Mini Leftover Turkey Pot Pies

Mini turkey pot pies made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey? Hell yes. For those of you who have leftover turkey, this is one of my favorite ways to use it up, as well as any other leftover aromatics and veggies. I didn’t have to buy a single thing for this incredibly comforting soul in a bowl, and for that I’m grateful. However, this stuff is so damn good that even if I had to make a store run, I would. These individual turkey pot pies are encased with a flavorful, flaky yet also kinda biscuit’y savory dough studded with herbs de provence, black pepper, and tenderized with tangy buttermilk. Yum!

Trust me, I get it if you don’t feel like making your down dough. I usually slap on some puffy pastry and call it a delicious day, but if you want to make this a bit more homemade, you’ve gotta make this crust. When I started to make this, I was gonna just throw some puffy pastry right on there, but decided not to — and I’m so glad I listened to myself.

This crust is everything, y’all. It’s like biscuit meets pie crust. Flaky and buttery, yes — but also crumbly in some small areas like a good southern biscuit. And baby, it’s flavored so well! Great on it’s own, but when you bite into a piece that includes a crunchy flake of sea salt? Whew!!

Mini Turkey Pot Pie Substitutions

You are more than welcome to use whatever you either have, or like. There are very few rules to actual recipes, it’s technique that you should focus on. Most recipes are adaptable to your specific tastes, so don’t worry too much if you don’t like or have something.

If you don’t like turkey, use chicken. Or make this vegetarian by using veggie stock instead of chicken, leaving out the liquid dairy, and using a variety of meaty mushrooms. I almost added mushrooms to this, but decided to use them for another dish later this week.

I had a bunch of red potatoes lying around that were about to grow feet if I didn’t use them soon, so that’s what I chose for this. I love red potatoes because they hold their shape in soups and stews like this, without falling apart. Use any kind of potato you want or have. Russet’s can work, but keep in mind that they’ll start to crumble eventually and thicken your soup even further. Still delicious! Another great potato would be Yukon golds. You could also use those tiny little baby potatoes, the sky’s the limit.

The only base ingredients I recommend you use, is carrot, celery, onion (any variety), and garlic. I used a leek because I always have those on hand, and I absolutely adore their flavor. Don’t have a leek? Use an onion. Out of fresh herbs? Use dried with discretion. Dried herbs are more potent than fresh believe it or not, but they’re not always suitable for recipes that call for fresh herbs. But for this, it’s totally fine.

Don’t have sherry wine? Use any kind of white you have. Or, leave it all out entirely. Lastly, if you don’t have oven-safe soup bowls — get some! But seriously, just make one big pie using a pie or baking dish of some kind that’s large enough to hold everything. I portioned these out because I wanted to quickly pop one in the ‘wave whenever I got hungry. Any leftover filling can go in the freezer.

How to make mini turkey pot pies

Some of what we’re using today. All leftovers. Use what YOU have.

Melt down some butter with crushed red pepper and herbs de provence.

Add in the carrots, celery, and leeks. Season them up with kosher salt and black pepper.

Saute until softened just slightly, about 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes. Season them with a little more salt and pepper.

When you can only get a toothpick in the potatoes half-way, add the fresh thyme and rosemary.

Keep sautéing. You want the veggies to develop some golden brown fond at the bottom of the pan. This should take up to 10-12 minutes, give or take.

Like this! See all that flavor stuck at the bottom of the pan? We need that. So peep the next step.

Pour in the sherry wine, while scraping up the brown bits all over the pan. You can use any white wine if you don’t have sherry wine, its not big deal.

Scrape it all up! That’s good stuff.

Toss the garlic in there, and cook that for about 30 seconds.

Dump in the flour!

Stir the flour around making sure each veggie is coated thoroughly. Cook this for about 2 minutes.

It’ll look like this.

Pour in the stock, while stirring the flour coated veggies.

Then, pour in the half and half.

Stir it all up, then toss in a bay leaf. You’ll remove this later before eating, so don’t forget to do that!

