Buttery Herb Biscuit Turkey Pot Pie, made with leftover turkey, in a mushroom, veggie, gravy rich turkey combo, will make you forget it’s leftovers.
Everything To Love About A Pot Pie
A pot pie is a comforting, savory dish made by baking (or simmering) a hearty filling, usually meat and vegetables bound in a rich gravy, inside or beneath a pastry crust.
The crust can be on the bottom, the top, or both, and it’s meant to seal in warmth and flavor, creating that unmistakable moment when the spoon breaks through flaky pastry into something deeply satisfying.
What Makes A Pot Pie A Pot Pie
At its heart, a pot pie is about balance and nourishment:
- A protein – traditionally chicken, beef, or game; today often mushrooms or lentils too.
- Vegetables – carrots, peas, onions, celery, roots, whatever the season provides.
- A sauce – broth, stock, or cream thickened just enough to coat.
- Pastry – simple, sturdy, and meant to comfort rather than impress, though it can.
It’s less about precision and more about making use of what you have, leftovers, trimmings, and slow-cooked goodness.
The Story Behind The Pot Pie
Pot pies have ancient roots. The idea of cooking food inside a dough casing dates back to ancient Greece (just look at my Spanakopita), where meats or vegetables were baked in open pastry shells. The Romans carried this idea across Europe, using dough as a cooking vessel rather than something meant to be eaten.
By the Middle Ages in England, these dishes evolved into ‘coffins’ thick, hard pastry shells designed to preserve fillings and make them portable. The crust was often discarded or fed to servants or animals, while the filling was the prize inside.
As baking techniques improved and flour became more accessible, pastry softened and became part of the meal. By the 18th and 19th centuries, pot pies had become a beloved home dish, especially in Britain and later in America, where settlers embraced them as practical, filling meals suited to long winters and large families, something I indulged in while visiting my husbands home in London.
Turkey and Chicken Pot Pies In American Food Culture
In the United States, pot pie became closely associated with:
- Home cooking – something we are fast losing in today’s American homes.
- Sunday suppers – something all but gone here in America.
- Making leftovers feel new again – now here is where we just might bring young families back into the kitchen, especially with the rising cost of food.
Chicken pot pie, in particular, rose to fame after World War II as convenience foods emerged, but its soul has always belonged to the home kitchen, where it symbolizes care, thrift, and warmth.
Every culture has its own version, whether it’s a French tourtière, a British meat pie, or a Mediterranean meat or veggie pies, but the story is the same: wrap something humble in dough, cook it slowly, and share it with people you love.
Turkey
Here in America, turkey always takes centerstage in the month of November as nearly everyone, no matter what their ethnic heritage, makes a turkey for Thanksgiving.
Turkey is a spectacular meat, not only because of its massive size for a bird, but because it offers so much variety for anyone who loves to eat poultry.
Count on there always being lots and lots of leftover turkey, both white meat and dark.
What part of the turkey is your favorite? It seems those who prefer the breast, will turn their nose up at the thigh, and visa versa.
However, what about when it comes to leftovers, you know, the cooked turkey that has been in the fridge a few days?
Leftover Turkey
Freshly roasted turkey meat tastes spectacular, no matter dark or light meat, but often the white meat dries out quickly when it becomes bumped down to leftovers.
Well, not exactly, it is still yummy on a sandwich with a schmear of mayo (homemade mayo), and a stack of tomatoes!
What about turkey the rest of the year? I often purchase a small turkey throughout the winter and slow simmer the entire bird in a huge pot with lots of herbs for stocks, soups, and a variety of other turkey dishes I will make with the turkey meat.
While roasting is the popular way to prepare turkey during the holiday season, simmering the meat in a bath, low and slow, makes the meat so tender it literally falls off the bone.
Stews, soups, pot pies, sandwiches and a huge variety of meals can be made from one afternoon set aside to cook this turkey meat, and separate it into various bundles for other meals.
A favorite dish of mine is a Mediterranean twist I created for this very American bird: Turkey Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, with barley, nuts and dried fruits.
Make sure to save this recipe for the week after Thanksgiving!
Another favorite leftover turkey recipe of mine, is a rendition of the Mac and Cheese Crab Rolls I created on Food Network’s Clash of the Grandmas, only this one is Mac and Cheese Turkey Rolls!
Turkey Pot Pie
Another favorite dish of mine for leftover turkey meat, probably a favorite of yours too, is a pot pie.
Everyone who makes a pot pie has their own favorite twist as to what pastry they like best on top.
As for me, I prefer a pot pie covered with lots of little herb biscuits.
When the fork goes in, the piping hot gravy, simmered veggies and turkey, releases the steam and scent.
Cooking With Herbs
While I have a huge herb garden throughout the summer, of which I dry my herbs in the autumn to enjoy them throughout the winter, I often find I’ve given away most of my dried herb collection by January.
Let’s be honest about food, without an aromatic profile of herbs in our food, most food items would have very little flavor.
We rely on a variety, or perhaps specific herbs to bring out the flavor of what we are cooking.
Dried Herbs
If I am to purchase dried herbs or an herb blend, it better be darn good and have the intensity I know my freshly dried herbs have.
Of course, a company that makes it’s spices in small batches and with TLC, will be best!
I had the honor and pleasure to meet just such a man who is producing the best small batch herb blends I’ve ever encountered and I would love to introduce you to him and the flavors he takes great pride in producing:
Brian Leigh, known as B.T.Leigh. We shared in the wildest experience, cooking for a television show that was released in summer of 2022, The Great American Recipe on PBS.
Herb Biscuits Make Everything Better
Biscuits? Did you say you were putting biscuits on top of your pot pie?
