How to batch-bake pies for the freezer
Assemble pies in foil or metal dishes with fully cooled filling, freeze them unbaked and unwrapped until solid, then wrap tightly and label with the date and baking instructions. Freezing unbaked gives the best pastry on the day of eating, and pies keep well for up to 3 months at minus 18C (0F).
By the chickenpie.net test kitchen · Published 2 September 2026
Unbaked beats baked
You can freeze a pie before or after baking, but the results differ. Frozen unbaked, the pie does all its browning and crisping fresh on the day it is eaten, and the pastry is indistinguishable from a same-day pie. Frozen baked, it only ever reheats, and reheated pastry never quite recovers its first crispness. Bake-then-freeze earns its place only when you want portions that go from freezer to plate in half an hour.
The non-negotiable in either case is a completely cold filling at assembly. Warm filling steams the raw pastry before the freezer can save it, and it drags the freezer's temperature up, slowing the freeze for everything else in there.
Step by step
A sensible batch is four to six pies from one large pot of filling and a double or triple quantity of pastry. Small pies batch especially well; a recipe for make-ahead mini party chicken pies is built around exactly this freeze-then-bake routine.
- Make the filling first and cool it completely, ideally overnight in the fridge.
- Make the pastry in batches no larger than your food processor or your patience can handle well.
- Assemble the pies in metal or foil dishes, which survive freezer-to-oven baking. Avoid glass and ceramic.
- Seal and crimp as normal but do not egg wash. The glaze goes on just before baking, where it works better.
- Open-freeze the pies unwrapped on a level shelf until solid, about 4 hours.
- Wrap each frozen pie tightly in a double layer of cling film or foil, or bag them, pressing out the air.
- Label with contents, date, and the baking line: 190C (375F), 60 to 75 minutes from frozen.
- Use within 3 months for best texture and flavour.
What freezes badly
Most chicken pie fillings freeze well, but a few ingredients protest. Plain potatoes can turn grainy, sauces thickened only with cornflour may thin on reheating, and very creamy sauces sometimes split, though a flour-based veloute survives intact. Lean on roux-thickened sauces and add any cream on the generous side of stable.
Filo is the exception among pastries: it freezes poorly once assembled over a wet filling. Freeze the filling alone and top it fresh on the day.