Mini Pot Pies (with Turkey!)
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I love hosting for the holidays, and this year we had our annual Friendsgiving celebration at my place! My besties and I go all the way back to 2007 — it’s such a solid group of girlies who I know I can depend on… and have so much fun with.
We didn’t roast our turkey this year, we smoked it! It honestly turned out so good and I think we’ll probably do the same thing next year. And even though we all went back for seconds, we still ended up with some leftovers.
Rather than pick at them for the next week, I wanted to turn them into a totally new dish, so I whipped up some super quick and simple mini pot pies! They ended up being so good: hearty, comforting, and buttery, just how I like it.
Once you prepare the filling, all you need to do is bake them for about 30 minutes and then you can dig in. Pair them with your other leftovers (garlic mashed potatoes, anyone?), or whip up my harvest kale salad for something a little lighter. You can’t go wrong either way!
What You Need to Make Mini Pot Pie
- Refrigerated pie crusts: I used pre-made pie crust to make this mini pot pies recipe super easy! Feel free to go for homemade if you’d like, or use puff pastry for a lighter and flakier texture.
- Turkey breast: This is a great way to use leftovers after the holidays, or you could also use chicken. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s cooked.
- Chicken broth: I like chicken broth for the filling, but turkey or even vegetable broth would also work well.
- Tapioca starch: To thicken the filling. Cornstarch is another option.
- Salted butter: I decided to cook the vegetables in butter instead of oil for these, and it adds such a nice, rich flavor to the whole thing.
- Onion, carrots, & celery: Called a mirepoix in French, this combination of veggies adds so much flavor to whatever you put it in! It’s a great base for soups… and pot pies.
- Peas: One more veggie for good measure! Peas add a bit of sweetness and color.
- Seasonings & herbs: I went with fresh thyme sprigs, pepper, salt, and garlic powder.
- Egg: For an egg wash to brush on top of the mini pot pies! You could also use milk or cream if you recently ran out of eggs (been there).
How to Make Mini Pot Pies with Turkey
Pull the pie crust from the refrigerator to soften and preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Unroll the crust onto a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin. Use your mini baking dishes to make indents into the crust — I used 4-inch mini cocotte’s from Staub (which I LOVE).
Place each crust into the bottom of each mini pot pie dish. Cut strips out of the remaining crust to mend around the edges. Poke the bottom of each crust with a fork and place in the freezer to chill for at least 10 minutes.
While you wait, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Introduce the onion and carrots and cook for several minutes, then add the fresh thyme and other seasonings. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Next, add the celery, peas, turkey, and chicken broth to the pan.
Add a tapioca starch slurry to the filling mixture and let simmer over medium-low heat until thickened. Fill each mini pot pie with the filling, cover with more pie dough, brush with your egg wash, and bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!
A Few Tips For Making this Mini Pot Pies Recipe
- Don’t skip the chilling step: Freezing the pie crusts after putting them in the baking dishes helps them hold their shape and keeps the bottoms from getting soggy! This quick and easy baking hack changed my life… and my pies. It’s so important!
- Chop the vegetables evenly: Ideally, you want a little bit of everything in every bite, and the best way to ensure this is to dice the onion, celery, and carrots into uniform pieces! It will also help everything cook evenly too.
- Avoid overfilling the mini pot pies: Remember to leave a little extra space at the top of the pot pies. If you don’t, the filling will bubble over and make a big mess in your oven.
- Cut an X on the top of each pot pie before baking to create a steam vent. This little trick helps release any excess moisture, keeping the crust nice and flaky.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these mini pot pies with any meat?
Absolutely. If you don’t have any leftover turkey you can make my mini pot pies recipe with chicken instead. I’ve used rotisserie chicken before and it was delish!
Other Recipes You May Like:
If you make this mini turkey pot pie recipe, I would really appreciate a comment and rating down below the recipe card. Don’t forget to take a picture and tag me over on Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest!
Mini Pot Pies (with Turkey!)
Ingredients
- 2 refrigerated pie crusts (softened)
- 3 tbsp butter (salted)
- 1/2 large yellow onion (diced (roughly 1 cup))
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs (stem removed)
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 stalk of celery chopped (about 1/3 cup)
- 3/4 cup green peas
- 2 cups chopped turkey breast
- 2.5 cups chicken broth
- 1.5 tbsp tapicoa starch (can use corn starch)
- 1 egg (beaten (for egg wash))
Instructions
- Soften pie crust according to package instructions and preheat oven to 425F.
- Unroll piecrust on a floured surface. Roll out with a rolling pin then using the top of your dish to make indents in the pie crust. I used a 4inch crocotte’s from Staub.
- Place the pie crust in the bottom of each dish then use the remainder pie crust to cut out strips and mend around the edges of the dishes until the inside is fully covered with pie dough.
- Poke the bottom of each one 4 times with a fork and place in the freeze for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Mix in the celery, peas, turkey, and chicken broth last.
- Combine the tapioca flour with a tablespoon of broth in a small dish, then add it into the turkey mixture and cook for 5-6 minutes on medium-low heat or until the broth has thickened.
- Remove from heat and set aside. Fill each dish with the mixture, be sure to get some broth in there too. Cut out larger circles in the pie dough for your crust, cut an x on the top to help steam, and brush each one with an egg wash.
- Place them on a baking sheet line with parchment paper for easy clean up and bake for 30 minutes.
- Enjoy warm!
Notes
- Don’t skip the chilling step: Freezing the pie crusts after putting them in the baking dishes helps them hold their shape and keeps the bottoms from getting soggy! This quick and easy baking hack changed my life… and my pies. It’s so important!
- Chop the vegetables evenly: Ideally, you want a little bit of everything in every bite, and the best way to ensure this is to dice the onion, celery, and carrots into uniform pieces! It will also help everything cook evenly too.
- Avoid overfilling the mini pot pies: Remember to leave a little extra space at the top of the pot pies. If you don’t, the filling will bubble over and make a big mess in your oven.
- Cut an X on the top of each pot pie before baking to create a steam vent. This little trick helps release any excess moisture, keeping the crust nice and flaky.
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