Kotopita (Greek Chicken Pie)
Think of Kotopita like the Greek version of a Chicken Pot Pie. With a flaky filo crust and feta cheese, this recipe is sure to be a family favorite.
Most people are familiar with Spanakopita, the Greek, filo-crusted, spinach and feta pie. But, what many people don't know is that this spinach pie is just the tip of the Greek savory pie iceberg.
Pita is the general Greek term of a pie, and pitas are a staple comfort food in Greek cuisine. They can be filled with greens, cheese, meat, or even sweet fillings. The crust is most often made of filo (or phyllo) dough, paper-thin pastry sheets that are layered together with butter to create a deliciously flaky and heavenly crispy crust.
Kotopita: A Greek Style Chicken Pot Pie
Kotopita (pronounced KOH-toh-PEE-tah) is one of these traditional Greek filo pies. This hearty, savory pie has a shredded chicken filling. The chicken is mixed with a creamy béchamel sauce and feta cheese, giving the filling a creamy, savory, cheesy flavor that would be out of this world, even if it wasn't wrapped in a light, flaky, crispy filo crust.
One crunch through that crust into the flavorful chicken filling and you are in Greek pie heaven. Move over Spanakopita, we might have just found our new favorite Greek pita.
Working With Filo Dough
Filo (or phyllo) dough sheets can be found in the freezer section of your grocery store, near the frozen pie crust and puff pastry. The paper-thin sheets come in rolls that need to be thawed before you use them.
After unrolling the roll, you will want to keep the dough covered with a tea towel while you are putting together your pie. Since the sheets are so thin, they dry out quickly, and once dry, they become brittle and difficult to work with.
To make serving the pie easier, we like to pre-cut the pie before baking it, that way you don't have to massacre your beautiful, flaky filo crust after it has reached crispy perfection.
Kotopita (Greek Chicken Pie)
Recipe can be doubled to fill a 9x13 baking dish.
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken breast*
- 2 c water
For the Béchamel Sauce
- 5 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
- 2 red onions, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 c milk, warmed
- 1 teaspoon dill
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Putting It All Together
- 3 oz feta cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- 12 sheets filo dough
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Place chicken and water in a medium saucepan. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Remove chicken from the pan and place on a plate to cool. Reserve one cup of chicken broth and set it aside. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle shred it with two forks. Place the shredded chicken in a large bowl and set it aside.
- While the chicken is boiling, prepare the béchamel sauce. Melt 2 tablespoon butter. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until softened over medium high heat, 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoon of flour. Stir until the flour is moistened, then return the pan to the heat. Slowly add the warm milk, mixing continuously. Add 1 c of the chicken boiling liquid (or stock) and mix, heating, until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove the sauce from the heat and mix in the dill, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Pour the sauce over the shredded chicken in the bowl. Add the feta and mix well. Taste the mixture and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste preference. Finally, mix in the beaten egg.
- Melt the remaining 3 tablespoon butter. Brush the bottom and sides of an 8x8 baking dish or deep-dish pie dish with the melted butter. Place two sheets of filo dough, alternating directions, in the bottom of the buttered dish, letting the edges hang over the sides of the dish. Brush the filo with melted butter. Continue with 4 more sheets of dough, brushing with butter every 2 sheets. (You will have used 6 sheets total for the bottom crust.)
- Pour the chicken filling into the center of the dish and spread it evenly. Fold the overhung edges of filo dough over the filling. Brush the top of the folded over sheets with butter.
- Layer the remaining 6 filo sheets over the filling, brushing with butter every two layers. Tuck any overhanging filo dough into the pie to give it a nice smooth top. Finish everything off with a brushing of butter.
- Using a serrated knife, carefully pre-cut the pie into serving-sized pieces, being sure to cut the bottom filo sheets.
- Place the dish into the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, until the center is bubbly and the crust is golden.
- Remove from the oven and let stand 10-15 minutes before serving with a side salad.
Notes
Looking for more Greek recipes? Check out the collection below from some of our favorite bloggers!
Greek Appetizers:
- Spanakopita Bites by My Imperfect Kitchen
Greek Soups:
- Shrimp Avgolemono with Spinach by Monica's Table
- Vegetarian Magiritsa (Greek Easter Soup) by Palatable Pastime
Greek Main Dishes:
- Brizola (Greek-style Pork Chops) by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
- Greek Meatball Salad by Magnolia Days
- Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Roasted Vegetables by Food Lust People Love
- Youvetsi (Greek beef or lamb and orzo stew) by Caroline's Cooking
Greek Desserts:
- Chocolate Baklava by The Chef Next Door
- Greek Wedding Cookies - Kourabiethes/Kourabiedes by La Bella Vita Cucina
- Loukoumades (Greek honey fritters) by The Redhead Baker
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
Sounds wonderful but are you able to make this ahead of time?
Thanks
Christine
Hi Christine. We haven't tried making this ahead of time yet. My worry making it ahead of time is getting the filo crust to crisp back up. If you do make it ahead of time, I would make sure you re-heat it in the oven. And you may need a little broil on the top to crisp it again. (That's how we warmed leftovers, and they turned out pretty well.) If you do give it a try, let us know what you do and how it turns out!
The crust of the pie was almost orgasmic
We do love the combo of the bechamel sauce, feta, and filo pastry. Glad you enjoyed it!
I LOVED IT!
Thanks Rose!
I've never had this. It sounds wonderful!
It's a fun way to have a chicken pie!
This looks lovely,the filo pastry must make a great topping for the pie
Thank you! It makes a wonderfully flaky and crisp topping. We loved it!
oh my word, I just realized while I was reading this, that I have every ingredient in my fridge right now! I can make this delicious looking dinner this week! Yea!
We hope you enjoy it!
This sounds and looks so delicious!!
Thank you!
Oh, boy, this is some fabulous Greek comfort food! I know your chicken pie would be a hit at my house!
Thanks Liz!
I have never heard of this dish, but I will not stop thinking of it now. I must try it!
Thanks Kristen! It's amazing all the versions of Greek filo pie that there are. It makes us kind of sad that we tend to stop at the spinach version. Hopefully that will change now! 🙂
I love pies made with phyllo pastry and bechemel is a favorite too - sounds delicious
Thanks Caroline. We just love the perfectly flaky crust filo makes!
As much as I love Greek food, and consider myself an aficionado, I have never heard of Kotopita - I need to make this pie, stat!
You do Nichole! Making this pie opened up a whole new world of Greek filo pies to us!
This looks so good and sounds so flavorful. I love that its wrapped in crispy phyllo and has dill in the bechamel!
Thanks Shelby!