Buttery Crusted Ham Pot Pie
Make ahead ham pot pie with a flaky, buttery pie crust works best if you assemble the filling in advance and let it cool down before adding it to the pie crust. You can assemble the pie early and just bake before serving.
When we made our favorite pineapple mustard glazed spiral ham for Easter we were left with an enormous container of leftovers after the holiday was over.
I refused to let a single bite of that delicious ham go to waste. Since I had just recently perfected my pie crust making skills, I thought it would be fun to experiment with making a ham pot pie for dinner.
The problem in using my very favorite pot pie filling recipe is that it starts out hot but for this pie crust, you need the filling to be COLD, COLD, COLD so that the butter in the pie crust stays cold when you place it in the oven. As it melts during baking, it will make your pie crust super-flaky.
That's when I realized, this makes one of the most perfect make-ahead recipes. In fact, it really works best if you prep it in advance of baking so that the filling has a chance to cool down.
Why This is the Best Recipe
There are few dinners quite as cozy as a homemade pot pie. I think this is the best ham pot pie recipe because:
- Easy DIY Meal Kit: You can prep the pie crust and ham filling up to 5 days in advance or even assemble the pot pie up to 24 hours in advance and the recipe will taste even better because it will go into the oven nice and cold.
- Super Flaky Pie Crust: If you make my homemade pie crust recipe, this method will ensure you have the flakiest pie crust ever. But seriously, go ahead and use a store bought pie crust if you just want an easy dinner you can assemble quickly.
- Great for Leftover Ham OR Deli Ham: Got some leftover holiday ham? Perfect! Want to make this but no leftovers? No problem! Just grab some deli ham from the store.
Ingredients
This is such a classic pot pie recipe, it only requires a few very simple ingredients that you likely already have on hand:
- Leftover cooked ham: I love to use leftovers from my mustard glazed spiral ham recipe or this easy Crockpot spiral ham recipe but you could also buy thick-cut deli meat or a ham steak.
- Flour
- Milk
- Onion
- Dried Thyme
- Bag of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, green beans, etc.)
- Pie crust of choice, see notes below
The Perfect Pie Crust
You could use any pie crust recipe you prefer, but for the flakiest, most delicious pie crust you've ever had, we highly recommend using this all-butter pie crust recipe.
If you want to make the recipe faster, there's no shame in using a store bought pie crust.
Tools You'll Need
This pie crust recipe and the filling quantities were designed to fit perfectly in this quarter sheet baking pan.
You'll find that all the slab pies on this entire web site use that exact pan size. It makes the perfect flaky crust but if you really don't want another pan in your kitchen, a 9 x 13 dish would be the closest substitute.
If you're using a store bought pie crust, you can use a regular circular pie plate but you will have more filling than you may need. You could use the excess as the base for my ham pot pie with biscuit topping if you prefer.
Make Your Own Meal Kit
I prefer to prep the pie crust and ham and veggie filling ahead of time and store them as a meal kit in my fridge.
This makes for easy assembly and baking when I'm ready to make dinner.
Here's how I love to do it:
- Make the Pie Crust
- Prep the Ham Filling
- Store Them Separately
- Assemble and Bake
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Make the Pie Crust Dough
If you're making my homemade pie crust, you'll want to reference the full instructions for the pie crust to get all my tips and tricks.
Get the dough prepared and stick it in the fridge to chill.
Total time: 5 minutes or less.
Prepare the Ham Filling
Chop the pre-cooked ham and set it aside.
Add the olive oil to a large saute pan. Heat over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and saute until softened and translucent.
Add the thyme leaves and the flour. Stir for 1 minute until the flour is toasted and combined with the onion.
Pour in the milk and whisk it together with the flour and onions. Keep whisking until the sauce is thick and bubbly.
Remove from the heat and add the chopped ham and frozen veggies. Stir to combine.
Pour the filling into a casserole dish or storage container and let it cool down in the fridge.
It needs to cool down and get COLD so that the butter in the pie crust is still cold when you place the pot pie into the oven. This makes the crust super flaky.
Total time: 10 minutes, unless you're a slow ham chopper. Then maybe 15.
Assemble the Pot Pie
Divide the pie dough into two halves, one slightly larger than the other. The larger chunk will be the bottom crust.
Roll out the dough and place it into the pie pan. Smooth it into the corners and up the sides. Let the edges hang over the pan.
