I don’t know about you, but I get tired of eating turkey pretty quickly after Thanksgiving, and I usually try to use the leftover turkey in different ways to keep it interesting. That’s where these Individual Turkey Pot Pies come in. These pot pies are great because you don’t have worry about having a bottom pie crust or blind baking to ensure the crust stays crisp. Not only do you still get a buttery and flaky top pie crust to complement the filling, but this recipe also seasons the pie dough with sour cream and thyme to add an extra layer of flavor. This pie dough is great because it can be made ahead, which results in less prep time on the day you make recipe. But I think my favorite aspect of this recipe is that using individual serving dishes is a great way to work on portion control. This is perfect after Thanksgiving where over-indulging happens frequently.

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Ingredients for Sour Cream and Thyme Pie Crust

14 Tbsp (200g) unsalted butter, cold
2¼ cups + 2 Tbsp (320g) all-purpose flour
½ tsp (2.7g) salt
¼ tsp (0.9g) baking powder
½ cup (145g) sour cream
1 tsp (1g) dried thyme
1-2 egg yolks, beaten (for egg wash)

Ingredients for Filling of Individual Turkey Pot Pies

6 Tbsp (85g) unsalted butter
½ cup (97g) chopped celery
½ cup (125g) chopped carrots
1 cup (175g) chopped onions
1 cup (260g) chopped potatoes (See note if you have leftover mashed potatoes)
1 clove of garlic, minced
⅓ cup (48g) all-purpose flour
4 cups (960g) chicken stock
2 cup (484g) milk
Salt (to taste) – I didn’t add any extra because I made the stock with bouillon cubes, so it was already salty enough for my taste
½ tsp (1g) freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp (1g) dried parsley
1 tsp (1g) dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 pounds (900g) cooked turkey cut into ½” to 1” pieces
1 cup (134g) frozen peas, thawed
1 cup (174g) frozen or canned corn, thawed

Equipment

Digital scale (or dry measuring cups, liquid measuring cups, and measuring spoons)
Food processor
Plastic wrap
Rolling pin
Parchment paper (I like these precut sheets)
Circle template or circle cookie cutter – 4.5” (12cm) in diameter (or slightly larger than the chosen serving dishes)
Pastry brush
Wire rack
Stock pot
Wooden spoon
Whisk
Ten 7 oz ramekins with a diameter of approximately 4” (10cm)

Preparation Steps

Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible before starting. Cut the butter into cubes and place 9 Tbsp (128g) of butter in the fridge and 5 Tbsp (70g) of butter in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. Place the flour, salt, baking powder, and thyme in a medium bowl and keep in the freezer for at least 20 minutes or until cold.

Making the Pie Dough for Individual Turkey Pot Pies

Sour Cream and Thyme Pie Dough Ingredients in Food Processor - sandy texture — Sandy texture

Sour Cream and Thyme Pie Dough Ingredients in Food Processor - butter the size of peas — Sandy texture

Place the flour mixture in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the larger amount of butter cubes to the food processor and process for approximately 20 seconds or until the mixture resembles a sandy texture. Add the remaining frozen butter and pulse until the cubes are the size of peas.

Sour Cream and Thyme Pie Dough in Food Processor

Sour Cream and Thyme Pie Dough in Food Processor with correct texture when pinched

Add the sour cream and pulse a few times. Pinch a small amount of the mixture together between your fingers. The crumbly mixture should form a solid dough ball when pinched. If it doesn’t hold together, add a little water and pulse to combine.

Sour Cream and Thyme Pie Dough disc in plastic wrap

Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap and use the plastic wrap to knead the dough until it forms a cohesive disc. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, preferably overnight. You can store the unbaked dough in the fridge up to 2 days or place in a freezer resealable bag and store in the freezer up to 3 months.

Why Add Sour Cream to the Pie Dough?

