An Honest Review of Trader Joe’s Handheld Chicken Pot Pies

Trader Joe’s is bringing their chicken pot pie to the people! The hands of the people, that is. Now I know what you may be thinking. A handheld chicken pot pie: Isn’t that just a pasty, empanada, or Jamaican patty by another name? For all intents and purposes, yes. But Trader Joe’s loves a rebrand (think: the TJ’s garlic gondolas/peinirli situation we’ve covered before)—it’s kind of their thing. Still, we appreciate the concept: A more portable version of a pie filled with meat, gravy, and veggies? Sign us up.

But how do these new Trader Joe’s Handheld Chicken Pot Pies actually taste? Well, call me the hand-pied piper, because I’m about to fill you in on these filled pastries.

New Product!

Trader Joe’s Handheld Chicken Pot Pies

Trader Joe’s

Pros: These handheld pot pies are portable! Well, to a degree, anyway. Will you get crumbs absolutely everywhere if you try to eat one of these suckers in the car? Oh, yes. But that’s also my way of telling you that the crust is flaky and delicious. It’s light and buttery; really, an ideal pot pie crust. They nailed it.

Cons: Granted, the description on the box doesn’t promise gravy, it simply advertises chicken and vegetables in a pastry crust. But c’mon—gravy is an essential pot pie component. Why? Because pie crust and filling with no gloopy stuff is sure to be dry. And these suckers are pretty darn dry. The filling is savory and tasty, but there just isn’t much filling in general. It’s a bit mushy, too, with few discernible pieces of chicken, just homogenous chicken mush. The only real diversity you get in your bites is when you get a pop of flavor and texture from the few peas that are in the filling. Otherwise, I’m sad to report, it’s just a lot of dry bites of crust that you have to wash down rather quickly.

Rating:

6.5/10

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