- 15MINS
- 1HR
- Serves 4
- 403KCAL
Chicken, bacon and leeks in a creamy sauce topped with light mashed potatoes. A comfort food classic that's suitable for diet plans like Weight Watchers!
Can be found in
Comfort Food :
Pages 172-173
Also in these categories:
Easy Peasy 
- Freezable
5
NutritionPer Serving
- Calories403
- Carbs39g
- Protein46g
- Fat6.1g
- Saturates2.2g
- Sugars6g
Your dishes
You’re amazing, look at the Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie dishes you’ve made…
Claire, Hertfordshire
Dennylee, Ayrshire
AngelaES, Home
Debbie, Rhyl
Kim Smith, Milton Keynes
Charlotte Shaw, Nottingham
Rebecca Greatrex, Halesowen
Rich, Capel St Mary
Stef75, Birmingham
Sheila, Gateshead
Melcubby, Wigan
Carly, Bristol
Caroline Williams, Cwmbran Gwent
Linda Dalton, Cumbria
Gillian Megarry, Belfast
Holly, Manchester
Sarah Walters, Suffolk
Lola, North Devon
Julie, Crawley Sussex
Ash, Newcastle
Nicola Clifford, Gloucestershire
AimeeG, Cumbria
MrsYoude, Cardiff
Suzanne Thomas, London
For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff to know in the blurb!
You simply can’t beat a comforting pie, packed full of meat and veggies and ideal for a family dinner! Not only that, the classic combo of chicken and bacon adds a wonderful flavour that’s a little different to your typical chicken pies!
This Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie combines tender chicken pieces with fresh root vegetables in a creamy and indulgent sauce: a hearty dish that you can leave bubbling in the oven and filling your kitchen with a delicious bacony smell!
Because we’ve topped this dish with mashed potato, it’s a really filling and substantial meal, but you can add some freshly steamed vegetable and a glug of gravy to really finish it off.
What diets is this Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie suitable for?
This Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie recipe can be made gluten free if you swap out the following ingredients for gluten free versions:
- Stock cube
Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.
Do you need any special ingredients to make Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie?
Nope, we’ve used simple and wholesome ingredients in this dish which you can easily grab at any supermarket!
Hints & Tips
Below we added some of our communities most common hints and tips. We hope you find them useful.
1
Good old school meal
I swapped out the bacon for leftover cooked gammon and increased the mustard powder to give it more “bite” and to counteract the saltiness. If the sauce is a little thin add a teaspoon of cornflour with the cheese and it thickens nicely
Cottage pie with a twist
Love this recipe, if you find the sauce is a bit thin add a couple of tsp of cornflour and water to thicken it up. Also add some sweetcorn for a bit of colour.
Delicious
Coat chicken in corn flour before cooking to make it ultra tender
1
A perfect winter warmer
I used smoked bacon and it gave it an extra smokey taste.
1
Full of flavour, easy to make and delicious.
I used bacon lardons. It was delicious.
You can change the vegetables if you prefer over flavours!
I don't eat bacon so swapped it for turkey rashers and added mushrooms instead! This recipe is so adaptable and delicious! This also make 4 decent size portions.
Easy to make
I had a cooked chicken that needed using so put it in at the end so it didn't shred
Cooking
When I added the mash on, the filling seemed to rise close to the top so I put the dish on a baking tray in case there was any spillage… I’m glad I did as it here was a little bit of overflow.
Cooked in pans then baked in the air fryer for 15 mins.
Let the sauce reduce fully for a lovely creamy sauce, perfect for batch cooking.
Comfort Food, perfect for autumn evening meal.
Works well with lactose free milk and cream cheese alternatives. Perfect to make in advance and cook at tea time.
Unbelievably tasty
Chopping all the ingredients around the same size works well
A very tasty meal that can be served with salad or vegetables
I added some mixed herbs on top of the potato for extra seasoning instead of salt and pepper.
Beware of leakage
When you have your pie ready to go in the oven, place it on a baking tray to avoid any leakage on the bottom of the oven.
Delicious easy dinner, perfect for make-ahead meals
Also great with chicken thighs!
Used Colcannon mash instead of plain was lovely winner and 2 ready for freezer
I made four individual cottage pies. Two in our tums and two in the freezer for another day.
So easy to make and tasty. Bulk it up with frozen mixed veg for convenience.
True meaning of comfort food
I used Quorn instead of chicken and vege stock to make it vegetarian
Big Hit
Big hit with the fam bam.... I used little less stock after reading posts. Delish
Cook sauce longer than 10 minutes
I needed to simmer and cook the sauce longer than 10 minutes for it to thicken nicely. Other than that I didn't do anything differently.
