Another fab recipe from Amanda from Simple home cook for you.
Chicken and leek are favourite combinations of mine and to be honest, so is anything wrapped in puff pastry! The parcels are super easy to make and a great recipe to make ahead and freeze for those nights when you don’t feel like cooking. I love to serve them with a side salad for a light meal or a plate of veges for something a little heavier. Mmm…. I can smell them now!
Enjoy,
Amanda
CREAMY CHICKEN & LEEK PARCELS
Makes 8
Ingredients
40g butter
1 leek, white stem finely sliced
1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
600 grams chicken breast fillets
3 tablespoons cornflour
1 ½ cups chicken stock
½ cup cream
4 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
STEP 1 – In a large frying pan add butter & melt over high heat. Add leek & garlic & cook for 3 mins or until leek softens.
STEP 2 – Roughly dice chicken (into pieces approx 1cm) and add to pan. Cook over high heat until chicken is browned.
STEP 3 – Mix cornflour & stock together and add to chicken mixture. Add cream. Reduce heat to medium & stir for a few minutes or until sauce thickens.
STEP 4 – Set aside to allow mixture to cool. To speed up the process, refrigerate mixture or spread out onto a tray.
STEP 5 – Preheat oven to 200ºC.
STEP 6 – Cut each sheet of pastry in half (giving you 2 large rectangles). Spoon some mixture onto one half of each piece. Fold the pastry over to enclose the filling and pinch edges to seal. I usually fold over the edges to stop mixture from running out. Cut a slit in the top of each one.
STEP 7 – Place pastry squares onto lined oven trays and brush the top with beaten egg. Bake in preheated oven for 15 mins or until golden.
- 40g butter
- 1 leek, white stem finely sliced
- 1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 600 grams chicken breast fillets
- 3 Tablespoon cornflour
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- ½ cup cream
- 4 sheets puff pastry
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- In a large frying pan add butter & melt over high heat. Add leek & garlic & cook for 3 mins or until leek softens.
- Roughly dice chicken (into pieces approx 1cm) and add to pan. Cook over high heat until chicken is browned.
- Mix cornflour & stock together and add to chicken mixture. Add cream. Reduce heat to medium & stir for a few minutes or until sauce thickens.
- Set aside to allow mixture to cool. To speed up the process, refrigerate mixture or spread out onto a tray.
- Preheat oven to 200ºC.
- Cut each sheet of pastry in half (giving you 2 large rectangles). Spoon some mixture onto one half of each piece. Fold the pastry over to enclose the filling and pinch edges to seal. I usually fold over the edges to stop mixture from running out. Cut a slit in the top of each one.
- Place pastry squares onto lined oven trays and brush the top with beaten egg. Bake in preheated oven for 15 mins or until golden.
45 Comments
FaithandFamilyathomeinAus
August 19, 2015 at 10:32 amThese look divine! I will be making them for dinner tomorrow! Thank you for sharing this yummy, easy recipe. I’d love to link in with you one day on my blog!
Come and visit me on http://www.faithandfamilyathomeinaus.wordpress.com
FaithandFamilyathomeinAus
August 21, 2015 at 8:43 amUpdate: I made this last night and it is amazing! I left out the garlic accidentally but it still tasted great. Easy recipie, filling and a lovely opportunity for a treat. Also very economical – I spent $12 on $12 pastries (batch and a half) and it could have easily made another 4 parcels.
Thank you for sharing this great recipe.
Kelly - Be A Fun Mum
August 22, 2015 at 7:04 amThanks for your feedback. So glad it was a hit! x
Deirdre
August 23, 2015 at 7:04 pmMade these tonight very easy and very delicious,will be making these again
Liz
February 9, 2016 at 1:01 pmThese look great! Am going to try them tomorrow. Want to do a big batch and freeze some. Can you freeze the parcels after you’ve cooked them or do you just freeze the filling and do pastry each time?
