Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

Even if you've planned your Thanksgiving menu perfectly, you'll probably still have leftovers once the big meal is over. If you're looking for something to do with your extra turkey, here’s the recipe for my delicious pot pie. You can make it with chicken or turkey… whatever’s in your fridge. You may even have leftover onion and celery from the Thanksgiving stuffing—even better! Just make sure to pair it with leftover Thanksgiving desserts—if there are any!

What is turkey pot pie made of?

It's just like chicken pot pie, but with turkey! The filling is made with vegetables like onion, carrot, celery, and green peas. It becomes creamy thanks to some butter, flour, broth, and heavy cream. I sometimes like to add a splash of wine to the filling, but you can leave it out if your family is like mine and doesn't like the taste. For the turkey, you can use dark meat or light meat, and can shred or dice it. It's up to you. The top is just a simple pie crust! Any crust works: Use store-bought or frozen puff pastry, or dive into the depths of your freezer to find the homemade crust from that Thanksgiving pie you never got around to baking.

What's the best way to reheat turkey pot pie?

You can cover the whole dish with foil and reheat the pot pie in a 350ºF oven. Depending on how much is left, it could take 10 to 20 minutes. Just be sure not to place your dish into the oven directly from the fridge. It could shatter, and who wants to clean up shards of glass and turkey from the bottom of an oven until the end of time?  Not me. 

Go ahead and stick the dish in the oven while it preheats or let it hang out on the counter for 15 minutes or so before you put it in the oven. 

How long does turkey pot pie last in the fridge?

It'll stay good for about 3 days. Make sure to wrap leftovers tightly in plastic wrap or place the pot pie in an airtight container to keep it as fresh as possible.

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

2 Melt butter in a skillet or dutch oven. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until translucent (a couple of minutes.)

3 Add turkey and stir. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.

4 Pour in chicken or turkey broth, stirring constantly. Splash in wine (you can leave this out if you’d like.) Pour in cream. (May add frozen peas at this point if you’d like.)

5 Bring to a slow boil and allow the mixture to cook and thicken for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste (do not underseason), and fresh or dried thyme to taste. Do one final taste at the end and add what it needs.

6 Pour mixture into a casserole dish or deep pie pan.

7 Roll out the crust so that it’s about 1 inch larger than the pan you’re using.

8 Place the crust on top of the pot pie mixture, and press the crust into the sides of the dish. Cut vents in the top of the crust.

9 Bake for 30-40 minutes or until very golden and bubbly and the crust is done.

10 Allow to cool for a little bit before serving.

11 Serve with a large spoon.