Leftover Turkey Pot Pie with Cheddar Drop Biscuits
Turkey pot pie with biscuits gives leftover roast turkey a creamy second dinner and skips the rolling pin. Carrots, celery and peas go into a thyme gravy, and eight rough scoops of cheddar biscuit dough bake on top. The biscuits brown at the edges and stay soft where they meet the filling. This is a useful way to use a mix of light and dark meat without needing enough of either for a meal on its own.
Ingredients
Use a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish. The weights below are the clearest guide when measuring flour, produce or butter.
- 90 g unsalted butter, divided: 35 g for the filling and 55 g cold for the biscuits
- 120 g yellow onion, diced (about 1 medium)
- 150 g carrots, diced (about 2 medium)
- 90 g celery, diced (about 2 stalks)
- 255 g all-purpose flour, divided: 35 g filling and 220 g biscuits
- 480 ml low-sodium turkey or chicken stock (2 cups)
- 240 ml whole milk (1 cup)
- 450 g cooked turkey, diced (about 3 cups)
- 120 g frozen peas (about ¾ cup)
- 1 g dried thyme (1 teaspoon)
- 5 g fine salt, divided: 2 g filling and 3 g biscuits
- 1 g ground black pepper (about ½ teaspoon)
- 10 g baking powder (about 2½ teaspoons)
- 75 g sharp cheddar, grated (about ⅔ cup)
- 180 ml cold buttermilk (¾ cup)
How to make turkey pot pie with biscuits
1. Simmer the turkey filling
Heat oven to 425°F (220°C). Melt 35 g butter in a deep skillet. Cook onion, carrot and celery over medium heat for 7–8 minutes, stirring, until the onion is translucent. Stir in 35 g flour for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in stock and milk; simmer, stirring, for 4–5 minutes until it coats a spoon. Stir in turkey, peas, thyme, 2 g salt and pepper; bring back to a gentle simmer and transfer to a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish.
2. Mix and drop the cheddar biscuits
Whisk 220 g flour, baking powder and 3 g salt. Rub in 55 g cold diced butter until pea-size pieces remain. Stir in cheddar, then gently fold in cold buttermilk just until no dry flour remains. Drop eight roughly equal mounds over the hot filling, leaving gaps between them.
3. Bake until golden and check the filling
Bake 22–26 minutes until the biscuits are golden, a skewer in a biscuit comes out without raw dough and the filling reaches 165°F (74°C) in the center and several places. If the tops darken before the center is hot, tent loosely with foil and continue baking. Rest 10 minutes before serving.
Which turkey works best
Use already cooked, properly refrigerated turkey. Remove skin, gristle and any bones, then cut the meat into bite-size pieces. A mix of breast and thigh is welcome; the gravy gives lean breast meat some moisture, and dark meat holds its texture well. If the turkey was heavily salted or brined, taste the gravy before adding the full amount of filling salt. Low-sodium stock makes that adjustment easier.
Don’t use turkey that sat on a buffet beyond safe limits. Reheating doesn’t undo unsafe storage. Start with turkey chilled within two hours of cooking or serving, or within one hour if the temperature was above 90°F (32°C). If the meat is frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator. You can use freshly cooked turkey instead of leftovers; just cook it separately and dice it before adding it to the sauce.
How to build the gravy without lumps
Dice the carrots and celery fairly small so they soften before the biscuits finish. Let the onions turn translucent without pushing them to a deep brown. When the flour goes into the butter and vegetables, stir until the white patches disappear. That brief cooking gives the gravy body without a raw flour flavor.
Start with a small splash of stock and stir firmly into the flour mixture. Once the paste loosens, you can add the rest in a steady stream. Simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon; a finger drawn through it should leave a visible line. If it looks more like soup than gravy, simmer a little longer before adding the turkey. If it gets too thick, loosen it with a splash of stock. The casserole will settle a little more after baking.
What keeps the biscuit topping tender
The butter should still be cold when you rub it into the flour. Leave small visible bits rather than grinding them into an even powder. Grate the cheddar before making the dough so you can mix it without stopping. Fold the buttermilk in with a spatula, reaching to the bottom of the bowl to bring any dry flour up into the mixture. Stop when the dough is shaggy and evenly moistened.
Drop the biscuit dough on hot filling, then put the dish straight in the oven. The hot gravy helps cook the bottoms before the tops overbrown. Leave gaps between the mounds so the filling can bubble through and you can see how the biscuits are baking. If you need a dairy substitution, plain kefir can replace the buttermilk in the same volume; the tang will be a little different. For a milder biscuit, use medium cheddar at the same weight.
Serving and safe storage
Serve with something crisp or tart, such as a cabbage slaw or a spoonful of cranberry sauce. The pot pie already has vegetables and bread in each serving, so a second starch is optional. The nutrition estimate covers the biscuit-topped casserole only; it does not count sides or garnishes.
Divide leftovers into shallow covered containers and refrigerate within two hours at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 3–4 days of the original turkey cooking date as a conservative plan, or freeze promptly if you won’t finish it in time. Reheat individual portions to 165°F (74°C), checking the filling with a thermometer. An oven helps the tops crisp again; cover loosely if the biscuits brown too fast. See USDA leftover handling guidance and its reheating guidance.
FAQs
Can I assemble the pot pie ahead? Make and chill the filling on its own in shallow containers. Bring it back to a simmer before transferring it to the baking dish. Mix the biscuits just before baking so the dough stays cold and the leavener has time to work in the oven.
Can I use frozen mixed vegetables? Yes. Keep the onion for the gravy base and replace the carrots and peas with a similar total weight of frozen mixed vegetables. Add the frozen vegetables early enough for the sauce to return to a simmer; a cold filling will slow the bake.
What if the biscuits look golden but the middle isn’t hot? Tent the top and continue baking. Measure the temperature in the gravy, away from the pan, and also check a biscuit for raw dough. Color alone doesn’t tell you whether both layers are done.
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- cranberry sauce with orange and maple
- cranberry apple slaw
- chicken pot pie with a flaky crust
Conclusion
Keep this leftover turkey pot pie with cheddar drop biscuits in mind when you have cooked turkey but don’t want another sandwich. Spoon the dough over hot gravy, leave space between the biscuits and check the filling with a thermometer. The result is a casserole you can serve by the spoonful without needing a pastry crust.
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Turkey Pot Pie with Cheddar Drop Biscuits
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Melt 35 g butter in a deep skillet. Cook the onion, carrot and celery over medium heat for 7–8 minutes, stirring, until the onion is translucent. Stir in 35 g flour for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the stock and milk; simmer for 4–5 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon. Stir in turkey, peas, thyme, 2 g salt and pepper, bring back to a gentle simmer, then transfer to a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) baking dish.
- Whisk 220 g flour, baking powder and 3 g salt. Rub in 55 g cold diced butter until pea-size pieces remain. Stir in the cheddar, then gently fold in the cold buttermilk just until no dry flour remains. Drop eight roughly equal mounds over the hot filling, leaving gaps between them.
- Bake for 22–26 minutes, until the biscuits are golden, a skewer inserted in a biscuit comes out without raw dough, and the filling reaches 165°F (74°C) in the center and several places. Tent loosely with foil if the tops darken early. Rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
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