Tiny Chicken Turnovers

11/04/06 I am adding a more updated review. These turnovers are delicious! I make these for every dinner party where finger foods are served. I have made about 15x since 2003! I am now a pro. The filling can be made the day before and refrigerated. Also, save time by using ready-made pie crust, wontons wrappers, or even phyllo! Experiment! We like the pie crust! Extra tip with the crust...roll very thin!

I liked the idea of these turnovers but I can't make pastry to save my life, so I used Pilsbury cresent roll dough and they turned out great! Next time I'm going to add chopped carrots and celery since they already tasted like mini pot pies. I tried freezing some and they only take 1 minute in the microwave! My kids won't eat anything but they at least tasted these. ;-P

I love appetizers and this was a really good one- my husband says it's a keeper. Now, for some helpful hints-make the dough first and refrigerate. It'll roll out easier. Use plenty of flour when rolling out,too. You also might want to up the spices to your personal taste. These really do freeze well and reheat right from the freezer-a plus when company's coming.

You're a lifesaver, Amanda! We recently hosted a family reunion with 72 people attending, and I wanted recipes that I could prepare and freeze ahead. I found this one and considered myself verrrry lucky! I figured three appetizers per person. Not only did they taste great, but it was soooo convenient to prepare them ahead of time, freeze, and reheat the day of our function. Everyone really enjoyed these and several folks asked for the recipe. I ran out in spite of all the other food available!I added more green onion than called for, some fresh finely chopped basil and minced fresh garlic rather than garlic salt. Everyone really enjoyed these and many folks asked for the recipe. BTW, I cut the butter in the pastry back to 3/4 cup per batch.

These chicken turnovers are DEEELISH!!! I made these for a friend and her family during her mothers passing. They loved them! Since I never follow a recipe exactly and here are my changes: Sautéed 1 shallot w/ 4tbs butter, added 1 entire rotisserie chicken (shredded), chicken stock to lightly moisten (did not measure), dried parsley, seasoned mixture to taste, rolled (very thinly) 2 cans of Pillsbury Garlic Butter Crescents, brushed turnovers with evaporated milk. Made 36 turnovers and had 1/2 cup extra chicken mixture left over. Wonderful hot out of the over or frozen and reheated. Thanks so much for this recipe!

This recipe was great. I did take the easy way out though and bought frozen pastry dough, cut it into squares and made little triangle treats instead. It was still delicious and the guests at my party loved them!

this recipe was awesome. i never worked with pastry before, yet this recipe was easy but time consuming. but i did alter the recipe. i sauteed an equal amount of sliced mushrooms to chicken with some garlic. i used peppridge farm pastry shells and rolled it out thin. before baking, i brushed melted butter onto the pastry. and i served this with creme of mushroom sauce. all in all, i will be making this again.

These are excellent. I have made them twice for large groups of people and they disappeared fast. The first time I followed the recipe but the second time I cut back the butter in the pastry to 3/4 cup which meant I had to increase the amount of water slightly. The pastry was still very rich and delicious but it was easier to work with and a little firmer when cooked, which is no bad thing with how tender these turnovers are. Very much worth the time it takes to make these!

add to taste dry sherry, fresh herbs, parmigiano reggiano, chili powder, and finely chopped portabella mushrooms. Important, roll pastry as thin as possible and if desired add parmigiano to pastry. Time consuming, but I froze them for last minute appetizers. Now, this is 5 stars and everyone wants the recipe!

These are great with about 1/2 to 1 cup of shredded sharp cheese added to pastry, and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of ground chipotle or ground cayenne added to filling. Also added about 1/2 tsp of onion.

These were very good fresh but I made them to send on a Christmas tapas platter I sent to work with a friend and of 6 guys only one really liked them. The report was that the filling tasted too much like cream cheese and bland and the pastry to weird. I may make them again without the flavored pastry and a few more spices in the filling.

I was really impressed with the filling. Its a very rich food including the crust. I would suggest either cutting the salt to half or using unsalted butter in the crust. The fresh pastry is worth the time!

