made this recipe report they can’t detect any coconut flavor in the final dish. A few people who are super sensitive do still notice it. You can also use unsweetened, unflavored non-dairy creamer or regular 1/2 and 1/2 in place of the coconut milk if you’re on the fence. Hope you enjoy!
Made this tonight and it turned out great! Could not taste any coconut flavor from the milk (I was nervous about that). I added 1/8 cup flour at the end to thicken a bit. Served over homemade biscuits. Thank you!
Jamie, yay, so glad you enjoyed. Love the idea of adding a little flour to thicken up the sauce. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
More like chicken soup than pot pie, and without a crust the title is deceiving. It will not thicken with the ingredients as listed…maybe if the broth was cut or add a thickening agent (not listed). It was also a bit bland and could use some herbs to give it more depth.
Robyn,
Could you use almond milk?
Jen, you can but it will definitely impact the consistency – the sauce will be much thiner. It should still taste good, as long as you like the taste of the almond milk to begin with.
Another RFWL hit!! Robyn you are a recipe master. The peas are everything, so do not skip this part (unless you hate peas). This fed my family of 6 and it was all gone. This is going in the fall/winter rotation for sure!
You’re too kind, Amy! This is one is a fav around here, too. So happy you all enjoyed this one, and thanks so much for leaving a review!
This was absolutely delicious! I was a little skeptical about the coconut milk (and I love coconut milk), but it really gave it that pot pie flavor! I will definitely make this again, regardless of a Whole30.
Remy, yay, so happy you enjoyed this one, and I agree, it’s surprising how the coconut milk isn’t really noticeable in this recipe, but still adds creamy flavor. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
Can you use frozen chicken breast for this if cooking low and slow in the crockpot?
Thanks!
Hi Tara, for food safety reasons I can’t recommend cooking chicken from frozen in the slow cooker, so if possible I recommend thawing the chicken overnight in the freezer prior to adding to the slow cooker.
Thanks for the quick reply! That makes sense. Can’t wait to try it tomorrow, after the chicken thaws, lol.
I’ll update after. Thx again!
Wonderful, Tara, I hope you enjoy!
Wow this was just 10/10! Made this with frozen chicken in the instant pot. I just sauted the veggies then put everything in besides the peas and coconut milk and then cooked for 20 minutes and added everything else at the end. Accidentally used a whole can of coconut milk without thinking but man it was like the best mistake ever. SO YUMMY! 100% recommend and this recipe will be made again soon!
Lexi, yay, so happy to hear you enjoyed this one and thanks for the tip on using the Instant Pot, so helpful. And love the happy mistake of using the whole can of coconut milk. Yum! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for leaving a review!