Wondering what to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers? Try baking a turkey pot pie

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Hopefully your preparations are well under way. Hope you enjoyed the pie articles from last week. Maybe even tried your hand at the homemade crusts?

Well, my pies are baked, and I’ll prep my Sweet Potato Roast today. Thanksgiving is a holiday we spend with my husband’s family, so we will drive up to Ellsworth for the day to celebrate. It’s always a wonderful day of family, food and fun. And it’s pretty convenient that we can easily drive up and back in the same day.

You might think I’m off the hook for making a big turkey since we don’t host Thanksgiving, but I make one every year over the holiday weekend because my husband loves turkey. With just three of us at our house, you might wonder what in the world we do with all the leftovers. This week’s recipe will take care of your turkey leftovers – Turkey Pot Pie with Cream Cheese Crust.

This recipe is adapted from an Epicurious recipe I made years ago. The original recipe calls for chicken, but it’s delicious with turkey also. So if you’re clipping the recipe and want to make it with chicken in the future, you can take a shortcut and get a rotisserie chicken from the store. They are tender and flavorful. But it’s turkey week, so we’re making this pot pie with turkey.

This fabulous pot pie is made in an Au Gratin dish, and only has a top crust. This cream cheese crust is so decadent you won’t mind that there isn’t a bottom crust. The filling is an elevated version of the traditional carrots and peas filling. It has shiitake mushrooms and green beans in it. The sauce you make for it is so delicious, you might want to have some crusty bread handy to take some tasting dips into it. This pot pie takes some time to make, but the results are well worth it. In fact, when I make it, I usually double the recipe. One to eat and one to share or put in the freezer for another time.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving. It feels more meaningful this year since we are actually allowed to gather. May your gatherings be safe, your turkey be juicy, your gravy hot, your mashed potatoes comforting and your pie sweet and satisfying. Among my blessings are you, my readers. Thankful for you.

Turkey Pot Pie with Cream Cheese Crust

Crust

2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into chunks

1, 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature, cut into chunks

Filling and Assembly

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 small clove garlic, finely chopped

8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, sliced

¾ cup frozen green beans

4 cups of leftover turkey meat, chopped

½ cup unsalted butter

½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

3 cups turkey or chicken broth

1 cup whole milk (can substitute 2%)

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

4 ½ teaspoons beef base (Better than Bouillon is great)

Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

1 egg, beaten, to glaze crust

Method

For the filling:

Put turkey meat into a large bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high and cook onions for 5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Transfer onions to the bowl with turkey. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in same skillet and add mushrooms. Sauté mushrooms for about 3 minutes, and then add garlic for cook for 1 more minute. Add mushroom mixture and green beans to turkey mixture. (The steam will soften the frozen green beans.)

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk together for 2 – 3 minutes. Stir in turkey or chicken broth, milk, cream and beef base. Bring to a boil and then season with salt and pepper. Mix 3 cups of sauce into the turkey mixture, and reserve the rest for another use.* Spoon the filling into a 1-quart Au gratin ceramic dish (or a glass baking dish).

For the crust and assembly:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour and salt in food processor until combined. Add the butter and cream cheese until the dough forms into one piece.

Remove dough onto a well-floured large cutting board. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out into the shape of the au gratin dish. Either cut slits to vent or use piecrust cutters to cut shapes out of the dough.

Carefully lift the dough from the cutting board onto the au gratin dish. Trim excess dough with a paring knife, leaving a bit to seal the dough onto the dish. Using the tines of a fork, press gently to indent and seal the edges. Brush the crust with egg. Bake for 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

*The sauce freezes nicely and makes a great sauce for chicken or can be thickened into gravy easily.

This story was originally published November 25, 2021 at 4:17 AM.