Leftover Turkey Hand Pies (Turkey Pastries)

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Leftover turkey, buttery roasted cashews, flaky crescent roll dough and the sweet and savory spices of a mild coconut curry make these Turkey Hand Pies just the most amazingly delicious morsels of goodness!

I've been making a lot of curry lately. As I started sauteing the turkey in the ghee and curry spices, the boyfriend said "curry again...."

But come on, curry is amazing (I mean we are in LOVE with this Butternut Squash Curry and Indian Eggplant Curry), and let me tell you he sure did change his tune once he took his first bite of those delicious turkey hand pies. All he could say was "these are the best things ever."

And I mean, how can they not be? Cashews, juicy turkey, curry, coconut milk, and that sweet umami flavor of the ghee. The buttery pastry dough around the creamy curried turkey is just incredible.

Especially if you dip them in this amazing turkey gravy or this bacon gravy. Sound weird? It's ok, try it, you'll thank me.

Jump to:

• The Ingredients
• Step By Step Instructions
• Expert Tips
• Recipe
• 💬 Comments

The Ingredients

Using packaged crescent roll dough makes this recipe incredibly easy. I highly recommend using the crescent dough sheets, not the actual crescent rolls. The sheets come in, well, a sheet, and make it easy to cut squares out of.

This crescent roll recipe is a great way to use that leftover Thanksgiving turkey, but you can use any turkey you can get your hands on. I prefer to use dark meat as it is juicier, but white meat will work as well. You'll see I used ground turkey in my photos as I'm actually making this in July...

Ghee (how to make ghee) is basically clarified butter, which means it is butter that is cooked longer until all the moisture has evaporated (the milk solids). It has a slightly nuttier taste than regular butter, and is also considered better for you than butter. If you don't have ghee and don't want to purchase it, you can substitute butter or coconut oil. Buy Ghee online.

I highly recommend using full fat coconut milk as it gives the filling a richer, creamier texture, like in this Coconut Milk Risotto.

Garam masala (make your own garam masala) is a mixture of ground spices such as coriander, cumin, cardamon, fennel, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon and nutmeg, among others. It is used in many Indian dishes like this Whole Roasted Indian Chicken or this Indian Fried Chicken. 

Step By Step Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Heat the ghee in a skillet over medium heat and add the ginger and garlic; saute for 1 minute.

Add the turkey, cashews, curry powder, garam masala, coconut sugar and salt and saute for another 1-2 minutes, until well combined.

Add the coconut milk and turkey (chicken) broth and cook until the liquid is mostly evaporated (about 1 minute).

Remove from heat and set aside. *Note that this mixture can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days until ready for use. You can also freeze it in an airtight freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

Roll the crescent dough out onto a flat surface and cut the dough into 6 equal squares.

Place 2 tablespoons of the turkey mixture in the center of each dough square.

Bring each dough corner up and pinch to seal together at the top.

Follow the same steps for the second container of crescent dough. Place all turkey crescent rolls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and brush with 1 tablespoon of ghee (substitute butter or coconut oil if necessary).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crescent rolls are golden brown. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

These curried turkey crescent rolls are so incredibly addictive. We love to eat them with this apple bacon chutney, this cranberry chutney or this cool and fresh Indian Raita (yogurt and cucumber dip).

Expert Tips

1. The turkey filling can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
2. Don't let the crescent dough sit out too long or it becomes very difficult to work with. It's best used when chilled.
3. Use a pizza cutter to cut the cough into squares. This helps prevent the dough from tearing.
4. Substitute chicken or beef for the turkey if desired.

How to Freeze Turkey Hand Pies

These curried turkey crescent can be made ahead and frozen. Make the stuffing, cut the dough into squares and make the pastries. Place them directly on a baking sheet in the freezer for 3 hours. Place frozen crescent roll appetizers in a airtight freezer safe bag and store for up to 3 months for best results.

Tools Used

- Large baking sheet
- Pastry brush
- Parchment paper

Did you make recipe? Rate the recipe and leave me a comment to let me know how they turned out!

This recipe was originally published in November 2018. It has been updated with new content and photos. 

Recipe