The Best Turkey Pot Pie Recipe (2024)

Why you’ll love this Recipe for Turkey Pot Pie

• CREAMY FILLING.The turkey pot pie filling is rich and creamy – no lackluster watery filling here!
• 5 STAR FLAVOR. Hand-picked herbs and spices season the filling to perfection, along with my secret ingredient.
• MEAL-IN-ONE. This turkey pot pie recipe is a meal in itself – chock full of vegetables, protein and carbs – no need to hassle with separate sides when serving this dish!
• BUTTERY, FLAKY PIE CRUST. The besthomemade pie crust is made with both butter and shortening to create the best flavorandtexture: mega buttery, mega tender, mega flaky deliciousness. I use it inallof my pie recipes. The crust can be made ahead of time and stashed in the refrigerator or freezer.
• OR SHORTCUT PIE CRUST. Pick up a frozen pie crust from the store to use instantly.
• CUSTOMIZABLE. As long as you follow the recipe for the creamy gravy, you can add any meat or vegetables your belly desires or simply what you have on hand AKA it’s the best way to re-purpose leftovers!
• MAKE AHEAD. The turkey pot pie, including the pastry topping, can be made a day ahead of time, making dinnertime a breeze.

Homemade Turkey Pot Pie Ingredients

This homemade turkey pot pie is made with classic ingredients but tastes 5 star delicious. Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll need (measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post):

• Turkey: The turkey meat can be light or dark, chopped or shredded. For Thanksgiving, a whole roast turkey is tasty, or I’ll even roast turkey breast just for this recipe!
• Pie crust: Use my buttery, flaky homemade pie crust (highly recommend!), or store-bought. My crust post is full of tips and tricks for foolproof pie crust even if you’ve never made it before – so don’t be intimidated! I suggest making the crust the night before so it’s ready to rollout the next morning.
• Butter + olive oil: The combination of butter and olive oil give us flavor with less fat. Use unsalted butter so we can control the salt.
• Chicken broth: Use low sodium chicken broth so we can also use chicken bouillon which amps up the flavor.
• Chicken bouillon: Thisimparts a complex, savory, goodness to the creamy gravy (it’s like salt with FLAVOR). You may use bouillon powder, bouillon cubes or bouillon base (like Better Than Bouillon or Zoup!). Add it to the filling without dissolving in liquid first.
• Milk: Any kind of milk can be used. Less fat milk will require longer simmering time.
• Flour: Use all-purpose flour or gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour.
• Aromatics: One yellow onion and 4 garlic cloves are the building blocks of the filling.
• Veggies: Carrots, celery, potatoes and peas create the classic filling but you may substitute with equal amounts of your favorite sautéed vegetables. Use Yukon gold potatoes for their buttery creaminess and petite frozen peas for the best texture.
• Herbs: Dried parsley, dried rosemary, ground sage, salt and pepper lace the filling with nostalgic Thanksgiving goodness.

Turkey Pot Pie recipe variations

• Turkey swap: Use cooked ground turkey, cooked ground chicken, chopped cooked chicken, shredded rotisserie chicken, or cooked lean ground beef.
• Meatless: Use more potatoes, celery, peas or add additional vegetables such as mushrooms, squash, cauliflower, etc. in place of the meat. You may also replace the turkey with a plant-based protein of your choice. To use tofu, place firm tofu in a pie plate, top with a heavy plate and weigh down with 2 heavy cans (to release water). Set aside for 10 minutes, then chop into 1-inch cubes.
• Swap vegetables:Swap the vegetables for any of your favorites such as corn, green beans, mushrooms, butternut squash, zucchini, broccoli or cauliflower. The vegetables need to be sautéed before popping in the oven.
• Shortcut aromatics: Substitute with 1 teaspoon onion powder and 1 teaspoon garlic powder if you’re out, but fresh is so much better!
• Fresh herbs: You may use 3X the amount of fresh herbs. Add them to the sauce with the turkey.
• Frozen veggies: Use a bag of mixed frozen vegetables instead. No need to thaw first.
• Add cheese:Make the sauce creamyandcheesy! Parmesan, Gruyere, sharp cheddar, Colby, Monterey Jack, Gouda, etc.would all be tasty.
• Add other Thanksgiving leftovers: Add a layer of stuffing, green beans, creamed corn, cranberry sauce, etc., – whatever you think your family would enjoy.
• Mini turkey pot pies: Divide the filling among ramekins and bake until the crust is golden brown and the gravy is bubbling through the vents.

• Homemade biscuits: Use the biscuits in my chicken pot pie recipe.
• Store-bought biscuits: Pillsbury Original Grandscan be placed directly on the filling and baked.
• Store-bought pie crust:Bake until golden.
• Puff pastry crust:Top pot pie with 1 thawed, puff pastry sheet and trim the edges of the puff pastry to about 1/2-inch overhang of the rim of the pie plate. Using a sharp knife, cut a couple slits in the puff pastry to vent during baking. Bake at 425 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until deeply golden.

How to make Turkey Pot Pie

This Turkey pot pie recipe has a few steps, but each is easy and the filling comes together quickly thanks to the leftover turkey. Let’s take a closer look how to make it (full recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post):

• Step 1: Make the pie dough. Use my favoritehomemade pie crust.I suggest making the crust the night before so it’s all ready to roll out the next morning. The crust post is full of tips and tricks for foolproof pie crust even if you’ve never made it before – so don’t be intimidated!

• Step 2: Cook vegetables. Add potatoes to a microwave safe bowl with water and microwave until fork tender. Sauté onions, carrots and celery in sizzling butter in a braiser (my fav/pictured) or large saucepan until softened. Addgarlicand sauté 30 seconds.

• Step 3: Make roux.Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook while stirring for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the chicken broth, followed by the milk. Add the chicken bouillon and all seasonings.

• Step 4: Thicken sauce.Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened to desired consistency.

• Step 5: Add turkey, etc.Stir in the turkey, potatoes and peas and heat through for about 1 minute over medium heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer filling to a pie pan.

• Step 6: Make top pie crust.Remove the chilled pie dough from the refrigerator and roll into a large circle. Lay the dough over the filling. Trim the edges of the dough to about a 1-inch of overhang. Fold the overhanging dough back up over itself on the top to form a thick edge crust. Crimp the edges with a fork or flute. Cut slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Mix egg with heavy cream and lightly brush all over the crust.

• Step 7: Bake. Bake for 35–40 minutes or until the top of the crust is golden brown.

Best Turkey Pot Pie Recipe tips

Follow these tips for the best turkey pot pie recipe!

• Cook the flour long enough. It is important to cook the flour long enough to remove the raw taste and to help prevent lumps from forming.
• Simmer long enough. The creamy gravy will start off very thin, but will thicken up as long as you keep simmering.
• Simmer to desired consistency: The consistency now will be the same as when it comes out of the oven. For a thinner consistency, stir in additional chicken broth or milk; for a thicker consistency, simmer longer.
• Check pie edges. Keep an eye on the baking pie and be prepared to cover the edges with a foil or a pie crust shield to prevent the edges from burning.
• Season to taste. The filling will taste the same once it’s out of the oven, so taste before topping with the pie crust. I season with additional salt and pepper.
• Customize as needed. Mix and match the veggies and herbs as needed based on what you have. If you’re making this turkey pot pie with holiday leftovers, feel free to get creative!

What to serve with Homemade Turkey Pot Pie

This turkey pot pie is a meal-in-one and doesn’t need a thing! Still, it pairs well with a fresh salad such aswedge salad,apple saladorfall saladand fresh fruit such aswinter fruit salad.

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