This casserole is a great use of your leftover turkey. It’s loaded with veggies cooked until tender, lightly seasoned, topped with mashed potatoes, and baked until golden brown. It’s delicious comfort food that can repurpose your holiday meal into a brand-new one.
If you’re like me, after a meal there are always leftovers, and a holiday meal is no exception. One of my favorite things is finding new ways to repurpose them and make them feel like a new meal instead of just reheating the leftovers.
Why You’ll Love This Leftover Shepherd’s Pie
- Comfort food is always a winner Shepherd’s pie has to be one of the most incredible comfort foods; it has a great savory taste and is topped with creamy mashed potatoes for a bite that will have you return for more.
- Loaded with holiday Flavor This recipe leans more towards holiday flavors like thyme, sage, parsley, oregano, onions, and garlic. There is no shortage of flavor in this recipe, and to add a little more turkey or chicken flavor, I like to add a little chicken stock.
- Comfort food is always a winner Shepherd’s pie has to be one of the most incredible comfort foods; it has a great savory taste and is topped with creamy mashed potatoes for a bite that will have you return for more.
- Simple to make Because you’re using cooked leftover turkey, all you need to do is sauté some vegetables, whisk in flour and broth, and top with mashed potatoes, which can be freshly made or leftover (another excellent alternative topping is stuffing). And then bake.
Ingredient Needed
- Butter I like to use unsalted butter so that I can control the salt content a little bit easier; alternatively, you can use an oil of your choice, but you will lose out on the buttery flavor.
- Vegetables This recipe uses the classic vegetables of onion, carrot, and celery. You could also choose peas and carrots.
- Garlic using freshly minced garlic will give you the best flavor.
- Gravy If you have leftover gravy, you can use that, or you can mix flour and chicken broth together to create your gravy.
- Turkey Leftover turkey is the star of this recipe, but if you don’t have any, you could easily replace it with chopped chicken.
- Seasoning a simple blend of thyme, sage, parsley, and oregano to round out the flavors in this recipe.
- Potatoes If you have leftover potatoes, you can use them here; if not, you can quickly whip up a batch of mashed potatoes. Leftover stuffing is another excellent option.
How to make Turkey Shepherds pie
This recipe comes together in just under 10 minutes because you are using a lot of leftovers.
- Sauté the vegetables In a medium skillet, melt the butter, and then add your onions, carrots, and celery. If you’re using frozen vegetables, you can get them now. Cook until tender, then add garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Sauté the vegetables In a medium skillet, melt the butter, and then add your onions, carrots, and celery. If you’re using frozen vegetables, you can get them now. Cook until tender, then add garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Make the filling Add a tablespoon of butter and mix in the flour and broth; you can skip this step if you are using left-over gravy, and then add in your veggies. season with spices.
- Mashed potatoes Top the filling with mashed potatoes or stuffing.
- Bake the pie or casserole at 375ºF until the potatoes are heated through and have started to turn golden brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between cottage pie and shepherd’s pie?
When it comes to these pies, are savory meat pies, but there are slight differences, and it really is the type of meat inside the pie. Shepherd’s pie is traditionally made with ground lamb, while cottage pie is made with ground beef, which might be a little confusing when you add turkey, but I still call it shepherd’s pie either way.
How do you spice up shepherd’s pie?
When it comes to shepherd’s pies, they are full of flavor, but you can definitely spice them up a little bit more with dried herbs or a sprinkle of cayenne, paprika, or chili powder.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes, you can assemble this leftover turkey shepherd’s pie up to a day or two before serving it. Assemble it first, then bake it.
How to Make Leftover Turkey Shepherds Pie
Ingredients
- 3 tbso butter divided
- ½ onion chopped
- 2 large carrots peeled and diced
- ½ tsp garlic minced
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1-1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cup cooked turkey
- ½ tsp thyme
- ¼ tsp poultry seasoning
- ¼ tsp parsley
- ½ tsp oregano
- 3 cups mashed potatos or stuffing
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F
- In a medium oven-safe skillet, melt 1 tbsp butter over medium-high heat (or add canola oil). Add onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until tender (about 15-20 minutes). Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Add one more tablespoon butter or canola oil to cooked vegetables. Add flour and stir until combined completely. Add broth, and cook and stir until broth is thickened.
- Stir in peas and turkey until peas are warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add thyme, sage, oregano and parsley.
- Top with mashed potatoes and dab with remaining butter or brush with 1 tbsp canola oil. Bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are heated through.
I love shepherds pie and using leftover turkey is brilliant. Yum! Thanks for sharing!
Such a great way to use up leftover Turkey! I loved this take on Shepherd’s pie
Love this idea so much! Perfect way to use up what you have!
Similar in flavor to a turkey pie I ate as a kid but without having to make a crust, easy & delicious!
Great recipe! I love cooking meat once and making multiple different meal.
Thank you, and I completely agree to love to repurpose and use it for another meal.
This is such a cool idea! Love the idea of using leftovers!