Thanksgiving-Leftovers Pies

Yes, we did still have Thanksgiving leftovers in our freezer. But in my defense, at any given time, our freezer is simply filled with leftovers of all kinds. I’ve always thought: “When will we even use half of this stuff? And on what?” Well, I gave myself an answer this week.

These pies encompass basically every important aspect of a Thanksgiving meal: turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. Since we had all three sitting in our freezer, I do not go over how to make them in this recipe. Luckily, you can just make box/instant stuffing or mashed potatoes since it just goes into the filling and your guests probably won’t notice.

I decided to make a roux out of butter, flour, stock, and heavy cream, to keep these pies from drying out. It is a pretty basic variation and very similar to the roux that I make for chicken pot pies or other savory pies. I also cooked some mushrooms in butter and salt just because it felt like it needed some veg (yes, I know mushrooms aren’t really vegetables but… close enough?).

The pie crust recipe (my favorite!) that I ended up using is the same as the one I used in my earlier Persimmons & Apple Pie recipe. I made one batch of dough, which was perfect for 5 personal pies. You can double the recipe if you wanted a double crust, or if you are planning on fluting all the edges. I used 6-inch ramekins to make these personal pies, however, the recipe can be adapted to make one large pie or a larger number of small ones.

One of my favorite parts of this pie is that the stuffing acts as a sort of crumble topping! It gets really nice and crunchy, which helps with the overall texture profile. If you were to just put the stuffing on the inside, it’ll still taste delicious, but the textures would all be too similar. The only downside to putting the stuffing on top is that you have to be careful it doesn’t burn!

Overall, the process is incredibly simple if you’re planning on using leftovers. I could also see this working in so many variations, not just Thanksgiving. As long as you have a protein, some fix-ins, and a roux, you have the ingredients for a delicious meat pie. Serve these pies warm and with some canned cranberries for the complete experience. Enjoy!

Leftover Thanksgiving Pies

If you're anything like my family, you have Thanksgiving leftovers still in your freezer. These meat pies are the most delicious (and easiest) way to utilize those leftovers! So you can celebrate turkey day every day.

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 55 mins

Total Time 1 hr 25 mins

Servings 5 servings

Ingredients

  

• 1 batch pie crust dough (from the Persimmon & Apple Pie recipe, linked above)

For the filling:

• 3-4 cups cooked turkey, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups stuffing
• 2 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms (10-15 mushrooms)
• 2 tbsp salted butter
• salt, to taste

For the roux:

• 3 tbsp salted butter
• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Instructions

 

Make the pie crust:

• Make one batch of pie crust using this recipe. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Prepare the filling:

• If you're using leftovers that are frozen, make sure to thaw them well.
• Cook the mushrooms: Heat the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Cook the mushrooms until soft and season with salt to taste.

Make the roux:

• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Then, whisk the flour in. Keep whisking until the mixture starts bubbling and smells cooked.
• Pour the beef stock into the pan and whisk until well combined. Keep whisking for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the heavy cream last. Mix until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until the mixture starts to thicken, about 15-20 minutes.

Assemble your pies:

• Preheat the oven to 400° F.
• Roll out your pie crust until about 1/8" thick. Cut out rounds in the dough that are roughly 2" larger than your ramekins (I used 6" ramekins, so I'd cut out 8" rounds). You can make the rounds larger if you want to flute your edges.
• Carefully place a dough round in each ramekin and press gently to make sure it is well fitted.
• Place about 4 heaping spoonfuls of mashed potatoes into the bottom of your ramekins. Evenly distribute the chopped turkey into each pie. Then, do the same for the cooked mushrooms. Finally, pour the roux on top and sprinkle with the stuffing.
• Arrange pies on a rimmed baking sheet (in case of overflow). Bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Cook for another 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. You may have to tent the pies with foil toward the last 5-10 minutes to prevent the stuffing from burning.
• Let stand for 10 minutes. Enjoy warm (with or without cranberries)!