Proper bacon and egg pie

This recipe for bacon and egg pie has stood the test of time. It's an old-fashioned recipe with pastry top and bottom so you can pick up a slice and eat it in your fingers. A light-as-a-feather shortcrust pastry case is packed with tasty bacon and whole eggs and oven-baked in a creamy egg custard filling. Hand on heart, this is the best bacon and egg pie you will ever eat!

Jump to:

• Old Fashioned Bacon and Egg Pie
• A proper pie
• Recipe notes
• What you will need
• What to do
• FAQ
• Save for later
• Other recipes
• 📋The recipe

Old Fashioned Bacon and Egg Pie

There's a bit of debate around whether this is a bacon and egg pie, or an egg and bacon pie! To be honest, it doesn't really matter. As long as you have a light flaky pastry crust, filled with tasty rashers of bacon and whole eggs, you can call it whatever you like. I've even heard it being referred to as a breakfast pie! One thing is for sure though - once you've tasted a slice of this proper bacon and egg pie, you will be calling it your 'favourite pie'.

When I was about 7 or 8 my Granny came to live with us. She loved baking and Fridays very quickly became 'Granny's baking day'. I used to look forward to Friday and getting home from school to see what she'd been baking.

One of the things she made was her 'Feather Cake'. Unfortunately, I never got the recipe for that, but it was the lightest of cakes, baked in a square tin and served by the chunk instead of a slice. A slab of that cake was just what you needed after a day at school.

When blackberries were in season I was sent out with a jam jar to collect the essential ingredients for her blackberry and apple pie. I still remember the taste of it to this day. Rich flaky pastry filled with slices of tart baking apples fresh from the market and oozing with purple juice from the blackberries.

I remember baked egg custard covered in nutmeg. She always kept a whole nutmeg in the pantry to grate over the top. And rice pudding covered with a brown skin... the list goes on.

A proper pie

My favourite, however, was her old-fashioned homemade bacon and egg pie. I call it old-fashioned, but to me, that was a proper pie. With shortcrust pastry on both the top and the bottom. A slice of that pie was a meal in itself and you needed very little in the form of accompaniments.

The bacon and egg pie was reserved for special occasions when we had guests. It was placed in the centre of the table, decorated with a pastry leaf and surrounded with salads. Sticks of celery in a glass of cold water to keep them crispy. Lettuce, tomatoes and baby potatoes. Simple fare by today's standards, but to me, in those days, it was a feast.

This is the ultimate bacon and egg pie. It's what I call a proper pie, in that it has pastry on the top and the bottom so that you can pick a slice up in your fingers to eat it. It also contains whole eggs, broken on top of crispy fried bacon that is layered on a pastry base. The whole dish is then filled with a mixture of beaten eggs, milk and cream before being allowed to bake and set in the oven. The eggs cook inside the pie and end up looking as though you have filled the pie with hard-boiled eggs.

Recipe notes

• Prep time - 30 minutes (if you use ready-made pastry it will take a lot less)
• Cooking time - 30 minutes
• Yield - 1 x 9" diameter pie
• Calories - 333 per slice

What you will need

Equipment

For the pastry you will need a large mixing bowl. I like to use an old-fashioned earthenware bowl because it is large enough to get your hands in without the flour messing out all over the counter.

Of course, if you prefer, you could use a food processor to mix the pastry instead. It does save a few minutes if you're in a hurry.

For rolling the pastry you will need a rolling pin. I like a heavy marble one - I've had mine for years and it's still going strong.

To bake the pie you will need a 9" round pie dish.

And finally, for frying the bacon, you will need a frying pan.

Ingredients

**You can get the complete list of ingredients and measurements for making this bacon and egg pie on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

This is what you will need to make the filling.

• Bacon - you could use either streaky bacon or back bacon. It should be cut into smallish pieces and fried until it is starting to crisp.
• Eggs - there are quite a lot of eggs in this pie. Six of them will be broken (whole) onto the filling, the remaining 2 will be mixed with the milk and cream to form the custard.
• Milk - I like to use full-fat milk, but semi-skimmed will work just as well for this recipe.
• Cream - double or heavy cream if possible, but you could use single cream instead if that's all you have.
• Salt and black pepper - for seasoning.

And of course, you will need some pastry. I haven't taken a photo of those ingredients, but they are:

• Flour - plain flour please - don't use self-raising flour - we don't want the pastry to rise.
• Butter - butter gives a better flavour, but if you only have yellow margarine you could use that instead.
• Salt - for seasoning
• Water - to bind the pastry.

If you prefer you could use ready-made shortcrust pastry from the supermarket instead.

What to do

Make the pastry

Skip these steps if you are using ready-made pastry.

Place the ball of dough into a plastic bag or wrap it in plastic film and place it in the refrigerator for half an hour to rest.

This dough can be left in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months. Allow it to come to room temperature before rolling and using.

If you prefer, you can make the pastry in a food processor as follows:

• Place the flour, salt and cubed butter into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal 'S'-blade.
• Pulse the mixture until the flour is incorporated and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Add most of the water and pulse again until the dough starts to come together. Add the remaining water only if necessary.
• Tip the dough out of the food processor onto a clean work surface and press it gently together into a ball. Do not knead.
• Cover the dough with plastic and place it into the refrigerator to rest for half an hour.

Tips for perfect pastry

• Make sure your ingredients are as cold as possible. Keep the eggs and butter in the fridge and use ice-cold water for mixing.
• Handle the pastry as little as possible.
• Leave the pastry to relax in the fridge for at least half an hour once it has been mixed. This last step is important as it allows the gluten to relax, and helps to prevent the pastry shrinking during cooking.

Make the filling and bake

Bake the pie in a preheated oven (190C/375F) for 30 to 35 minutes until it is golden brown.

You need to keep your eye on it. The cooking time can vary depending on various factors such as altitude or whether you have a fan-assisted oven. If you think the pie needs a little longer then leave it in the oven for a few more minutes.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool.

This pie can be served either warm or cold.

If you'd like to be notified of new recipes, why not subscribe to my newsletter? To say thank you, you will receive a free recipe e-book containing some of my most popular cakes and desserts.

FAQ

Save for later

Why not pin this bacon and egg pie recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.

Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

Other recipes

If you enjoyed this bacon and egg pie, you might like to try some of these other savoury tart recipes:

📋The recipe

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!

If you'd like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.