Individual Turkey Pot Pie Recipe

A classic Individual Turkey Pot Pie Recipe that is hearty and sure to warm you up on a cool fall day. The perfect way to use leftover turkey using simple everyday ingredients!

Honestly, I love turkey.  Not because it reminds me of holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas but because it is the meal that keeps on giving.  Let’s face it a turkey is one big bird which means lots of turkey leftovers that you can turn into a whole other meal like a homemade turkey pot pie.

For some reason though many people feel that making a turkey is too hard or scary to attempt.  I prefer to think of a turkey as one giant chicken because it kind of is. So if you can make a chicken in the oven (anyone can) then you can absolutely make a turkey.  I have all the instructions for a Simple Oven Roasted Turkey and Gravy waiting for you on the blog.

Plus unlike a chicken, you likely will have enough turkey left to warm up for another dinner or lunch or to make soup or you guessed it, Turkey Pot Pie! As a busy mom leftovers are my jam. I always make more than I need so we can have at least one leftover meal a week.

There are a number of ways you can make a turkey pot pie some with a full pie crust others more like a casserole with a puff pastry topping.  You can also make turkey pot pie into one large pie or mini turkey pot pies. I prefer individual turkey pot pies because they are much more portable and the perfect size for an individual meal. 

With a large pie if you don’t eat it all you have it leftover again in the fridge but with small pie tins, each person gets their own personal pie. This makes it much easier to just warm up one for lunch or to even bring to work. 

My grandma used to make me meat pies and the best turkey pot pies for me when I was in university so that I would have a nice easy dinner that I only had to reheat.

What Makes This Individual Turkey Pot Pie Recipe Great

• A great way to use leftover turkey
• Uses simple ingredients that you likely already have at home
• You can make one large pie or 4 mini turkey pot pies 
• Warm and hearty – perfect for fall and winter dinners
• Freezes well so you can make a large batch and pull out for dinner in a pinch or just a day calling for a good comfort food dish

This easy turkey pot pie recipe is made as 4 full smaller pies with a pie crust top and bottom.   Click here for the recipe for Easy Flaky Pie Crust.

How To Make leftover Turkey Pot Pie

Start by preheating your oven to 425ºF.  In a large pot or steamer cook your vegetable mix until fork tender.  Drain any water used from the pot or steamer and set aside. For this leftover turkey recipe I take the easy route and just use a frozen veggetable mix because I like how the pieces of vegetable are already cut to the perfect size. You can use fresh vegetables though if you prefer.

Then, sautee the butter and diced onions until the onions are translucent.

Add in the flour, salt, pepper, celery salt, pepper, onion powder and Italian seasoning and mix to combine. Let cook for about 1 minute. It will form a thick paste which is called a roux.

A roux is commonly used in many sauces to create a fuller, thicker sauce or gravy that is full of flavour.

Slowly add in the turkey or chicken broth and milk mixing continually so as not to burn the milk or have lumps form. This sauce, because of the roux, should become thicker and creamy in texture.

When the sauce is ready, add the pre-cooked vegetables and leftover turkey. to the same pan and mix until the creamy filling and vegetables are well combined. The sauce will thicken up even further as it cooks in the oven under the turkey pot pie crust.

Filling the Leftover Turkey Pot Pies

Roll out the flaky raw pastry dough to about a 1/4 inch thickness. Place an individual or small pie plate upside down on the pastry and using a sharp knife cut a circle that is about 1″ larger than the pie shell edge. And then another circle that is just a tiny bit bigger than the outside edge of the pie plate. This smaller circle will be used for the top of the turkey pot pie.

Carefully place one of the larger pastry circles in a pie plate and gently push down so that the pie pastry is against the walls of the pie plate all around. Then fill the pie shell with the creamy vegetable and turkey pot pie filling.

Make sure not to overfill. Fill just to the top level of the pie plate.

Then carefully place the smaller circle of pie pastry centred and on top of the filled pie. Using your fingers or a fork, pinch the pastry closed around the edges to seal the pasty shut so that the filling does not leak out.

When cooking this pie will create a lot of steam while the water in the milk and broth evaporates. To avoid the top splitting or the insides oozing out use a knife to cut slits all over the top of the pie so the steam has a way to escape.

Repeat these steps until all of your homemade turkey pot pies are filled and ready to bake. The place them on a baking sheet so that if some of the insides do bubble out you won’t have a huge mess inside your oven.

Bake this leftover turkey pot pie in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and flaky. When ready, remove the pies from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes before digging in our you are gonna burn your mouth! Yes, I know they smell delicious but trust me from experience!

how to Store Turkey pot Pie

Homemade turkey pot pie is best kept in the fridge for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. I like to cover them with foil to keep the crust fresh.

Can you freeze turkey pot pie?

Yes! In fact, I always do so I have a quick dinner or lunch or can have them when I am craving some comfort food.

To freeze them wrap them tightly in plastic wrap then in foil. At least this is how my grandma always gave them to me. You can freeze them pre-baked or fully baked.

Either way, you choose to freeze them, let them thaw in the fridge overnight before heating. Then when you want to eat, just pop them in the oven to bake fully for 40-50 minutes or to reheat for about 20 minutes. To test if they are heated enough in you can always place a knife through the centre of the pie and see if the knife comes out hot. If it is hot then you know the centre is heated through and ready to eat.

Can this recipe be made with raw turkey?

Yes and no. Don’t throw the raw turkey into the creamed vegetable mixture uncooked. Make sure the turkey is fully cooked first. If you are using raw turkey, quickly cook it first by cutting it into bite-sized smaller pieces. Then with a little olive oil in a pan sautee it until it is no longer pink in the middle. Next, you can toss the cooked turkey into the creamy filling.

Can I use chicken instead in this recipe?

Absolutely! For most turkey isn’t something they have very often during the year but chicken is a staple in most households. I almost always have a rotisserie chicken in my fridge and they are perfect for use in this recipe. Just remove the skin and chop up the chicken meat. Then prepare this easy turkey pot pie recipe just like you would with turkey.

This recipe was adapted from Dad’s Leftover Turkey Pot Pie Recipe found on All Recipes.

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