Last Updated on 15 August, 2026 by Elby | The Tasteful Pantry
Creamy chicken parcels combine tender chicken, smoky bacon and vegetables in a rich, cheesy sauce, all tucked inside crisp, golden puff pastry. They’re cosy without being complicated and are a particularly useful way to turn leftover roast chicken into a dinner the family will actually be pleased to see again. Add a simple salad or steamed greens and dinner is sorted.
More Easy Comforting Pastry Recipes
- Chicken pot pie
- Tuna Strudel
- Chunky Beef and Mash Pie
- Leftover Lamb Pie
- Leftover Beef Brisket Pie
- Mini Quiche Bites
- Curried Sausage Rolls and Spiced Sausage Rolls
Ingredients in the Creamy Chicken Parcels
The ingredient list for creamy chicken parcels looks long, but each element plays its part in creating layers of flavour and texture. And the good thing is all the ingredients are readily accessible, with many of them probably already being in your fridge or pantry.
Boneless breasts or reduce your time and waste and use some leftover cooked chicken.
Mirepoix – ie. onion, carrot, and celery.
Followed by bacon (I like to use streaky bacon for extra flavour), garlic and thyme.
Flour, stock, cream, cheddar and parmesan cheese make the creamy sauce.
While Dijon and shallots add a tang and freshness.
How to Make Chicken Parcels
Cook the chicken
If using raw chicken, gently simmer it in stock until just cooked through. Remove it from the stock, allow it to cool slightly, then cut it into bite-sized pieces. Leftover cooked chicken can simply be chopped and set aside.
Make the Filling
Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery, then cook until softened. Stir in the bacon, garlic and thyme and continue cooking until the bacon is lightly golden and everything smells very promising.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir well so everything is evenly coated. Cook for about a minute, then gradually pour in the stock, stirring or whisking continuously to prevent lumps.
Allow the mixture to simmer gently until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon. It should be creamy and spoonable rather than stiff or gluey.
Stir in the cream, Dijon mustard, parmesan and cheddar. Continue stirring until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.
Add the chopped chicken and shallots, then stir until everything is evenly combined. Taste and season as needed. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the filling to cool completely. This helps prevent the pastry from becoming soggy or the filling from escaping during baking.
Assemble the Parcels
Preheat the oven and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Brush egg around the edges of each sheet of pastry. Cut each puff pastry sheet into quarters.
Spoon some of the cooled chicken filling into the centre of each pastry square, leaving enough space around the edges to seal the parcels.
Fold each pastry square diagonally joining the unbrushed corner to the corner with egg – to form a triangle. Press the edges together firmly – crimp them with a fork if you don’t want to use your fingers (I rarely do this). Brush the tops with beaten egg and pierce each parcel with a fork to allow steam to escape.
Bake until golden
Place the parcels on the prepared tray and bake until the pastry is puffed, crisp and golden brown. Leave the creamy chicken parcels to rest for a few minutes before serving.
Benefits of Chicken Parcels
Chicken parcels are a complete little meal all by themselves, serve with a side salad, or heat up as leftovers or even cold in a lunchbox.
They can be made ahead of time, frozen unbaked, and popped straight into the oven when needed – absolutely ideal on a busy night, when the last thing you feel like doing is cooking. They are a great family meal (especially with the hidden veg), but equally good for a dinner party.
The chicken parcels are also a great way to use up vegetables that are getting a little old.
Tips and Tricks when Working with Creamy Chicken and Vegetables
Keep the puff pastry cold – just warm enough to fold it without cracking. If it warms up too much, it can get sticky and harder to fold neatly. When cutting your sheets, use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter for clean edges that seal properly.
Don’t skip the egg wash on the pastry edges before folding. It helps prevent the filling from escaping during baking. Press the edges down firmly – you can use your fingers or a fork.
Chill the filling. It might seem like an unnecessary delay, but a cooled filling is less runny and easier to spoon onto the pastry without making a mess. This also means the pastry stays crisp instead of going soggy from warm filling.
