Mary Berry Chicken Hotpot with Potato Topping Recipe

A hotpot is the most honest and most satisfying of British one-pot dishes. Rich filling of meat and vegetables in a deeply flavoured sauce, topped with overlapping slices of potato that bake to golden, slightly crispy at the edges, tender in the centre. It is at once deeply traditional and genuinely excellent.

The chicken version is lighter than the classic Lancashire hotpot made with lamb but no less satisfying. Chicken thighs braised in a flavourful stock and vegetable filling, topped with thinly sliced potatoes brushed with butter and baked until golden — it is a complete dinner in one dish with minimum effort and maximum result.

The potato topping is the defining feature. Overlapping potato slices, each brushed with melted butter, baked until the tops are golden and slightly crisped while the undersides absorb the flavourful filling beneath — it is simple, beautiful, and completely effective.

Ingredients for Mary Berry Chicken Hotpot

For the Filling

• 800g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into generous chunks
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 large onions, finely sliced
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1cm rounds
• 3 celery sticks, sliced into 1cm pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 400ml good quality chicken stock
• 200ml dry white wine
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Potato Topping

• 800g floury potatoes (Maris Piper), peeled and sliced into 3mm rounds
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• Salt and white pepper
• Fresh thyme leaves for scattering

How to Make Mary Berry Chicken Hotpot

Step 1 — Brown the Chicken

Season the chicken pieces generously. Heat the oil in a large, deep ovenproof casserole over a medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in two batches — three to four minutes per batch until golden. Remove and set aside.

Step 2 — Cook the Vegetables

In the same casserole, reduce the heat to medium. Add the sliced onions and cook for eight to ten minutes until completely soft and beginning to colour. Add the carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook for five more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 3 — Build the Sauce

Sprinkle over the flour. Stir for one to two minutes to cook through. Add the white wine and let it bubble for two minutes, scraping up the base. Add the chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme leaves, and bay leaves. Season generously. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Return the browned chicken to the casserole. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning — the filling should be well-seasoned and flavourful at this point.

Step 4 — Arrange the Potato Topping

Preheat your oven to 170°C / 150°C fan / Gas 3.

Arrange the potato slices in overlapping layers over the top of the filling — work from the outside edge inwards in neat concentric circles. Each slice should overlap the previous one by about a third. Season each layer lightly with salt and white pepper as you go. Scatter fresh thyme leaves over the top layer.

Brush the potato topping generously with the melted butter — use all of it.

Step 5 — Bake

Cover the casserole with a tight-fitting lid. Bake for 1 hour.

Remove the lid and increase the oven temperature to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6. Bake uncovered for a further 25 to 30 minutes until the potato topping is deep golden, slightly crisped at the edges, and a knife inserted through the potatoes meets no resistance.

Step 6 — Rest and Serve

Leave to rest for five minutes before serving from the casserole.

Tips For Perfect Chicken Hotpot with Potato Topping

Slice the potatoes to exactly 3mm. Even slices cook evenly — one part of the topping done before another is the most common problem. A mandoline gives perfectly consistent slices in seconds.

Season each layer of potato. The potato topping needs its own seasoning as you layer it — relying on the seasoning from the filling below is not enough. Salt and pepper lightly between each layer.

Brush with all of the melted butter. The butter is what gives the potato topping its golden colour and its slightly crisped surface. Use every drop of it over the top layer before baking.

Cover for the first hour, uncovered for the last 25 to 30 minutes. The covered first stage cooks the chicken and vegetables gently in the steam. The uncovered final stage crisps and browns the potato topping.

The filling must be well-seasoned before the potatoes go on. Once the lid is on and the casserole goes in the oven, the seasoning is set. Taste the filling carefully and season assertively before covering.

Serving Suggestions

On its own — it is a complete meal. With steamed green beans or peas alongside for colour and freshness. With crusty bread for mopping the sauce.

How to Store

In the fridge: Store covered for up to 3 days. Reheat covered at 160°C for 25 to 30 minutes until piping hot, then remove the lid for five minutes to re-crisp the potato.

In the freezer: Freeze before baking for up to 2 months. Cover tightly. Defrost overnight and bake as directed, adding ten minutes to the covered stage.

Mary Berry Chicken Hotpot with Potato Topping Recipe

Mary Berry's chicken hotpot has a rich, deeply flavoured filling under overlapping golden potato slices — a beautifully classic British supper.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Cooling Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Servings: 6 Portions

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Calories: 470

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• Filling:
• 800 g boneless skinless chicken thighs in generous chunks
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 large onions finely sliced
• 3 carrots sliced into 1cm rounds
• 3 celery sticks sliced into 1cm pieces
• 3 garlic cloves crushed
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 400 ml chicken stock
• 200 ml dry white wine
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper
• Potato Topping:
• 800 g Maris Piper potatoes peeled and sliced 3mm thick
• 50 g unsalted butter melted
• Salt and white pepper
• Fresh thyme leaves

CHECK THIS RECIPE  Mary Berry Salmon Recipe

Method

 

1. Season and brown chicken in batches — 3–4 minutes per batch. Remove.
2. Cook sliced onions in same casserole over medium heat — 8–10 minutes. Add carrots, celery, and garlic — 5 minutes.
3. Add flour — stir 1–2 minutes. Add wine — bubble 2 minutes, scrape base. Add stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves. Season. Return chicken. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Preheat oven to 170°C / 150°C fan / Gas 3. Arrange potato slices in overlapping layers over the filling. Season each layer lightly. Scatter thyme. Brush generously with all the melted butter.
5. Cover tightly. Bake 1 hour. Remove lid — increase to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6. Bake 25–30 minutes until potato is deep golden and a knife meets no resistance.
6. Rest 5 minutes. Serve from the casserole.

Notes

Slice potatoes to exactly 3mm — even slices cook evenly. A mandoline makes this consistent.

Season each layer of potato as you go — the topping needs its own seasoning.

Use all the melted butter on the top layer — it gives the golden, slightly crisped surface.

Cover for the first hour, uncovered for the final 25–30 minutes — two distinct stages.

Season the filling assertively before covering — it cannot be adjusted after.

Freeze before baking for up to 2 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use lamb instead of chicken?

Yes — diced lamb shoulder gives the classic Lancashire hotpot. Increase the braising time under the lid to 1 hour 30 minutes for the lamb to become properly tender.

Can I add mushrooms?

Yes — 200g of sliced chestnut mushrooms cooked briefly before the onions and added to the filling give earthy depth.

Can I use waxy potatoes instead of floury?

Waxy potatoes hold their shape better but do not give quite the same slightly fluffy, golden topping that floury potatoes produce. Maris Piper gives the best result for both appearance and texture.

Why are my potatoes not browning?

Either there was not enough butter on the top layer, the oven temperature was too low for the uncovered stage, or the casserole dish was too deep. Make sure the potatoes are within 5cm of the top of the dish and the oven is at the full 200°C for the final stage.