Easy Turkey Dinner Galette

By Chris Scheuer | Updated on June 3, 2024
5 from 5 votes
Got leftovers? Make this delicious Easy Turkey Dinner Galette; a rustic, free-form tart that you can put together in less than 20 minutes! It's like Thanksgiving revisited - in brand new clothes! 

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There are a zillion things I love about my daughter Cait. She's fun, kind, generous, thoughtful, smart and very honest. Her honestly reminds me a lot of my mom, who always called things as she saw them, perfectly frank. If my mom said you looked good, you could believe that you really looked good, but you could also be quite certain that if something was out of place or looked strange (to her Midwestern eyes) she'd let you know about that too. So when I was walking with Cait a few days ago and told her about this delicious Easy Turkey Dinner Galette recipe, I had to laugh at her response.

Overhead photo of an Easy Turkey Dinner Galette on parchment paper on a wood table.

Me: "This Turkey Dinner Galette is such a great recipe! Dad went crazy over it. And it's super simple; you just take two refrigerated pie crusts, stack them on top of each other and roll them out. Then you add your leftovers; a layer of mashed potatoes, a layer of thinly sliced leftover turkey and a layer of stuffing. All that is topped with a scatter Swiss cheese and a few dollops of cranberry sauce, then it's baked until golden and melty. Fresh thyme leaves are the beautiful crowning glory!"

Cait: "Oh mom!", in a surprised (and slightly disdainful) voice.

Me: "What?" I asked innocently, knowing how delicious this recipe was.

Cait: "That sounds like a green-pea-cooker recipe"!

Closeup photo of the side of an Easy Turkey Dinner Galette with a garnish of thyme.

I have to take you back in time a ways to explain that green-pea-cooker statement. When Cait was growing up, she didn't care much for casseroles or just about anything that came from a can or a box. If she went somewhere and that type of food was served, she didn't make a big deal about it, but didn't eat it with great enthusiasm either.

For example, one year she went to an overnight church camp for a week. She came home very excited and inspired by her experience. When I asked how the food was, she wrinkled up her nose and said: "That was the only bad part mom - green pea cooking!" She had coined that phrase at some point in time for (what to her was) bland, uninteresting food. I had to laugh - a little foodie already in the making!

No green pea cookery here!

So back to my Thanksgiving Leftovers Galette. I didn't say any more about it to Cait till later that morning. Scott and I had already taken pictures of it, so I could share it with you today. I pulled out my computer and showed her the images. "Hmm... that actually looks really good!", she said. I just closed my computer. And rested my case.

Great Make-Ahead Dinner and Super Adaptable

It is really good! So good that I'm quite certain I'd make it, even when I don't have Thanksgiving leftovers. I can see myself making a chicken dinner with all the trimmings just to make this galette. It would make a nice dinner for company, as you could make the whole thing in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Pop it in the oven just in time for dinner, then serve wedges of it with a simple green salad. Add a basket of Ridiculously Easy Buttermilk Biscuits for an easy and delicious dinner.

Don't worry if you don't have the exact amounts or all of the ingredients. This Turkey Dinner Galette recipe is super adaptable. Add more or less of any of the ingredients according to your taste. Don't have any stuffing? No worries, make it without. Like more meat? Add extra turkey. Have a package of shredded mozzarella in the fridge but no Swiss? That will work just fine. Make the galette to your taste, and according to what you have!

The recipe calls for two packaged pie crusts. There are usually several options available in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. I prefer the Pillsbury crusts.

The crusts are doubled up, one on top of each other and rolled out to a large circle. The filling is then added, leaving a 3-inch border around the edge. You just fold the edges up and brush them with an egg wash to create a golden flaky crust that no-one-will-believe-is-not-homemade. It comes out of the oven pretty as a picture!

See what I mean? I hope I've convinced you (and Cait) this Turkey Dinner Galette is NOT green pea cookery! Put it together today and expect lots of rave reviews!

CafĂ© Tips for making this Easy Turkey Dinner Galette

  • The recipe calls for two refrigerated pie crusts. They are stacked on top of each other and rolled out into a large circle. Don't try it with one. The filling is too heavy and the crust would be too thin to hold up.
  • Adapt the ingredients and amounts in this galette to your taste and to what you have on hand.
  • The instructions call for preheating the oven with a sheet pan on the lowest rack. Both preheating the sheet pan and baking the galette on the lowest rack of the oven will ensure a nice, crisp bottom crust.
  • This would also be delicious with chicken and leftover chicken dinner trimmings.
  • Be sure to use the egg wash on the crust. It will give that beautiful homemade appearance!
  • Light or dark meat will work well in this recipe. Use whatever you prefer.
  • I love these precut parchment paper sheets. They're the perfect size for sheet pans and are great for recipes like this, as well as for cookies. They save on clean up and make baking mess-free. I love the flat, easy to store package they come in and that they seem to last forever, even for a crazy cook like me. They'd make a great little gift for your cooking friends.

P.S. If you've got lots of extra turkey and need another idea, this Turkey Pasta Soup is also delicious!

