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    Traditional British meat and potato pie with suet pastry

    Published: · Modified: by · This post may contain affiliate links · 22 Comments

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    This traditional meat and potato pie is a hearty Yorkshire dish made with steak and potatoes, covered in a soft buttery suet pastry crust. Serve with a bowl of mushy peas or your favourite vegetables for a deliciously comforting supper. Or as they say in Yorkshire 'for a meal that will stick to your ribs'

    A helping of meat and potato pie on a plate with vegetables.
    Jump to:

    Yorkshire meat and potato pie

    If there's one thing you can say about Yorkshire people, it's that we love a good meaty pie, and this meat and potato pie is one of the best. I'm never happier than when I'm presented with a plate of succulent meaty filling, covered with a layer of crispy pastry.

    You can make a pie in so many different ways. Encase the whole thing in crispy shortcrust pastry, as in this Bacon and Egg Pie. Or you could cover the filling with a layer of well-risen puff pastry, as in this Steak and Kidney Pie. You can even make large pies, or individual pot pies, like these Beef Pot Pies with Pepper Sauce.

    But I'm here to tell you right now that this traditional meat and potato pie recipe I am sharing with you today takes some beating. It's covered with a layer of soft suet crust pastry that simply melts in your mouth.

    I'm also going to share my top tip for thickening gravy without using any flour or cornstarch.

    This meat and potato pie is made from succulent cubes of beef, cooked to fork-tender perfection with lots of potatoes (it's called meat and potato pie for a reason) and loads of thick meaty gravy. The pie is covered with a layer of buttery, soft suet pastry that soaks up the gravy like a sponge, as it bakes, leaving the underside of the pastry soft and full of flavour.

    Believe me experiencing a plate of meat and potato pie, with a generous side helping of traditional British mushy peas, should be on everyone's bucket list!

    A meat and potato pie with one corner of the pastry cut away to show the filling.

    Just look at how this pie is crammed with succulent meat and tender potatoes.

    What you will need

    Equipment

    You will need a pressure cooker to make the filling. I have an electric pressure cooker and one and I love it. You can use a stove-top pressure cooker too. Just follow the manufacturer's instructions for the timing for your particular brand.

    If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can make the filling in a large saucepan on the stove instead, and I've included instructions below.

    You will also need a frying pan for browning the meat and onions, a sharp knife and a chopping board.

    For making the pastry, you will need a mixing bowl.

    And of course, let's not forget a baking dish for baking the pie. You will need a dish approximately 12" x 8" x 2.5" deep (or 30cm x 20cm x 6cm)

    Ingredients

    You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this meat and potato pie on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

    This is a generous recipe and will easily feed 4 hungry people.

    For the meat and potato filling:

    Ingredients for meat and potato pie filling.
    • Beef cubes - this is a good quality stewing steak, chopped into 1-inch cubes. You can use chuck, flank, or even topside for this pie.
    • Onions - roughly chopped. Don't make them too small. They will soften and soak into the gravy on cooking.
    • Potatoes peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces. Reserve one potato and grate it instead of chopping it. The grated potato will serve to thicken the gravy. You will need approximately 1 cup of grated potato.
    • Worcestershire sauce - Worcestershire sauce and meat and potato pie go together like bacon and eggs. I know people who add extra Worcestershire sauce when the pie is on their plate!
    • Tomato puree - (also known as tomato paste) consists of highly concentrated tomatoes, and should not be confused with tomato ketchup or tomato sauce.
    • Dijon mustard - for a bit of a bite.
    • Beef stock - you can dissolve 1 stock cube per cup of water to make instant stock if you don't have real beef stock to hand.
    • Salt - to your taste
    • Sunflower oil for browning the meat.

    For the suet pastry

    You can cheat and buy either shortcrust or puff pastry and use that to cover the pie instead, but honestly, this pastry mixes in minutes and tastes so good. It's worth a few minutes of extra effort to make it!

