Curry Turkey Pot Pie

Keep your leftover Thanksgiving turkey going strong with this turkey pot pie recipe, featuring a creamy, curry-spiked sauce and the best tender, flaky, buttery crust.

Pie, pie, pie. It’s all anyone is talking about this time of year. I’ll sing its praises year-round—whether it’s cherry, pumpkin, or pecan. But after Thanksgiving, when I find myself with leftover turkey, I divert from the sweet side of pie and go full-fledged savory. My mother-in-law’s curry turkey pot pie is one of my very FAVORITE recipes. It’s so good I ask for it every year for my birthday. That’s because eating this savory pie is like getting a warm hug from an old friend.

At the heart of this leftover turkey pot pie is diced turkey, potatoes, onion, carrots, and peas in a creamy homemade sauce, but the crust is where this dish finds its soul. This turkey pot pie is topped—and bottomed—with my easy to make, all butter, no-fail butter crust. If time is short, this recipe can be made with a good quality store bought crust or even puff pastry. This is the perfect antidote to those Thanksgiving turkey leftovers you still have, especially when you’ve got turkey sandwich fatigue.

I may start making pies every day of the week, because for this wanna be baker, this homemade pot pie recipe proves that once you get the basics down, baking pies—even savory pies—is actually really easy.

What’s in This Turkey Pot Pie?

Turkey pot pie is my go-to recipe for leftover Thanksgiving turkey. But if you happen to make it home from your T-day dinner minus a leftover turkey doggie bag, do as I do and  pick up a turkey breast from the store for this easy roasted turkey breast to make this very special pie.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this turkey pot pie recipe:

• Two 9-inch unbaked pie crusts, store bought or from my favorite all-butter pie crust recipe
• Turkey, light or dark meat
• Onion
• Celery
• Carrots
• Russet potatoes
• Frozen peas
• Chicken stock
• Half and half
• Curry powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to Make Turkey Pot Pie Filling

Making a great pot pie isn’t rocket science, but it is all about getting the right ratios. The ingredients are basic in every way, but how you prep them is what makes each bite a flavor explosion on its own. Even better, you can make the filling ahead of time and refrigerate it until your ready to bake.

So they cook at the same rate, cut the veggies and turkey the same size for bites of each one with every forkful. You don’t have to be precious or precise, but do aim for keeping the veg the same size. If you have a few more carrots than potatoes or a little more onion than celery, that’s perfectly okay. Be fluid. Make it yours.

Soften the cooking celery, onion, and potatoes in melted butter. The aromatic veggies are cooked in melted butter which helps create the lush flavor in the creamy roux base.

Turkey Pot Pie Filling

Start the sauce by cooking your veg. Sauté the veggies in butter until they are tender, about 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally so the vegetables don’t brown.

Stir in the turkey and sprinkle the mixture with the flour. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. The flour will help thicken your sauce. While stirring, cook for 3-5 minutes or until the flour taste been cooked out. 

Stir in the chicken stock and cook to thicken. The sauce gains body and flavor as it cooks down. Scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any cooked bits which add flavor to the sauce as it cooks and thickens.

Loosen and luxe up the sauce with half and half or cream. Half and half gives this sauce a lush bite. If you’re really feeling decadent, add cream or substitute whole milk.

Add curry powder for flavor. While it’s optional, the addition of curry powder really makes this recipe stand out from the rest. Start with a few teaspoons, and add more to taste.

Add the frozen peas straight from the bag. No need for defrosting since they will thaw in the sauce.

Turkey Pot Pie Crust

For the most consistently bronzed crust, use a 9-inch glass baking dish to monitor the browning of the crust. Not as picture pretty, but who cares what your dish looks like when the pie itself steals the show?

Prepare the pie dough. If making a homemade crust, make and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for the flour to moisten and the gluten to settle. Make the pie crust dough up to 3 days ahead of time. Or make, freeze, and thaw the day before you make the pie.

If the dough feels tough to roll, let it rest 5 minutes or so at room temperature before trying again. 

Allow the turkey pot pie filling to cool slightly before adding to the crust. Otherwise, hot-from-the-stove filling will melt the crust before going into the oven to bake.

Brush pie with egg wash and cut vents into the pot pie crust. This gives your pot pie that irresistibly glossy, shiny, golden brown top.

