Who says delicious pies can only be served for dessert? This savory Sweet Onion Turkey Cheddar Pie is fantastic!
Make this Turkey Pie with Thanksgiving Leftovers
Our Sweet Onion Turkey Cheddar Pie is so good, it has moved to the very top of the list of favorite recipes to make with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. After one bite of this easy, delicious pie, I think you’ll agree!
It starts with a generous amount of sweet, caramelized onions that are combined with shredded cooked turkey, eggs, and a mix of seasonings including salt and pepper, fresh nutmeg, dry mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. A few (optional) shakes of hot sauce are also added for a touch of bright flavor, plus it helps cut the richness of this pie.
Next, the onion-turkey filling is poured into a buttery, saltine cracker crust. Shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese is sprinkled over the top – then the entire turkey pie is baked in the oven until set.
I would describe this Sweet Onion Turkey Cheddar Pie as a cross between a pot pie and a quiche – although you won’t really notice the eggs in the filling because it’s so loaded up with sweet onions and turkey.
Reader Review
Key Ingredients & Substitions
- Turkey – Use leftover cooked Thanksgiving turkey in this recipe. (You can also make it with leftover roasted chicken at other times of the year!)
- Onions – Choose a sweet onion such as Vidalia or yellow onions.
- Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese – We used Cracker Barrel’s Extra Sharp NY Cheddar, but Old Crock is another flavorful brand. (See Tips below for information about pre-shredded cheddar cheese.)
- Unsalted Butter
- Saltine Crackers – These are crushed to make the crust. While you could use a regular deep dish pie crust to make this turkey pie, we loved the crispy salty flavors of the Saltine crust.
- Eggs
- Half & Half – This is half whole milk/half light cream OR three quarters whole milk and one quarter heavy cream. Here in New England, you can buy half and half in most supermarkets, but we’ve learned that some of our readers in other parts of the country have never heard of it.
- Seasonings – Kosher salt, ground white pepper, freshly ground nutmeg, dry mustard (we love Colman’s brand), Worcestershire sauce, and (optional) Tabasco sauce.
Tips & Tricks
- A few extra minutes under the broiler gives this wonderful savory Sweet Onion Turkey Cheddar Pie a nice golden topping.
- This Sweet Onion Turkey Cheddar Pie makes a great lunch or dinner with a salad of fresh greens on the side, tossed with our Favorite Vinaigrette.
Sweet Onion Turkey Cheddar Pie
This savory Sweet Onion Turkey Cheddar Pie is fantastic! Make it with leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: leftovers
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
8 tablespoons melted butter, divided
1 1/2 pounds sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut in half then into half-moon slices
1 3/4 cup crushed saltine crackers
4 whole eggs beaten
1 cup half & half
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Few grinds fresh nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Few shakes Worcestershire sauce
Few shakes Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked turkey cut into pieces
4-ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded on large holes of a box grater (we like Cracker Barrel’s Extra Sharp NY Cheddar)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 drees F.
- Place 4 tablespoons of the melted butter in a large skillet over medium heat with the onions and cook for about ten+ minutes until soft and caramelized. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl mix the rest of the melted butter with the crushed saltine crackers.
- Spray a 10” pie plate and press the buttered cracker crumbs into the bottom and up the sides. Refrigerate until needed later in this recipe.
- In a medium bowl beat the eggs with the half & half, salt, pepper, nutmeg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Set aside.
- Remove the prepared pie plate from refrigeration and add a layer of cooked onions, then cooked turkey, then pour in the egg mixture, and finally top with the shredded cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until set, then brown under the broiler for a minute or so and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make this Sweet Onion Turkey Cheddar Pie Ahead of time? We think this pie is best freshly baked (so the crust is nice and crispy) but you can do much of the prep ahead of time such as caramelizing the onions and shredding the cheese.
- How do I store the leftovers? Cool completely, then cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to two days.
- How do I reheat leftovers? We suggest reheating in the oven so the crust stays crispy.
- Can I freeze this pie? No, we don’t recommend freezing it.
This Sweet Onion Turkey Cheddar Pie recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in November 2018. We’ve updated the post but the delicious recipe remains the same.
You might like these other delicious Turkey Leftover Recipes
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I used about 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg in this. Wonderful for a fall lunch.
Thanks Rachel!
Instead of the saltine cracker crust could one substitute a refrigerated pie crust. Would one need to pre bake the pie crust before adding the fillings?
Hi Mike – You could do that, although over the years, my impression is that the refrigerated pie crusts are getting smaller and don’t seem to hold as much filling.
If you use that (or a homemade pie crust) I’d suggest blind baking the pie crust, not fully pre-baking it. (We have a post about blind baking if you aren’t familiar with that process – you can read it here: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/how-to-blind-bake-a-pie-crust/)
My husband and I loved it! I used left over turkey I had frozen from a couple months ago so my turkey was good and seasoned. It took me about 45 minutes to caramelize my onions. I cooked them low and slow. I’ve never caramelized onions and did not realize how much they reduce in size. I thought a pound and a half would be a lot and wound up being about a cup, so I cooked more. I like onions. 15 crackers was not enough to go all the way up the sides so next time I will just do more. The extra sharp cheese is awesome with it. I will definitely make it again. Thanks
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Laurel! Thank you!
Love this recipe! It was delicious. I will say that carmelizing 1 1/2 lbs of onions took more like 30 mins, not 10.
Thanks Robyn – glad you enjoyed the recipe! Using a larger skillet might help cut down the cooking time!