Party guests really enjoyed this recipe. I made a couple days ahead and just froze them. They reheated beautifylly in the oven. Since they are a little labor intensive to make next time I will double the recipe. Also I noticed after I was finished making the recipe that I misread and used an 8oz cream cheese instead of the 3oz it called for...ended up being a wonderful mistake since it made a richer, creamier filing. I'll probably make the make same mistake (on purpose) next time. Also used premade pie crusts and rolled them out a little thinner. It took 2 crusts.

my family and I loved this. I added two cloves of fresh garlic and substituted regular salt for the garlic salt and it turned out really well... and I just ground up the cooked chicken chicken in the food processor (chopped the onion in there too) and it was nice and smooth.

I found this recipe to be very easy to follow. It is very good, taste like a chicken pot pie. don't leave out the poultry seasoning, its escential. My husband and I gave it a thumbs up.

I did not think this recipe was going to work for me. It was so messy. The dough was sticky and wouldn't fold over the chicken. I finally put the chicken on the circle and added another circle to the top and pinched all around w/ a fork. Then I didn't think they looked very appetizing. But I served them anyway and tried one myself. The dough has this amazing buttery crispiness---it was delightful. And the chicken was well spiced, a wonderful compliment to the dough. If I could just get them to look good, this would be a 5 star recipe! I am giving this 5 stars because I want to try again. The taste is truly amazing!

Followed others suggestions and added fresh garlic, used a pre-made pie crust, and added some shredded cheese (monterey jack/cheddar). Super great, and will probably make them again, with no other changes.

My rating of this recipe is skewed since I modified it so much. But the pastry itself is excellent and easy to work with. I did cut down on the butter (3/4 of a cup) and I did refrigerate the dough while I made the filling. I used 3 chicken breasts that I sauteed in butter and white wine. I added 2 chopped green onions, a cup of chopped mushrooms, 4 slices of cooked, diced bacon, 8 oz cream cheese, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and some fresh basil and oregano. I also cut the dough into 4 inch circles using a baby bowl because anything smaller was too hard to work with and used up so little filling. I made a double recipe of dough which made almost 4 dozen turnovers. It did take me nearly all day to do this but they freeze really well. I popped them into a 400 degree oven from the freezer for 10-15 minutes and they were ready to serve. I served them with ranch dressing. II will make these again when I have another day that I can devote to cooking! Thank you so much for sharing.

Fantastic!! If you're making for a party, double the recipe. I couldn't get these out the oven and on the table fast enough! Making ahead and freezing is the way to go.

Instead of making the home-made dough - just buy either Empanada frozen dough (already in circles 24 per pkg) or Asian Dumplling Wrappers (frozen, round or square) This cuts the prep time so much and is so much easier!

I often make these for my family using Pillsbury Biscuits. I just roll the individual biscuits out, add the chicken filling and fold them in half. The turnovers are meal size (as opposed to an appetizer...) and my kids love 'em! I use two 8 count biscuit packs and double the filling ingredients. I make a few changes depending on my mood (omit the onions for the kids, use garlic powder instead of garlic salt, etc.) but if you're brave enough to modify a recipe these could be altered to appeal to anyone's tastebuds. December 4th- added note: When I make these I roll out the dough in between sheets of waxed paper and I don't seem to have any problem with the dough getting too sticky or messy! I also used onion and chive cream cheese this time just for a change- didn't use the poultry seasoning either.

Very Good! Made for book club, had left overs, was easy and re-heated nicely. Used crescent rolls for dough and was delicious!

I made these for some friends of mine and they loved them. I made one small change to the pastry dough (I used about 2/3 cup of butter instead of 1) and they still turned out yummy!

These are fantastic. Don't mess with the recipe!! I followed it to a "T" and they turned out beautifully. The yummy buttery pastry is worth the extra effort. I made them several weeks ahead and froze them to use at a cocktail party (where they were gobbled up!). They reheated nicely and tasted delicious.

This looked interesting and it turned out that way! I made 45 turnovers and I was able to taste half of one!! Everyone loved them. They requested the recipe and I was able to pass out 10 copies to friends. My 5-year-old thought they were great (and I wasn't making them for home!). But I will now.

These are kind of time consuming to make, but they are so good! I made the first batch and my husband and two-year old son ate half of them, so I made another batch to bring to a friend's baby shower. There were only three left on the plate at the end of the party! Very easy to serve as a "strolling appetizer" (great for standing up and eating with little mess!). I loved them!!

