Gluten-Free Turkey Pot Pie (Easy 1-Skillet Recipe)

Here’s why you’ll love this turkey pot pie recipe:

1. Amazing taste! Flavorful, perfect comfort food on the inside with a buttery, flaky crust on top.
2. Say goodbye to Thanksgiving leftovers. Leftover turkey, leftover vegetable side dishes, and even leftover pie dough and extra rosemary stems can make their way into this dish.
3. Easy cleanup. Everything happens in just one large skillet…from cooking on the stovetop to baking in the oven. 

Some of the links on this post are affiliate links. To learn more, visit our Disclosures.

Equipment:

Large, 12-inch Oven-Safe Skillet

The oven-safe part is key. You want the skillet to go from the stovetop to the oven for this one-skillet dish. If you don’t own an oven-safe skillet, we’ll go over an easy workaround that will leave you with just one additional dish to wash.

I use a Hearth & Hand Enameled Cast Iron Skillet from Target. I also like Lodge Cast iron products, and they have a reasonably priced 12-inch skillet on Amazon.

If you are cooking for gluten-free folks who have celiac disease, do not use the same cast iron pan for gluten-containing foods and gluten-free dishes. Cast iron is porous, so there is a risk of gluten cross-contamination.

Ingredients

Leftover Turkey

Leftover turkey is most likely the reason you are reading this recipe. It’s the perfect way to use up your turkey leftovers in a way that the whole family will love.

Plus, any seasonings you added to your holiday turkey give even more depth of flavor to your pot pie.

If you don’t have leftover turkey, substitute leftover chicken or a store-bought rotisserie chicken (Costco’s is labeled gluten-free). Or even try my Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie Recipe. It was the inspiration for this turkey pot pie.

Gluten-Free Pie Crust

The star of this pot pie is the homemade gluten-free pie crust recipe. This buttery top crust is perfectly flaky and no one will ever know that it’s gluten-free, unless you tell.

The recipe makes enough dough for two gluten-free pie crusts. Use one for pumpkin pie or apple galette, and you’ll have leftover dough for this turkey pot pie.

You can also use a pie crust mix, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Pie Crust Mix. But, skip the premade pie crust dough in a pie pan, since you’ll need to roll out the dough for a top crust.

Vegetables

For a classic pot pie filling, use a bag of frozen peas and carrots (defrosted). No worries if the vegetables are only partially defrosted, as they’ll heat up quickly.

This is your chance to use up more Thanksgiving leftovers. Green beans, carrots, asparagus, and any leftover veggie side dishes can be chopped up and added to this one-skillet meal.

You’ll need about 1 ¼ cup of vegetables to replace the frozen peas and carrots.

If adding leftover corn or diced potatoes, I do not count them towards my vegetable allotment. There’s enough sauce to allow for an extra ½ to 1 cup of potatoes or corn.

Olive Oil 

Olive oil pairs beautifully with turkey, garlic, and rosemary. It’s also a heart-healthy option for the fat required to make the delicious sauce.

You can substitute butter for the oil 1:1, if you prefer butter.

Onions, Celery Stalks, Garlic, and Rosemary 

Onions, celery, and garlic may already be staples in your kitchen, but you are especially likely to have extra on hand right after cooking a Thanksgiving feast.

If you know ahead of time that you’ll be making turkey pot pie, you can pre-chop extra onions and celery while prepping your stuffing ingredients.

Every year, just before Thanksgiving, I buy a rosemary “Christmas tree”. I carefully cut off sprigs for holiday recipes while maintaining the tree shape. After Christmas, I trim the top, so it looks less like a Christmas tree. Even with my black thumb, I manage to get fresh rosemary well into February.

Salt and Black Pepper

A little goes a long way with these seasonings, as they’ll have plenty of time to flavor your dish on the stovetop and while baking in the oven.

Cornstarch

Cornstarch joins with the olive oil to form a roux and thicken the sauce.

Turkey or Chicken Broth 

Make your own turkey broth or stick to store-bought chicken broth.

Just be sure that any packaged broth is gluten-free. I use Pacific Foods Chicken Broth, which is labeled gluten-free.

Milk

I use whatever milk I have on hand, from non-fat to whole milk. The cornstarch makes the sauce sufficiently thick, even with non-fat milk.

You can also use your favorite milk substitute.

Chardonnay

As soon as you add the Chardonnay to the skillet, the aroma will blow you away. It is the secret ingredient that makes this pot pie something truly special.

Feel free to substitute any dry, white wine that is decent enough to drink with the pot pie.

Step-by-Step Directions 

Preheat the oven to 425℉. You want the oven nice and hot, so it quickly melts the butter in your crust, leaving behind the pockets of air essential for a flaky crust.

Before you start cooking in the skillet, turn it upside down on parchment paper and trace the circle at the top of the skillet. Later, that circle provides a guide for how big to make the top crust. This quick step isn’t absolutely necessary, but I find it helpful when rolling out the dough.

In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, celery, minced garlic, and rosemary. Sauté for approximately 5-7 minutes. The mixture is ready when the onions are soft and translucent.

Stir in salt, black pepper, and cornstarch. The olive oil and cornstarch will combine to create a bit of a thick “paste” over the sauteed vegetables and spices. That thick paste is a roux, which combined with the liquids we add next, will create a rich sauce.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add broth, milk, and wine. Be prepared for an instantly overwhelmingly wonderful aroma.

Cook the mixtures on the stovetop until the creamy sauce is thick and bubbling, approximately 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the turkey and the defrosted peas and carrots (or chopped leftover vegetables). Remove the skillet from heat and set aside while you prepare your pie crust.

On parchment paper, use a rolling pin to roll out gluten-free pie dough to roughly 12″, or the size of your skillet.

If you traced the top of your skillet earlier, now you can use that circle as a guide for approximately how big to make the crust. If needed, dust your work surface with additional cornstarch or gluten-free flour to prevent sticking.

You’ll want to move fairly quickly for this next step, so the butter in your crust stays cold until it goes in the oven.

Top the pie filling with the crust: Place the crust and parchment paper upside down on the skillet. Gently pull back the parchment paper.

Use a sharp knife to cut several small slits in the crust to vent.

Place the skillet in the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes at 425℉ until the homemade pie crust turns golden brown. The filling is already fully cooked, so the time baking in the oven is purely about getting a wonderful crust.

Let the skillet pot pie rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Variations

Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Turkey Pot Pie

It’s easy to make this pot pie recipe dairy-free, with just two substitutions.

1. Replace the milk in this recipe with non-dairy coconut milk or almond milk.
2. Note that the gluten-free pie crust recipe also contains dairy. Simply use vegetable shortening in place of butter. You will still get a great, flaky crust, as vegetable shortening maintains its form before it gets in the oven… even better than butter.

Double Crust Gluten-Free Turkey Pot Pie

If you want a double-crusted pie, use both pie crust dough disks in the gluten-free pie crust recipe and a pie dish.

Follow all of the directions in the pie crust recipe, including par-baking the bottom crust in a pie pan. While the crust par-bakes in the oven, cook the filling in a skillet. Then pour the filling into the pie crust, top with the second crust, add venting slits, and bake for 30-35 minutes at 425℉.

No Oven Safe Skillet? 

Alternatively, cook the filling in a large saucepan. Then, transfer it to a pie pan or casserole dish. Top with the crust and bake according to the instructions on the recipe card.

Enjoy! Gluten-free pot pie is a comforting meal the whole family will love!