This leftover turkey shepherd’s pie is the perfect recipe to make after Thanksgiving. It’s rich, creamy, and will help you use up those leftover turkey scraps.
Turkey Shepherd’s Pie – The Perfect Way to Use Leftovers
Every year we all have the same predicament. We have so many leftovers from Thanksgiving, and don’t want to eat the same meal over and over again. That’s why I love to repurpose Thanksgiving leftovers into brand new meals, like this leftover turkey shepherd’s pie.
Shepherd’s pie, also called cottage pie, is a meat pie or casserole that’s topped with mashed potatoes instead of crust. This recipe is rich and creamy from gravy, with just the right amount of vegetables to lighten it up.
Plus, this is an easy recipe to make. So if you’re still exhausted from Thanksgiving cooking, don’t worry. This is a quick, practical, and mouth-watering way to use up those leftover ingredients.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s everything you need for leftover turkey shepherd’s pie. Be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the exact ingredients.
- Shredded leftover turkey – If you made a Thanksgiving chicken instead, that will work fine. You can also use a rotisserie chicken if you’d like.
- Onion
- Frozen peas – Fresh peas also work.
- Frozen carrots – You can also use fresh carrots, peeled and cut into smaller pieces.
- Butter – I prefer unsalted butter so that I can control the amount of sodium in the recipe.
- Flour
- Chicken broth – You can also use vegetable or beef broth.
- Whole milk – Low fat milk or half and half will also work.
- Gravy
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Leftover mashed potatoes – If you used up all your leftover potatoes from Thanksgiving, you can use pre-made mashed potatoes.
How Do You Shred Turkey?
Shredding leftover turkey is easy, and all you need are two forks. Just take all your turkey meat off the bone and place it on a plate or a cutting board. Then use the forks to pull the meat in opposite directions, shredding it into smaller pieces. This makes for a much better texture than you would get by just cutting the turkey into chunks.
How to Make Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
This is an easy and comforting dish that only takes about 35 minutes to make. Here’s how to do it.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Cook the onion. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, then add the onion. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the veggies. Add the peas and carrots and stir to combine.
- Make the roux. Add the flour, salt, and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes. Then slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
- Make the sauce. Pour in the milk and gravy, and stir. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
- Add the turkey. Take all of your shredded turkey and add it to the sauce.
- Add the potatoes. Put the mixture in a 2-quart baking dish, and then top with mashed potatoes.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, then serve hot.
Tricks and Tips
Here are some quick tips for making the best possible turkey shepherd’s pie.
- Make the sauce slowly. Take your time while adding the chicken broth to the roux. If you add the broth too quickly, the sauce won’t thicken properly, and will also be lumpy. Pour a small amount of broth in slowly, then whisk thoroughly to combine, and repeat until all the broth has been added.
- Use homemade gravy. Jarred gravy works wonderfully for this recipe, but you’ll get an even better result if you use homemade gravy. I recommend my brown gravy or my turkey gravy.
- Tent, if necessary. You should cook this turkey shepherd’s pie uncovered, but keep an eye on it. If you notice that the potatoes are starting to brown too much, cover them with aluminum foil.
What to Serve With Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
Because this recipe is creamy and hearty, I like to serve it with some lighter sides, like salads and veggies. Here are a few of my favorite dishes to pair with turkey shepherd’s pie.
- Creamy caesar salad
- Arugula salad with maple dressing
- Maple bacon brussels sprouts
- Grilled corn on the cob
- Garlic roasted broccoli
How to Store Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
You can keep this recipe in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for 2 months. Shepherd’s pie can be reheated in the oven or in the microwave.
More Great Turkey Recipes to Try
If you liked this shepherd’s pie, and still have leftover turkey to use, try one of these great recipes.
- Hot turkey sandwich
- Turkey leg split pea soup
- Turkey a la king casserole
- Leftover turkey soup
- Kentucky hot brown sandwich
Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis turkey shepherd’s pie is the perfect dish for using up Thanksgiving leftovers. It uses turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy, and is a rich and creamy entree.
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded, leftover turkey (can substitute chicken)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup jarred gravy (or leftover gravy, or try our 5 Minute Brown Gravy, no drippings needed!)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups leftover mashed potatoes (or you can buy pre-made mashed potatoes at the grocery store)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
- Next add the peas and carrots, stirring in with the onions.
- Add the salt, pepper and flour. Stir and cook for 2 minutes then whisk in the chicken broth.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil pour in the milk and gravy. Stir and cook for 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Taste for seasonings then add the cooked turkey to the skillet and stir to combine.
- Spoon the turkey mixture into a 2 quart baking dish then top with the mashed potatoes.
- Bake, uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Check to make sure the filling is warmed through and serve.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven and Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
This was a wonderful recipe! I eat gluten-free and lactose-free, so i added rice flour and olive oil instead of butter and oat creme, instead of milk.
Instead of frozen peas and carrots, i cut up two carrots into very small pieces. And then added fresh green beans.
Came out delicious!!! Unfortunately, none left over to freeze as we gobbled it all up!
This is great!! The kids made faces while I was making it, but they tried a bite & and ate a bowlful!
That’s the best kind of comment to hear!
This was fantastic! My family loved it. Just perfect. Thank you!
This was the best left over turkey recipe ever! I’ll cook another turkey sooner than planned just so I can make this recipe again. Excellent!
We love this one too! Thanks so much for letting us know Fraser!
This recipe is delicious but when I made it it was very soupy, despite following the directions to the letter. I had to drop spoonfuls of mashed potatoes on top, like little islands, and there was no possible way of smoothing them across the top. Next time I’ll try one cup of stock instead of two.
Did you bring the broth to a boil and let it thicken? This is a very important step after adding the broth, otherwise it will be too loose.
Loved this recipe! We used sweet potatoes for the top because that’s what we had leftover. It was a hit, everyone loved it!
That sounds delicious! I bet the sweet potatoes were a perfect addition
I made this recipe and have Frozen the pot pie. when reheating should I defrost it first or should I put it in the oven frozen? Thanks I can’t wait to eat it!
I’ve never cooked it from frozen, but I’d probably let it defrost first and then cook! Even if it’s not fully defrosted it should be fine, just give it a few more minutes in the oven.
I just got to the end and noticed there’s no preheat temp for baking it… I hope 375 is good cause I’m not a cook, as you can see… ????
You’re right, 375! So you’re better than you think…
Can you freeze this to eat later?
Yes, you can. After freezing, defrost in the refrigerator and then heat, covered at 375 until warmed through.
Can you then please update the recipe? I only read the comments by chance or I’d have tried 400.
375 is for reheating, we cook this at 400. 375/400 isn’t really going to make much of a difference.
It says 400 ????