Have you been searching for a unique and tasty way to use up leftover turkey? Your family will love these leftover turkey pasties. These handheld meat pies are made with just 8 simple ingredients and use up leftover turkey and gravy in colorful, puff pastry hand pies.
Need more creative ways to use leftover turkey? You're going to love our turkey cranberry mini pies or our turkey stroganoff.
Quick Look: Leftover Turkey Pasties Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 45 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 25 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes (including 10 minutes chilling)
- 🍽️ Yield: 6 pasties
- ⚡ Calories: 730 calories per serving (based on nutrition facts in recipe card)
- 🍎 8 Ingredients: shredded roasted turkey, leftover giblet gravy, puff pastry, sweet potato, onion, garlic, fresh cranberries, and egg.
- 🥣 Method: Oven Baked
- ⌛ Time-Saving Hack: Use pre-made puff pastry and leftovers to make assembling the pasties quick and easy.
- 🔪 Equipment: cookie sheets, parchment paper, and pastry brush.
- ⭐ Expert Tip: Be careful not to overfill the pasties, or they may split open in the oven.
- 🌶️ Flavor & Texture: These turkey pasties have wonderfully crispy, buttery pastry and are bursting with veggies and Thanksgiving leftovers to create a delicious savory hand pie.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Uses Up Leftover Turkey & Gravy: If you have leftover turkey and gravy from Thanksgiving, use it up in these simple hand pies.
- Great Flavor Combinations: The combination of puff pastry, sweet potato, and cranberry along with the turkey has a combination of sweetness, tang, and savory that blend beautifully.
- Made with Puff Pastry: Store-bought puff pastry is not only quick and easy to use, but also looks and tastes wonderful with this simple filling.
Featured Comment
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I love the soft sweet potatoes, and the cranberries add a bit of sour kick to the pasties. I really like the soft pastry; it is buttery and so good! I really enjoyed these pasties!"
- Alex
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Ingredients
Our leftover turkey pasties take common veggies and other pantry staples. Let's talk about the key ingredients!
- Turkey: We used a combination of white and dark leftover roasted turkey.
- Vegetables: We used sweet potatoes, yellow onions, and garlic to add lots of flavor.
- Cranberries: Adding fresh or frozen cranberries to the pasties really adds a bright pop of flavor.
- Spices: We flavored the simple homemade gravy with fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- Meat: Chicken or Cornish hen would be the closest substitutes for leftover turkey.
- Veggies: Try russet potatoes, turnip, parsnip, carrot, or celery for a change.
- Gravy: Alfredo sauce or cheese sauce would be tasty changes.
- Pastry: Try using flaky shortcrust pastry, hot water crust, or the empanada dough from our baked chicken empanadas.
How to Make Leftover Turkey Pasties
Gather the ingredients for our turkey pasties. For the gravy, you can use leftover gravy from Thanksgiving, or you can make your own.
- Let's start with making the gravy if you don't have any left over. Melt the butter over medium-high heat until bubbling, then add the flour and whisk constantly for 2 minutes. The resulting paste is called a roux, and it will thicken the gravy. (image 1)
- Gradually pour in the chicken stock, whisking vigorously until the mixture is smooth. Add the spices and bring the gravy to a boil over medium heat, then turn the heat to medium-low and cook until thickened. Once the gravy is done, whisk in a tablespoon of butter to add additional richness. (image 2)
- Dump in the chopped leftover turkey and stir until evenly mixed. Set aside the mixture to cool while you chop the vegetables. (image 3)
- Once all the veggies are cut up, roll out the rough puff pastry (or store-bought puff pastry) to about ⅛-inch thick. Cut out six circles, each measuring 6½ inches in diameter. When you re-roll the scraps to cut more circles, stack the scraps instead of rolling them into a ball. This preserves the delicate layers of butter and dough in the pastry. (image 4)
- Place a spoonful of leftover turkey gravy mixture in each one, then put 4-5 sweet potato chunks and 4-5 cranberries on each one. Sprinkle a little bit of onion and garlic on top, then brush the edge with egg wash and fold the pastry over. Seal the edges with a fork. (image 5)
- Place all of the leftover turkey pasties on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and brush them with beaten egg. Cut two or three vent holes in each pasty with the tip of a sharp knife, then chill them in the fridge for at least 10 minutes to firm up the pastry. (image 6)
- Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes, until they're a rich golden brown. Let them cool for 20-30 minutes on a wire rack before eating, as they will be very hot inside. (image 7)
- Serve these leftover turkey pasties while they're still warm, and enjoy! (image 8)
Leftover Turkey Pasties FAQs
Pasty (pronounced PAST-ee) is a disc of pastry folded in half with a filling inside. Pasties are typically savory and are served as a main course and are a great way to use up leftover ingredients. They can be made with almost any kind of pastry and can have a wide variety of fillings. Chicken empanadas are a variation of these hand-held pies.
