Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies — Or make ’em with leftover turkey!

These easy Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies are straight up comfort food for a chilly day — and, they’re also great with leftover turkey!

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Remember the other day when I made a simple roast chicken, and then was mentioning some of the additional great meals you can put together with leftover cooked chicken? Leftover chicken is just the best — as are these Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies that I scratched up with my own cooked shredded chicken leftovers this week. (This would be a great use for leftover turkey after Thanksgiving, too!)

What inspired these hand pies today? Well, I recently saw a recipe for hand pies using refrigerated pie crust, deli turkey, Swiss cheese, and sliced pear in a magazine, and the idea of making hand pies stuck in my head. But, I had no deli turkey, Swiss, or pear on hand (and am a little unsure on the Swiss/pear combo)… and then I lost the recipe I tore out to refer to later…

So instead, I thought I’d just make up my own hand pies using ingredients from my refrigerator. Winner, winner, chicken hand pie dinner! This here is an completely unapologetic comfort food recipe, because it’s raining, it’s cold, the trees are getting bare already, and it was just that kind of day around here.

Perhaps (as I did…) you wasted some of your misspent youth eating Hot Pockets? These chicken broccoli cheddar hand pies are kind of like those, but taken to a whole. other. level. — and without the weird chemical aftertaste. You could even make these slightly better by making your own pie crust, but I took the easy way out by using refrigerated. Comfort food mission, accomplished!

Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies

Ingredients

1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 of a medium yellow onion, diced
2 cups fresh broccoli florets, chopped small (about half of the 1 lb pack at ALDI)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1.5 cups cooked shredded chicken
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
One box refrigerated pie crust (both crusts)
One egg

Directions

Remove cream cheese from the refrigerator and place it on the counter to soften about 20 minutes before you start cooking. When you’re ready to begin, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and remove pie crusts from the refrigerator to soften as directed on the box.

Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat it over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook for two minutes. Add broccoli florets, garlic, and crushed red pepper, then saute for about five more minutes, until broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender.

Meanwhile, combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chicken, sea salt, black pepper, paprika, and thyme in a large bowl, then stir in the broccoli once it is cooked.

Unroll the pie crusts and cut each into 4-8 equal wedges, so that you have 8-16 pieces total between the two crusts.*

Spoon equal amounts of the chicken/broccoli mixture into the center of half of the pie crust wedges, and top each with a second matching wedge. Fold the edges over on each and crimp them together so that the filling doesn’t leak out, then arrange the hand pies on a rimmed baking sheet.

Beat one egg with 1 tsp water to make an egg wash. Brush each hand pie with the egg wash, and cut a couple of small slits in the top of each to let steam escape. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, or until hand pies are golden brown.

Note: I cut my pie crusts into quarters, which were big for one person — I’d suggest going with sixths instead, and therefore am calling this a recipe that serves six. You can also cut the crusts into eighths to make 8 smaller hand pies, especially if you’re serving kids.

Hand Pies… Hand Pies… Hand Pies — Eat those crazy hand pies!

What a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken! These chicken broccoli cheddar hand pies are super filling and super comforting on a cool fall day, and have a lot going on with their creamy cheesy filling, chewy chicken & broccoli, and flaky pie crust. (These are also great made with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving…)

Since hand pies are on the heavier side, I suggest just serving them with fruit or a simple green salad for a complete meal.

Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies, printable recipe

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Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies

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Perhaps (as I did…) you wasted some of your misspent youth eating Hot Pockets? These chicken broccoli cheddar hand pies are kind of like those, but taken to a whole. other. level. — and without the weird chemical aftertaste.

Course dinner

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Rachel Singer

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 of a medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets, chopped small (about half of the 1 lb pack at ALDI)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
• 1.5 cups cooked shredded chicken
• Sea salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• One box refrigerated pie crust (both crusts)
• One egg

Instructions

• Remove cream cheese from the refrigerator and place it on the counter to soften about 20 minutes before you start cooking. 
• When you’re ready to begin, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and remove pie crusts from the refrigerator to soften as directed on the box.
• Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat it over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook for two minutes. 
• Add broccoli florets, garlic, and crushed red pepper, then saute for about five more minutes, until broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender.
• Meanwhile, combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chicken, sea salt, black pepper, paprika, and thyme in a large bowl, then stir in the broccoli once it is cooked.
• Unroll the pie crusts and cut each into 4-8 equal wedges, so that you have 8-16 pieces total between the two crusts.
• Spoon equal amounts of the chicken/broccoli mixture into the center of half of the pie crust wedges, and top each with a second matching wedge.
•  Fold the edges over on each and crimp them together so that the filling doesn’t leak out, then arrange the hand pies on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Beat one egg with 1 tsp water to make an egg wash. Brush each hand pie with the egg wash, and cut a couple of small slits in the top of each to let steam escape. 
• Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, or until hand pies are golden brown.

Notes

I cut my pie crusts into quarters, which were big for one person — I’d suggest going with sixths instead, and therefore am calling this a recipe that serves six. You can also cut the crusts into eighths to make 8 smaller hand pies, especially if you’re serving kids.

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