A little comfort food goes a long way, particularly on a cold winter’s night. Pot pie is just such a food and this turkey pot pie recipe just so happens to be paleo & gluten-free (not that anyone would know it!). Find the recipe below.
Turkey Pot Pie Recipe- the Thanksgiving gift that keeps giving
If you plan ahead and go through the trouble to order and pick out the perfect organic, pastured turkey for Thanksgiving, let’s just say, you want to get every mile you can out of that bad boy!
And while our family eats a lot of turkey noodle soup after the big day has come and gone, turkey pot pie is another excellent way to make use of those leftovers.
I have tried my hand at a turkey pot pie recipe at least once per year since our family started eating a paleo-based diet, but never felt like I got it quite right. This year, I was more determined than ever to nail the perfect turkey pot pie recipe. I can finally say I am VERY happy with the results!
Turkey pot pie recipe deets
(By the way, if you have chicken on hand, that will work just fine. Really, I guess you could use any pre-cooked, shredded meat, though the sage in this recipe really lends itself to poultry.)
As I’ve mentioned before, I find that combining two or more more paleo-friendly flours gives the best results when baking, and the crust in this pot pie is no exception. By combining the heartiness of almond flour with the starchiness of arrowroot, we get a perfectly crispy crust.
BUT- shhhh… I have a secret that will make all your crust-making dreams come true from here until eternity. Ok, so it’s not really a secret so much as a lost art, which our grandmothers and great grandmothers and likely all the women before us knew.
Lard y’all.
In case your head has been in the sand, say it nice and slow with me: fat will not make you fat. Yes, lard is a fatty, fatty food. Yes, it contains immune-supporting vitamin D and brain-boosting saturated fat.
Lard might have been vilified with the explosion of factory-made fats in the 50s, but it is a time-honored, traditional fat with health benefits galore. And it makes killer pie crusts.
Feel free to also try butter or shortening, but you will not get quite the same results. Trust.
Look for sustainable, pastured lard products like this and this.
Turkey stock & pre-cooked turkey how-to
Again, feel free to use chicken. For this recipe, I used the leftover turkey and bones from our Thanksgiving turkey and made several big batches of meat stock.
I used this method to make my meat stock, only I used pre-cooked leftovers vs a raw chicken.
For one batch, I placed about half the leftovers in a really big stock pot (this is the one I have and it’s HUGE) and added a good amount of salt, then filled with water. I brought it to a boil, then turned the heat to low and let it simmer for 2-3 hours longer.
For the remaining leftovers, I used an 8qt Instant Pot and again, added salt and filled it with water. I used the Soup/Broth setting and cooked for about an hour and a half (give or take).
I was then able to filter out the stock and pull the meat off the bones to provide plenty of meat and stock to make this turkey pot pie recipe, plus many batches of soup in the weeks to come. Taking the time to utilize these leftovers is an easy, frugal, and crazy nourishing way to use them up.
Turkey Pot Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1.5 cups blanched finely ground almond flour
- 1.5 cups arrowroot starch
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup lard or pork fat
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp salt
Filling
- 3 cups turkey stock, divided (may sub chicken stock)
- 2 cups shredded, pre cooked turkey (may sub chicken)
- 10 oz chopped vegetables (may buy frozen, pre-chopped vegetables. We like Cascadian Farm Organic Mirepoix: celery, carrot, and onion, but you may also use carrots, onions, and peas, or any combination of your choosing.)
- 3 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 1/2 tbsp dried sage
- 1 tsp real salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- additional salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375* and grease a 9" pie plate with additional lard or fat of choice.
Crust
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, arrowroot starch, and salt. Add eggs and water and combine using a fork or pastry cutter. Mixture will be dry and crumbly.
- Add water and continue mixing. Use your hands to finish combining, then set ball of dough aside.
Filling
- Make a gravy: place two cups turkey stock in a medium saucepan and turn heat to medium.
- In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1 cup cold turkey stock and arrowroot powder to make a slurry.
- Once stove top turkey stock begins to get hot, add stock and arrowroot slurry and whisk. Turn heat to medium-high and continue whisking until thickened. Add seasonings and mix well.
- Once gravy has thickened, add shredded turkey and vegetables and turn heat to low. Stir until vegetables have softened a bit and everything is mixed well, about five minutes, then remove from heat.
Assemble the pot pie
- Separate your dough into two balls- 2/3 of the dough and 1/3 of the dough.
- Use arrowroot to flour your surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the larger ball of dough into a circle about 12" in diameter, about 1/4" thick. Carefully wrap the dough around the rolling pin and place it in the prepared pie plate. If it tears, just press it back together.
- Transfer the turkey filling into the prepared crust.
- Roll out the remaining dough ball into a 9" circle, about 1/4" in thickness. Again, wrap it around the rolling pin and carefully roll it over the top of your pie. Press the edges onto the edges of the lower crust to seal the pie. Use a sharp knife to make a half dozen slits in the top of the crust.
- Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until crust is lightly golden. Allow to cool before slicing and serving. Serves 6-8 people.
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