Turkey pot pie is a tasty twist on a classic homecooked meal, packed with a creamy, flavorful sauce, colorful vegetables, and tender leftover turkey.
There’s nothing better than a cozy comforting homecooked meal, and what’s more comforting than a rich, saucy pot pie? This turkey pot pie is perfect for a Sunday dinner gathered around the table. Just serve it family style in the baking dish with a serving spoon and let everyone dish out their own portion. It’s heaty and filling as it is, but for an even more complete meal, serve it with a salad and a classic dessert.
There are a few different ways to make turkey pot pie. For this, you’ll use puff pastry dough and leftover turkey. The flaky, golden crust is lovely, and the creamy gravy, turkey, and veggies are savory and flavorful. Not to mention, this is a versatile meal that can be modified to your liking.
Why You’ll Love Turkey Pot Pie
Easy to make – This turkey pot pie is surprisingly easy to make. The hardest part is rolling out the pastry dough and that takes just a minute per sheet.
Family-style friendly – This is a big serving that can easily serve a hungry family of 6.
Basic Ingredients – You’ll find the puff pastry sheets in the freezer section. Everything else is leftovers, produce, or already in your pantry. Don’t let the ingredients list fool you though – this is full of flavor!
Hearty and filling – This pot pie has a generous amount of turkey and plenty of vegetables, making it a great source of protein and nutrients. And the puff pastry adds just the right amount of doughy deliciousness to fill your belly.
Great make ahead meal – You can mostly prepare this ahead of time, then do the final baking when you’re ready to serve.
Turkey Pot Pie Ingredients Notes
To make turkey pot pie, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Turkey: Leftover turkey, like a leftover Thanksgiving turkey, is perfect for this pot pie, but in the event you didn’t recently make a holiday turkey, you can pre-roast a turkey breast and shred it when you’re ready, or you can use leftover chicken or shred a rotisserie chicken.
- Vegetables: This recipe is full of traditional pot pie veggies – peas and carrots, potatoes, and onions. The onion and garlic sautéed in butter create a flavorful base for the sauce, the peas and carrots add a pop of fresh, sweet flavor, and the tender potatoes make it a bit heartier.
- Chicken broth: You could just use water, but it wouldn’t be nearly as flavorful.
- Corn Starch: I use corn starch mixed into broth as a thickener to avoid adding dairy to this dish, but you could add whole milk, heavy cream, or mix flour into the butter to make a roux when you’re done sautéing the onion and garlic.
- Seasonings: Thyme and sage are essential in homecooked, farm-style dishes like this pot pie, especially when turkey is involved. The celery salt adds a sweet, grassy, umami flavor and the addition of salt and pepper at the end enhances the overall flavor profile.
- Egg: One is all you need – beat it well and baste the top of the pot pie before baking for that shiny golden crust. You can omit it if you prefer, but it really does look so nice!
Refer to the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients with measurements.
How To Make Turkey Pot Pie
- Make the base layer of the pie: Grease or spray a baking dish and line the bottom with the first pastry sheet. Bake until cooked through and set aside. It will puff up a bit so it may not stay if you try to prop it up against the edges, but you can try, and it will create a nice cradle along the bottom of the baking dish for the filling to sit on.
- Sauté your aromatics and potatoes: Melt the butter in your dutch oven and sauté the onion, potatoes, and garlic until the onions are tender and fragrant. I like to add the potatoes at this step so that they are sure to be tender after baking, since they take longer than the other veggies.
- Season your pie: Stir in sage, thyme, and celery salt to get the spices warmed up.
- Build the filling: Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil, then stir in the peas, carrots, and turkey. Return to a boil and stir in the cornstarch slurry. Simmer until thickened and season with salt and pepper.
- Assemble your pot pie: Pour the filling into the baking dish directly over the precooked puff pastry. Roll out the second sheet of puff pastry as needed and place over the baking dish, completely covering the filling. You can tuck the pastry inside around the edges, or allow it to lay over the rim of the baking dish. Baste the top with beaten egg wash.
- Finish and serve: Bake until the top crust is a deep golden color and cooked through, and the sauce is hot and bubbly. Serve and enjoy a homecooked meal.
Variations, Substitutions, & Cooking Tips
Thaw the pastry dough, but keep it refrigerated – If it comes to room temperature it is harder to work with and tends to stick together. Keeping it refrigerated until ready to use ensures quick and painless pie preparation.
Swap the protein – Of course you can use chicken, but you can also try this with leftover pork or even shredded beef.
Customize your veggies – Add mushrooms, asparagus, bell peppers, corn, green beans, leeks, parsnips, or any vegetable that you enjoy.
Make it completely dairy free – The only dairy I include here is butter. Some recipes call for milk or other dairy-based ingredients, but you can eliminate dairy entirely by using ghee or avocado oil to sauté your onions and potatoes. Most puff pastry is dairy free, but check your package ingredients just in case.
Make it vegetarian – Eliminate the turkey and egg wash, swap the liquid for vegetable broth, and bulk it up with extra veggies to make a vegetarian pot pie.
Change up the crust – You can use a pre-made pie crust, or make your own homemade pie dough for this recipe. You can even prepare it with a biscuit topping.
Swap out your seasonings – Rosemary, tarragon, poultry seasoning, parsley, nutmeg, and paprika are a few different things you can add to your pot pie to change up the flavor profile.
Give it a cultural makeover – Make it a Mexican style pot pie by adding jalapenos or diced green chiles, a dash of cayenne pepper, or make a chile verde sauce for the filling.
Storage & Reheating
Turkey pot pie will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days in an airtight container. The crust may not freeze well, as it will alter the textrure.
To reheat your pot pie, you can bake it in the oven at 350 until heated through to restore the crispiness of the crust. If you’re in a hurry, simply add your desired portion to a microwave safe dish and zap in 60 second increments until heated through.
Easy Turkey Pot Pie Recipe
Turkey pot pie is a tasty twist on a classic homecooked meal, packed with a creamy, flavorful sauce, colorful vegetables, and tender leftover turkey.
Ingredients
- 1 package of puff pastry sheets (with 2 sheets)
- 3 cups cooked and shredded turkey
- 1/2 stick of butter (salted or unsalted)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 large golden potato, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 2 cups chicken broth, plus 1/4 cup broth reserved
- 1 package of frozen peas and carrots
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x12 baking dish or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet and line the baking dish. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the puff pastry is cooked through. Remove from the oven.
- While the bottom pastry is baking, melt butter in a dutch oven. Add onions, garlic, and potato, and cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in sage, thyme, and celery salt, and saute for 1 minute.
- Add in 2 cups of broth and bring to a boil.
- Stir in peas and carrots and turkey, then bring back to a boil.
- Add 2 tablespoons cornstarch to 1/4 cup room temperature chicken broth and whisk until mixed well. Add into the pot and stir gently while sauce returns to a boil.
- Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, until nicely thickened.
- Pour mixture into baking dish over bottom pastry layer.
- Roll out second pastry sheet and cover the baking dish. You can either fold the sheet over the rim, or tuck into the edges along the inside of the dish.
- Brush the top of the pastry with beaten egg.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until pot pie is bubbling around the edges and the pastry is golden brown.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 327Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 127mgSodium: 665mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 24g
This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.
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