Absolutely! I made the biscuits from scratch, using flour, baking powder, butter, buttermilk and Somethin to Cluck About spice blend from B.T.Leigh’s.
Tossing everything into the mixer, rolling out the dough and cutting the little rounds only took about 10-minutes but was worth the extra step, instead of using a store-bought pastry.
Turkey Leftover’s With Gravy
Since I had plenty of herb infused stock from cooking the turkey, I whipped up a quick gravy for the pot pie.
The stock was already flavorful so I needed only to whisk a little butter and flour in a hot pan, pour the hot stock in and whisk until a velvety gravy came together.
The Making Of A Pot Pie
All the components for a pot pie were set out on the countertop: turkey cut into cubes, mushrooms sliced, peas and freshly blanched carrots were ready, hot gravy, and the biscuits pressed and ready to go.
Into a mixing bowl went all the ingredients that I would put into the pot pie. An additional sprinkle of Somethin To Cluck About gets folded in the mix and the individual claypots each got a helping of pot pie filling.
Biscuits get placed on top of the filling, brushed with a little milk and another sprinkle of Somethin To Cluck About goes on top and into the oven it goes. In 20-25 minutes a scrumptious meal is ready to serve!
Ingredients Needed
This herb turkey biscuit pot pie begins, as the best meals often do, with leftovers given new life.
- Cooked turkey, already tender and full of memory, becomes the heart of the dish, folded into a savory filling that’s both familiar and quietly special.
- Carrots, peas, mushrooms, and potatoes bring color, texture, and nourishment. The carrots add sweetness, peas little bursts of green freshness, mushrooms lend depth and earthiness, and potatoes ground the pie with comfort and substance. Together, they turn simple pantry staples into something deeply satisfying.
- A gentle poultry spice blend, paired with just enough salt, perfumes the filling with warmth and herbaceous notes that echo traditional holiday flavors without overpowering the dish. Turkey stock, made rich from the bones or lovingly saved from the meal before, forms the base of the sauce, tying everything together with depth and richness.
- Butter and flour come together to create a soft, velvety gravy that coats each ingredient rather than drowning it, allowing the turkey and vegetables to shine.
- Instead of a traditional pastry crust, this pot pie is crowned with buttermilk biscuits. Made from flour, baking powder, butter, and tangy buttermilk, the biscuits bake up golden and tender, soaking in just enough of the savory sauce beneath while staying fluffy on top. They turn the pot pie into something rustic and generous—meant to be scooped, shared, and enjoyed slowly.
Equipment Needed
The equipment for this herb turkey biscuit pot pie is simple and familiar, made up of pieces that invite you to slow down and cook with intention.
- A stock pot with a lid gives you room to warm the turkey stock and gently simmer the filling, allowing flavors to meld without rushing. A smaller saucepan is perfect for building the buttery roux, where flour and butter come together before being transformed into a silky gravy.
- A sturdy cutting board and sharp chopping knife are essential for preparing the vegetables, those quiet, rhythmic moments of slicing carrots, chopping mushrooms, and cubing potatoes that set the tone for the dish.
- For the biscuits, a large mixing bowl holds the flour, baking powder, butter, and buttermilk as they’re brought together with a light hand. A rolling pin helps gently shape the dough, while a biscuit press (or cutter) creates uniform rounds that bake evenly and look especially lovely perched atop the filling.
- Measuring cups and spoons keep everything balanced, while a whisk ensures the gravy stays smooth and lump-free. A slotted spoon makes it easy to lift vegetables and turkey from the pot without bringing too much liquid along, keeping the filling just right.
- The pot pie comes together beautifully in individual crock bowls, the kind with handles that feel made for comfort food. They’re easy to serve, easy to cradle in your hands, and turn a simple meal into something personal.
- A basting brush helps butter the biscuit tops, encouraging a golden finish, while the stovetop or burner and oven work together to carry the dish from simmer to bake, filling the kitchen with that unmistakable, cozy aroma that signals something nourishing is on its way to the table.
Herb Turkey Biscuit Pot Pie – Leftover Turkey
Equipment
- 4 individual soup or stew crocks
- Food processor
- biscuit/cookie cutter
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cooked Turkey
- 1 cup Carrots cubed
- 1 cup Peas
- 1 cup Mushrooms sliced
- 1 1/2 cups Potatoes peeled, cubed
- 2 tsp Poultry spice blend
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 cups Turkey stock more or less
- 2 tbsp Butter for gravy
- 2 tbsp Flour for gravy
- Herb Biscuits
- 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour more for dusting
- 8 tbsp Cold Butter
- 1 cup Buttermilk more for brushing
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Poultry spice blend more for dusting
Instructions
- Bring the turkey stock to a simmer. Drop in the cubed potatoes and carrots just long enough to blanch, but not over cook. Remove with a slotted spoon.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cubed turkey, blanched potatoes, carrots, peas and chopped mushrooms. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, melt 2 tbsp of butter with 2 tbsp of flour, slowly pour in the warm stock, whisking out the lumps until the gravy is smooth. Continue to cook a few minutes while stirring until the gravy is not too thick and not watery. Add the gravy to the mixing bowl of ingredients. Sprinkle in 1 tsp of poultry blend and gently mix. Salt as needed.
- Biscuits
- Preheat oven to 375
- In a food processor place the cold butter, flour, baking powder, salt and poultry blend and pulse several times.
- With the machine running, slowly pour in the buttermilk until the dough comes together in a ball. Add more flour if needed to make the dough not sticky.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick. Press rounds with a biscuit/cookie cutter.
- Place equal amounts of turkey filling into individual baking bowls. Place biscuits on top of the filling. Brush the biscuits with buttermilk and sprinkle a little poultry seasoning on top.
- Bake until biscuits are golden. About 20-25 minutes. Serve
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.