Easy meat pie

Everyone needs an easy meat pie recipe up their sleeve for those days when there's not much in the cupboard but you still want to feed the family a nourishing meal. This easy meat pie is made using only a few ingredients, but it ticks all the boxes for a healthy, wholesome dinner.

There’s something truly comforting about a classic minced beef pie - simple ingredients, rich flavours, and a golden, flaky crust that turns a humble filling into a hearty, satisfying meal. This easy meat pie is packed with ground beef, sautéed onions, celery, carrots, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and a spoonful of tomato sauce to create a rich, savoury filling that’s cooked gently in a frying pan before being wrapped in buttery pastry.

Of course, you can add different vegetables to the meat pie filling, depending on what you have available in your refrigerator. Why not try adding a finely chopped potato, swede (rutabaga) or a handful of peas for a touch of sweetness? This recipe is meant to be adapted to suit whatever you have available. To be honest, I once added half a can of baked beans, and it was delicious!

The pastry is a traditional mix of butter and lard, which creates a beautifully flaky, golden crust that encases the meat pie top and bottom. It’s a great reminder that you don’t need a long list of fancy ingredients to make something truly delicious. A handful of simple pantry staples come together to create a meat pie that’s crisp, golden, and packed with flavour in every bite.

The result is a proper no-fuss minced beef pie that's full of flavour. A rich and savoury beef filling, combined with the wholesome goodness of tasty vegetables. The pastry bakes to golden crispness on the outside while staying soft and tender where it soaks up the tasty juices from the filling. This is a simple yet comforting hearty family pie!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Make the filling
• Tips for a successful outcome
• Serving suggestions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• FAQ
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

Ingredients

This meat pie should feed 4 people. Leftovers can be frozen stored in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days. Cold leftover minced beef pie is perfect for packing into a lunch box.

Filling

Let's start with the ingredients for the meat pie filling:

• Minced beef or ground beef - I like to use minced beef with a low fat content. I think you get more meat for your money as you don't lose half the bulk to rendered fat that has to be poured away.
• Carrots, celery and onions - these should be cleaned and cut into a fine dice. Keep the pieces quite small so they combine nicely with the small pieces of mince.
• Worcestershire sauce - for a salty, umami flavour.
• Tomato ketchup - I don't normally use ketchup for flavouring as I prefer tomato paste, but for this recipe the ketchup is perfect.
• Dried thyme - this is optional and if you don't have simply leave it out. You could also substitute with dried rosemary or dried oregano.
• Beef stock - make it with a stock cube dissolved in boiling water.
• Flour - for thickening the filling.
• Sunflower oil (other other neutral flavoured vegetable oil) - not pictured - for frying the meat and vegetables.

Pastry

These are the ingredients for the pastry. For this pie, I thought I'd try my hand at making a rough puff pastry using a mixture of lard and butter. It's a simple pastry to make as you simply grate your shortening into the flour, then mix with a spatula to combine - there's no need to rub the flour into the butter. As the pastry cooks, the small pieces of shortening melt and create holes that fill with steam, resulting in a light and crispy flaky pastry.

• Flour - this is plain or all-purpose flour. Do not use self-raising flour.
• Lard and butter - I used equal quantities of butter and lard, but you could use all butter instead. Butter provides a buttery taste, while lard provides a crispier texture. The butter and lard should be placed in the freezer for 15 minutes to make it easier to grate them.
• Vinegar - the vinegar helps to counteract the development of gluten in the flour, resulting in a more tender pastry. You only need a tablespoonful, and you can leave it out if you prefer.
• Water - this should be ice cold if possible and is used to bind the pastry together.
• Salt - a small amount of salt improves the flavour of the pastry. Leave it out if you prefer.
• Egg (not pictured) - to egg wash the pastry.

**You can get the exact ingredient measurements for both the meat pie filling and the pastry on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.**

Instructions

Pastry

Start by making the pastry so that it can rest in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Place the ball of dough into a plastic bag or wrap in cling film and place it in the refrigerator to rest while you get on with making the pie filling.

Make the filling

Assemble and bake

Tips for a successful outcome

Here are my top tips to ensure your easy meat pie always turns out perfectly:

• Do take the time to brown the meat thoroughly and stir to ensure that each grain of meat is completely separated.
• Simmer the filling slowly for 30 minutes to allow the flavours time to develop.
• When thickening the filling with flour, stir in a little flour and water mixture at a time over low heat, and only add more flour if the filling doesn't thicken sufficiently.
• Freeze the butter and/or lard for at least 15 minutes to make it easier to grate. Use the largest holes on your grater.
• Add only sufficient water to allow the pastry to come together in a soft ball. Different brands of flour absorb water at different rates, and you may not need all the water.
• Let the pastry rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour as this will result in a pastry that is easier to roll and less likely to shrink during baking.
• When baking the pie, you may need to turn the baking dish halfway through baking to ensure the pastry browns evenly all over. Some ovens have a 'hot spot' which causes them to brown faster in certain areas of the oven.

Serving suggestions

For a hearty family meal, serve the pie hot with a selection of steamed vegetables.

The pie is also good when cut into slices and served cold, making it ideal for packing into a lunch box.

Variations

This is an easy recipe to vary to suit your taste. You can use whatever vegetables you happen to have available. The main thing to bear in mind is that the vegetables should all be cut quite finely.

Try a combination of the following:

• A handful of frozen peas or corn (or both);
• Half a can of leftover baked beans;
• Diced swedes, parsnips or potatoes;
• Finely chopped green beans and/or mushrooms.

As far as flavours go, you might consider the following:

• Spicy - add dried chili pepper flakes for a little heat.
• Garlic - fry one or two cloves of finely chopped garlic with the onions.
• Curry - stir a tablespoon of curry powder in with the onions and swap out the Worcestershire sauce for 2 tablespoons of fruit chutney (leave out the thyme).

Equipment

These are the main pieces of equipment you will need to make this easy meat pie:

• A large mixing bowl to mix the pastry.
• A cheese grater to grate the butter and lard.
• A large frying pan (with a lid) to make the filling.
• A 9" x 7" baking dish for baking the pie - or 23 x 18 cm.

Storage

Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven (190C/375F) for about 10 minutes.

I wouldn't reheat the meat pie in the microwave as this would make the pastry soft and soggy.

The assembled pie can be frozen (before baking) for up to 3 months. If you intend to freeze the pie, I would recommend assembling it in a disposable aluminium container. Cover with a layer of tinfoil and then wrap securely in a double layer of plastic wrap before freezing.

The pie can be cooked from frozen, but you should add an extra 8 to 10 minutes to the cooking time.

FAQ

Save for later

If you would like to try this easy meat pie, why not save the 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.

Related recipes

You can find lots more tasty pie recipes on my pie recipes page. Here are a few you might enjoy:

📋The recipe

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