Celebrate Thanksgiving with this easy Turkey Pot Pie, baked with golden, flaky crust loaded with turkey and vegetables in creamy, savory sauce. Use leftover roasted turkey or uncooked turkey breast.
Try something different this Thanksgiving and make this delicious and easy Turkey Pot Pie in advance, on the day of your celebration or after Thanksgiving.
If you are not making roasted turkey, a ½ pound turkey breast is all you need to make a single pie.
2020, What a year this is? Most likely, this year’s Thanksgiving will not be the typical celebration with family and friends.
Many will celebrate this holiday with just people within their household. The other day, I heard in the news grocery stores are placing orders for small turkeys anticipating Thanksgiving celebration will be with small groups of people.
Obviously, it might be the case so it is smart planning on their part to stock up smaller turkeys.
For a household of two or even bigger, Turkey Pot Pie is a great alternative than a whole turkey. Something different during this unusual year.
I’m sure many will still have the traditional whole turkey, if you do, leftovers are great to use with turkey pot pie.
During normal times, most households are way too busy preparing dinner for family and guest. Too many food cooking on your stove or oven.
You’ll love this Easy Turkey Pot Pie. You can prepare it the night before or on the day of your celebration. It will save you so much time and effort if you use a store-bought pre-made pie crust.
Since March, most of us are cooking homemade food. Even though you’re making it only for your household, I’m sure you are probably tired of cooking routinely and want something easy this holiday.
What are the Ingredients in Turkey Pot Pie?
(1) Turkey
If you decide not to roast a whole turkey, a pound of turkey breast is more than enough for a family of four. It is about 4 cups of cooked turkey and you can make 2 pies.
Otherwise, use leftover turkey. Any leftover meat from turkey is perfect to use with this pie.
It is best to remove the meat from the bones before putting it away in the fridge. Cut it into cubes so one less thing to do when you are ready to make it the following day.
Tip: Don’t discard any turkey carcass or bones, make turkey stock to flavor soup, gravy or any recipe that calls for broth.
Roasted Turkey with Lemon Parsley & Garlic is a scrumptious dinner for the holidays. Use leftover roasted turkey to make Turkey Pot Pie or use uncooked turkey breast.
(2) Vegetables
Most commonly used vegetables in turkey pot pie are carrots, green peas, corn, green beans, potato and celery. It is a versatile pie recipe and you can get creative and use your favorite vegetables or any leftover roasted vegetables.
This is the best time to use up whatever is in your veggie bin. Cut them uniformly into small cube size so they cook evenly.
(3) Flour
Flour is used to thicken the mixture like roux.
Tip: Don’t add too much flour. Filling can come out dry.
(3) Heavy Cream or Whole Milk
Heavy Cream or Whole Milk will add creaminess and richness to the mixture.
(4) Broth or Leftover Turkey Gravy
Use turkey or chicken broth or leftover turkey gravy to add more flavor to pie.
Tip: When roasting turkey save the drippings and use this instead of broth. It is much richer in flavor than broth. Refrigerate drippings so fat can harden. Remove fat before adding to pot pie filling.
(5) Spices and Herbs
You can always tweak my recipe and use your favorite spices or herbs.
Tip: Other seasoning or herbs to use are poultry seasoning, thyme, oregano, marjoram, parsley or rosemary.
(6) Pie Crust
Things can get hectic during the holidays and using a store-bought pre-made pie crust will save you time. If you like to make the crust from scratch, try my easy pie crust recipe.
I am using Pillsbury Deep Dish Pie Crust and Great Value Rolled Pie Crust. They are both flaky just like homemade.
Can You Make Pot Pie in Advance?
Yes, make it a day or two in advance. Wrap fully with a heavy duty foil or store in a sealed container then place in the freezer.
When ready to cook, thaw in fridge for at least 4 hours and bake.
You can also freeze baked pie but I prefer to freeze unbaked pie, so it is freshly cooked with crisp, flaky crust.
For my taste, I would keep it in the freezer for only two weeks. To me a cooked meat left in the freezer for a while has an off taste.
You can keep fully sealed pie for 2 months in freezer but I don’t.
How to Make Turkey Pot Pie (with uncooked or leftover turkey)
(1) Cut veggies into evenly sized cubes and boil in chicken or turkey broth until cooked through. Drain and set aside. Reserve broth.
(2) Cut leftover roasted turkey into cubes.
Note: If using uncooked turkey breast (½ pound), cut into cubes and season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook in oil for about 5 minutes or until cooked through.
(3) I am using top and bottom pre-made pie crust. During the holidays too many things are happening in the kitchen and a ready to fill pie crust is my go to as it is so convenient. Saves me a lot of time and taste like homemade too.
