Can Frozen Pot Pies Be Cooked In An Air Fryer? | Quick

You pull a frozen pot pie out of the freezer, glance at the oven time, and sigh. An air fryer promises speed and crunch, but you might not be sure if that little cardboard pie dish can handle it. The good news is that you can cook frozen pot pies in an air fryer and get a browned crust with a steamy center, as long as you set things up the right way.

Quick Comparison: Oven Vs Air Fryer For Frozen Pot Pies

Before you heat up your air fryer, it helps to know how the results compare with the oven and microwave. The table below sums up what you can expect from each method so you can decide when air frying makes the most sense for a frozen pot pie night.

Cooking Method	Typical Cook Time For 10 Oz Pie	Texture And Result
Conventional Oven	45–55 minutes at 400°F	Even heat and crisp crust, but long wait and full kitchen heat.
Air Fryer	18–25 minutes at 350–380°F	Browned top and flaky crust with quicker cook time and little preheat.
Microwave Only	6–8 minutes	Soft crust and sometimes uneven filling; fastest but least appealing texture.
Microwave Then Oven	25–30 minutes total	Faster than oven alone with better browning than microwave only.
Microwave Then Air Fryer	10–15 minutes total	Extra quick method that still gives a browned top and fully heated filling.
Toaster Oven	35–45 minutes at 375°F	Similar to main oven but with slightly faster preheat and less heat in the room.
Air Fryer Oven Style	20–30 minutes at 350–375°F	Good air flow for family sized pies with even browning top and bottom.

Why Air Fryers Work Well For Frozen Pot Pies

An air fryer moves hot air around the pie in a tight space. That strong airflow dries the outer pastry so it turns golden while the heat works through the dense frozen center. You get a result that feels close to oven baking, only faster and with less energy use.

Can frozen pot pies be cooked in an air fryer? Yes, and this quick hot air cooking is exactly why the appliance handles them so well, as long as you give the filling enough time to reach a safe temperature.

Can Frozen Pot Pies Be Cooked In An Air Fryer? Safety Basics

With frozen pot pies, safety is all about the middle. These pies often contain chicken or turkey in gravy, tucked under pastry that can look done while the filling is still cooler than it should be. That is why a quick visual check is not enough on its own.

Food safety agencies list 165°F (74°C) as the safe minimum internal temperature for cooked poultry dishes. A pot pie filling needs to hit that number in the center before you eat it. You can see that target on the official safe minimum internal temperature chart.

Use a thin food thermometer and slide the tip into the middle of the pie through a vent or a small cut in the crust. Hold it there until the number settles. If the reading is below 165°F, put the pie back in the air fryer for a few more minutes and check again.

Check The Package Instructions First

Every frozen pot pie brand writes its own cooking directions based on lab tests. Most packages list oven and microwave times, and some now include air fryer steps as well. Even when the box does not mention air frying, those instructions still help.

Pick The Right Dish For Your Pot Pie

Most single serve frozen pot pies come in an oven safe foil pan that can also sit in an air fryer basket. If the label says the dish is not oven safe, move the frozen pie into a small metal or ceramic dish that is safe at high heat and fits your basket with some space around the sides for airflow.

If you bake homemade pot pies and freeze them for later, choose sturdy dishes that handle both freezer and high heat. Shallow dishes help the center heat through faster in an air fryer, since the hot air does not have to work through a thick block of frozen filling.

Step By Step: How To Cook A Frozen Pot Pie In An Air Fryer

Here is a clear method for cooking a standard 8–10 ounce frozen chicken pot pie in most basket style air fryers. This method works for beef or turkey pies as well, since the safety target for the filling is the same.

Step 1: Preheat And Prepare The Pie

Set your air fryer to 360°F and let it preheat for about three minutes. Preheating keeps the cook time reliable and helps the crust brown evenly from the start.

While the air fryer heats up, remove the pot pie from the box but leave it in its foil dish. Peel back any plastic film. If the crust edge is already close to the rim, you can fold a small strip of foil into a loose ring and set it over the crust. That ring will go in with the pie from the beginning.

Step 2: Arrange The Pie In The Basket

Place the pie in the center of the basket so air can move freely around it. If you are cooking more than one pot pie, leave a small gap between them. Stacking pies or crowding them too closely keeps the hot air from reaching the sides and slows the cook.

For a pie with a bottom crust that often stays soft, you can plan to flip the pie for the last few minutes. To make that easier, cut a little square of parchment to sit under the foil dish so you can lift and turn it without tearing the crust.