Lindon Thompson
June 8, 2016 at 5:04 pmI’ve made this a few times now. You can add a cup of shredded tasty cheese to the mix while its hot and stir it through. Adds a little bite
Donna
September 6, 2016 at 7:51 pmThanks so much for this recipe. It’s so tasty and it’s easy to make. Especially as I used some leftover bbq chicken. I’ll be adding some sliced mushrooms next time. 🙂
Vee
October 11, 2016 at 10:44 amThese look great. I’ve just made my own ‘chicken parcels’ (http://recipeyum.com.au/chicken-mustard-parcels/), but I will definitely be giving these a go next time. Thank you!
Nadine
December 14, 2016 at 7:21 pm600grams of chicken or 6 breasts???
Julie Camm
May 16, 2018 at 1:29 pmAbsolutely delicious, l made 6 of them, we ate 2 and froze the other 4 for another day. My husband loved them so much he wanted more. Will make these again, beautiful flavour, hold together well and not too salty. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Kelly - Be A Fun Mum
May 17, 2018 at 9:24 amThanks for the feedback Julie!
Siobhan Troyer
June 3, 2018 at 2:18 pmYou may want to re-think your advice to cool the chicken-leek mixture in the refrigerator. We know that placing warm, much less hot items in the fridge’ causes the interior temperature to rise dramatically. Other items will also warm up, & it may take several hours for the fridge & it’s contents to return to a safe temperature for food storage. Your advice is an invitation to food spoilage & food poisoning, I would suggest you remove that suggestion.
Vicky
June 28, 2018 at 12:29 pmPanic merchant… What a lot of rubbish! It’s only a small amount of food to cool off & it shouldn’t make any difference to the rest of the food in the fridge.
Èla Moore
June 12, 2018 at 1:25 pmWhat an incredible recipe! I just whipped these up on a jiff and my husband is eating the leftover filling out of the pan as we await the parcels that are in the oven. Thank you to the moon for this recipe, what a delight!! X
Stacey
June 18, 2018 at 2:59 amHas anybody tried these cold the next day? looking to make our very regular picnics a smidge more exciting.
djpilot
August 27, 2018 at 11:55 amI made these and loved them. I added some pepper, one tablespoon of Dijon mustard when I added the cream, and also put a couple of pieces of brie cheese on top of the mixture before closing/cooking the parcels. Amazing yummy goodness!
Kelly - Be A Fun Mum
August 27, 2018 at 1:40 pmLove when people include their variations! Thank you!
Joanna
August 28, 2018 at 8:15 pmQuestion, do you freeze the packets after cooking the puff pastry? What is the best way to reheat the packets to keep the pastry flaky?
Louise
September 20, 2021 at 12:29 pmYou fill them and then freeze them before cooking. You can take them out and defrost a bit or throw them straight from the freezer into the oven.
Lynley
September 2, 2018 at 11:01 amHave made these yet again – they are so good. Make a lot so I can freeze them to always have a meal on hand. I do add 1 tbsp Dijon mustard for a bit of a bite. Thank you beafunmum for sharing.
Isabella
October 24, 2018 at 9:45 amWould love to make these to freeze, but should they be frozen before or after cooking?
Julie
December 13, 2018 at 10:14 pmWe have single or double cream in uk ..which do you recommend please? Nb double is the one which thickens on whipping
Kelly - Be A Fun Mum
December 14, 2018 at 7:27 amYeah, so double would be the one.
Jacqui
May 4, 2019 at 11:29 pmCan someone answer the various questions about freezing these packets? Do you freeze beforehand or after cooking?
Thanks much
Michelle Narayanan
May 21, 2019 at 10:31 amSeeing it’s made with puff pastry, I freeze mine BEFORE BAKING. It allows the pastry to do its job and “puff” up and get crispy. I’m sure you could do after cooking as well but pastry won’t have that delicate nature or crunch. 🙂
Kris
July 19, 2019 at 1:20 amHi I live in Canada so was wondering if it’s corn flour or cornstarch I would use? I’m assuming cornstarch because it’s a thickener. And her corn flour is just finely milled corn kernels?????