I followed the directions for the most part. I think 1 cup of butter is entirely too much. I used about 1/2 of a stick and about 1/2 cup crisco. I also used to the food processor and chopped onion, celery and carrots, (not too fine), then sauted them. Added the chicken, then the seasonings and cheese and a little garlic powder. As with anything I'm making I taste it to see if it needs anything, I added a little more salt and pepper. These are EXCELLENT! Hubby said "Can we have these for dinner?" lol Next time I might try mushrooms and black olives with the chicken. A million ways to use this dough by adding the right spice to it, for instance, cayanne and use Bleu Cheese and buffalo sauce with the chicken...oh my.... :)

Very delicious... but so time consuming. They took me nearly 3 hours to make. I also had left-over pastry dough... so the next time I make it, I'll use a 3" cutter instead of a 2 1/2" one. Maybe even bigger.

Really good. Not as difficult to make as I thought. Don't be afraid of the butter. Rolling out with lots of flour and between waxpaper makes the process easier. I made according to the recipe but with turkey and added some celery and a half teaspoon of sage. It got rave reviews. Will definitely make again.

I made this recipe this weekend for a party that I was having. Having read previous reviews, I knew to allow myself plenty of time to make these. I doubled the recipe, however I think I only needed to make maybe 1-1/2 times the filling recipe because there was a lot left over. I refrigerated the pastry dough overnight, but to be honest with you, I don't think I needed to. I reduced the butter to 3/4 cup per recipe. The dough became easier to work with the more it was handled. Also, roll the dough between two pieces of waxed paper, liberally floured. It is important to use a lot of flour because it is rolled so thinly. It took me 2-3 hours to roll and fill 65 turnovers! I made the honey mustard dipping sauce for these turnovers, and I highly recommend this. These were absolutely fabulous appetizers and well worth all the effort. I could not put them out fast enough.

These were so good! I made them for a dinner party that I had recently. I've read the other reviews though and I'd like to offer a couple of tips for working with a butter pastry. First, make sure that your butter and water is very cold. I usually pop mine in the freezer for an hour or so before making the crust. Another hour or so in the freezer after you've made the crust is a good idea too. I didn't find these time consuming at all.

Oh my gosh, these are the best. When the only thing that the man in your life can say is umm, you know that you've scored. These turnovers are the best things ever for those football Sundays, and I have made them a little larger to pack for lunches. I have stopped buying those expensive hotpockets thanks to this recipe. I have found that you can also add a little cheese and spinich to the filling, and they come out terrific.

This was a big hit last Christmas. The filling is great in wraps and even tried it in savory crêpes.

I make something similiar to this pretty often. Instead of pastry crust, I use eggroll wrappers! I know it sounds crazy, but they turn out quite well. Secondly, instead of poultry seasoning and paprika, I use 1 1/2 tsp dried dill weed and a hearty dash of cayenne pepper. They are absolutely to die for! Nonetheless, I did try this recipe, and it was good too!!

These are to die for!! My husband and I had the whole batch for dinner! I will definitely make these again, but I would use less butter in the pastry next time.

These were easy to make but we found them to be a little blah tasting, needed something. Overall they were good but not great. michele ontario, canada

wonderful recipe! i made about 200 of these for my daughters buffet wedding and they were a hit. premade and frozen, it was so simple to just warm them up in the oven and serve. thankyou for a brilliant recipe.

These were tasty little gems! I used 1/2 ww flour on the pastry and cut the butter by 1/2 and it was perfect. I see no need in adding that extra 1/2 cup of butter. I also made them twice as big as suggested so instead of tiny ones they were like toe pies. I brushed on some milk on the tops and there you have it. Great with tabasco. Very kid friendly too.

These are awesome! I used leftover chicken from the night before and I just shredded it. I added a bit more cream cheese and seasonings. I also made the pastry circles larger to allow more of a filling inside and had to bake them longer because of this. Even my picky husband loved these and requested that I make more to put in the freezer for his lunches!

I made these for a babyshower and they were a HUGE hit with everyone alike, they were all gone and I DOUBLED the batch too. I followed the recipe exactly, except that I added chopped broccoli, mushrooms, carrots and green onions. I made it the night before and froze them, the baked them the day of and it was perfect.

