Homemade turkey pot pie with puff pastry – creamy leftover turkey and vegetable filling covered with a buttery, flaky puff pastry crust. Probably one of the best ways of using leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner.
Make sure you buy some pastry before Thanksgiving to make this delicious turkey pot pie after the celebrations. The pie is so good, comforting, and so easy to make that it will become a traditional post-holiday dish.
Are you roasting a whole turkey this year? For instance, this beautiful Turkey with Red Wine? Even if you only roast some smaller parts like these Slow Cooker Turkey Legs, you will probably have leftovers. Use them to make this turkey pot pie recipe; your family will love it!
And if you love pies, check out our Chicken Mushroom and Leek Pie or the Chicken and Ham Pie.
Table of contents
Recipe ingredients
- Cooked turkey meat: You can use any leftovers, either dark or white meat or a mixture. I tend to use dark meat because thigh or leg meat is always juicier, but the recipe is equally delicious when made with breast meat.
- You will need anything between two and three cups of chopped meat (250 – 400 g); use what you have.
- Puff pastry: Already rolled puff pastry from the refrigerator section of the supermarket. One sheet of those I use weighs 10 oz/ 275 g and is about 16 in/ 40cm long and 10 in/ 26 cm. If you can buy a disc of pastry of about 12 in/ 30 cm is even better.
- Frozen pastry: Thaw and roll it on a lightly floured surface according to the packet’s instructions.
- Vegetables: One carrot, one onion, 2-3 celery stalks (depending on size), and one cup of frozen peas. You can replace the peas with mushrooms.
- Gravy: All-purpose flour, butter, chicken stock, and milk.
- Other ingredients: Fresh or frozen parsley, egg for the egg brush, nutmeg, fine sea salt, and ground black pepper.
How to make turkey pot pie with puff pastry?
- Preheat the oven. While the oven preheats, make the filling.
- Prepare the ingredients: Chop all the ingredients and place the peas on the counter so that they can defrost slightly while you make the gravy.
- Saute vegetables: Melt the butter in a large skillet and sauté the vegetables with a pinch of salt on medium-low heat until softened (1).
- Stir the flour until it’s golden and loses its rawness.
- Whisk in the chicken broth or stock and the milk. Simmer until slightly thickened (2).
- Add meat, peas, and chopped parsley, and adjust the taste with the spices (3).
- Transfer the mixture to the dish and smooth it with the back of a spoon.
- Place puff pastry directly on the creamy filling. If too much pastry is hanging over the dish, trim it a bit, and tuck the rest of the pastry around the filling. Using a sharp knife, cut a few slits on top and brush the turkey pie with the beaten egg wash (4).
- Bake the turkey pot pie casserole dish for 35-40 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and the pastry is golden brown (5). Cool the pie slightly before serving (for about 5 minutes).
Expert Tips
- Skin: I recommend removing all the skin from the turkey parts before chopping them. The skin will be soft and floppy, and you will not like that.
- Pastry: If the puff pastry is already rolled, don’t roll it again. Only roll it to fit your pie dish if it’s sold in a block.
- Make sure that the pastry is cold before baking; otherwise, it will not puff nicely in the oven and will get rather soggy. Place it on top of the filling at the last minute.
Make in advance:
- Prepare the turkey mixture and refrigerate it in an airtight container for about two days. Cover the filling with the pastry just before baking.
- Freeze the unbaked pie wrapped well in aluminum foil for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before baking. Don’t transfer the frozen pie assembled in a ceramic dish directly to the oven; the ceramic plate will break due to the extreme change in temperature.
- If you want to bake from frozen, assemble the turkey pot pie with puff pastry in a foil pan. In this case, bake it in the hot oven for about 30 minutes, covered with foil. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or so until the pie is bubbly and golden brown.
- Bake the pie in a cast-iron skillet of a similar size. Prepare the filling in the skillet and cover it carefully (the pan is hot) with the puff pastry.
Recipe FAQ
Sure. This is actually my standard recipe for a classic pot pie made with chicken, so feel free to use chicken leftovers or rotisserie chicken if you like.
Yes. Store-bought or homemade and rolled to fit the dish.
If you don’t have a round pie dish, use a rectangular or square baking dish of a similar size.
Store leftover puff pastry turkey pot pie in the refrigerator, covered, for 2-3 days.
Freeze the leftovers in a freezer container and thaw them in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before reheating.
Reheat in the preheated oven at 400°F/200°C for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Microwaving is not recommended; it would make the crust soggy.
How to serve turkey pot pie?
Our favorite side dish is a green salad with Yogurt Dressing or vinaigrette.
Serve it with other steamed, roasted, or boiled vegetables. We love it with Broccoli Pea Salad, Simple Roasted Whole Carrots, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Roasted Frozen Cauliflower, Corn cooked from frozen or corn on the cob, and so on.
More recipes using Thanksgiving leftovers
Turkey Pot Pie with Puff Pastry
Equipment
- Ceramic pie dish or cast-iron skillet of about 12 in/ 30 cm
- Large saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 dish/sheet puff pastry already rolled, Notes 1,2
- 2-3 cups cooked turkey chopped, 250-400 g, Note 3
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 2-3 celery stalks
- 1 cup peas 150 g
- 4 ½ tablespoons butter 60 g
- ½ cup all-purpose flour 60 g
- 2 cups chicken stock 500 ml
- 1 cup milk 250 ml
- 3 tablespoons parsley chopped
- a few gratings of nutmeg
- fine sea salt and black pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Prepare the ingredients: Chop the turkey and set it aside. Finely chop the onion, carrot, and celery. Place the peas on the counter to let them defrost slightly until you need them.
- Make the gravy: Melt the butter in a large skillet. Cook the vegetables with a pinch of salt on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes until softened. Sprinkle the flour on top and stir continuously for about 2 minutes until the flour is golden and loses its rawness. Don’t let it get dark.
- Gradually add the chicken stock and then the milk. Whisk constantly to avoid any lumps. Reduce slightly for about 5 minutes, often stirring.
- Add the chopped meat, peas, and parsley and stir well to combine. Adjust the taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Transfer the mixture to the pie dish.
- Place the puff pastry inside the dish on top of the filling and tuck the pastry around the edges. Trim the edges if too much pastry is hanging over, and fold the rest around the edges. Make 2-3 slits on top to allow the hot air to escape.
- Mix the egg and 1 tablespoon of milk in a small bowl. Brush the pastry with the egg wash.
- Bake turkey pot pie for 35-40 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and the pastry is golden.
Notes
- Puff pastry: Already rolled puff pastry from the supermarket’s refrigerator section. One sheet weighs 10 oz/ 275 g and is about 16 in/ 40cm long and 10 in/ 26 cm. If you can buy a disc of pastry of about 12 in/ 30 cm is even better.
- Frozen pastry: Thaw and roll it according to the packet’s instructions.
- Turkey: Anything between 2 and 3 cups (250-400 g) of meat is fine. You can use either dark or white meat.