While waiting for this stuff to come up to a simmer, season with cayenne pepper, garlic and onion powder. We’re not going to add any salt and pepper until the very last step.

A little worcestershire never hurt anybody.

Now we’ve got a simmer. See those soft bubbles bursting at the surface? That’s what you want. Now, the powers of the flour are doing its thickening job.

Dump in all of your turkey. I’m using leftover white and dark meat that I’ve cut into chunks. Torn pieces are fine, it really doesn’t matter.

It’s nice and thick! Not gloopy but think enough to be considered a pot pie filling.

Add the frozen peas.

Mix it all together and give it a taste. This is when you want to add any additional seasoning.

Turn off the heat, and add the lemon zest and cheese.

Add some fresh parsley.

Remove that bay leaf! Not the best thing to eat.

Portion the filling into oven-safe soup bowls, filled about a half-inch from the rim. Let this cool! Meanwhile, make your pie dough.

Pie dough mixture, the dry stuff. Flour, pink salt, a touch of baking powder, black pepper, and herbs de provence. Blend that up.

Add in the gruyere cheese. Blend that up.

Toss in the butter, and pulse that times.

Pour in the buttermilk.

Dough is ready when you can clump it together. If you’re unsure, add a little more buttermilk. It’s better to have a dough that’s a little too moist than too dry. Dump this crumbly mixture onto a lightly floured surface and GENTLY press into a disk. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, your soup filling is cooling off a bit.

Roll out your dough and cut out circles big enough to cover the oven-proof soup bowls, with just about an inch of overhang.

Beat one large egg and brush the rim and the first top inch of the sides with it. This is your “glue” to help the crust stay put.

Your soup should be cooled quite a bit, it doesn’t have to be cold, but you don’t want it hot because it’ll melt the dough before it hits the oven. Gently place a circle of dough over the center of the bowl, pressing the edges around the rim of the bowl where the egg-glue is. Then, brush the tops of the dough with a thin layer of eggwash. I cut out a hole in the center, then glued that circle halfway over the hole. You can do whatever you want here.

Finally, sprinkle some coarse sea salt (or whatever kinda salt you have) on the dough. The eggwash will help it stick.

Pop these babies in a 400 degree oven on the lower-middle rack for about 20-25 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. You should put your soup bowls on a baking sheet to catch any drips.

All done. Let them cool for about 5-10 minutes, they’re molten hot! Then serve and hug yourself.

Things I know you’re going to ask before you ask:

• Yes, you can make this with puff pastry. I did something similar a few years ago. However, the same principle applies with letting the filling cool a bit before adding the dough. You don’t want the heat from the hot soup to melt the dough before it’s baked.
• Yes, you can use any cheese you like or may have leftover. And yes, you can just leave it out (but it won’t be as delicious).
• Yes, you can use any kind of veggies and protein you want. You can use mushrooms instead of turkey or chicken. For a more gentle protein like seafood, you’ll want to add it to the hot filling after you’ve turn off the heat and give everything a final stir and taste. Because we’re baking this in the oven, you don’t want to overcook the seafood.
• Yes, you can turn this into one big pie instead of minis.
• Yes, you can make this ahead. Store the soup in heavy duty plastic zip bags or quart containers, same with the cut-out pie dough. When ready to bake, pop it into the a slightly lowered oven and bake until bubbly and golden brown.

These mini turkey pot pie are achingly delicious. My fiancé and I just exchanged visual hugs as we burned our greedy mouths eating it. Phenomenal. 