Step 3: Cook, Check, And Rest

Air fry the pot pie at 360°F for 18 minutes. Check the crust. If the top is already deep brown while the center still needs time, add a foil cap loosely over the pie to shield it from direct heat.

Continue cooking in five minute blocks until a thermometer in the center reads 165°F. Depending on your air fryer and the exact size of the pie, total time can land anywhere between about 18 and 25 minutes. Near the end, you can raise the temperature to 380°F for two to three minutes to deepen the color on the crust.

Once the pie reaches a safe temperature, leave it in the closed basket for five minutes. That quick rest lets the filling settle, so the gravy thickens and stays inside when you cut into it instead of running out across the plate.

Timing And Temperature By Pie Size And Type

Every air fryer runs a little differently, and frozen pot pies come in many sizes. The chart below gives ballpark settings based on recipes from experienced air fryer cooks and brands that share air fryer directions. Treat these numbers as a starting point and always confirm doneness with a thermometer.

Pie Size And Type	Air Fryer Temperature	Approximate Cook Time*
Mini 7–8 oz chicken or turkey pie	360°F	15–18 minutes
Standard 10 oz chicken pot pie	360–380°F	18–25 minutes
Large 15–16 oz dinner size pie	350°F–360°F	25–32 minutes
Family size 24–30 oz pie in air fryer oven	340°F–360°F	30–40 minutes
Microwave then air fryer (any size)	400°F	5–8 minutes after microwaving
Homemade frozen pot pie in shallow dish	360°F	20–30 minutes
Vegetable pot pie with no meat	360°F	15–22 minutes
Gluten free crust pot pie	340°F–350°F	20–28 minutes

*Times assume starting from fully frozen in a preheated air fryer. Always check the center of the filling for a 165°F reading before serving.

Watch For Visual Doneness Cues

A thermometer gives the best answer, but visual cues help as well. Look for steady bubbles in the filling through the steam vents and a crust that is deep golden with no raw pale patches. When you nudge the center of the crust, it should feel firm rather than doughy.

If the edges brown long before the middle is ready, fit a loose foil ring just over the rim of the crust and move the pie to a slightly lower rack or a cooler shelf in an air fryer oven. That step slows browning while the heat continues to push into the center.

Tips To Keep The Crust Crisp And The Filling Hot

Getting the balance right between a crisp crust and a fully heated filling is the main trick with can frozen pot pies be cooked in an air fryer. These small tweaks make a big difference to the final plate.

Do Not Overcrowd The Basket

Pies need space so hot air can move around them. If your air fryer basket is small, cook one pot pie at a time. This keeps the airflow strong around each dish and gives more even heating on the bottom crust.

Use Foil Wisely

Foil is handy in an air fryer as long as you leave space for air to move around it. A ring of foil around the edges stops the crust from browning too fast. You can also lay a small foil square loosely over the top if it darkens before the filling is hot enough.

Let The Pot Pie Rest Before Serving

Air fryer pot pies come out bubbling hot. Give them at least five to ten minutes on a trivet before you dig in. During that brief pause, the filling thickens, the crust firms up, and each slice holds together when you cut through it.

Common Mistakes When Air Frying Frozen Pot Pies

Skipping The Thermometer

Guessing doneness by time alone can leave the center cooler than 165°F, especially with dense fillings. A quick check with a thermometer takes only a moment and confirms that the pie is safe to eat.

Using Too High A Temperature

Cranking the air fryer up to its top setting seems like a way to cut time, but it often just burns the crust while the filling lags behind. Temperatures in the mid 300s give the center time to warm up while still browning the pastry.

Overcrowding Or Covering The Vents

Stacking pies or covering every opening with foil blocks airflow. The air fryer works by moving hot air past the food, so any barrier slows cooking and leads to uneven results. Keep the vents open and cook in batches if needed.

Skipping Rest Time

Cutting straight into a pie the second it comes out of the air fryer can cause the filling to gush out and leave the inside of the crust soggy. A short rest keeps the heat inside and lets the gravy settle.

Serving Ideas And Leftover Handling

If you have leftovers, let the pie cool until just warm, then cover and store it in the refrigerator for up to three or four days. When you reheat, use the air fryer again at 320°F for about 8–10 minutes until the center reaches 165°F. This method brings back some of the crust crunch that the microwave tends to soften.

So yes, you can rely on your air fryer for frozen pot pies on busy nights. With a bit of attention to temperature, timing, and rest, you get a flaky crust, safe filling, and dinner on the table without heating up the whole kitchen. That combination saves time on busy days.