Kelly - Be A Fun Mum
July 21, 2019 at 9:56 amHi Kris
When I googled it, it does look like cornstarch and what we call cornflour here in Australia is the same thing. I often use it to thicken up recipes.
All the best!
Kelly
Margaret
February 24, 2021 at 7:45 pmIt is definitely cornstarch. you can buy corn that is milled but it is not as fine.
Corn starch is the way to go for our friends in the USA.
Julie
August 6, 2019 at 2:58 pmThis is one of my favourite meals to make. Like Lynsey in an earlier post I add Dijon mustard to it as well. I also add cracked pepper, 1/3 cup of white wine & whatever vegetables I have in my fridge. The grandkids like it best when I put in small cubes of pumpkin. I always make up a big batch to freeze as they are so yummy. These are great as finger food for a party. Instead of cutting the pastry in half I cut it in fours & make triangles out of them, and they always are a hit!!!
Melissa
September 3, 2019 at 2:40 amHi, if cooking from frozen how long would you recommend cooking them for?
Margaret
February 24, 2021 at 7:46 pmYumm
Juju
May 1, 2020 at 8:24 pmCan I use cream fraiche instead of cream?
Kelly - Be A Fun Mum
May 7, 2020 at 7:55 pmNot sure, but I think it would be okay.
Jessica R
May 7, 2020 at 7:16 amHow big are the parcels in the picture? If I cut my pastry in half, I get two huge parcels. Are there approximate measurements? I only had enough from the ingredients list to take three….thank you!! My husband LOVES these!!
Kelly - Be A Fun Mum
May 7, 2020 at 7:54 pmThe sheets we use are large squares — approximately 25 cm across. Cut these into haf so you have two long pieces, but you only fill one side and then fold it over to seal (so the size of the actual parcel is a quarter of a regular puff pastry size). You need 4 puff pastry sheet, so it makes 8 servings all up. I hope that helps.
Jo Zaninovic
August 31, 2020 at 3:06 amJust made these and they were delicious and will definitely make them again, but will make sure I let them cool for abit before eating as we both burnt our mouths!!!! Lol
Colleen Tarnawsky
September 8, 2020 at 7:45 amHi Amanda, love the sound of the recipe which I will make tonight. When you freeze do you fully cook first and reheat in the oven? I’ll let you know how it goes.
Linda
September 29, 2020 at 9:24 amHi Colleen, I make these regularly, we love them, I always cook them fully, let them cool then freeze individually, when I want them I defrost in fridge then just re heat in oven they generally come up just as good when you make them fresh. Hope that helps.
Annabelle
October 5, 2020 at 7:53 pmAmazing recipe we loved this one!! Thank you so much for sharing ?
Margaret
February 24, 2021 at 7:48 pmI am sure that Creme fresh/ricotta or sour cream would be good. When you next make these make a couple with these additives
Crystal
April 5, 2021 at 5:31 pmThese are a hit in my house!! I mix some leftover filling into pasta for my fussy 3 yr old and she loves it too!
Kelly - Be A Fun Mum
April 5, 2021 at 5:57 pmOh, great idea with the pasta. Thanks for sharing.
Mary
January 27, 2022 at 12:17 amDef. freeze uncooked. But can be cooked straight from the freezer. The pastry will be soggy otherwise..
Valerie
April 25, 2022 at 2:12 pmThis is definitely a favourite in my household. Have had several requests from my sons to make this for dinner. Will look at adding Dijon mustard as suggested earlier. Yummm! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Norma Seggie
June 1, 2022 at 7:11 pmI added fresh herbs, rosemary, thyme, parsley finely chopped. Dijon mustard would be good too, I’ll try next it next time, definitely make them again. Quick to make and tasty too.