Trader Joe’s Handheld Chicken Pot Pies
When the weather starts getting cooler, many of us turn to soups and casseroles that simultaneously fill and warm us. Another classic comfort food is chicken pot pie. You can can pot pies from scratch, or Aldi has long sold a single-serving chicken pot pie in the freezer aisle.
Or, Trader Joe’s, which is a cousin to Aldi, sells a handheld variation on this classic comfort dish. This looked like just the thing for an easy lunch, so I picked up a box from the TJ’s freezer case. The package describes it as “mostly dark meat chicken & vegetables in a pastry crust.”
We buy products for review using our own funds. I paid $4.49 for a 9-ounce package of Trader Joe’s Handheld Chicken Pot Pies in 2025. That comes out to about 50 cents per ounce. There are two one-pie servings in a box, which comes out to about $2.25 per serving.
If you’re looking out for allergens, these contain milk and wheat.
A one-pie serving has 570 calories, 22 grams of total fat (28% DV), 11 grams of saturated fat (55% DV), 600 mg of sodium (26% DV), 37 grams of total carbohydrates (13% DV), 4 grams of dietary fiber (14% DV), 5 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of added sugars (2% DV), and 14 grams of protein.
The box has directions for heating these from frozen in a conventional oven, in a microwave, or in an air fryer.
To bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove all packaging and place the pies on a baking sheet in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 25 minutes or until heated through and the crust is golden brown.
To microwave, remove all packaging and place a pie on a microwave-safe dish. Heat on high power for 1 1/2 minutes or until heated through.
To air fry, remove all packaging and place a pie flat in the air fryer basket. Heat at 350 degrees for 15-16 minutes or until heated through and the crust is golden brown. Remove carefully from the air fryer basket.
I chose to air fry these. They came out crispy and flaky on the outside, with a good hot filling inside. The filling is soft and is mostly chicken and potatoes, with some onion, celery, peas, and carrots. There isn’t much of a sauce in these, which is helpful for preventing dripping as you eat them, but it might be disappointing if you’re accustomed to traditional chicken pot pies with lots of sauce or gravy in them. Overall, these are decent, and they get a thumbs up from one of the pickier eaters in my household.
The Verdict:
Trader Joe’s Handheld Chicken Pot Pies are frozen and ready-to-heat. They feature dark meat chicken, potatoes, carrots, celery, and peas with seasonings including garlic, salt, thyme, and white pepper. We like to air fry these, which crisps up the pastry crust quite nicely.
