Easy Leftover Turkey Pie

Here’s What You’ll Need

This recipe can be tweaked to suit your leftovers (and maybe doing a freezer raid too). It tastes just as delicious with chicken instead of leftover turkey.

• Onions, carrots and celery – or use leeks instead of onions plus whatever leftover vegetable you might have such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, parsnips etc.
• Bacon or ham
• Chicken stock and cream
• Mustard, garlic paste, Worcestershire sauce and Parmesan for flavor
• Salt, pepper, dried tarragon and a little flour
• Dried cranberries for a hint of sweetness – or you can add some chopped nuts or roasted chestnuts!
• Leftover roast turkey or chicken or rotisserie chicken, shredded
• Puff pastry to top the pie
• Egg for egg wash and grated Parmesan cheese

How to Make My Leftover Turkey Pie

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Heat butter until it is sizzling. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook over low heat, stirring, until slightly softened.
2. Add the bacon or ham, mustard and garlic and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes.

4. Stir in the salt, pepper, tarragon and flour. Pour in the chicken stock and cream and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.
5. Add the cranberries, Parmesan and shredded turkey and stir to coat in the sauce.

6. Transfer the filling into an ovenproof ceramic dish or a pie dish. Spread it out, level and cool before topping with the pastry.
7. Cut the pastry into star shapes (or any shapes you like!) and overlap over the filling, brushing with beaten egg, until the pie dish is covered. You can use a single sheet of puff pastry to cover your turkey pot pie if you prefer, scoring the top to allow for steam to escape.

8. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and grated nutmeg and bake (on a tray in case of spills) for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden and filling is bubbling. Cool slightly before serving with a salad or steamed greens.

Turkey Pie Recipe Tips

• Cool your filling before topping: Hot, soupy filling + cold pastry = instant melted butter and a sad, sliding lid. Let the turkey mixture cool down until just warm before adding the puff pastry – it helps keep those layers flaky and crisp.
• Prep ahead: You can make the filling a day ahead and keep it in the fridge. Add the pastry and bake just before serving. If baking from cold, add 5–10 minutes to the cooking time.
• Don’t overcook the turkey: The turkey is already cooked, so treat it gently. Warm it through in the sauce rather than boiling it – prolonged simmering can make it dry and stringy.
• Thickness is everything: The filling should be thick and creamy, not runny. If it looks a bit loose, simmer for a few extra minutes or stir in a slurry of cornstarch and cold stock until it coats the back of a spoon.
• Keep the pastry cold: Puff pastry puffs best when it goes into a hot oven straight from the fridge. Cut and decorate it, then chill the pie for 10–15 minutes while the oven preheats.
• Seal and vent: Press the pastry onto the rim of the dish to seal and cut a couple of small slits in the top so steam can escape. This helps the pastry rise and stops it going soggy.

Storing, Freezing and Reheating

• Fridge: Cool the turkey pie completely, then cover the dish tightly with foil or transfer slices to airtight containers. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Reheating Instructions: To reheat, cover loosely with foil and place in a preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 20–25 minutes, or until filling is piping hot. Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes to re-crisp the pastry. You can also use the air fryer – pot slices into the basket at 320°F (160°C) for 8–12 minutes, checking they’re hot all the way through.
• Freezing The Baked Pie: Wrap the whole pie or individual portions well in a layer of plastic wrap and then foil, or place in freezer-safe containers. Freeze for up to 3 months and reheat from frozen at 350°F (180°C) until the centre is piping hot. Loosely cover with foil to protect the pastry if needed.
• Freezing the Pie Before Baking: Assemble the pie up to the point of baking, wrap well and freeze. Bake from frozen, adding extra time in the oven and loosely covering with foil if the top is browning too quickly. Bake from frozen at 375°F (190°C), adding 15–20 minutes to the cooking time. Cover with foil if the pastry is browning too fast.
• Safety Tip: Because the turkey is already cooked once, make sure the pie is heated all the way through before serving and don’t reheat it more than once.