Turkey Pot Pie
on Nov 07, 2021, Updated Nov 20, 2023
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Brightly colored vegetables mingle with satisfying chunks of leftover cooked turkey in one of the simplest but most delicious pot pies ever.
Brightly colored vegetables mingle with satisfying chunks of leftover cooked turkey in one of the simplest but most delicious pot pies ever. This is one of the best reasons to make an extra-large turkey or turkey breast for Thanksgiving (or Easter, or Christmas…)! This makes perfect use of the leftover turkey meat, plus some vegetables and other ingredients you will likely have in your house after a holiday feast.
Add a purchased puff pastry crust, and you are minutes away from a brand-new meal! A far cry from reheated leftovers. In fact, most members of my family look forward to the transformation of the turkey leftovers almost as much as the original meal. Especially if they come in the form of a pot pie!
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Turkey Pot Pie: Brightly colored vegetables mingle with satisfying chunks of leftover cooked turkey in one the most delicious pot pies ever.
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Turkey Pot Pie Ingredients
You may have most or all of the ingredients for this turkey pot pie recipe on hand during the holidays!
- Frozen puff pastry – Defrost the pastry in the refrigerator before using so it’s soft enough to roll out and pliable enough to drape over the pie.
- Unsalted butter – For sauteing the vegetables.
- Mushrooms, onions, and carrots – Add color, nutrition, and flavor to the pot pie.
- All-purpose flour – Making a roux at the start by mixing the flour with the butter and vegetables gets rid of that raw floury taste that you get in some pot pies, and then the flour thickens the sauce.
- Turkey broth – Chicken broth is also fine. If you are using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, make a broth from the leftover bones!
- Heavy cream – Makes this dish super creamy. You could substitute half-and-half or whole milk if you wish.
- Cooked turkey – This recipe is perfect for using up leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
- Corn and peas – You can use fresh, canned, or frozen corn and peas. They bring sweetness, texture, and a little pop of color to the inside of this pot pie.
The Best Vegetables for Pot Pie Filling
You can see here that the filling includes carrots, onions, mushrooms, corn, and peas, making for a vibrantly hued casserole. However, should you have other vegetables on hand and want to sub them in, you should absolutely do that.
Cooked pearl onions in cream sauce (or not), leftover peas, green beans cut into 1-inch pieces, extra roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes…these are all fair game, and what a smart way to use up extra vegetables. This is a real boon if you end up with a cup of this and a cup of that and don’t have enough to serve on their own the next day.
How to Make Turkey Pot Pie
- Sauté the vegetables: Brown the mushrooms, onions, and carrots in the melted butter.
- Make the sauce: Add in the flour, salt, and pepper and stir to coat. Slowly add in the broth and cream, stirring and simmering until the mixture thickens.
- Finish the filling: Add in the turkey, corn, and peas. Pour it into a pie pan.
- Add the pastry: Roll out the thawed puff pastry dough to make it a little thinner. Then, cut some shapes on the surface to create steam holes so that steam can escape through the crust in the oven. Drape the pastry over the filling and trim the edges.
- Bake: Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the pastry is browned and flaky, then cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Tips for Making Puff Pastry Crust with Frozen Pastry
After cooking a big holiday meal, I’m usually not in the mood to make my own pie crust. I’d rather concentrate on the filling! I am an unabashed fan of refrigerated pie crusts and frozen puff pastry. Here, I chose frozen and defrosted puff pastry to easily top the turkey pot pie in a very stylish and sophisticated way. Purchased puff pastry yields a super flaky, buttery, and light top crust, a great contrast to the luscious, creamy filling below.
Make sure to defrost the puff pastry in the fridge overnight if you’ve bought the frozen kind (which is the most readily available). Then, let it sit at room temp for about 20 minutes before rolling it out.
- Roll out the puff pastry dough slightly on a lightly floured surface.
- If you have a small cookie cutter, you can cut 4 to 6 shapes from the crust.
- Place the puff pastry over the filling, and trim off the corners if they hang below the bottom of the pan. If you didn’t cut out shapes from the crust, use a sharp knife to make several slits in the crust so steam can escape.
- If you like, use a brush of cream or milk to adhere the shapes to the top of the crust for decoration. I used a little leaf cookie cutter.
Turkey Broth
Did you know that they have turkey broth in the supermarket? It’s easily available, particularly during the last few months of the year in particular. I always pick up a few cartons for the holidays for my gravy, and after the meal, to really lean into the turkey leftover thing.
If you don’t have turkey broth, you can certainly use chicken broth here. And if you’ve made your own stock from the leftover turkey and turkey bones, then you are in for a deeply flavored pot pie.
More Leftover Turkey Recipes
- Turkey Posole Soup
- Turkey Reuben Sandwiches
- Leftover Turkey Split Pea Soup
- Turkey Picadillo
- Turkey Tetrazzini
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Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (defrosted in the refrigerator; half of a 17.3 ounce package)
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup roughly chopped mushrooms
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups turkey or chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream (half-and-half or whole milk)
- 3 cups shredded or diced cooked turkey
- ½ cup corn (fresh, canned, or frozen; they don’t have to be thawed)
- 1 cup peas (fresh, canned or frozen; they don’t have to be thawed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, and carrots and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and that liquid has evaporated. The vegetables should be just starting to turn golden. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper and continue to stir until the vegetables are well coated with the flour and everything turns a blond color. Gradually add in the broth and cream, stirring the whole time, until the mixture is thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- Add the turkey, corn, and peas and stir to combine. Fill a 9-inch pie pan with the pot pie mixture.
- Roll out the puff pastry dough slightly on a lightly floured surface. If you have a small cookie cutter, you can cut 4 to 6 shapes from the crust. If you like, use a brush of cream or milk to adhere the shapes to the top of the crust for decoration (I used a little leaf cookie cutter).
- Place the puff pastry over the filling, and trim off the corners if they hang below the bottom of the pan. If you didn’t cut out shapes from the crust, use a sharp knife to make several slits in the crust so steam can escape.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the crust is golden brown and everything is bubbly. Let the pie sit for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving, or you can serve with a large serving spoon instead (the pie won’t cut neatly; that’s part of the charm).
