Traditional Greek chicken pie combines tender chicken and Carolina rice with crisp, golden homemade phyllo for a hearty, comforting dish.
Chef Dimitris Tziovaras returns to the familiar flavors and aromas of Greek home cooking with the traditional chicken pie he learned from his mother, Maroula.
This is the kind of pie that evokes a Greek family kitchen, with a juicy filling and crisp homemade phyllo. It brings to mind Sunday lunch, a warm baking pan straight from the oven and the simple pleasure of sharing food around the table.
This traditional Greek chicken pie with rice is made with a whole boiled chicken, Carolina rice, homemade chicken broth and six sheets of homemade phyllo.
Recipe by: Dimitris Tziovaras
Pan: Round, 38–40 cm
Servings: 10–12
Prep time: About 2 hours
Baking time: 70–85 minutes
Ingredients for traditional Greek chicken pie
For the chicken and broth
- 1 whole chicken, about 1.8–2 kg
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 bay leaf
- 6–8 black peppercorns
- salt
- water, as needed
For the filling
- all the boiled chicken, deboned and shredded
- 200 g Carolina rice
- 2 large onions, finely chopped
- 600 ml hot chicken broth
- 2 eggs
- 70 ml olive oil
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
For the homemade phyllo
- 700 g all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 60 ml olive oil
- 370–400 ml lukewarm water
- extra flour for rolling
For the pan
- 130–150 ml olive oil for brushing the phyllo and the pan
- a little water for sprinkling
How to make traditional Greek chicken pie with rice and homemade phyllo
Cook the chicken
Place the chicken in a large pot and add the onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, peppercorns and a little salt.
Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.
Skim off any foam, reduce the heat and simmer for about 60–75 minutes, until the chicken is tender and the meat pulls easily away from the bones.
Remove the chicken from the pot and leave it to cool.
Strain the broth and reserve 600 ml for the filling.
Carefully debone the chicken, removing the skin, bones and cartilage. Pull the meat apart by hand into small shreds without chopping it too finely.
Prepare the filling
Heat the 70 ml olive oil in a wide pot.
Add the finely chopped onions and cook over low heat for 10–12 minutes, until soft and sweet, without allowing them to brown too much.
Add the rice and stir it in the oil for 1 minute.
Pour in the hot chicken broth and add a little pepper.
Simmer for 7–8 minutes.
The rice should be only partially cooked and the mixture should remain quite juicy.
Remove from the heat and add the shredded chicken.
Stir and allow the filling to cool completely.
Once cool, add the two lightly beaten eggs.
Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
The filling should be juicy but there should be no loose liquid.
Make the homemade phyllo
Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
Add the salt, vinegar and olive oil.
Gradually add the lukewarm water and knead for about 8–10 minutes, until you have a smooth, soft and elastic dough that does not stick to your hands.
Do not add all the water at once, as different flours absorb different amounts of liquid.
Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape them into balls.
Lightly brush them with olive oil, cover and leave to rest for at least 40 minutes.
Roll out the phyllo
Flour the work surface well and use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a thin, round sheet of phyllo.
The three sheets for the bottom should be larger than the pan so that their edges extend well beyond the sides.
The top sheets can be slightly smaller.
The phyllo does not need to be transparent.
It should be thin but strong enough to hold the juicy filling.
Assemble the Greek chicken pie
Oil the pan well, paying particular attention to the bottom and sides.
Lay the first large sheet of phyllo in the pan, allowing the edges to hang over the sides.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Add the second and third sheets in the same way, lightly oiling between each layer.
Add the filling and spread it evenly without pressing it down too firmly.
Cover with the remaining three sheets of phyllo, oiling each one separately. Do not stretch them. Allow them to form natural folds so that they become crispier as they bake.
Fold the overhanging edges of the bottom sheets inward to form a thick rim around the pie.
Carefully score only the top layers of phyllo into portions, without allowing the knife to reach the bottom of the pan.
Brush with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle the surface with a little water.
Bake the chicken pie
Preheat the oven thoroughly to 170°C, conventional heat.
Place the chicken pie on the lowest oven rack and bake for 70–85 minutes, until deeply golden and beginning to pull slightly away from the sides of the pan.
If using a convection oven, reduce the temperature to 160°C.
If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover it with parchment paper and continue baking as usual.
Do not increase the oven temperature.
A rustic Greek pie needs a low temperature and patience so that all the layers of phyllo cook through, right down to the bottom.
Remove the pie from the oven and leave it uncovered for 25–30 minutes before slicing.
How do you keep Greek chicken pie juicy inside and crispy outside?
Three things make the difference to the texture of this Greek chicken pie. The filling must be completely cool, the rice should remain only partially cooked before going into the pie, and the pie should be left uncovered once it comes out of the oven.
The filling must be completely cool. If it is added to the phyllo while still warm, it will make the pastry soggy.
The rice should not be fully cooked in the pot. It will finish cooking inside the pie while absorbing the flavorful chicken broth.
Leave the chicken pie uncovered after baking. Trapped steam will soften the crisp phyllo.
What type of rice is best for Greek chicken pie?
This traditional Greek chicken pie is made with Carolina rice. In Dimitris Tziovaras’ recipe, the rice cooks in the chicken broth for 7–8 minutes and remains partially cooked so that it can finish cooking inside the pie.
Do you cook the rice before adding it to chicken pie?
For this Greek chicken pie, the rice goes into the filling neither raw nor fully cooked. It simmers in the chicken broth for 7–8 minutes until partially cooked, then finishes cooking as the pie bakes.
How long do you bake Greek chicken pie with homemade phyllo?
Bake the Greek chicken pie for 70–85 minutes at 170°C using conventional heat, on the lowest oven rack. If using a convection oven, reduce the temperature to 160°C.