For maximum golden glow, brush the tops with egg before baking. If you’re out of eggs, a little milk works, but egg gives the best shine. Sprinkle sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or even a little grated parmesan over the tops before baking for extra flavour – they also look great.
Size-wise, you’re in control. But take note that the smaller the chicken parcels the less balanced the pastry to filling ratio will be, and the less time they will take to cook.
Chicken parcels freeze well if you like batch-cooking. Assemble them, freeze flat on a tray, then pop into a container or bag once solid. Bake straight from frozen, adding 10 minutes to the cooking time. Alternatively, freeze the filling in an airtight container and defrost in the fridge the day before you want to make the chicken parcels.
Resist the urge to overfill. It’s tempting to cram in as much filling as possible, but too much means leaks.
FAQs
Why is my pastry soggy?
Usually because the filling was too hot when it went onto the pastry. Cool it down first to keep everything crisp.
Can I freeze these?
Absolutely. Assemble the parcels, freeze them on a tray, then bag them up. Bake from frozen with an extra 5–10 minutes in the oven. Or you can freeze the mix separately and thaw in the fridge.
What if I don’t have enough puff pastry?
Filo works too – brush with butter between layers and fold over itself into triangles. If you have a little puff pastry turn it into pot pies instead.
My chicken parcels burst open – what did I do wrong?
Probably too much filling or edges not sealed tightly. Press firmly with a fork and resist the temptation to overstuff. The filling that has oozed out is still good to eat and tastes pretty good, so don’t throw it out.
Feedback and More: Did you try the chicken parcels recipe? I’d really love to know what you thought. Select a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ or leave a comment below to share your thoughts. Cheers, Elby!
If you liked the chicken parcels, check out some of my other tasty pastry dishes. There are also a range of dinner ideas and one pot meals to have a look at. Also, follow The Tasteful Pantry on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for all the latest recipes and info.
Creamy Chicken Parcels
*Note: Adjusting servings will not adjust the ‘light grey’ quantities
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 kg chicken breasts (whole) - or 650g pre-cooked chicken, diced
- 30 grams unsalted butter
- 1 onion - finely diced
- 2 carrots - peeled and finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery - finely chopped
- 100 grams lean bacon - chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme - leaves
- 40 grams flour - plain, all purpose
- 2 cups chicken stock - or vegetable
- ½ cup cream - thickened
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 30 grams parmesan cheese - grated
- ½ cup cheddar cheese - grated
- 3 shallots - finely sliced
- salt and pepper - to taste
Assembly
- 4 sheets puff pastry
- 1 egg - beaten
Instructions
Filling
- Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is just cooked – timing will vary depending on the thickness of the breasts. Remove the chicken from the water and leave to cool before chopping into small pieces. Discard the water.
- Melt the butter in the same pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook covered, stirring occasionally, for approximately 5 minutes or until soft.
- Add the bacon, garlic and thyme and cook uncovered, for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the flour to coat the carrot mix. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the stock. Return to the heat and simmer until the stock has thickened and reduced slightly.
- Add the cream, mustard, cheeses and shallots, stirring until the cheese has melted. Return the chopped chicken to the pot and season the filling with the salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and place in the fridge to cool for at least 30 minutes – you don't want the mix to be hot when placing in the puff pastry.
Assembly and Baking
- Preheat the oven to 200°C conventional | 180°C fan forced and line two baking sheets with paper.
- Lie one pastry sheet on the bench and cut into 4 equal squares. Brush two adjoining sides of each square and spoon approximately ¼ cup of filling into the middle of each quarter – or as much as you can without it overflowing when you fold the pastry over.
- Fold the corner without any egg over to meet the corner brushed with egg and press the open sides tightly together to form a triangle. Place on a prepared tray. Pierce with a fork and brush with egg. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling.
- Bake the parcels for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
*Nutrition and calorie figures are estimates only.
These were so good and the kids loved the cold leftovers for their lunchbox.
Agree Jax – they make such good leftovers (hot or cold!)