Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie

Holiday leftovers are just as delicious the second time around, especially in this Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie. It uses everything you’ve got in one warm, comforting baked good. Move over, turkey sandwiches—shepherd’s pie is a real post-party hero. Great for Christmas leftovers too!

Think of it as Thanksgiving dinner, round two. Add all the vegetables, meat, and yes – even the stuffing to the baking dish. Top with mashed sweet potato and colorful regulars (even plated with cheese).

Bake in the oven until cooked, then pour in additional sauce. Serve with extra cranberry sauce. It’s like reliving the best food of the year, without all the work. This popular recipe has been a favorite year after year since 2015.

Tip: If your leftovers seem a little dry, drizzle on warm chicken stock before baking. It keeps everything moist and adds great flavor. You can also mix melted butter into the mash to make it thicker.

Ingredients

• Leftover cooked turkey meat (beef or ham)
• Vegetables
• Leftover filling/sauce
• Mashed potatoes
• Sauce
• cranberry sauce

cottage cake

Technically, it leans more towards cottage pie – but not really. Classic shepherd’s pie is made with lamb, while cottage pie uses ground beef. Since this version is made with turkey (or whatever leftover poultry you have), think of it as a cozy little poultry pot pie.

Whatever components you have, in my case it’s turkey (of course), cornbread sage stuffing, roasted carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy (I added peas because I like them in shepherd’s pie), throw them in. What I love about this dish is that, because all the flavors of Thanksgiving are layered, you get it all in one bite… every time.

Destroy it

You can see that my mash has a beautiful and colorful appearance. That’s because I always make regular mash and sweet potatoes/yams. I mix it up so the mash topping looks colorful.

Save leftovers, to be used as leftovers

This dish really keeps on giving – you’ll even have leftovers from your leftovers! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, warm in the oven until cooked through, or microwave individual portions.

More Thanksgiving leftovers recipes

Looking for more ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers? Try my Turkey, Stuffing & Cranberry Sausage Rolls, delicious Turkey Pot Pie, or delicious Ham & Split Pea Soup.

If you have made my Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Shepherd’s Pie, please leave a star rating on the recipe. You can also leave a comment below or ask a question.