Name: Roast Turkey Shepherd's Pie (Thanksgiving Leftovers)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Continental
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped; 2 stalks celery, sliced; 1 cup leftover green beans, cut into bite size pieces (about 1 inch); 3 cups leftover turkey, chopped or shredded; 2 1/2 cups leftover gravy; 1 tsp dried poultry seasoning; 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped; salt and black pepper, as needed; 4-5 cups leftover mashed potatoes

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Repurpose your Thanksgiving leftovers with this scrumptious Roast Turkey Shepherd’s Pie. It’s easy comfort food that’s on the table in under an hour.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

If you’re like me, you probably prepared way too much food for your Thanksgiving meal. Now you’re left with trying to figure out the best way to use those Thanksgiving leftovers in the coming days.

A lot of people will just recreate the Thanksgiving meal with the holiday leftovers. Nothing wrong with that. A favorite thing my family likes to do is make a leftover stuffing, turkey, mashed potato hash topped with leftover gravy. It’s good!

But I’m always looking for something new and interesting to do with ingredients on hand and holiday leftovers give me a great starting point. I can keep the flavors of Thanksgiving but try different things. This Sourdough Stuffing Egg Casserole, Turkey Noodle Soup, Turkey and Sweet Potato Risotto, and Roast Turkey Tater Tot Casserole are great examples of some next day, holiday leftovers recipes.

But today, we are talking about Shepherd’s Pie.

Shepherd’s Pie – A Great Comfort Food

Shepherd’s Pie. It’s such a great comfort food and an easy dinner recipe to make. And, what a great way to warm you up on those cool Fall/Winter nights with a big plate of meat, veggies, gravy and potatoes.

I just love the combination of ingredients and flavors you find in a shepherd’s pie. The tender veggies, homemade gravy, seasoned meats, and creamy mashed potatoes finished to that beautiful golden brown color, all brought together in one pan. Definitely something my entire family loves!

This classic dish came to mind as I was wondering what to do with our Thanksgiving leftovers. A shepherd’s pie is a pretty no-nonsense recipe (meat, gravy, veggies, potatoes) and these items will very likely be things you have as part of your holiday leftovers. The biggest difference between this leftover turkey shepherd’s pie recipe other shepherd’s pie recipes is the use of leftover turkey meat.

Classic Shepherd’s Pie / Cottage Pie / Other Shepherd’s Pies

A classic shepherd’s pie recipe uses ground lamb, along with creamy mashed potatoes, tender veggies (e.g., carrots, celery, onion), some stock, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and bay leaves. This is known as the traditional or classic shepherd’s pie.

A well-known relative of the classic shepherd’s pie is the cottage pie. The difference between the classic shepherd’s pie and the cottage pie is the use of ground beef instead of ground lamb. This recipe is very popular as ground beef can be easier to find and cheaper than ground lamb.

Roast Turkey Shepherd’s Pie

In my case, I wanted to use the turkey leftovers as the main protein in this shepherd’s pie. I took all that time to roast the turkey, so why not use it in this delicious comfort food!

In addition to the leftover turkey meat, I also use leftover mashed potatoes, leftover gravy and for something a little different – leftover green beans. I make these Fresh Green Beans with Shallot Butter every Thanksgiving and they hold up really well in this recipe.

Pretty much all the rest of the ingredients are fairly traditional. The foundation is a mirepoix (onion, celery, carrots) sautéed in olive oil over medium heat. Add in the leftover meat, gravy and green beans.

The poultry seasoning, salt and black pepper are used to season and fresh parsley adds a pop of color and freshness. Top with the leftover mashed potatoes and you are 30 minutes from finishing this leftover turkey shepherd’s pie recipe.

Roast Turkey or Ground Turkey

Let’s say your Thanksgiving leftovers are a bit depleted or you happen to be making this outside of the Thanksgiving holiday season. You might not have any roast turkey leftovers.

