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This Turkey Shepherd’s Pie recipe is the perfect way to create a whole new meal from your leftover turkey and other Thanksgiving dishes.
Fluffy mashed potatoes, chunks of turkey or chicken, creamy gravy and tender veggies all in one dish creates this delicious Turkey Shepherd’s Pie recipe. Top it with melted sharp cheddar cheese and you’ve got Thanksgiving leftover perfection!
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Recipe
A Shepherd’s Pie is a layered casserole of potatoes, meat, and veggies – total comfort food! This rustic meal is traditionally made with ground beef and vegetables in a creamy gravy, but it’s also a perfect way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. Swap out the turkey for chicken or ground turkey and make it any time of the year!
It’s not often we roast a Thanksgiving turkey so when we do we always have leftovers, so I’m always on the lookout for Leftover Turkey Recipes. You can only eat so many turkey sandwiches, so this Turkey Shepherd’s Pie is the perfect way to repurpose it into a completely different meal.
Ingredients For Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
- Shredded leftover turkey or chicken – Use your holiday turkey leftovers or make some Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken.
- Gravy – use leftover Turkey Gravy or make your own using chicken broth and a roux. Gravy is usually seasoned pretty nicely, but if you are making a fresh batch with a roux, you’ll want to spice it up with seasonings like garlic and onion powder, or fresh herbs, like rosemary, sage and thyme.
- Vegetables – Leftover or frozen/canned veggies (corn, green beans, celery, carrots, peas, onions).
- Mashed potatoes – Use leftover mashed potatoes or make a fresh batch using one of these recipes: Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes, Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Fluffy Mashed Potatoes.
- Shredded cheese – Optional, but great for added flavor. I like to mix a little in with the mashed potatoes and sprinkle some on top, too.
How To Make Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Combine meat, veggies, and gravy to make the filling, then spread on the bottom of a large casserole dish.
- Warm up mashed potatoes and spread over the top. Sometimes I will mix cheese into the filling or the potatoes and sprinkle it on top, but that step is optional.
- Bake the Shepherd’s Pie until golden and bubbly. Let it cool slightly before serving, as that gravy can get pretty hot. For a pretty presentation, sprinkle some minced parsley and fresh cracked black pepper on top.
What Is A Good Side Dish For Shepherd’s Pie?
This comfy casserole can be considered a full meal on its own, but we always serve it with a copycat Olive Garden Salad. My Cheesy Garlic Bread is also an excellent side dish.
Storing and Reheating
Storage: Let cool and cover tightly or transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Keep in mind that if you are repurposing leftovers, you should only keep for 2-3 days.
Freezing: You can freeze this casserole either after baking or before. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and foil, or store in an airtight, freezer safe container. Freeze up to 3 months.
Reheating: From the fridge, reheat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, stirring halfway through. If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake at 350℉ until warmed through.
- If your casserole dish is really full, place a baking sheet underneath while baking to catch any drips.
- The cheese is totally optional but adds a nice flavor. Feel free to use a milder cheese like Mozzarella, or something a little more fancy, like Gruyere.
- If you don’t have leftover gravy, and don’t feel like making any, a store bought gravy is a great time saver.
- If you don’t have leftover turkey, grab a rotisserie chicken instead!
More Leftover Turkey Recipes
Turkey and chicken are similar in flavor, so they can easily be swapped in recipes. Any of the recipes below can be made with either chicken or turkey.
- Turkey and Stuffing Casserole
- Turkey, Cranberry and Walnut Pasta Salad
- Homemade Chicken Soup
- Turkey Vegetable Soup
- BLT Turkey Wraps
Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups cooked turkey or chicken, diced or shredded into chunks
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 cups diced cooked or frozen vegetables peas, carrots, corn, green beans
- 1 ½ cups gravy more or less as needed, you can also *make your own
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Salt to taste
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 1 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese divided
- Fresh minced parsley optional, for garnish
Gravy
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- If necessary, start by making your own gravy and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 1 quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil. Add onions and cook until translucent, stirring often; 4-5 minutes. Stir in frozen vegetables, minced garlic, salt, pepper and thyme. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the turkey and gravy and stir until coated, then cook until heated through. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish and press into an even layer.
- Heat mashed potatoes to lukewarm and spreadable. Stir in half of the shredded cheese, then spread the potatoes over the turkey mixture in the casserole dish. Top with remaining shredded cheese.
- Bake in the 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until top is golden and sides are bubbly. For a more browned top, flip on the broiler during the last 5 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh minced parsley and serve warm.
Gravy
- To make your own gravy, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking often, until golden in color. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, whisking occasionally; about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Can you make this ahead of time and freeze?
That should work out ok, but it’s possible the sauce would thin out a bit.
Could I use cream of chicken soup instead of gravy? :)HB
Hi Harold, Yes you can use a can of cream of chicken soup plus roughly 1 cup of milk. I would add the milk in increments until you feel like you have a good consistency similar to a gravy.
Excellent! I followed the gravy recipe!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Carla.