These are delicious! I could eat the filling straight (but I try not to). The first time I made these, I created the dough myself. It was a lot of work and the dough wasn't that fantastic, plus a little hard. Every time since that, I use store-bought refrigerated croissant dough, which works fine! I'll cut the triangles in half, then use a rolling pin to make a rough circle or rectangle. Put in the filling, close them up, and sprinkle a little paprika on the top and you're done! I've also had no ramifications from skipping the "vent step". Creating the vents actually allows them to dry out a little in the oven. These do work well after freezing, but are best fresh! Thanks for an amazing recipe!

Worth the work. Although these take some preparation time, they are absolutely delicious. I made mine two days ahead, froze them, then reheated them for about 5 minutes. They were wiped out by our guests in no time at all. Excellent recipe! I will be making these again (and again..) thank you!

These went very quickly at our family Christmas party! I found that using canned chicken worked a little better, easier to manage.

I love this. I can't tell you how many times I have used this as dinner of at a party and they are all gone. Had this at my wedding and they were the first ones gone. I add more garlic and also some cavendars to taste. Definately a recipe to try and taste it and make changes to suite yourself.

these turnovers were awesome and are something i intend to use very often. thanks for recipe.

I was short on time and made these for lunch with canned, refrigerated biscuits instead of making the dough in the recipe. They worked well but did puff up a little while baking, so it wasn't exactly like a turnover. The filling was very tasty. I'll try the recipe again following the directions.

These were a disaster. I will admit it could be my mother in law and I that goofed up, but most of them were not eaten.

Very good...I added chopped cremini mushrooms and garlic for a more savory taste. Next batch will also add a little fresh thyme. Cheated with Pillsbury Pie Crust rolled very thin (exactly two double crusts cut into rounds with a drinking glass). Freezing them to reheat for a cocktail party. Will add an egg wash to make them prettier next time!

These were pretty good, but in my opinion - not good enough to be worth all of the effort.

Wonderful!! Made it for a Ladies Party and it was a hit!! Just follow the other reviews to spice it up :)

Yummmm!!! I made this as it is written. I personally would not like to substitute the pastry part of this recipe unless I was in a hurry. These are a bit time consuming to make, but worth the effort. The pastry was so flaky with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The filling was so flavorful! Everyone gobbled these things up and raved about them! Maybe next time I will roll the dough out into 2 logs and roll the mix up in those, bake it, then cut it into slices...that may take some of the time out of preparation! Thank you for the tasty recipe!

The crust tastes great and it is pretty easy to make. However, I find the flavor of the filling ordinary. I put some curry to make the flavor more exotic.

So easy and so so good. I did add a little goat cheese, just because I'm currently addicted to it. The only problem was that they looked so perfect that no one believed me that I made them!

Very good. If you know how to make pie dough, then your shells will turn out nice and flaky--it's all a matter of technique. One thing I will say is this: let the filling cool completely (or even chill it) otherwise it will melt your dough. I thought the filling was fine as is. Just what I would have expected for a chicken turnover.

I love this recipe but I did change it a bit. Like some of the other reviewers suggested, I did not use the full amount of butter in the pastry (I used a little more than half what the recipe calls for). They turned out great!

These were bland

OMG! These are so good! Filling and dough were easier to work with when chilled.

This is the second time I've made these. Since it's the Christmas season, I used Christmas tree cookie cutters (about 5" tall) and stuffed the Christmas trees with the chicken mixture. Not only was this a big hit with my 3 and 4 year old, but with my 37 year old hubby as well! So if you're looking for a tasty appetizer, or fun, quick dinner idea, this is the one to try. Oh, I also used pre-rolled dough (found in the local Walmart by the biscuit dough) to cut down on prep time. Outstanding!

This recipe was pretty good and people loved them. But we all agreed it needed some kind of dipping sauce. I made the pastry as listed and couldn't roll it as thin as it prolly needed to be. So i might try a store bought pastry dough next time. We added broccoli and carrots and some cheddar cheese i believe for more of a "pot pie" feel. thanks for the recipe!

This turned out looking pretty impressive. My family really liked it, (especially the kids) although I thought it tended to the dry and bland side. Nezt time I will season the filling a lot more.---I agree it was difficult, however I got a lot better at it as I went along. I guess you need to get in there and play around to figure out exactly how to do it. Will defiantly try again.

