Turn leftover turkey into an entirely new meal with this turkey pot pie recipe. This dish has cooked turkey and vegetables in a creamy gravy with herbs. It has a golden buttery pie crust on top. You can make this base recipe your own by using the ingredients you already have on hand. To save time, you can use vegetables that have already been cut up or that you have frozen. Maximum comfort food for minimal effort!.
Every fall season, I try to find a few recipes to use up leftover cooked turkey or chicken. (After all the turkey sandwiches we’ve eaten!) Pot pie is usually the first thing that comes to mind because it’s always a good choice that everyone likes. No wonder it joins my list of 30 delicious fall dinner recipe ideas.
Turkey pot pie is the ultimate comfort food, especially during the holidays when you likely have leftover turkey from a big meal. This hearty, savory pie is pretty simple to make at home from scratch. With a creamy turkey filling tucked into a flaky pie crust, homemade turkey pot pie makes for a satisfying family dinner any time of year.
Ingredients Needed
To make turkey pot pie at home you will need
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Pie dough – store-bought refrigerated pie dough works great for ease. You can also make your own using flour, butter, salt and cold water.
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Butter and oil – for cooking the aromatics and making the sauce.
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Onion, carrots, celery – the aromatic veggies.
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Potatoes – provide starch and thickness
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Frozen peas – add color and texture.
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Cooked turkey – use leftover roasted or smoked turkey.
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Flour – for thickening the sauce,
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Chicken or turkey broth – for flavor.
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Heavy cream – for a creamy sauce.
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Herbs and seasonings like parsley, thyme, sage, garlic salt, pepper.
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Egg – for brushing the pie crust.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Follow these simple steps for how to make turkey pot pie from scratch:
Cook the Vegetables
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Preheat the oven to 375°F.
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In a skillet, cook the diced carrots, onion, celery, and potatoes in butter and oil over medium heat until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Make the Sauce
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Stir in the flour until well blended. Cook for 2 minutes.
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Gradually whisk in the chicken or turkey broth.
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Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes until thick.
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Stir in the cream and herbs/seasonings of choice.
Add Turkey and Assemble
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Add the cooked chopped turkey and frozen peas to the sauce.
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Pour mixture into a 9-inch pie dish lined with 1 pie crust.
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Top with second crust, seal edges, and cut slits to vent.
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Brush crust with egg wash (egg + 1 Tbsp water).
Bake the Pie
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Bake for 35-45 minutes until crust is golden brown.
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Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.
Turkey Pot Pie Variations
There are many ways to customize homemade turkey pot pie:
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Use different vegetables like sweet potatoes, turnips, mushrooms, corn, or green beans.
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Add chopped cooked chicken instead of or along with turkey.
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Use turkey or chicken gravy instead of making a sauce from scratch.
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Season the filling with sage, rosemary, thyme, poultry seasoning, or other herbs.
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Top with puff pastry instead of standard pie dough.
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Make individual sized pot pies in ramekins.
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Mix up the shape by baking in a casserole dish and topping with biscuits.
Tips for Making Turkey Pot Pie
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Roast extra vegetables when cooking your turkey to use in the pot pie.
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Use any broth, gravy, or drippings from cooking the turkey to boost flavor.
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Allow cooked turkey to cool before dicing to prevent shredding.
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Freeze leftover unbaked pot pies for up to 3 months. Thaw before baking.
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If the crust browns too quickly, loosely tent foil over the pie while baking.
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Let the baked pie rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing for clean cuts.
How to Store and Reheat Turkey Pot Pie
Pot pies can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Cover tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Reheat individual portions in the microwave until hot and bubbly.
For longer freezer storage, wrap the unbaked pies well and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking as directed.
Enjoy Classic Turkey Pot Pie at Home
Homemade turkey pot pie is comfort food at its finest. With a few simple ingredients and just 20 minutes of active prep time, you can make this hearty meal for your family. Use up holiday leftovers or cook a turkey just for pot pie! Play around with fillings and crusts to make it your own.
Frequency of Entities:
Pie dough – 3
Butter – 2
Oil – 2
Onion – 1
Carrots – 2
Celery – 1
Potatoes – 2
Peas – 2
Turkey – 5
Flour – 2
Broth – 2
Cream – 2
Herbs – 1
Egg – 1
Variations – 1
Tips – 1
Storage – 2
Ingredients in Turkey Pot Pie Filling (& Substitutions)
Today’s filling is similar to my flavor-forward and extra hearty vegetable pot pie. You need:
- A lot of our baked goods start with butter, and this one does too. Butter adds flavor, and flour helps the gravy-like filling get thick enough.