Bake at 400°F for about 45-50 minutes or until the pie is golden brown on top and the bottom crust is golden.

Can I Freeze Turkey Pot Pie?

Yes, you can assemble this leftover turkey pot pie ahead of time and freeze up to 3 months. To freeze this turkey pie, assemble the pie but DO NOT BAKE IT.

Wrap the assembled, unbaked pot pie in plastic wrap (including the pie plate itself), then wrap in aluminum foil before freezing it.

Can I Add Other Veggies to Turkey Pot Pie?

Yes! Try sweet potatoes, green beans, or corn in this pot pie combo. Or, try mushrooms and asparagus like I do in my springtime chicken pot pie.

More Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe Ideas

• Turkey Pot Pie Soup
• Turkey Avocado Tetrazzini
• Roasted Butternut Squash and Turkey Chili
• Chicken Pot Pie Pizza (sub in turkey)
• 21 Easy Recipes for Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

4.83 from 29 votes

21 Leftover Turkey Recipes | Curry Turkey Pot Pie

Put your Thanksgiving leftovers to good use with this turkey pot pie. The addition of curry powder lends aromatic flavor in this fun twist on the classic chicken pot pie in a tender and flaky all butter crust.

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Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword turkey pot pie

Prep Time 50 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 396kcal

Ingredients 

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For the filling:

• ½ cup butter
• 1 ½ cup diced onion , (about 1 medium onion)
• 1 ½ cup diced celery , (about 2 stalks)
• 1 ½ cup diced carrots , (about 2 carrots)
• 1 cup peeled and diced russet potato , (about 1 medium)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups diced cooked turkey
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup half and half , plus more for egg wash
• 2-3 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 recipe all butter pie crust , for 2 double crust pies
• 1 egg

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Instructions

For the filling:

• Melt butter in a large dutch oven or heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, celery, carrots, and potato until the onions are translucent and veggies are tender, about 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally so the vegetables don’t brown.
• Stir in the turkey and sprinkle the mixture with the flour, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. While stirring, cook for 3-5 minutes or until the flour taste been cooked out.
• Add the chicken broth and half and half. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often, and cook until thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
• Stir in the curry powder and peas. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.

To assemble the pot pie:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• To roll out the dough, place one half of the dough on a countertop sprinkled with flour and sprinkle the dough with flour. Rub flour on the rolling pin and rap the dough with the rolling pin 6-8 times to soften it. Flip the dough over, lightly dust it with flour and rap the dough again, this time in the opposite direction.
• Starting from the middle of the dough, roll the dough away from you, giving it a quarter turn after each couple of passes. Flip the dough over and once again roll the dough from the middle outward, giving the dough a quarter turn each time, dusting the flour and the roller as needed.
• If any of the butter breaks through the surface, sprinkle some flour over the exposed area then brush away the excess.
• Roll the dough to ¼-inch thickness and a few inches larger than your 9-inch glass pie pan. Gently fold the dough in half and in one movement and lift it off the rolling surface and into the pan. Unfold the dough circle and gently ease it into the pan. Don’t stretch the dough down into the pan or when it heats up in the oven, it will bounce back and shrink.
• Repeat with the other disc of pie dough. Fold and set aside.
• Scoop the turkey mixture into the pie pan, mounding in the middle if needed. Top with the reserved disc of rolled out pie dough. Tip the excess dough handing over the lip of the pan so it is one inch beyond the lip. Fold the top and bottom layers of pie dough under one another on the lip of the pie pan, making a big edge. Crimp the edge with the tines of a fork or flute the edge by pinching your knuckle into the middle of the index and middle finger of your opposite hand and repeat along the edges of the crust.
• Whisk 1 egg with a splash of half and half and brush on the top of the pie dough. Cut 3 to 5 vents in the top of the pie. Bake pie on a sheet pan for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling. Let pot pie cool so the filling can set; about 1 hour.

Nutrition

Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 797mg | Potassium: 527mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 4723IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 2mg

More Comfort Foods Recipes You’ll Love

• Puff Pastry Chicken Pot Pie With Asparagus And Mushrooms
• Baked Turkey Meatballs with Creamy Polenta and Marinara
• 30-Minute Mushroom and Leek Chicken Breasts
• One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
• Homemade Chicken Parmesan

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