I did not like these at all...granted I used pre-made dough..but the stuffing mix was not anything I would make again.

I have made these great little bites several times and find that you can add and take away items of what you like. Be sure to prep the dough and refigerate overnight as it is easier to work with. Roll out the dough very thin otherwise the turnover is more dough than filling. I pinch the edges by hand and the flat side of the fork to ensure the filling does not blow out when cooking. I brush them with egg as well to give them a more golden appearance. These are a ton of work, I usually need an entire day in the kitchen from start to clean up. They are well worth it if you need a large yeild of bite size food itmes for a group. They are wonderful to freeze and reheat up in the microwave. I also make larger sizes for the kids lunches and thet love them. Thank you for sharing.

I have 15 month old twins and found that this recipe was tedious. I would make it again but not often at all and not with the kids around. I guess overall the flavor was good.

This recipe is delicious, however I made a few small changes that I think enhanced this dish. I added 1.5 tsp of chili powder and 1 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese. I also used my food processor to grind the cooked chicken which worked really well. I made enough for 50 people and had a little filling left over that was great for a spread on crackers!

This was delicious. I'm sure it'll be the hit at my next party. This is exactly the crust dough I was looking for in a turnover. My search is over. thanks. Only change I made was using 2/3 butter in dough as suggested in the reviews and I used a 3-inch round glass to cut my dough because the 2 inch is too tiny for me to handle. It was ready to eat in 2 hours because it took 30 minutes just to shred the chicken. All worth it though. Thanks again.

My 4yr. old and I made this together-everyone loved them! I thought i made enough to freeze for later, but my husband and brother-in-law split the last one. I did use can biscuits rolled thin instead of making my own dough-next time going to try cresent rolls.

This was ok.

Used this recipe as an entree. Simply covered the turnovers with gravey. Everybody loved them. Even cold, they were a big hit!

These are great! My hubby even loved them which surprised me since he hates pot pie. Only thing I changed was I used toffuti cream cheese since I cant eat dairy. Couldn't tell the difference.

I recently made these for a home show party I had. I did make a slight change...I used ground turkey instead of chicken. They were a huge hit! Everyone asked about them and munched them right up!

I found the pastry a bit hard to work with, too sticky & I followed the instructions to the "T". The flavor of it was good though, next time I will cut the butter down too. I also used this recipe as a base recipe to mini pot pies. I doubled the recipe, added a can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken with Herbs soup, cooked diced potatoes, and bag of frozen veggies & diced the chicken. Awesome "pot pie pockets".

I was searching for some tasty and simple picnic recipe,I made these tiny turn overs.It came out real good and we all ( me, my 10 month old kid, my husband and our friends) liked it a lot.

This was a pretty good dish. Just wanted to share how I saved time making the dish. Instead of cooking the dough from scratch, I used Pillsbury dinner rolls. It was just as tasty without the mess.

I thought this recipe was fabulous - I didn't change a thing. The pastry was easy to make and rolled out perfectly. I wanted to make something fun that I could have my daughter help me with - and she loved cutting out the shapes and then sealing them with the fork. Thanks for the recipe.

These are awesome!! really worth the trouble! I made all the preparations the night before so today I only had to roll the dough and bake these little things.. As suggested by other reviewers I used a little less butter than the recipe calls for, about 3/4 of the amount. Also, I used a cajun spices mix instead of the poultry seasoning and celery salt instead of garlic salt. I didn't have a problem making the dough, maybe because I used my food possessor.. Everyone in my family loved them! Will definitely make these again. Thanks allot for the recipe!

Well, they took FOREVER to make!! That's why I'm giving it four stars. They tasted good though... I didn't get to make the other stuff I was going to make because these took so long. I think next time if I do something like this I will just use chicken salad from the deli and some premade dough to wrap them in.

These were okay. I wasn't terribly impressed. I will try making them again, but will try different spices to kick it up a notch. I just thought they were too bland. I did use premade dough and a 3 inch cookie cutter which worked out really well.

I made these for my holiday open house. The pastry was excellent. I ended up adding extra cream cheese to the chicken mixture and I'm glad I did, because the mixture was a little dry, even after adding additional cream cheese. I also added a little bit of salt to the chicken. This would be fun to experiment with by adding different fillings. Thanks for the recipe!

