This Quick and Delicious Turkey Pot Pie is a creamy turkey and vegetable filling baked between two flaky crusts. It is easy to make, it is a filling meal, and it is the best thing that can happen to leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
I first made it for our Sunday dinner after a busy weekend: an all day volleyball tournament out of town, home late, church Sunday morning, and no time for my usual Saturday grocery run. I had the ingredients I needed, and since it was raining after being 104 degrees just two days before, it was the perfect easy dinner to eat while watching movies.
Turkey is just as easy to prepare as any other poultry, and I try to serve it several times a month. When the holidays come, this is where the leftovers go.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 45 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: about 1 hour
- 🍽️ Serving: 6 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 564kcal per serving
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Savory, creamy turkey and vegetables under a buttery, flaky crust
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, with store bought crust
Quick Answer
Heat the oven to 425 degrees and line a 9 inch glass pie plate with a refrigerated pie crust. Melt butter in a large saucepan, cook chopped onion for 2 minutes, then stir in flour, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in chicken broth and milk and cook until bubbly and starting to thicken. Stir in cooked turkey, thawed mixed vegetables and diced potatoes, spoon it into the crust, top with the second crust, flute the edges and cut vents. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling bubbles through the vents.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- The roux makes the gravy. Butter and flour cooked together, then loosened with broth and milk, thicken into a creamy sauce that holds the filling together when you slice.
- Adding the liquid gradually keeps the sauce smooth; dumping it all in at once is how lumps happen.
- Cooked turkey goes in last, off the heat. It only needs to warm through in the oven, so it stays tender instead of drying out.
- Thawed frozen vegetables and potatoes cook evenly in the bake time without making the filling watery.
- A hot 425 degree oven sets the bottom crust and puffs the top before the filling can soak in.
- Vents let the steam out. Without slits, the steam pushes the top crust up and the filling bubbles over the sides.
- Fluting seals the edge. Folding both crusts under and crimping keeps the filling inside where it belongs.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Pantry and freezer friendly. Store bought crust, frozen vegetables and potatoes make it a weeknight dinner.
- The best use of leftover turkey after Thanksgiving, or any time you roast or grill a turkey breast.
- Versatile. Swap the butter and milk to make it dairy free, and add any vegetables you like.
- Filling and cozy, a full dinner in one dish.
- Lean protein. Turkey is naturally low in fat and keeps everyone full longer.
- A holiday weekend plan next to my smoked gouda mac and cheese and a slice of lattice top apple pie.
Key Ingredients
A short list, most of it already in the freezer. Quantities are in the recipe card below.
- Refrigerated Pie Crusts. One box gives you the top and bottom; your favorite homemade crust works too.
- Cooked Turkey. Two and a half cups, grilled, roasted, or leftover from the holiday bird.
- Butter and Onion. The flavor base of the sauce.
- All Purpose Flour, Salt and Pepper. Flour thickens the gravy; salt and pepper season it.
- Chicken Broth and Milk. The liquid for a creamy, savory filling.
- Frozen Mixed Vegetables and Diced Potatoes. Thawed first so they cook evenly.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and full instructions.
Variations & Substitutions
- Chicken pot pie: swap in cooked chicken, same method.
- Dairy free: use a dairy free butter and unsweetened plant milk.
- Add more vegetables: artichokes, mushrooms or fresh peas all work. I was thinking of artichokes but didn’t have any in the pantry.
- Homemade crust if you have time; double crust recipes are made for this.
- Herb it up: a pinch of thyme or sage in the sauce tastes like Thanksgiving.
- Make it smaller: divide the filling into ramekins and top each with a crust round for individual pot pies.
How to Make Turkey Pot Pie
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Prepare the pie crust as directed on the box and place it into a 9 inch glass pie plate.
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, until tender.
- Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in the broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and starting to thicken.
- Stir in the turkey and vegetables, then remove from the heat.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared pie plate.
- Top with the second crust. Trim the edges of both crusts evenly, leaving half an inch overlapping the pie plate, and fold both crusts under. To flute, pinch the edge between the thumb and pointer finger of one hand and the pointer finger of the other, or simply press along the edge with a fork. Cut several 1 inch slits in the top crust with a sharp knife to vent.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling through the vents.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Thaw the vegetables and potatoes before they go in, or the filling turns watery.
- Cook the sauce until it really thickens. It should coat a spoon before the turkey goes in.
- Set the pie plate on a baking sheet to catch any filling that bubbles over.
- Shield the edges with foil if the fluted rim browns before the center.
- Let it rest 10 minutes after baking so the filling sets and slices clean.
- Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days; reheat slices in the oven to keep the crust crisp.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
Serve it straight from the pie plate with a green salad and some cranberry sauce on the side, or make it the centerpiece of the weekend after Thanksgiving with my smoked gouda mac and cheese. For a fall table, add a basket of cranberry orange scones and a cranberry orange loaf, and set out a tray of holiday appetizers or apple appetizers while it bakes.
For dessert, pick from my lattice top apple pie, pumpkin bars, mini pumpkin cheesecakes, pumpkin turnovers, crockpot bread pudding or a pumpkin pull apart bread, with the kids decorating Thanksgiving cupcake toppers. The rest of my pumpkin desserts and pumpkin recipes cover the whole season, and a steak on the indoor grill or crustless spinach and feta quiche keeps the rest of the week easy.
Turkey Pot Pie FAQs
Yes, that is one of the best uses for it. Roasted, smoked or grilled turkey all work; chop or shred it into bite size pieces and you need about two and a half cups.
Yes. Swap the butter for a dairy free butter and the milk for an unsweetened plant milk. The sauce thickens the same way.
No. Store bought crust keeps it quick, but your favorite homemade double crust works beautifully if you have the time.
After the top crust goes on, trim both crusts to half an inch past the pie plate and fold them under. Pinch the edge between the thumb and pointer finger of one hand and the pointer finger of the other all the way around, or press the edge flat with a fork.
The vents let steam escape while it bakes. Without them, steam pushes up the top crust and the filling bubbles out over the sides.
Assemble it, cover it well, and refrigerate it unbaked for up to a day. Bake it straight from the refrigerator, allowing a little extra time for the cold filling to heat through.
Quick and Delicious Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 box of refrigerated pie crusts
Filling
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 14 oz chicken broth 1 can
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 1/2 cups grilled cooked turkey
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables thawed
- 1 cup diced frozen potatoes thawed
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees, based on your oven.
- Prepare pie crust as directed on box and place into a 9" glass pie plate.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes until tender.
- Stir in flour, salt, and pepper until blended. Gradually stir broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and starting to thicken..
- Stir in turkey and vegetables. Remove from heat.
- Spoon Mixture into prepared pie plate.
- Top with Second Crust, Flute, and Make slices to vent.
- Fluting the double pie crust.
- After you place the top pie crust on, trim the edges of both crusts evenly, leaving 1/2 " overlapping the pie plate. Fold the 2 crusts under 1/2". You can now do your decoration. To flute, just take your thumb and pointer finger of one hand and the pointer finger of the other hand, and pinch them together. If you don't want to flute you can take a fork and press down along the top after you have folded the crusts underneath. Make sure you vent pie crusts with a sharp knife by making 1" slits several places on top crust.
- Place on a Cookie sheet in the center of the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Check 1/2 way through baking and place aluminum foil over crust if its over browning.
Amy says
Wow that is hot! I don’t know about you, but I need more spring!! This pot pie looks awesome! I like that it’s quick and easy!