Use your Thanksgiving leftovers to make this easy turkey pot pie recipe. Baked in a deep dish pie plate with an extra flaky, golden-brown double pie crust, this savory meal is both hearty and comforting. I’ll also show you how to make a smooth roux-based gravy to thicken the creamy filling, so your bottom pie crust doesn’t get soggy.
There’s so much you can do with leftover turkey. It’s my family’s tradition to make turkey and cheese melts on Grandma’s homemade dinner rolls the weekend after Thanksgiving, and you use extra stuffing to make leftover turkey and stuffing crescent rolls. But I always save a little extra back to make this delicious leftover turkey pot pie with a savory chicken broth gravy.
Why You’ll Love My Turkey Pot Pie Recipe
- Roux gravy: This recipe uses a flour-and-butter roux for a velvety, thick chicken broth gravy that won’t turn watery or make your pie crust soggy.
- Double crust: Baked in a deep dish pie plate, this homemade turkey pot pie has both a bottom and a top crust. For the flakiest pie crust, follow my homemade pie crust recipe.
- Zero waste: Instead of letting it spoil in the fridge, transform leftover turkey into a cozy dish for the whole family to enjoy!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Chicken Broth – Provides a savory base for the gravy; turkey broth or turkey pan drippings can also be used for extra flavor.
- Vegetables – Diced potatoes, diced carrots, chopped celery, and frozen peas.
- Frozen Pearl Onions – Adds a little sweetness, and they’re more convenient because, who likes chopping onions? You can also sub quartered regular onions, or even better, shallots.
- Spices – Seasoned with salt, ground black pepper, poultry seasoning, and ground nutmeg.
- Salted Butter – Melted in the pan to combine with flour to make the roux base.
- All-Purpose Flour – Cooked with the butter to make the roux for thickening the gravy, preventing lumpiness. You can make it gluten-free by using sweet rice flour instead.
- Whole Milk – Use whole milk, 2% milk, or even skim milk. Alternatively, use heavy cream for a ultra-rich & creamy gravy.
- Leftover Turkey – Use the leftovers from your Thanksgiving turkey roast to make this Thanksgiving turkey pot pie. You can also use shredded chicken breast or even a store-bought Rotisserie chicken in a pinch.
- Hard-Boiled Egg – Use a fork to mash it up in a small bowl.
- Double Pie Crust – This no-fail pie crust is my go-to recipe for a double crust recipe. A pack of pie crusts from the store also works, or you can use puff pastry for a flakier top.
- Egg Wash – You’ll beat up an egg to brush onto the top crust before baking. This gives the pie a shiny, golden-brown finish as it bakes.
How to Make Turkey Pot Pie (Step by Step)
To get started, place the bottom pie crust in a deep dish pie plate. Set aside, and preheat your oven to 375ºF. Prep your ingredients beforehand; you’ll need to shred the turkey, dice the potatoes and carrots, chop the celery, and mash up the egg for later.
Cook the Creamy Filling
- Combine the broth, potatoes, carrots, celery, peas, pearl onions, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and nutmeg in a large pot. Bring to a boil; then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 15-20 minutes, ’til the vegetables are tender.
- Melt the butter in a separate small saucepan over low to medium heat while the vegetables simmer. Whisk in the flour and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly ’til it forms a smooth paste (or sauce) and smells lightly toasted. This is your roux.
- Ladle a cup or so of the hot broth from the vegetables into the roux, whisking to combine.
- Pour the roux mixture back into the vegetables, along with the 1/2 cup milk, whisking to combine.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, ’til the filling has thickened to a gravy-like consistency. It will take just a few minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat, and fold in the turkey and mashed egg.
Assemble & Bake
- Pour the filling into the deep dish pie crust.
- Top with the second pie crust, and crimp the edges of the crust together. Cut 4 slits for venting.
- Beat the egg with the milk, and brush the egg wash over the top crust.
- Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet, to catch any drips, and bake at 375° F for about 45 minutes, or ’til the crust is golden. Tent the edges with foil, or use a pie shield to prevent them from getting too dark. Pro Tip: Here’s a handy guide on how to keep pie crust from burning.
Serving Suggestions
Remove your turkey pot pie from the oven when the crust is a deep golden-brown, and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve it with leftover cranberry sauce and other side dishes, like honey-glazed carrots, Southern-style green beans, Waldorf salad or Ambrosia fruit salad. Basically, you want something with a bright, somewhat sweet contrast to the richer, heavier, and more savory flavor profile from the pie.