For the top crust, I buy a rolled crust when unrolled can easily lay flat on top of filling. Use a bowl 8 inches in diameter and use it as a guide.
Lay opening of bowl on top of crust and use a knife to cut dough around. Dough is placed on top of filling. This procedure is much easier. Make 4 slits at the center so steam can escape.
Another way to do it, lay dough on top of bottom crust, cut around excess dough and seal the edges with your index finger or with a fork.
It’s your call whichever way you prefer.
Tip 1: Lightly brush the bottom crust with egg wash before adding the filling. This will prevent crust from getting soggy.
Tip 2: My pie filling is creamy but not soupy or runny. Some people prefer a soupy filling, I suggest to bake bottom crust for 4 to 5 minutes after brushing it with egg wash. This will prevent the crust from absorbing the sauce making it soggy.
Before baking, make a pie crust shield using foil. This will prevent the edges of crust from browning too fast.
Tip 3: Puff Pastry or Phyllo dough is also great with this recipe.
(4) Once all your ingredients are ready, you can now assemble the pie.
Saute onion in butter until soft. Add and brown flour, stir-in heavy cream or milk then add the broth. Continue stirring until thicken. Add cooked or leftover turkey, vegetables and all the spices.
Simmer just until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
Slightly cool the mixture before pouring in pie crust.
Lay the top crust on top of filling and make 4 slits. Lightly brush the top crust and edges with egg wash.
Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees F and bake for 30 – 35 minutes. Once crust edges are golden, cover with pie crust shield.
That’s it. I hope you and your family enjoy this pot pie!
This Turkey Pot Pie is easy, delicious, creamy and loaded with turkey and vegetables. Yummy!
Recipe
Easy Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cubed leftover roasted turkey
- 1 ¾ cups diced peeled potatoes
- ¾ cup sliced carrots
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup onion chopped
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon celery seeds
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 ½ cups chicken or turkey broth use 2 ½ cups for boiling, then reserve 1 ½ cups for pie.
- ½ cup and 2 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 store bought frozen deep dish pie crust bottom crust
- 1 store bought refrigerated rolled pie crust top crust
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Using Uncooked Turkey Breast (if not using leftover roasted turkey)
- ½ pound turkey breast cubed
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- This turkey pot pie recipe makes one 9 inch pie.
- In a small pot, add cubed carrots, potatoes and 2 ½ cups chicken or turkey broth. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer over medium-low heat until cooked through. Remove carrots and potatoes with a skimmer spoon and place in a colander with a plate underneath to catch excess broth. Set aside.
- Add green beans in pot with broth until cooked through. Remove from pot, place in colander with potatoes and carrots and set aside. Reserve 1 ½ cups broth to use in pie.
- If using uncooked turkey breast, cut in cubes and season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. In a skillet with 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil, stir-fry uncooked turkey over medium heat for 4 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- On a skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat and cook onion until soft, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in flour and brown slightly for 2 minutes.
- Add broth, stir until well mixed.
- Slowly pour heavy cream or milk, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and comes to a simmer and thickens.
- Toss-in cooked or leftover roasted turkey until well mixed.
- Add carrots, potatoes, green beans, frozen peas and all the seasonings until well combined. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for a minute or two.
- Remove from heat. Let mixture cool slightly before pouring in deep dish pie crust.
- Meanwhile, lightly brush bottom pie crust with beaten egg. Let dry for a minute. Note: This recipe is creamy but does not have a soupy or runny sauce. If you prefer a saucy pie or if you double the sauce, I suggest to bake the bottom pie crust for 4 to 5 minutes to prevent a soggy crust. Also cover edges with pie crust shield.
- Pour and spread filling into bottom pie crust.
- Unroll the other crust. Invert an 8 inch bowl with opening placed above crust and cut the excess dough with a knife. You will end up with a round dough.
- Place dough on top of filling and make 4 slits in the center of pie.
- Lightly brush top pie crust and edges with beaten egg.
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Place turkey pie in the center of oven and bake until crust is golden.
- Pie edges will brown quicker so once it turns golden, cover with pie crust shield. See blog.
- Continue baking until top crust is golden and in between slits you’ll notice filling is bubbling.
- Oven temperature vary slightly, so it is best to watch pie after 15 minutes to check if you need to cover edges with pie crust shield and when it is fully cooked.
- Bake between 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let pie settle for 10 minutes. Slice and serve.
Notes
- Refrigerate leftover pie up to 3 days and warm in the microwave for 20 – 30 seconds.
- Make turkey pot pie in advance, freeze and bake for later. You can also bake and freeze but I prefer to freeze unbaked pie.
- Put a different twist to your turkey pot pie by using puff pastry or phyllo dough instead of regular pie crust.
Nutrition
Check out our web story Turkey Pot Pie Recipe.
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