Prime Rib Turns Traditional Pot Pie Into Luscious Comfort Food

A prime rib roast is the ultimate centerpiece for a festive feast. Digging into a perfect slice with a side of horseradish and au jus is quite the indulgence; however, once the feasting is over, you might be wondering what to do with your leftovers. Take an indulgent prime rib and transform it into the ultimate comfort food by adding it as a filling to your next pot pie. This is a great way to prevent food waste and change up the serving style for your prime rib to give it a bit of a refresh.

Much like making a beef pot pie with leftover steak, using leftover prime rib is ideal because it's already delightfully tender and well-seasoned, requiring minimal effort in preparation. Simply cut your prime rib into bite-sized pieces and incorporate the cooked meat into the filling of your favorite pot pie recipe. In fact, you can even let the traditional flavors of your prime rib inform the addition of vegetables and gravy for your filling, in addition to how you make the crust.

While it's typical to use cheaper cuts of beef for your pot pies, making the most of your prime rib roast helps to elevate this classic comfort food to new heights of luxury. It's definitely a good idea to work with leftover prime rib rather than to prepare one for the purposes of a pot pie. No matter what the occasion, a prime rib pot pie is festive and delicious.

The biggest advantage of using leftover prime rib in a pot pie is that you can effectively build a stew around the already-cooked meat. This is especially true if you've made an au jus to accompany the prime rib. You can easily use a thickening agent to bulk up the gravy into a more substantial filling and add in your choice of vegetables and other complementary ingredients.

Streamline the preparation of this prime rib-turned-comfort food by using canned and frozen store-bought ingredients for the vegetables and crust, respectively. Once you've got your pot pie filling cooked to your desired level of doneness and thickness, add the pieces of leftover prime rib and simmer briefly before adding in any lighter veggies such as corn and peas that require a shorter cook time. Prep a homemade hot water crust, try a store-bought shortcut with biscuits, or get creative with your preferred style of pot pie housing.

For a cottage pie-inspired riff on this recipe, put your pot pie filling into a ramekin or similar oven-safe dish and add a topping of mashed potatoes. You can also substitute this for mashed parsnips or cauliflower. However you choose to do it, this prime rib upgrade is intended to make a meal go farther and infuse your dining experience with even more enjoyable comfort food vibes.