Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
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This Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie is the perfect way to use up any leftover turkey and mashed potatoes from the holidays! Easy to make, even easier to devour. Leftovers have never tasted so good!
Stuck with lots of leftovers from Thanksgiving and don’t know what to make with them? Well this Shepherd’s Pie is perfect for that leftover turkey or mashed potatoes. My version here is very simple, I used up whatever I had in the fridge and in no time at all, I had this comfort food masterpiece!
Why Make This Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
- Great Use Of Holiday Leftovers
- Easy & Straightforward
- Simple Ingredients
- Total Comfort Food
- Overall Pretty Healthy
This shepherd’s pie was amazing, especially since I topped the mashed potatoes with some fresh mozzarella cheese, baked the pie until the cheese melted and became golden and bubbly. This is best way to use up those holiday leftovers, totally delicious and a true comfort food in my book!
Ingredient Notes
- Turkey Meat – White or dark, whatever you have left, chopped in small pieces.
- Veggies – Chopped onion, bell peppers, carrots, celery, peas and garlic. Load it up with whatever veggies you have on hand.
- Butter – I used unsalted to control the sodium!
- Spices – Dried thyme and basil. You can use whatever herbs you like, for a great substitute, use Italian seasoning.
- Cheese – Mozzarella cheese, shredded. I would say this ingredient is optional but I really like my mashed potatoes cheesy, so I strongly recommend adding it.
- Chicken Broth – I always opt for low sodium.
- Mashed Potatoes – let’s not forget the best part. Lots of creamy mashed potatoes.
- Chicken bouillon – Note this ingredient is missing from the picture. This is an optional ingredient to add more flavor to the filling.
How To Make Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Cook veggies: In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the chopped onion, bell pepper, carrot and celery. Cook until veggies soften and onion is tender and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add herbs and broth: Add the basil, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic. Stir well and cook for another 30 seconds until garlic is aromatic. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir well. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Add the chicken broth and chicken bouillon cube and stir to dissolve the cube. Cook for 5 more minutes until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
- Add turkey, peas and finish with mashed potatoes: Add the turkey and peas. Stir well and bring the filling back to a boil. Spread the mashed potatoes over the filling and smooth with a spoon. Take a fork and rough up the top a bit then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake: Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 30 minutes until cheese melts and it’s golden on top and bubbly.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with parsley if preferred and serve warm.
FAQs & Expert Tips
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What Can I Add To My Turkey Shepherd’s Pie?
You can incorporate whatever you like into this dish! It really is just a dump and go kind of meal. I would suggest adding different types of veggies, like green beans, mushrooms or corn! If you have leftover stuffing, that would work great as well.
How To Serve
My favorite part about Shepherd’s pie is that it includes all of the typical dinner items in one dish! This is the best way to utilize your holiday leftovers.
Tips
- If you use frozen veggies, you’re saving chopping time. Choose a bag of mixed vegetables from the freezer.
- Incorporate any of your other thanksgiving leftovers you see fit! Stuffing, cranberry sauce. If you think it’ll work, try it out! No harm, no foul.
Storing Leftovers
Wrap the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap and foil, or transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezing
Transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer. You leftover turkey shepherd’s pie will last for about 2 months stored in your freezer!
Other Great Recipes To Try
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Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter (unsalted)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 1 medium green bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 medium carrot (peeled and chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (chopped)
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth (low sodium)
- 1 cube chicken bouillon
- 2 cups turkey meat (white or dark, chopped in small pieces)
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 4 cups mashed potatoes
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Cook veggies: In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the chopped onion, bell pepper, carrot and celery. Cook until veggies soften and onion is tender and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add herbs and broth: Add the basil, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic. Stir well and cook for another 30 seconds until garlic is aromatic. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir well. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Add the chicken broth and chicken bouillon cube and stir to dissolve the cube. Cook for 5 more minutes until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
- Add turkey, peas and finish with mashed potatoes: Add the turkey and peas. Stir well and bring the filling back to a boil. Spread the mashed potatoes over the filling and smooth with a spoon. Take a fork and rough up the top a bit then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake: Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 30 minutes until cheese melts and it's golden on top and bubbly.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with parsley if preferred and serve warm.
Notes
- Incorporate any of your other thanksgiving leftovers you see fit! Stuffing, cranberry sauce. If you think it’ll work, try it out! No harm, no foul.
- Wrap the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap and foil, or transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer. You leftover turkey shepherd’s pie will last for about 2 months stored in your freezer!
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Definitely will make again!
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was great. We decided to go with sharp cheddar instead of mozz, but followed the recipe exactly otherwise. I was impressed with the flavor of the sauce, as I had figured we’d have to add some gravy or something. It was perfect. Also kept the turkey from drying out.
Great recipe! I didn’t use carrots, thyme, or celery and instead I used corn, and green beans.
It still came out delicious.
Just made this! Used carrots/peas/broccoli/cauliflower/onion/parsnip/mushrooms/flour/dressing/cranberry sauce/potato/cheese/turkey broth/chicken powder and of course turkey! Can’t wait to try it! Thanks
This was absolutely delicious. I added dill and frozen corn and baked in a cast iron pan. Family loved it. I’ll make it again for sure. Thank You.
Very good recipe. Used leftover gravy instead of chicken broth and flour.
How many does this serve?
It serves 6.
I made this recipe and my husband and I both loved it. I used sharp cheddar cheese and was so pleased. So savory. Not lacking in anything.
So glad you like it!
I hate turkey, like really hate it. Not with this recipe. While takes time to prepare, it is worth every minute of effort. So delicious,,I can’t eat it fast enough. Props to you Jo !!
So glad you liked it, Arlene!
I’m making your recipe tonight! I was wondering if I could add my leftover gravy to this recipe?
Absolutely!
Can I sub with ground turkey?
Yes, you can definitely swap the leftovers with some ground turkey. Let us know how it turns out!
This was such a hit in our home. So yummy with all the chunks of turkey and creamy Inness. Also Love that my husband had a great lunch the next day & I didn’t have to make anything!
What size skillet did you use, 10″ or 12″?
That’s a 12 inch skillet.
Thanks for the yummy recipes.
Happy cooking.
Imake this with a couple of additions. 1. Put a layer of dressing on the bottom. 2. Include some craisins for different texture and some sweetness. Even though I love cheese, I skip the cheese. Great way to use leftovers!!
Great idea with the craisins. 🙂