Turkey pasties are made from a disc of puff pastry with a small amount of turkey, gravy, and veggies placed in the center. Brush one half of the circle of pastry with beaten egg, then fold it over and crimp the edge with a fork to seal. Brush with beaten egg, cut a couple of vent holes in the top, and chill for 10 minutes. Bake until golden and crispy.
The best way to shape the pastry is to roll it out and then cut it into largish-sized circles using a cookie cutter. In a pinch, you can use a glass or use a knife to cut around a bowl to make the shape.
They are similar but not the same. They both contain a pastry with a filling. However, a pasty is meant to be eaten hand-held and usually contains a savory filling rather than a sweet one.
Make Ahead: Unbaked leftover turkey pasties need to be wrapped well and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Leftovers: Since they contain meat, they need to be refrigerated. Do not leave them at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Leftovers will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Freezing Before Baking: Skip the egg wash and flash freeze them on a cookie sheet for a few hours until solidly frozen. Seal them in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen; increase the baking time until the pastry is golden.
Freezing after Baking: Seal the fully cooled pasties in a zip-top freezer bag and press out the air. Freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost them in a 375°F oven loosely covered with foil or in the microwave until heated through.
Serving Suggestions
These leftover turkey pasties taste great with other Thanksgiving leftovers, like mashed potatoes, cranberry orange relish, and bread stuffing. Enjoy with a glass of sparkling cranberry mocktail for a delightful, post-Thanksgiving meal!
Expert Tips
- Use homemade pastry for the best flavor; you'll have fun making it, too.
- Speed up the prep time by using leftover gravy; you only need 1 cup. Don't use jarred or powdered gravy; it won't taste very good.
- You can use frozen or fresh cranberries; just make sure that they are rinsed and well drained before using.
- Be careful not to overfill them, or they may split open in the oven. Seal the edges tightly to reduce leaks.
- Chill the leftover turkey pasties for at least 10 minutes before baking. This makes the pastry crispier and flakier.
More Turkey Recipes You'll Love
Recipe
Leftover Turkey and Sweet Potato Pasties
Ingredients
- ½ cup shredded turkey
- ½ cup leftover gravy
- 2 sheets puff pastry, or 1.3 pounds homemade rough puff pastry
- ⅓ cup sweet potato, peeled and finely diced
- ¼ cup yellow onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh garlic, chopped
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Rinse the cranberries and discard any bad ones.
- Mix the chopped turkey into the gravy.
- If you're using store-bought puff pastry, cut each sheet into 4 equal squares. If you're using homemade pastry, roll it out to ⅛-inch thick, then cut out six 6½-inch circles from the pastry. Stack the scraps and re-roll them as needed.
- To assemble each pasty, place a spoonful of the turkey/gravy mixture in the middle of the pastry. Add 4-5 sweet potato cubes, 3-4 cranberries, and a sprinkle of onion and garlic on top. Be careful not to overfill.
- Brush half of the pastry edge with beaten egg, then fold over the top. Press the seam together gently and crimp with a fork to seal. Transfer to the prepared cookie sheet, and repeat step 5 with the remaining pastry.
- Brush all of the pasties with beaten egg, poke two vent holes in each one, and chill for 10 minutes in the fridge.
- Bake at 400°F for 25-30 minutes, until the pastry has puffed and is a rich golden brown.
- Transfer the pasties to a wire rack and let them cool for 20-30 minutes before eating. Enjoy while fresh and warm!
Video
Notes
- Use homemade pastry for the best flavor.
- Speed up the prep time by using leftover gravy, or make your own as in the instructions above.
- Use fresh or frozen cranberries, whichever you have.
- Prevent broken pasties by not overfilling and by sealing the edges tightly.
- Don't have leftover gravy? Make your own. Melt 3 tablespoons of salted butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add 5 tablespoons of flour and whisk continuously for 2-3 minutes. Gradually pour in 1¼ cups of chicken stock, whisking continuously, then bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the gravy has thickened. Season with 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper, then stir in 1 tablespoon of butter.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Kim
Where can I find the rough puff pastry recipe? This looks amazing, and I want to try it.
Emma
Thank you, Kim! I used to have my puff pastry recipe up on this blog, but I deleted it. The BBC Food recipe for rough puff is excellent if you want to make some, but store bought puff works really well if you're in a hurry.
Alex
I love the soft sweet potatoes, and the cranberries add a bit of sour kick to the pasties. I really like the soft pastry; it is buttery and so good! I really enjoyed these pasties! I could eat one and a half of them. 😋
Emma
Thank you, Alex! I'm really glad that you enjoyed the pasties.
Beth
The flaky pastry surrounding the tangy, spiced gravy, soft sweet potatoes, and succulent chunks of turkey make your mouth water a lot.
Emma
😂 Thanks for your kind words! These pasties really are tasty little morsels.