This easy leftover turkey and vegetable pie makes use of all the things you are likely to have left over on Boxing day: roast turkey, a mixture of cooked vegetables, gravy and a bit of cream
How to use up Christmas roast dinner leftovers
I am a big fan of the traditional Christmas roast dinner – a lovely big roast turkey with all the trimmings, but the trouble is, no matter how hard I try, I (and most of the population) always end up with loads of leftovers!
I really don’t want to throw them away, but I’m not a big fan of eating cold leftovers.
So this year I set about trying to come up with a dish that would use up all the Christmas leftovers, but which didn’t involve buying or adding loads of extras. And, most importantly, it had to be super tasty!
Practically a free meal!
This Easy Leftover Turkey and Vegetable Pie makes use of all the things you are likely to have left over on Boxing Day: leftover roast turkey, a mixture of cooked vegetables, gravy and a bit of cream (but don’t use the sweetened brandy cream or it will taste very odd!)
In fact, the only additional ingredients it uses are an onion and a bit of flour and butter for the pastry. It’s virtually like getting a meal for free! And yet it doesn’t taste like at all like eating leftovers. It tastes like a brand new meal!!
To make cooking this turkey pie recipe even easier…
The recipe below gives you the method for making a quick and easy shortcrust pastry crust for your pie, but if you want to make things even easy peasier, use a pack of ready-made shortcrust or puff pastry.
Why this leftover turkey pie is so great!
I made this pie using about 300g (11oz) of leftover turkey (plus a few pigs in blankets!!) and 400g (14oz) leftover vegetables: a mix of roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, sprouts and onions.
But the beauty of this pie is that it can be made with whatever leftovers you have. It would work particularly well with chicken or ham, or a mixture of leftover meats, and really whatever veg you have.
What to do if you don’t have any leftover gravy…
If you don’t have any leftover gravy (I grew up in a house of gravy loving men, where the concept of leftover gravy was unheard of), you can make a quick gravy by mixing together a chicken stock cube and 2 tablespoons of flour. Add a little cold water and stir until you have a smooth paste then pour over 400 ml of boiling water. Stir well and add into the recipe.
Easy Peasy Turkey Gravy
What to serve with this leftover turkey pie
This pie is chock full of veg, so really is a complete meal in itself, but if you are feeling the need for some more veg you could steam some extra veg to go with it. I like to serve it with some extra carrots and Brussels sprouts. Frozen peas and or sweetcorn would also work well!!
What to drink with leftover turkey pie
You may well find yourself with a few half-finished bottles on Boxing day that need finishing up (or you may well be feeling a little sore of head and have no desire for wine), but if you do want to open a bottle to go with this pie, I suggest a French or Chilean Chardonnay would be just perfect.
More leftover turkey recipes…
For more great ways to use up leftover roast turkey check out my roundup of 10 Easy Ideas for your Turkey leftovers.
Easy Leftover Turkey and Vegetable Pie
Ingredients
Pastry
- 300 g plain flour
- 150 g fridge cold butter (chopped into small cubes)
- Pinch of salt
- Cold water
- 1 egg beaten - for egg washing the pastry (optional)
Pie Filling
- 1 onion sliced
- 300 g leftover cooked turkey (or other meat) roughly chopped
- 400 g mix of leftover cooked vegetables chopped if large
- 400 ml leftover gravy
- 100 ml cream
Instructions
Pastry
- Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and mix together thoroughly. Chop the butter into small cubes and add to the mixing bowl. Rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (you can do this in a food processor if you prefer, or alternatively find a small child to do it for you – mine love doing this for me!)
- Add a few drops of cold water and stir, keep adding cold water a few drops at a time until the mixture starts to come together. Squish the mixture together until you have a ball of pastry dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge until it is needed.
Pie
- (N.B. Start here is you have bought a block of ready-made pastry.)
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Peel and slice an onion and put in a deep, wide pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Cook with a lid on for 5 minutes until soft but not brown, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chopped turkey and vegetables and fry over a medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the leftover gravy and cream and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes.
- While the pie filling is simmering, remove your pastry from the fridge and roll out to 3cm (1 inch) bigger than your tin all the way round. My tin is 28cm by 18cm (11inches by 7inches).
- Tip the filling into your tin and carefully place your pastry on top. Cut a couple of small holes in the middle to allow the steam to escape.
- To achieve a glaze on top of your pie, crack an egg into a cup and beat with a fork. Using a pastry brush, paint the eggwash onto your pastry.
- Put your pie in the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Serve on its own or with mash and / or green vegetables for a more substantial meal.
Notes
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Charlotte Oates says
What a great way to use up Christmas leftovers. When I was younger my mum always made a really delicious bubble and squeak which we had with cold ham and turkey. I’ve never managed to make it quite the same as she does.
Happy Christmas Eb xx
Eb Gargano says
Thank you Charlotte 🙂 I LOVE bubble and squeak! I sometimes make the bubble and squeak cakes which feature in my “How to make sprouts interesting” post with my Christmas leftovers: SO GOOD!! Happy Christmas to you too, Charlotte xx
Martin @ The Why Chef says
This looks so much tastier than turkey and chips on Boxing Day! I may just break a 30 year horrid tradition by making this instead! Cheers!
Eb Gargano says
Thank you, Martin. It is super tasty – all those delicious Christmas dinner flavours all concentrated in a pie, with a dash of cream – what’s not to like? 🙂 Happy Christmas!!
Hayley @ Snap Happy Bakes says
I’m loving all your left over ideas! Another delicious one! Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare.
Eb Gargano says
It’s a good job I created so many – I’ve still got a good kilo or so of turkey in my freezer!! Thanks for hosting 🙂