- Vegetable Base: Chopped onion, celery, and carrots make a tasty base for many soups and sauces, like creamy chicken noodle soup. In today’s recipe, I also add mushrooms. To your taste, you can use more or less of each ingredient. If you don’t want mushrooms, you can use more of the vegetable add-ins listed below instead.
- When I cook, I use three cloves of garlic, but you can use four for more flavor.
- Flour: Flour thickens the gravy filling.
- 4 Main Spices: Add salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary to the filling to make it taste better. If you don’t have rosemary, add more thyme. Sage is also good.
- Turkey or chicken stock or broth: this filling needs broth and whole milk as its liquids. Use turkey broth or stock if you have it. Or use chicken.
- Whole Milk: I use whole milk for pot pie fillings most of the time. If you want to drink something other than milk, I suggest plain, unsweetened oat milk or almond milk.
- Add-ins for vegetables: This is where you can really have fun by using the vegetables you like best or have on hand. I usually use frozen peas. You can use chopped fresh or frozen broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, leeks, bell peppers, green beans, butternut squash, the like, instead of peas. You can also use fresh, frozen, or canned corn. If these vegetables are already cooked, that’s fine too. You don’t have to thaw or cook them first. Just add them in!.
- Cooked Turkey…
Start With Pie Crust
Before the filling, have your pie crust prepared and ready to go. I love making my own pie crust. The dough is made from butter and shortening, which makes it the flakiest and tender crust. You only need one disc of pie dough for this turkey pot pie recipe. If you used my homemade pie crust recipe for your pumpkin pie, pecan pie, or French silk pie, you’ll have one extra disc for today’s pot pie!
You can make the dough up to 5 days in advance.
Here are some other crust options:
- Store-bought: Use 1 sheet/disc of store-bought pie crust.
- All-butter crust: If you want to make your own crust without shortening, try my all-butter pie crust.
- Double crust: To make a double crust turkey pot pie, just follow the steps for making and cooking my double crust chicken pot pie. But really, I don’t think you’ll miss the bottom crust in this one.
- Cookies: Instead of pie crust, use the simple biscuit topping in this recipe for biscuit vegetable pot pie.
Can I use puff pastry? You can use thawed store-bought puff pastry instead of a top pie crust. Keep in mind, though, that the bottom of the dough that touches the filling usually tastes soggy. For that reason, it’s an option I usually skip when making pot pie. Biscuits are a great alternative to pie crust, see my biscuit vegetable pot pie!.
How to make Turkey Pot Pie
FAQ
What is pot pie crust made of?
What is pot pie gravy made of?
How do you thicken a pot pie filling?
How do you cook a turkey pot pie?
Add ingredients to crust, top with another crust: Fill the pie crust in the prepared pan. Top with the second pie crust and form pie edges. Cut and X in the middle of the crust with a knife. Bake and serve: Bake for 1 hour or until fully baked. Remove from oven and then let the turkey pot pie sit for 10 minutes before serving.
How do you make a turkey pot pie sauce?
Stir in peas: Stir in the frozen peas and then remove from heat and prepare the sauce for the turkey pot pie. Mix butter and flour: In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Gradually add the flour and stir into a paste. Add chicken broth and seasonings: Add the chicken broth and whisk together until the sauce starts to thicken.
How do you make a turkey pot pie with frozen peas?
You can add a splash of chicken broth if the mixture seems a little dry. Stir in peas: Stir in the frozen peas and then remove from heat and prepare the sauce for the turkey pot pie. Mix butter and flour: In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Gradually add the flour and stir into a paste.
What is a turkey pot pie?
This turkey pot pie is a hearty and classic dinner! It has a flakey crust and a creamy, vegetable and turkey filling that your entire family will go crazy over! If you love comforting dinners like this, then you must try out some of my favorite tried and true recipes like this Soup, Shepherds, and Chicken Pot Pie.
How do you make a Turkey pie crust?
Add the turkey cubes, peas, 1/2 cup cream, parsley, garlic salt and pepper. Stir until everything is well combined. Spoon the turkey mixture evenly into two ungreased 9-inch pie plates. TMB Studio Unroll the pie crusts, and place one over each pie plate. TMB Studio Trim the crusts, and seal them to the edge of the pie plates. TMB Studio
How much pie dough do you need for a turkey pot pie?
This turkey pot pie recipe uses just 1 disc of pie dough, so if you made my homemade pie crust recipe for your pumpkin pie, pecan pie, or French silk pie, you’ll have 1 leftover for today’s pot pie! You can make the dough up to 5 days in advance. Here are some other crust options: Store-bought: Use 1 sheet/disc of store-bought pie crust.