Leftover Turkey Pie with Vegetables

Leftover turkey pie is made using up leftover turkey, gravy and any vegetables following the Christmas roast. Perfect to feed a crowd on Boxing Day. Leftover turkey pie is exactly as the name suggests, a pie made using up the Christmas day leftovers. 

I love using up leftovers and Christmas is a time when we are all prone to buying too much food. Besides you have to find ways of using up all those roasted meats, in my case roast turkey, but you could also add in ham!

Now I would love to give advice on how to spend sensibly on food over the festive period. I fear that if I did, all those who know me would fall about laughing.  

However, I'm ok with that provided all the food is eaten! I hate waste.

Using up leftovers!

I always do a roast joint for Christmas, this year we're having turkey. I also always cook a ham, as I like to have days of leftovers from it.

I often use leftover ham to make a leftover turkey and ham pie. The ham also comes in very handy in salads, and with cheese and pickle between Christmas and New Year.

I also always have leftover vegetables from Christmas day. Despite counting vegetable portions into my pans, I always think there's never enough so add a few more.

Needless to say I've always lots of leftovers (with the notable exception of roast potatoes which always get devoured in our house).

I love to serve a leftover turkey pie on boxing day and guests have given me many compliments over the years.  It's simple, delicious and the perfect way to use up leftovers.

I always plan it for boxing day as it can feed many people and if you have a large crowd its easy to make 2!

This leftover turkey pie with puff pastry requires very little preparation. Exactly what you need after the mammoth task of cooking Christmas lunch.  

How to make leftover turkey pie

Recipe Substitutions

Meat

I have filled my pie with turkey as that's what I had cooked. I also like to mix the leftover gravy with some creme fraiche to form the sauce for the pie.

However, you could also use leftover chicken and ham in this pie. Or have either one of those 3 meats on their own!

Vegetables

I like to add a freshly cooked leek when I'm making the base for the sauce as I really think it lifts the dish.

However, alongside the leek, I also like to use up any leftover vegetables from Christmas day, like:

• roast carrots
• roast parsnips
• brussels sprouts (including any chestnuts if that's how you serve them)
• peas
• cavolo nero kale
• cauliflower

However, if you don't have much leftover vegetables you can easily add in fresh vegetables, along with the leek. Simply cook the vegetables for 10 minutes before adding to the pie mix!

Avoid adding in anything like a braised red cabbage though, as the vinegar will split the sauce. Instead warm up this vegetable dish and serve it alongside!

Dairy

I use creme fraiche in this recipe as I think it adds a lovely sharp note to the sweet gravy. The creme fraiche adds a real richness to the sauce.

However, you could add double, single or sour cream instead. If a creamy element isn't your thing, then leave it out entirely.

Puff pastry pie crust

I love my leftover turkey pie with puff pastry. However, you will notice that this recipe does not have instructions for making the pastry, instead I use a roll of shop-bought ready made puff pastry.

I always have rolls of pastry in the fridge over the Christmas period, both puff and shortcrust, for exactly this reason.

If you want to make your own pastry by all means do so. However, on Boxing day I have so many other things I would rather be doing, so it's shop bought pastry for my leftover turkey pie with puff pastry!

How to serve leftover turkey pie?

I like to serve this with any other leftovers like sausagemeat stuffing; oatmeal stuffing and pigs in blankets, assumming there's any left!

I always make a fresh made batch of roast potatoes, there are never any leftover roast potatoes in my house!

Can you make up this pie ahead of time

Yes, you could make this leftover turkey pie recipe the day before, preparing the pie filling and popping it in the dish. Then all you would need to do is roll over the puff pastry before baking the next day.

However, by the time I've cooked, eaten and tidied up after Christmas lunch, the last think I'm thinking about is preparing food for the next day.

This leftover turkey pie with puff pastry recipe is really quick to pull together so I like to leave it until I'm ready to pop it in the oven!

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Recipes to use up leftovers

If you like this recipe then try some of my other great recipes with leftovers:

• Leftover Turkey Curry is a recipe where a small amount of leftover turkey goes a long way. Just add a few fresh veggies and some dry spices.
• Ham, Fig & Blue Cheese Salad a great use of leftover ham and also any cheese leftover from my boxing day cheeseboard
• Panettone Bread & Butter Pudding I always get gifted one of these and any leftovers are always made into this delicious pudding
• Mincemeat Cookies and Mincemeat Tiffin are a great way to use up a jar of mincemeat.