Oh this was so good, Make more for dinner the taste is just creamy and melts in your mouth.kids loved it

This was absolutely delicious. I made the crust per the instructions provided and it didn't take much time at all. To keep the fork from sticking to the crust while I was crimping the edges of the pastry, I dipped the tines in flour and that worked well. I also added an extra ounce of cream cheese to the chicken and it came out smooth and flavorful.

These are good. I used crescent rolls to make the little pies, and they didn't look near as pretty as the pic. But they really are very, very good.

Loved these! I used rotisserie chicken, which saved time) and made the filling the night before. Adding paprika to the dough was a delicious touch. Five tablespoons of water would've been too much. Stop at four tablespoons and see if the dough will hold together. Rolling the dough thin and using the 2-1/2" cutter yielded about 75 turnovers! These were delicious at brunch.

I thought these were okay. Husband felt they were a little too rich for dinner. My sons didn't like the cream cheese in it. I'm thinking these would work great as an appetizer for a special occasion, but not as an everyday type of meal.

The pastry is wonderful and very easy to work with. I changed the spices for the chicken. I used about 1/2 tsp of cumin and 1/2 tsp of curry. Next time I would up the cumin to 3/4 tsp. I froze unbaked turnovers and baked later. It was for a shower and I was pretty busy so not sure of the cooking time I used, I think it was about 20 minutes.

I thought these were good. They were a lot of work. I think the 2.5" cutter was too small...next time I think I'll try a 3" size or possibly larger. I put extras in the freezer, so hopefully they'll turn out okay when I thaw them later!

The pastry portion of this recipe is absolutely wonderful. We add different veggies to the filling depending on what we have on hand. Be sure to poke a couple of holes in the pastry to vent so they turnover doesn't rupture and leak. When I'm short on time, I use canned chicken breast meat to speed up the process.

I got great reviews on this but I thought the filling needed more flavor. I used pie crust, I minced the onion and I used and a pampered chef pastry press to make the crimp. I bought a whole rotisserie chicken which made it easier to prep the shredded chicken. The first batch took a little time prepare but the second took no time at all.

We love this so much, I make it for the main course! I am a horrible baker, but this dough is impossible to screw up.

I followed the suggestion of using ready made pie crust. I liked it, but 8 other people were not really impressed. Next time I will stick to the recipe!

These little snacks are so yummy! As other reviewers, I cut back on the butter in the crust. In the filling I added grated carrots and chopped fresh broccoli. Next time I will add more broccoli as my husband and I like that flavor. Great recipe!

I followed the directions, but the dough just didn't work for me. They turned out golden, crisp...and super crumbly and a bit too salty. You couldn't even pick them up without crumbling- so much for the appetizer potential. The chicken filling is quite good though- I would recommend that part. I won't make again...not worth the work for the result. Thanks for sharing though- they seemed more appealing to others.

Not sure recipes fault but didn't turn out well

This recipe tastes similar to another on this site that is a whole lot easier to prepare! It was good, but I would rather prepare the one using the packaged crescent rolls.

Alot of work, but very good, especially if you serve it with a honey mustard dipping sauce.

Added shredded sharp cheddar to the pastry. Also added cayenne and extra garlic salt to the filling, to perk it up a bit. Had extra filling left over--single batch only made about 2 dozen, don't think I rolled the pastry out thin enough. They turned out well, I took a couple batches to a holiday party and had no leftovers.

Everybody loved and I was able to make ahead of time! I tried with pie crust but will try with different dough products. Good switch on a pot luck if everyone is bringing desserts.

surprisingly flavorful and very good! the pastry was really flaky and everyone said "they just melt in your mouth." however i can't help but wonder if the full cup of butter is necessary... next time i might try less butter. but they were really really good! give it a try!

Below is my original review. However, the people at the party I brought these to insisted that I raise my rating from 4 to 5 stars. They requested that I make this for every get-together! ************************************** I agree with others who say this is a really great basic recipe but needs a little something added to the filling to get it to the five-star level, and that depends on your individual taste. I plan to try it with dill, tarragon, curry or Mexican spices. But it is definitely worth the work, and they look lovely. I used 3" rounds, but will try 4" the next time to make it easier to work with.

Very good crust, however a little too much effort.