Change to topping
Changed the topping to scalloped potatoes instead of mash 🙂
Amazing cottage pie
Love this recipe, batch cooked it and it reheats lovely too!
So cheesy!
Make sure you simmer the chicken mixture to reduce the liquid enough so it doesn’t end up too runny.
Lovely, I added Mushrooms and Spinach for extra speed foods
I added mushroom, peppers and spinach for extra speed food
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‘Amazing best thing I've cooked in years cannot wait to eat the other half tomorrow’
Hannah
This post contains affiliate links: what this means
A potato ricer is a neat little gadget for super smooth mashed potato: you can really taste the difference!
A deep ovenproof dish is needed to get a deliciously crispy potato top, like this one from Amazon.
How many calories are in this Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie?
There are 403 calories per portion in this Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie which means it falls into our Weekly Indulgence category.
To cut down the amount of calories even more, you can simply halve the portion size and serve with a healthy accompaniment.
This Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.
As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
Step 2
Place the potatoes in a pan with enough water to cover, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes until they are soft. Spray a frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and fry the leeks and onions for 2-3 minutes, until soft.
Step 3
Add the chicken and bacon and cook for 5 minutes, then add mustard powder. Add the stock cube to the boiling water and add 300ml of the chicken stock to the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
Step 4
Add 75g of the cream cheese and the thyme to the chicken. Stir until completely mixed, then transfer to the ovenproof dish.
Step 5
When potatoes are cooked, drain and leave for a few minutes then mash until smooth.
Step 6
Add 25g of cream cheese, parsley and the remainder of the chicken stock to the mashed potatoes and mix. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Step 7
Spoon the potato over the chicken mix and level using the back of a fork. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
What could I serve with this Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie?
You could serve this hearty dish alongside the following starter, accompaniment and dessert:
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Spiralized Apple and Beetroot Salad
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Gravy
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Apple Crumble
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Garlic Green Beans
How do you know when Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie is cooked?
The pie should be cooked until the chicken is cooked through and the cheesy potato topping is golden brown. This takes around an hour in total.
Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.
How long can you keep Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie in the fridge?
Once you’ve put it out, ideally you should eat it within 4 hours.
If you allow any leftovers to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill. You can keep leftovers of Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie in the fridge for approximately 3 days or so.
Can I freeze Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie?
Yes you can! This recipe can be frozen, but please remember to do the following;
- Freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
- Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
Don’t forget to add a label with what it is, and on what date you put it in the freezer!
How do I reheat Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie?
From chilled: Cover in tin foil and reheat in the oven until piping hot.
From frozen: Allow to defrost fully overnight and heat from chilled.
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Chicken Bacon and Leek Cottage Pie
Chicken, bacon and leeks in a creamy sauce topped with light mashed potatoes. A comfort food classic that's suitable for diet plans like Weight Watchers!
- Freezable
- Prep Time
15 MINS
- Cook Time
1 HR
- KCals 403
- Carbs 39G
- Serving
4 4
- Up
- Down
- Metric/Cups
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Ingredients
- 500 g chicken breast diced and visible fat and skin removed
- 150 g bacon medallions cut into strips
- 740 g potatoes washed, peeled and cut into quarters
- 1 large leek trimmed, washed and sliced
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 100 g low fat cream cheese
- 25 g low fat Cheddar cheese grated
- 2 tsp English mustard powder
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 325 ml boiling water
- 1 sprig fresh thyme leaves removed and chopped
- 10g fresh parsley chopped
- low calorie cooking spray
Metric - US Customary
We use a fan assisted oven for all of our recipes. Check outour oven temperature conversion guide.
Please do not screenshot this. Recipes are updated often
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC
- Place the potatoes in a pan with enough water to cover, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes until they are soft. Spray a frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and fry the leeks and onions for 2-3 minutes, until soft.
- Add the chicken and bacon and cook for 5 minutes, then add mustard powder. Add the stock cube to the boiling water and add 300ml of the chicken stock to the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add 75g of the cream cheese and the thyme to the chicken. Stir until completely mixed, then transfer to the ovenproof dish.
- When potatoes are cooked, drain and leave for a few minutes then mash until smooth.
- Add 25g of cream cheese, parsley and the remainder of the chicken stock to the mashed potatoes and mix. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Spoon the potato over the chicken mix and level using the back of a fork. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
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Recipe notes
Tip: The best potatoes to use for fluffy mash are Maris Piper, King Edward or Desiree.
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84 comments
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ClaireThursday 25th January 2024
Hi
Can this be made ahead of time and then cooked in the oven later when ready to eat ?
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Cheryl LloydSunday 4th February 2024
Yes, you could prepare this in advance all the way up to step 7 and then cook it in the oven when you ready to eat it. 😊
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