In that case, you can use ground turkey. Just substitute the 3 cups of roast turkey in the recipe with two pounds of ground turkey.

You Like Cheesy Mashed Potatoes?

No problem. If you made cheesy mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving, go ahead and use them. A lot of great recipes for shepherd’s pie include the use of cheesy mashed potatoes.

Can I Make-Ahead and Freeze?

Yes, this is a great freezer meal. Once you’ve assembled and baked, let the shepherd’s pie cool. You can either wrap tightly in plastic wrap, cover with aluminum foil or go crazy and use both plastic wrap and aluminum foil to ensure it’s well-covered. It can stay in the freezer for 2-3 months.

The best way to reheat is to leave in the fridge overnight to thaw. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I like to take off the aluminum foil the last 5-10 minutes to bring the potatoes back to a golden brown.

Reheating from frozen will take closer to 60 minutes.

The Roast Turkey Shepherd’s Pie is a great way to use those Thanksgiving leftovers. This recipe will definitely be a hit with the entire family!

Tips and Tricks

Leftover carrot and celery crudités will work wonderfully in this recipe, just chop them into bite size pieces.
Jarred turkey gravy is a great substitution if you don’t enough homemade leftover gravy. If you do have leftover gravy, but not enough, mix it with the jarred gravy for a more homemade flavor.
Frozen green beans can be substituted for leftover green beans if you don’t have any on hand, as well as leftover or frozen corn or peas.
A large skillet (oven safe and preferably cast iron) works well to assemble and bake in. But a 9×13 greased baking dish will work equally as well.

Ingredients Needed For This Recipe

Full instructions can be found below in the Recipe Card

Olive oil
Onion
Carrots
Celery
Leftover green beans
Leftover turkey
Leftover gravy
Dried poultry seasoning
Fresh parsley
Salt and black pepper
Leftover mashed potatoes

How to Make Roast Turkey Shepherd’s Pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add onion, carrots and celery to pan.
Saute until onions are transluscent.
Stir in green beans and turkey.
Pour gravy over mixture, stirring until everything is coated.
Stir in poulty seasoning and parsley.
Season with salt and black pepper, if necessary.
Transfer mixture to a baking dish.
Spread mashed potatoes in an equal layer over the top.
Bake in preheated oven until heated through and bubbly, about 30 minutes.
If desired, turn the broiler on for a few minutes at the end to brown the potatoes.

More Recipes That Use Thanksgiving Leftovers

Yield: 8 servings

Roast Turkey Shepherd's Pie (Thanksgiving Leftovers)

Repurpose your Thanksgiving leftovers with this scrumptious roast turkey shepherd's pie. It's easy comfort food that's on the table in under an hour.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 cup leftover green beans, cut into bite size pieces (about 1 inch)
3 cups leftover turkey, chopped or shredded
2 1/2 cups leftover gravy
1 tsp dried poultry seasoning
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt and black pepper, as needed
4-5 cups leftover mashed potatoes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add onion, carrots and celery to pan.
Saute until onions are transluscent.
Stir in green beans and turkey.
Pour gravy over mixture, stirring until everything is coated.
Stir in poulty seasoning and parsley.
Season with salt and black pepper if necessary.
Transfer mixture to a baking dish.
Spread mashed potatoes in an equal layer over the top.
Bake in preheated oven until heated through and bubbly, about 30 minutes.
If desired, turn the broiler on for a few minutes at the end to brown the potatoes.

Notes

If you don't have leftover green beans, you can use frozen green beans or any leftover vegetable that you have. Good options would be peas, corn or even roasted sweet potatoes.

If you don't have any leftover mashed potatoes, you can purchase frozen mashed potatoes or prepared mashed potatoes from the deli.

You can use jarred gravy or gravy from your deli if you don't have enough leftover gravy.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 755Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 2131mgCarbohydrates: 97gFiber: 9gSugar: 9gProtein: 26g