Dull leftovers? Never around here!
Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
Got leftover turkey?* Bits of bread lying around? Some scraps of veggies? Milk, butter and flour? Then you can MAKE THIS Turkey Pot Pie! Because everything else is optional š OK, so a melty cheese topping precariously straddles the border of āoptionalā in my book, but having said that nobody every complains whenever normal cheese-less garlic bread makes an appearance so I doubt anyone would complain here eitherā¦. *Ā Chicken, of course, is a perfectly valid alternative here if thatās what you have. The idea for a crunchy buttery bread topping rather than puff pastry that Chicken Pot Pie is traditionally made with came about because the year I originally published this recipe I had a load of stale bread lying around and no puff pastry. And Iām glad I did, because the garlic bread topping totally MAKES it!!!
What goes in Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
Hereās what you need to make this. Take note: Any veg, any melting cheese!
Cooked turkey or chicken ā If youāre wondering what the difference actually is between the two meats (other than the fact that turkey can be 2x, 5x bigger!!) from a taste perspective, the answer is very little. Turkey meat has a slightly deeper flavour, but most people canāt tell the difference. I find chicken meat is slightly more tender, being thatās itās a smaller bird. But with leftovers and especially redeployed in a way like this, one can barely tell the difference.In fact, the meat shown below in the container above is chicken, given that I didnāt make a new turkey recipe this year (due the current pandemic restrictions and environment as I explained in my Thanksgiving post).
Milk, butter, flour and stock powder ā To make the creamy white sauce we use to smother everything in this pie.Vegetables ā Iāve used carrot, frozen peas and mushrooms because thatās what I had on the day when I first shared this recipe. You can use any vegetables you have that you think will taste nice in a creamy sauce. The spirit of this pie is using up leftovers, remember, so just about anything goes!Garlic and onion ā Essential flavour base for virtually every savoury dish around these parts!
Cheesy garlic bread topping
While the filling is delicious, Iām not going to lie to you ā the topping steals the show. Itās essentially cheesy garlic bread. The top gets beautiful and golden and the underside soaks up the creamy sauceā¦. UGH! Itās so good! In fact, the meat shown below in the container above is chicken, given that I didnāt make a new turkey recipe this year (due the current pandemic restrictions and environment as I explained in my Thanksgiving post). Hereās what you need:
Bread ā Any bread is fine here. If you have a loaf or rolls, tear it into chunks. If you have pre-sliced bread, layer it overlapping so it covers the whole filling;Garlic and butter ā Fresh garlic is best, always. Jarred garlic is fine as a substitute, but itās never the same ā it has a sour taste and lacks that true fresh garlic pungency. A garlic press makes short work of mincing garlic (I use Zyliss, as listed in my Essential Kitchenware post!);Parmesan ā Just a little sprinkle for a boost of extra flavour, like we do for Chicken Parmesan, Baked Ziti. Entirely optional ā but if youāve got it, I recommend it! Cheese ā Any cheesee you have is fine here ā anything that melts! But freshly-shredded is best. I wanted to use up mozzarella cheese slices I had on hand (an error in judgement in purchase) so thatās what you see here, but itās always better to grate your own. It melts better; pre-sliced gets a bit of a skin on it, and pre-shredded stuff in packets just doesnāt melt as well as freshly shredded.
How to make Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
The making part is a streamlined version of Chicken Pot Pie because weāre using leftover cooked turkey or chicken instead of making it from scratch. Sauce done! Now itās just a matter of adding the turkey and assembling! Then pull it out of the oven and dig in! Mmmmm, that combination of creamy filling and that buttery, cheesy garlic bread toppingā¦ itās to die for! I really hope you got a turkey big enough this year so you have enough leftovers to make this! My rule of thumb for gauging roast turkey portions is around 250g / 8oz raw turkey per person (shrinks by about 20% once cooked). Multiply that by the number of guests you are catering for. But ā¦ then double it. That way, you will know for sure that youāll have plenty of turkey leftover to make this Leftover Turkey Pot Pie. š ā Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Originally published November 2016. Updated with new photos and recipe video in November 2020.
Life of Dozer
Nothing has changed in the 4 years since I first shared this recipe ā The gleam in those eyes as he dreams of doing a face plant in that pieā¦.. Now (2020): ā¦. and back then (2016).