These Turkey Hand Pies are handheld comfort food! Savory turkey pot pie filling packed with leftover turkey and encased in the flakiest pastry. Make some for now, and freeze the rest for later as an easy lunch or dinner option.
Leftover Turkey Hand Pies
Leftover Turkey Hand PiesYou are going to want to plan to make these after Thanksgiving, trust me. In fact, plan to make the dough when you make all the pie dough for Thanksgiving pies. It will save you a big step in getting these made! These Leftover Turkey Hand Pies are exactly what post-holiday comfort food looks like. A light, but flavorful turkey pot pie filling is tucked into a butter crust and baked into hand held pies.
I love making this leftover recipe into hand pies because the unbaked (or baked) pies can be frozen for an easy dinner later on in the holiday season, when things start to get really hectic. However, if you wanted to make this a Turkey Pot Pie recipe baking in a regular pie pan, double the filling recipe listed here, and bake it in a 9″ pie pan.
Turkey Hand Pie Ingredients
Turkey Hand Pie Ingredients- Leftover Turkey
- Leftover Veggies (you can use frozen peas if you don’t have any)
- Stock (homemade, if possible)
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Dry White Wine
- Salt and Pepper
- Dried or Fresh Thyme
- Butter
- Flour (or cornstarch, for gluten free)
- Parsley
- Pie Dough
Tools Needed to Make Hand Pies
- Dutch Oven
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry Brush
- 4.5″ Circle Cutter
- Sheet Tray
Steps to Make Hand Pies
While you can certainly eat a hand pie super fast (it’s so easy because they’re handheld!), it takes quite a bit longer to actually make them. Luckily, the steps can be broken down and spaced apart so this feels really easy.
First, you have to make the pie dough. Go ahead and do that, following this recipe for butter pie dough, this recipe for cream cheese pie dough (my favorite) or this recipe for gluten free pie dough. Whatever dough you choose, it needs to chill, preferably overnight.
Next, the filling needs to be cooked. This can be done a day ahead, especially since it needs plenty of time to cool. You never want to put hot filling inside pie dough–it will melt it.
Then, roll out the hand pie dough. This recipe is based off a 4.5″ round hand pie. It really makes it easiest to buy a 4.5″ circle cutter, especially if you plan to make hand pies of any variation in the future; it just simplifies things. If you don’t want to buy one, you can cut out a 4.5 inch circle of parchment paper and use it to cut out the circles. Keep in mind, the dough might need to be chilled in between cutting out the circles and assembling the hand pies, as this step will take significantly longer without a circle cutter.
Once you have your dough rolled, it’s time to assemble!
To assemble the pies, brush water around the edges of 1 circle of pie dough. Place ¼ cup of turkey filling in the middle. Place a circle of pie dough over the top and press down on the edges to seal the two pieces together. Crimp the edges of the bottom to the top to further seal the pie and to add a decorative touch. Place the pies on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining dough circles. When finished, place the sheet pan inside a freezer to chill, while the oven preheats.
Freezing Turkey Hand Pies
Freezing Turkey Hand PiesThese can be frozen, unbaked, for up to 3 months. Freeze them flat on a sheet tray for 24 hours. Then, transfer to a bag with as much air removed as possible. Freeze for up to 2 months. The pies can be baked from frozen. Doesn’t get much easier than that!
Baking Turkey Hand Pies
The filling is already cooked in these hand pies, so when baking, the primary concern is to bake up the crust.
To bake, pre-heat the oven to 425ºF and set a rack to the second lowest position in the oven. This small step will ensure a crisp crust. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the pie dough is lightly golden all over. If you are baking from frozen, you may need to bake for an extra 10 minutes or so.
Can you make this without leftover turkey?
Can you make this without leftover turkey?Yes! You can substitute in rotisserie chicken here, or even make vegetarian pot pies by adding in extra leftover vegetables in place of the turkey.
More savory pie recipes:
- Kale, Asiago and Potato Pie
- Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche
- Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Feta Pie
Turkey Hand Pies
- Prep Time: 00:35
- Cook Time: 01:05
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 Hand Pies
- Category: Hand Pies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Savory
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (1/2 cup)
- 1 stalk celery, diced (1/3 cup)
- 1 medium carrot, diced (1/3 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1–½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 2 teaspoons fresh
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour (or 2 tablespoons cornstarch)
- 2 cups stock (turkey, chicken or veggie)
- 2 cups (15 ounces; 425 grams) leftover turkey, diced
- ½ cup leftover veggies (see note)
- 2 tablespoons parsley, finely sliced
- 2–9″ Pie Crust Dough
- Egg wash (1 egg, whisked together with 1 tablespoon of water)
Instructions
Make Turkey Filling:
- Heat oil in a dutch oven (or heavy bottomed stock pot) over medium heat. Once hot, add onion, celery and carrots and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Add wine and cook until it has reduced down almost completely.
- Add the salt, pepper, thyme, butter and flour. Cook while stirring, until the butter has fully melted. Slowly whisk in the stock, about ½ cup at a time, until it is all combined. Bring the gravy to a boil, and then reduce the heat to let it simmer.
- Add in the leftover turkey and veggies (if using frozen peas, wait to add them at the end) and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
- Shut off the heat, add in parsley and season to taste. Let cool completely before placing in pie.
Roll Out and Fill Hand Pies:
- Roll out 1 disk of pie dough as thin as possible. Stamp out at least 8 4.5” circles from the dough. Pile the dough scraps on top of one another and roll out one more time, enough to get at least 2 more circles. Repeat this process with the other dough disk to yield roughly 20 dough circles.
- Brush water around the edges of 1 circle of pie dough. Place ¼ cup of turkey filling in the middle. Place a circle of pie dough over the top and press down on the edges to seal the two pieces together. Crimp the edges of the bottom to the top to further seal the pie and to add a decorative touch. Place the pies on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining dough circles. When finished place the sheet pan inside a freezer to chill, while the oven preheats.
To Bake:
- Pre-heat the oven to 425ºF and set a rack to the second lowest position in the oven. Remove the pies from the freezer, brush the tops with an egg wash.
- Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the pie dough is lightly golden all over.
Notes
- If you don’t have any leftover vegetables, you can replace them in this recipe with frozen peas. Add the frozen peas at the very end though, when the parsley is added.
Keywords: Turkey Handpies
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