Adding sour cream to the pie dough makes a light and tender texture since the sour cream contains milk solids, butterfat, and acidity. The milk solids help to blend the ingredients more smoothly. The extra butter makes the dough more tender. And the acid in the sour cream relaxes the gluten, which makes the dough less elastic, easier to roll, and less prone to shrinking during baking. Additionally, the tanginess of the sour cream flavors the dough and provides a delicious pairing with the turkey pot pie filling.

Rolling and Cutting Out the Sour Cream and Thyme Pie Dough

Sour Cream and Thyme Pie Dough rolled out and cut into circles

Roll the dough to 1/8” thick between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap and cut out circles to fit over the top of your baking dish. Keep in mind that the dough will shrink slightly while baking so you want the circle to be larger than your dish. If you don’t have a cutter, place your dish upside down on top of the dough and use a sharp knife to cut the circles. This would also be a great technique if you’re using seasonal-shaped dishes (e.g., a turkey). You can re-roll the scraps to use up the remainder of the dough. Just keep in mind that the more you re-roll the dough, the tougher the dough will become and the less lamination (i.e., flakiness) the dough will have.

Sour Cream and Thyme Pie Dough circles on baking sheet with parchment paper

Transfer the circles to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to an hour to allow the gluten in the dough to relax. This will help the dough keep its shape when baked rather than shrinking a lot.

Baking Pie Crust for Individual Turkey Pot Pies

20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C with the oven rack in the middle.

Sour Cream and Thyme Pie Dough circles with egg wash

Remove the chilled dough circles from the fridge and use a pastry brush to glaze the top of each circle with beaten egg yolk. This will help the dough get a beautiful golden color while baking.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. The circles will shrink slightly while baking. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Make the Turkey Pot Pie Filling

Making Individual Turkey Pot Pie Filling - Sauteed vegetables

In a large stock pot over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons (42g) of unsalted butter and add the chopped celery, carrots, onions, potatoes, and garlic. Sauté the vegetables until softened but still with a little bite (i.e., not mushy). This should take 10-15 minutes.

Transfer the sautéed vegetables to a bowl and set aside.

Making Individual Turkey Pot Pie Filling - Making a roux

Melt the remaining butter in the pot, sprinkle the flour over the butter, and use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture for about 1 minute. This will cook off the raw flavor of the flour.

Slowly whisk in the chicken stock and milk to avoid making lumps. Add the salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf and continue to whisk the sauce on medium-low heat until the sauce is very thick.

Making Individual Turkey Pot Pie Filling with carrots, onions, celery, peas, corn, and turkey

Add the cooked turkey, peas, corn, and sautéed vegetables. Stir to combine and heat through. The filling can be refrigerated for 1-2 days at this point.

Serving the Individual Turkey Pot Pies

If you made the pie crust and the filling in the same day and everything is warm, spoon the filling into the ramekins, top with the sour cream and thyme pie dough circles, and immediately serve the meal.

If you made either the crust or the filling on a previous day, spoon the filling into the ramekins (make sure they are oven-safe), bake for 15 minutes (in 425°F/220°C oven), then cover with the already baked pie dough and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Storing Individual Turkey Pot Pies

I suggest storing the filling and pie dough circles separately, so the crust doesn’t absorb the moisture from the filling. Keep the filling in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. The longer the turkey was in the fridge before making the pies, the shorter the pot pie filling will be good. Keep the sour cream and thyme pie dough circles in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Notes

If you have leftover mashed potatoes, you can put them in a piping bag or resealable bag, cut off the tip/corner and pipe the mashed potatoes over the turkey pot pie filling. You can either place the pie crust over the mashed potatoes or you can serve the crust on the side. (Back to “Ingredients” section)
Customize this recipe by using chicken instead of turkey or changing the spices in the pie dough. Once you try flavoring your pie crust, you will want to experiment with all kinds of different flavor combinations.

Want More Savory Treats?

Homemade Neapolitan Pizza

Cheddar Cheese Crackers

New York Style Bagels

Did you make this recipe?

I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving your thoughts below. Or snap a photo and share it on Pinterest or Instagram (@windycitybaker).

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