Turkey Pot Pie Recipe
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Turn leftover turkey into household favorite with this turkey pot pie recipe with a buttery pie crust. It can be customized to your liking with ingredients you have on hand– use turkey or chicken, and frozen vegetables to save time.
Table of Contents
- Here’s Why You’ll Love It
- Turkey Pot Pie Filling Ingredients
- Time Saving Tips
- How To Make Turkey Pot Pie (Step-by-Step Photos)
- FAQs
- More Comforting Dinner Recipes
Every year after Thanksgiving I find myself looking for ways to use up leftover turkey. (After days of leftovers, of course!) Making homemade pot pie is usually at the top of the list not only for it’s comfort, it’s versatility and it’s easily customizable. It’s already made it’s way onto my fall dinner recipes, too!
Here’s Why You’ll Love It
- Satisfying, comforting all-in-one meal
- The perfect way to use up leftover cooked turkey or chicken
- Customizable– swap the vegetables to your liking
- Use frozen or leftover vegetables to save time
- Top with homemade pie crust or use store-bought
Turkey Pot Pie Filling Ingredients
The filling is similar to my chicken pot pie recipe. Here’s everything you need:
- Butter: As with many recipes, this filling starts with butter. Not only does it add flavor, it’s also the fat that’s needed to combine with flour, making a roux, to help the filling thicken.
- Vegetables: Just like in chicken noodle soup, it starts with onion, celery, and carrots as the vegetable base. In addition, the recipe includes corn and peas but you can substitute with the vegetables to suit your needs.
- Potato: Not all pot pies include potato, but adding chopped potato gives it a much heartier texture.
- Spices: Flavor the filling with the classics like salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic. You could even add sage, too!
- Flour: Used to thicken the filling.
- Chicken Broth: The broth is used to help create the filling. You can use turkey broth if you have that too.
- Wine: Adding white wine gives the filling more depth of flavor. If you don’t have it, use chicken or turkey broth instead.
- Half-and-Half: I usually use half-and-half to give the creamiest texture for the filling.
- Cooked Turkey: Or chicken.
Time Saving Tips
- Use cooked turkey (very convenient after Thanksgiving) or chicken. Whether you’re making it to serve right away or toss in the freezer to save for another day. Your future self with thank you later.
- In your once-a-year pie crust making, add two more to your list to enjoy homemade pie crust rather than store-bought.
How To Make Turkey Pot Pie (Step-by-Step Photos)
Once the vegetables and butter cook together with the spices, add the flour. These steps are extremely important as it’s where the flavor base begins.
As the flour begins to soak up the moisture from the cooked vegetables and butter, de-glaze the pan with white wine. (Remember, if you don’t have it, just swap with chicken broth). Add the chicken stock, give it a stire, and let everything simmer and thicken, until the sauce has a gravy-like consistency.
Then add the cooked turkey and your desired add-ins.
Now, the filling is done! Before moving on, let the filling cool slightly. Pour into a 9-inch pie crust. Then, roll out the top pie dough and lay over the filling. Tuck the overhang dough and flute the edges (or crimp with a fork). Don’t forget to cut slits in the top for steam vents and brushing with an egg wash before baking.
FAQs
Absolutely! You can freeze a turkey pot pie unbaked or baked. For unbaked, tightly wrap and allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking. For baked, allow it to cool completely before tightly wrapping and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Traditional pie pie gravy is made with a fat, like butter, in combination with chicken broth and milk, using flour to thicken the sauce.
The best way to thicken pot pie filling is to make a roux with fat, like butter, mixed together with flour, allowing the mixer to thicken with chicken stock and milk.
More Comforting Dinner Recipes
Turkey Pot Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 unbaked pie crust, homemade or store-bought
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup russet potato, about 1 potato
- 10 ounces carrots, sliced or diced
- 1 cup celery, sliced or diced (about 2-3 stalks)
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dry white wine, or chicken stock
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 3 cups turkey, chopped or shredded
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme, about 1-2 sprigs
- egg wash:, 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk
Instructions
- At least 2 hours ahead, make the pie dough as it needs to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This recipe makes 2 crusts which is perfect for this recipe. (You can also use store-bought pie dough). Place the rolled pie dough into a 9-inch pie dish, making sure to gently press the dough into the bottom and sides. Trim the dough edges so there is only about an inch of overhang. Set in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
- Start with the filling: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes, celery, carrots, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes or until the vegetables have softened and release some liquid. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and bay leaves until the flour has absorbed the liquid. Stir in the wine (or chicken stock), followed by the chicken stock and half-and-half. Simmer for 7-8 minutes or until thickened into a gravy consistency. Then, add the frozen peas, corn, and turkey. Allow the filling to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring into the prepared pie dish.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Place the second pie crust on top of the filling, trimming the dough edges so there is only about a half-inch of overhand. Crimp the edges with a fork or flute with your fingers. Cut slits in the top to make steam vents. Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top of the crust is golden brown. After 25 minutes of baking, be sure to cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil or a pie crust shield to prevent the edges from browning too much.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Leftovers stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: The pie crust can be made up to 3 days in advance, wrapped tightly, and stored in the refrigerator. The filling can be made up to 2 days in advance, cool completely before wrapping tightly and refrigerating.
- Freezing Instructions: The pie crust can be frozen for up to 3 months, wrapped tightly. You can freeze a turkey pot pie unbaked or baked. For unbaked, tightly wrap and allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking. For baked, allow it to cool completely before tightly wrapping and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Pie Crust: You need enough pie dough for 2 pie crusts. You can use store-bought or homemade.
- Wine: You can substitute the white wine with more chicken stock.
I made this and it was good, however flour is not listed in the ingredients, so I had to guess. I used a scant 1/3 cup. It as not enough and I had to add more thickener later.
My sincerest apologies Larry! I am so sorry for the omission. It should have listed 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour. I have updated the recipe card and I thank you SO MUCH for catching that and alerting me to it!