Turkey Pot Pie

Name: Turkey Pot Pie
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 65 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup unsalted butter; ½ cup onion (diced small); ½ cup carrot (diced small); ½ cup celery (diced small); ½ cup frozen peas; 3 cups leftover roasted turkey (diced or shredded); ¼ cup all-purpose flour; 3 cups chicken or turkey stock; ½ cup heavy cream; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 2 Tablespoons fresh thyme (chopped); Kosher salt & black pepper to taste; 1 9” store bought pie crust (thawed)

A hearty turkey pot pie is the perfect way to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving! With a rich, creamy sauce, tender veggies, and roasted turkey, it’s the ultimate comfort food dinner.

slice of turkey pot pie served on a white round plate with a silver fork

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It doesn’t matter if your Thanksgiving celebration is just you and your immediate family, or a ginormous gathering of cousins, second cousins, cousins once removed, and people you’re not sure you’ve ever even met before, one thing is true: you will always have leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. And this turkey pot pie is a delicious way to put it to use!

It’s everything you love about chicken pot pie—the flaky pie crust, peas and diced veggies, and creamy sauce—but with turkey instead of chicken.

Yep, turkey pot pie is quite possibly the best post-Thanksgiving dinner ever, right up there with the classic turkey sandwich slathered with cranberry sauce and piled high with stuffing. (What, you don’t put stuffing on your turkey sandwiches?!)

top down image of turkey pot pie with a quarter of the pie crust removed to show the inside of the pie

Easy Turkey Pot Pie Recipe

Turkey is the key ingredient in this recipe, and I use my leftover roasted turkey, but really any turkey leftovers will work here, even crockpot turkey breast. Dice the turkey or shred it with forks so it’s in bite-sized pieces before you put it in your turkey pot pie.

Many of the other ingredients in this recipe are ones you might have on hand after putting together a Thanksgiving dinner such as onions and celery from the dressing, carrots after making my honey-glazed carrot recipe, fresh thyme, and butter from the mashed potatoes and gravy.

If you have time, you can use the turkey carcass to make homemade turkey stock to use in the pot pie filling. However, if that’s not in the cards right now, no worries—any store-bought or homemade chicken stock will work just fine, too. (Note that if you use chicken broth, it’s already seasoned with salt, so you may need to add less salt to the recipe!)

Ingredients For Turkey Pot Pie

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Unsalted butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can simply add less salt to the recipe.
Onion – Yellow or white both work, or you can substitute shallots.
Carrot
Celery
Frozen peas – Not a fan of peas? Frozen green beans or lima beans work, too.
Leftover roasted turkey – White or dark meat are both fine, or you can use a combination of the two.
All-purpose flour
Chicken or turkey stock
Heavy cream – Heavy cream is key to a thick, rich sauce, but you can substitute half-and-half if you’d like to cut the calories and fat a bit (and don’t mind a slightly thinner sauce).
Dried oregano
Fresh thyme – If you happen to have fresh sage or rosemary on hand, those can be used instead of or in addition to the thyme.
Kosher salt & black pepper
Pie crust – I use store-bought to cut down on the work I have to do, but homemade pie crust works too!

Variations

Here are a few recipe variations and alterations that will work really well.

Replace the turkey with cooked chicken. You can easily make this pie using a rotisserie chicken, making it great any time of the year!
Switch up the veggies to suit your personal tastes. I like to add corn, mushrooms, or even chopped green beans.
Turn this into individual turkey pot pies by making the pie in smaller, 4-inch pie tins or in large ramekins. This instantly makes the pie look extra fancy and makes it very easy to serve.

How to Make Turkey Pot Pie

Prepare: Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
Start the Filling: Melt the butter in a Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Stir in the peas, turkey, and flour and cook for 2 minutes more.
Make the Creamy Sauce: Slowly pour the stock into the pan, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until the liquid thickens, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the cream and continue to cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the sauce is thick and creamy. Add the herbs, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Tip: If you dump the stock into the pan all at once, you may end up with clumps of flour in the sauce. Pouring it in a little at a time will help prevent a lumpy turkey pot pie filling!
Assemble: Pour the filling mixture into a deep dish pie pan or baking dish. If needed, roll out the pie dough until it’s 1 inch larger than the top of the pie pan or baking dish. Set the dough over the dish and trim any excess, then crimp the edges with your fingers or the tines of a fork. Cut 3 to 4 slits on top of the crust with a sharp knife for venting.
Bake: Set the pan in the preheated oven, and bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling up through the vents, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let the turkey pot pie sit for 10 minutes to cool before serving. Tip: Letting the pie rest a bit will help you cut slices that don’t fall apart!

slice of turkey pot pie with a forkful of pie served on a white round plate.

How to Store Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

Turkey pot pie is best served warm, straight from the oven. However, leftovers can be stored in covered or transferred to an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 2 to 3 months. Thaw frozen turkey pot pie in the refrigerator before reheating it.

Quick Tip

Turkey Pot Pie is delicious when heated up the next day! To reheat, simply pop a slice in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, or until heated through. You can also reheat it in an oven preheated to 350ºF until warmed throughout, which takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

FAQs

What goes with turkey pot pie?

I like to serve turkey pot pie with a simple green salad and some crusty homemade French bread or sourdough to sop up any leftover sauce. A simple veggie side like steamed broccoli works, too!

Can turkey pot pie be frozen?

Yes, turkey pot pie can be frozen. Simply assemble the pot pie as directed. Then, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and foil, and freeze it for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat, thaw your pot pie in the fridge overnight, and bake as directed. Or, bake from frozen, and add an extra 10 minutes or so to the baking time as needed.

Can I make turkey pot pie with puff pastry?

Yes, you can! Simply use puff pastry in place of the pie dough called for in the recipe. You’ll need to thaw the puff pastry before using it, so plan accordingly.

Can I make turkey pot pie with biscuits?

Yes, you can make turkey pot pie with biscuits! Simply prepare the filling as directed, and spoon it into a baking dish. Top with unbaked biscuits, and bake the pot pie at the temperature and time indicated by the recipe directions for the biscuits. You can use store-bought biscuit dough, or try my 3-Ingredient Bisquick Biscuits made with Sprite or Easy Homemade Biscuits.