Mini Leftover Turkey Pot Pies

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★★★★★

4.7 from 3 reviews

• Author: Chef Resha
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings

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Description

Leftover Thanksgiving turkey gets bathed in a thick creamy broth, flavored beautifully and baked with a savory

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Ingredients

Units USM

For the filling

• 3 cups red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks (SEE NOTE)
• 4 cups leftover turkey, chopped into 1-inch chunks
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup celery, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 heaping cup leeks, sliced thin
• 3–5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley
• Zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon herbs de provence
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup sherry wine (SEE NOTE)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken stock or broth
• 2 cups half and half
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded (divided)

For the savory pie dough

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons herbs de provence
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup cold whole buttermilk, plus more if needed
• 1 egg, beaten
• Coarse or flaky salt for garnish

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Instructions

For the filling

1. Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add in the herbs de provence and crushed red pepper flakes. When the butter starts to sizzle, add the leeks, carrots, and celery. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Sauté the veggies for about 6 minutes, or until slightly softened. 
2. Add the potatoes and season once more with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook this mixture until the potatoes are slightly softened, and a toothpick inserted can only go halfway through — about 8-12 minutes.
3. Toss in the rosemary and thyme and continue to cook for 30 seconds. Next, stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. By now, you should have a little color at the bottom of your pot. Pour in the sherry wine to deglaze, scraping up the bits with a wooden spoon. Let the sherry wine reduce for about a minute, then dump in the flour. Stir the flour around to make sure all of the veggies are coated. Cook for 1-2 minutes. 
4. Pour in the chicken stock and continue stirring to prevent lumps. Stir in the half and half. Throw in the bay leaf, and season with onion powder, granulated garlic, cayenne pepper, and worcestershire. Stir and bring this mixture to a hard simmer over medium-high heat. 
5. Once large bubbles start to break at the surface, and the mixture is noticeably thickening up, reduce the heat to medium again. When the mixture has thickened up, add in the turkey and frozen peas. Give it a taste and adjust seasoning as needed. When it tastes good to you, turn off the heat, add in the lemon zest and 1/4 cup of the gruyere cheese. Give it another taste and adjust once more if you need to. Make sure the potatoes are fork tender. Lastly, fold in the fresh parsley. Remove the bay leaf. 
6. Pour the filling into oven-proof soup bowls, making sure the mixture is 1/2-inch below the rim — this gives the filling room to bubble and boil in the oven without making too much of a mess. 
7. Let the filling cool in the soup bowls for at least a half hour while you make the pie dough.

For the savory pie dough

1. Make sure your butter and buttermilk is super cold. Process the flour, baking powder, black pepper, herbs de provence, and salt in the food processor until combined.
2. Add 1/4 cup of gruyere cheese to the flour mixture and pulse 5 times.
3. Add the cold butter, coat butter with flour mixture and spread out into an even layer. This helps the butter process more evenly. Pulse until butter breaks down into pea-sized pieces, about 7 pulses. Some pieces will be smaller or larger, that’s fine. Don’t over-pulse it.
4. Add 1/2 cup of cold buttermilk, and pulse for about 5 seconds or until dough is visibly moistened. It will be crumbly! Test it out — dough is ready when you’re able to clump it together and it stays together. If it’s not quite there yet, add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of buttermilk until it holds together when you clump it in your fist.
5. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and gently knead/press into 1 large dough ball. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Dough can be made 48 hours in advance and frozen until ready to use. 
6. When ready to roll, remove from fridge or freezer and let come to room temperature for 10 minutes just so it’s easier to roll. Lightly flour surface and rolling pin and roll out into desired thickness. I suggest a quarter of an inch thick, but it’s totally up to you. 
7. Cut out circles large enough to fit the top of your soup bowls with a 1-inch overhang. Create a smaller circle or slit in the middle of each pie dough top.

Assemble

1. Brush the outer top edge of your soup bowls with the beaten egg — this will act as the glue to hold the dough overhang in place. Sprinkle the tops of each bowl evenly with the remaining 1/2 cup of gruyere cheese. Place a piece of the cut out dough directly over the soup, gently pressing the edges down where the eggwash is. Be careful not to tear it. 
2. Repeat with all the soup bowls. Brush the tops and edges of the dough with the remaining eggwash, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
3. Bake in a hot 400 degree oven until the filling is bubbly, and the dough is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving — this filling is lava hot!
4. Enjoy.

Notes

You can use any neutral colored wine or potato for this recipe.

• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 50
• Category: soups and stews, thanksgiving
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: turkey pot pie, soups, stews, thanksgiving

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