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Easy Turkey Dinner Galette

Chris Scheuer
Got leftovers? Make this delicious Easy Turkey Dinner Galette; a rustic, free-form tart that you can put together in less than 20 minutes! It's like Thanksgiving revisited - in brand new clothes! 
5 from 5 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 461

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 14.1- ounce package refrigerated pie crust, (2 crusts)
  • 2 cups mashed potatoes
  • 4-5 ounces thinly sliced or shredded turkey or chicken, 1 ½-2 cups
  • 1 ½ cups stuffing
  • ½ cup cranberry sauce
  • 8 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
  • 1 egg, for egg wash
  • fresh thyme

Instructions
 

  1. Preheat oven to 400ËšF. Position a rack on the lowest level of the oven. Place a sheet pan on the lowest rack while oven is preheating. Place a sheet of parchment paper, about the size of your sheet pan on a large cutting board.
  2. Open both pie crust packets and unroll. Sprinkle a work surface with about a tablespoon of flour and spread it out with your fingers. Place pie crusts on the prepared work surface, one on top of the other. Roll the doubled pie crusts out to a 14-inch circle. It's fine if your circle is not perfect. This is a rustic tart. Slide the pastry onto the prepared parchment paper lined cutting board. Don't worry, it will be a little larger than your parchment paper at this point.
  3. Spread mashed potatoes over the circle of dough, leaving a 3-inch border around the edge. Cover potatoes with sliced turkey, then top turkey with stuffing. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the stuffing. Fold edges of dough over the fillings to create a border, pleating as needed.
  4. Combine egg with 1 teaspoon of water and whisk together till well combined. Brush egg wash over all exposed edges of the crust being careful to keep egg wash off of parchment paper. If some of the egg wash does drop onto parchment paper, just wipe it off with a damp paper towel.
  5. Return pan to lowest shelf in oven and bake for 30 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese, keeping cheese off of the crust.
  7. If cranberry sauce is thick, thin it out with a little water and stir well to combine. Dollop cranberry sauce over cheese, spreading it out a bit but leaving areas of cheese exposed.
  8. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then top with fresh thyme leaves. Slice in wedges and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 461kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 17gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 529mgPotassium: 322mgFiber: 3gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 200IUVitamin C: 12.5mgCalcium: 304mgIron: 2.3mg
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
 
 
 
 
 

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21 Comments

      1. Two days after Thanksgiving, and once again, we gathered at our table and gave thanks...especially for this delicious recipe. It's been added to our recipe box and will be part of our Thanksgiving for years to come.

  1. Such a great idea to use holiday left-overs! And so pretty, too 🙂 Makes me want to cook a turkey just to make this.

  2. Turkey leftovers never looked so good Chris! I LOVE galettes. So easy and always delicious! I love the cranberry sauce on top!

  3. So pretty, Chris! Love the bright pops of cranberry sauce - leftovers have never looked more delicious!

  4. Absolutely gorgeous! It looks like it took many days to make, yet it is pretty easy! I never knew what is Galette is. Sounds like some kind of medieval dance.

  5. Love this idea, Chris, but I don't do prepared anything because of the ingredients and preservatives... so if I use my go-to cream cheese/butter pie crust recipe for a double crust pie and just roll it out that should work, yes? It appears that all you are doing with the pie crusts on each other is just doubling the thickness of the crust. I am so making this this weekend! Thanks for the idea!

  6. This is such a brilliant way to use leftovers! Love a savory galette and wish I had this for dinner today 🙂 My kids are so hard on me sometimes - but they keep coming back to eat at our house so I guess it's not that bad - haha.

  7. May I just comment on your make ahead gravy and slow cooker mashed potatoes. I, too, have a discerning family...well, actually, they will eat anything but they raved about the potatoes and I think the gravy was the best ever and I made it ahead as well. Yummy dinner and not enough leftovers for the galette...sadly!

    1. You're so funny Carol! So happy they enjoyed the potatoes and gravy, I'm all for anything that takes stress off of the big day!

  8. I have a Cait:) LOL.."Oh Mom"..! "Oh Mom"..LOL..
    I remember trying so hard to make gnocchi one hundred years ago because she had had it in a resto..years ago.. ....the disdain was evident..and her terminology was..army food lol..none of us have been in the army..
    But she is my very frank no holds barred gal.
    I am the opposite.
    But she has one thousand admirable qualities too..and is this a fault? I wish I had had some of all that..although sometimes I utterly surprise myself w/ my bravado..and say smething.. as in..on a beach when everyone is quiet and reading and a group will blare music..I will walk over and politely ask them to turn it down..looking like a mad woman w/ a hat as big as an umbrella..glasses..a sarong..lol..they look puzzled..(really?)..so I say..well it sounds like a bar on the beach...

    then I walk back and feel bad:)

    However in real estate..I was 100% honest and whenever I saw or felt something off..everyone knew.
    So what a diatribe..to eventually end this saying:
    "Oh Chris..sounds and looks delightful!":)