Turkey Pot Pie Recipe Variations
There are so many different ways to make leftover turkey pot pie. Here are just a few variations that come to mind:
- Turkey Pot Pie with Biscuits: Drop the pastry crust, and top off the creamy filling with flaky homemade biscuits instead.
- Turkey Pot Pie Casserole: Pour the filling into a 9×13 casserole dish, and top it with biscuit dough or leftover apple walnut bread stuffing.
- Turkey Pot Pie Soup: Skip the crust altogether! Simmer the creamy filling ingredients in a Dutch oven on the stove for a cozy, comforting bowl of soup.
- Slow Cooker Turkey Pot Pie: Combine everything in the CrockPot and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, waiting ’til the end before adding the gravy roux and milk. Once thickened, transfer the filling to a casserole dish, lay biscuit dough over the top, and bake at 375ºF for 10-15 minutes, ’til flaky and golden-brown.
- Turkey Shepherd’s Pie: Use up remaining holiday sides by layering the turkey filling beneath a thick top coat of leftover creamy mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes.
- Turkey Pot Pie with Leftover Turkey Gravy: I haven’t personally tested this specific swap in my kitchen yet, but if you’d like to try it, omit the flour and butter roux, reduce the broth to 1 cup to cook your veggies, and whisk in 1 to 1½ cups of your homemade turkey gravy at the end. If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out in the comments below!
- Muffin Tin Turkey Pot Pies: Press pie crust into a standard muffin tin to make individual, mini pot pies, just like my muffin tin chicken pot pies!
Tips and Recipe FAQs
Yes! Cooked chicken breast, leftover roasted chicken, or shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken all work as a 1:1 substitute for turkey in this recipe.
The best way to keep your bottom crust flaky and crisp is by thickening the gravy properly with a flour-and-butter roux, which in turn keeps it from getting runny and soaking into your crust. You can also let the filling cool slightly before pouring into the cold pastry, and then bake your pie on the bottom rack of the oven so that the bottom browns more evenly.
This usually means the roux wasn’t simmered long enough to thicken the chicken broth, or the pie wasn’t allowed to rest after baking. Make sure to let your filling simmer until it thickens. If it still refuses thicken, a quick fix is to whisk 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon of water to make a slurry, and then add that to your filling. Continue to simmer and whisk until it thickens, and add more only as necessary. Be sure to also let your pot pie cool for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing so the gravy can set properly.
Cover leftover pot pie tightly with a layer of plastic wrap and then another layer of aluminum foil, or transfer it to an airtight container. Store this way, it’ll last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven at 350°F ’til heated through, to crisp up the crust, or microwave at 30-second intervals until warm.
Yes, you can freeze turkey pot pie baked or unbaked! Wrap the pie tightly in double layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking or reheating in the oven like normal.
More Hearty Pot Pie Recipes
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Turkey Pot Pie
Equipment
- Pie Shield or aluminum foil for tenting
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/4 cups potatoes diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 large carrots diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup celery chopped
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups turkey cooked and shredded
- 1 large hard-boiled egg mashed
- 1 double pie crust chilled
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Place the bottom pie crust in the prepared deep dish pie plate. Set aside for now.
- In a large pot, combine the broth, potatoes, carrots, celery, peas, pearl onions, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil; then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 15-20 minutes, 'til the vegetables are tender.
- While the vegetables simmer, melt the butter in a separate small saucepan over low to medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly 'til it forms a smooth paste (or sauce) and smells lightly toasted. This is your roux.
- Once the vegetables are tender, ladle a cup or so of the hot broth into the roux, whisking to combine.
- Then pour the roux mixture back into the vegetables, along with the 1/2 cup milk, whisking to combine.
- Simmer, stirring occasionally, 'til the filling has thickened to a gravy-like consistency. It will take just a few minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Fold in the turkey and mashed egg.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375° F.
- Pour the filling into the deep dish pie crust.
- Top with the second pie crust, and crimp the edges of the crust together. Cut 4 slits for venting.
- Beat the egg with the milk, and brush the egg wash over the top crust.
- Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet, to catch any drips, and bake at 375° F for about 45 minutes, or 'til the crust is golden. Tent the edges with foil, or use a pie shield to protect the edges from burning.
- When the pie is done, remove it from the oven, and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