Pour the COLD ham filling into the bottom crust. Spread it out evenly in the pan.
Roll out the second dough ball to form the top crust.
Top the pie with the second pie crust. Crimp the edges together and use a sharp paring knife to cut slits into the top for venting.
Return the pie to the fridge to chill until baking. This is important to get that super-flaky crust.
Total time: 10 minutes
NOTE: You can assemble the entire pot pie up to 24 hours in advance if you cover the dish with plastic wrap to prevent the pie dough from drying out in the fridge.
Now that your pie is assembled and ready to bake, when dinner time comes, all you'll have to do is pop it in the oven.
I broke the early steps down into small breaks in my day. By dinner time, all the prep dishes had been washed and put away and we had the most amazing dinner ready to go.
Baking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F with a large cookie sheet turned upside down on the same rack where you'll bake the pie.
Let the cookie sheet warm up with the oven so it is super hot.
Place the COLD pot pie directly from the fridge onto the hot preheated cookie sheet inside the oven.
The flat, even super-hot surface will help to make your bottom crust crispy and bakes the pot pie evenly from the center out.
Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling up slightly through the vented holes you sliced on top.
Freezer Tips
If you want to freeze this recipe, I would recommend freezing the elements separately in a DIY meal kit:
- Prep and then Wrap the Pie Crust
- Chop the Ham
- Chop the Onion and Add a Bag of Frozen Veggies
You could tuck them all into one storage bag to keep together as a meal kit.
Then just assemble the filling the day before.
Let the prepared filling chill overnight while the pie crust thaws in the fridge and you could assemble and bake it fresh in minutes.
This ensures that the creamy filling doesn't separate in the freezer but still cuts tons of time off the prep work for you at the end.
Serving Suggestions
This buttery, flaky ham pot pie is an excellent prep ahead dinner to make when you have leftover ham after a holiday feast.
I love it enough to make it during the year with just some thick-cut deli ham when we're in the mood.
Pot pie is a delicious dinner option because it's an all-in-one entree with meat, veggies, and that buttery pie crust all in one serving.
I recommend pairing it with a lighter, cold side dish like a fresh garden salad or Caesar salad.
The oranges in my citrus salad or the juicy grapes in this creamy grape salad would also complement the dinner perfectly.
More Pot Pie Recipes
I love using flaky pie crust for pot pie, but it isn't the only option you have for this ham pot pie filling. You could also bake it with the biscuits from this ham pot pie with biscuits recipe or use phyllo dough like this lighter chicken pot pie recipe.
Who said you need any crust at all? You could enjoy my chicken pot pie soup with your favorite bread roll on the side.
More Ham Recipes
Need more ideas for using up your leftover ham? My family loves these easy ham recipes:
📖 Recipe
Ham Pot Pie with Buttery Crust
Ingredients
- 1 batch homemade buttery pie crust or a store bought prepared pie crust
- 2 cups chopped pre-cooked ham perfect for using up leftovers from a holiday ham
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1 (10 oz) bag of frozen mixed vegetables carrots, peas, corn, green beans
Instructions
- Prepare your pie crust recipe of choice. Let it chill in the fridge.
To prepare the ham filling:
- Chop the pre-cooked ham and set aside.
- Add the olive oil to a large saute pan. Heat over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and saute until softened and translucent.
- Add the thyme leaves and the flour. Stir for 1 minute until the flour is toasted and combined with the onion.
- Pour in the milk and whisk it together with the flour and onions. Keep whisking until the sauce is thick and bubbly.
- Remove from the heat and add the chopped ham and frozen veggies. Stir to combine.
- Pour the filling into a casserole dish or storage container and let it cool down in the fridge.
Assemble the slab pie:
- Divide your pie crust into two halves, one larger than the other. The larger portion will be the bottom crust. Roll out the pie crust and lay it in your pie pan.
- Roll out the second dough ball to form the top crust.
- Pour the COLD ham filling into the bottom crust. Spread it out evenly in the pan.
- Top with the second pie crust. Crimp the edges together and use a sharp paring knife to slice venting holes along the top.
- Place the whole pie back in the fridge to keep COLD until baking time.
To bake the slab pie:
- Place a large cookie sheet upside down inside your oven on the same rack where you plan to bake the pie.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Place the COLD pie directly from the fridge onto the hot preheated cookie sheet inside the oven. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
Recipe Notes
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