    Ingredients for suet pastry.
    • Self-raising flour - if you don't have self-raising flour use plain or all-purpose flour and add 1 teaspoon baking powder to each cup of flour.
    • Beef suet - you can buy this in packets from your local supermarket. I use a brand called Atora Shredded Suet. It is available in both Beef and Vegetable varieties and you can order it from Amazon. I recommend you try to get hold of some if you possibly can - the suet pastry turns this dish into a show-stopper! You can use either the beef or the vegetable version of suet for this pie.
    • Butter - this is rubbed into the flour with the suet. You can use salted or unsalted butter, but if you use salted butter you may want to leave out any additional salt.
    • Cold water - for mixing into the pastry
    • Salt - if you have a problem with salt, you can leave this out, but it does enhance the flavour of the pastry.

    How to make a meat and potato pie

    Preparation

    • Chop the steak into 1-inch cubes, remove any fat and discard.
    • Peel the onions and chop them coarsely (about 1-inch pieces will be fine).
    • Peel the potatoes. Grate one of them on the largest holes of a box grater (you will need about 1 cupful of grated potato). Cut the remaining potatoes into 1-inch chunks.
    • Dissolve 2 beef stock cubes in 2 cups (1 pint) of boiling water. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree and Dijon mustard. Set aside.

    Make the filling

    Filling - Step 1

    Diced beef being seared in a frying pan.

    Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meat on all sides. Brown it in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, otherwise, you will end up with a lot of moisture in the pan which we don't want. Get the pan quite hot and sear the meat to seal it. Transfer the browned meat from the pan into either a pressure cooker or a large saucepan.

    Filling - Step 2

    Diced onions frying in a frying pan.

    Fry the onions on moderate heat in the same pan that the meat was cooked in, for about 5 minutes until they have started to soften and have picked up any residue left over from the meat. Add them to the meat in the pressure cooker or saucepan.

    Filling - Step 3

    Stock and grated potato added to meat and onions in a pressure cooker.

    Pour in the prepared stock and add the grated potatoes.

    Put the lid on and cook on the highest setting for 30 minutes. This is the 'Stew' function on my Pressure King Pro. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for your model of pressure cooker. After 30 minutes release the pressure. The meat will be almost cooked and the gravy will be very runny.

    Filling -Step 4

    A spoonful of meat and gravy held over a pressure cooker to show the texture of the meat.

    After 30 minutes the potatoes should have disintegrated, the meat will be fork tender and the gravy will have thickened slightly.

    Adding grated potato is my secret tip for getting lovely thick gravy.

    The grated potato will disintegrate as it cooks, and the starch that it releases will thicken the gravy perfectly.

    Filling -Step 5

    Cubed potatoes being added to the pie filling in a pressure cooker.

    Stir in the cubed potatoes and set your pressure cooker to a medium setting. Cook for 8 minutes. I use the 'Meat' setting on my Pressure King Pro.

    Filling -Step 6

    Cooked meat and potato pie filling in a pressure cooker.

    After 8 minutes, release the pressure and check the consistency of the gravy. If you find the grated potato has not thickened the gravy sufficiently, make a slurry with a tablespoon of cornstarch or cornflour and a couple of tablespoons of water. Drizzle that slowly into the gravy over low heat until it thickens sufficiently. You may not need all the slurry, so don't tip it all in at once.

    Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.

    Filling - Step 7

    Meat and potato pie filling in pie dish.

    Tip the filling into a baking dish.

    Set aside to cool. This is important - you don't want to put the pastry on top of the hot filling or it will melt before it gets into the oven and not rise properly. Let the filling cool down to lukewarm.

    Cooking on the stovetop

    If you are making this dish on the stove, follow the above instructions until the stock and grated potatoes have been added to the meat and vegetables (Filling - Step 3 above).

    Cover the pan with a tightly-fitting lid and simmer gently for at least 2 hours until the meat is tender. Keep your eye on it and top up with extra stock if necessary.

    After 2 hours, add the cubed potatoes and continue to cook until the potatoes are tender and the gravy has thickened. This should take 20 to 25 minutes.

    Tip the filling into a pie dish and allow it to cool.

    Make the suet pastry

    This is my favourite recipe for suet pastry, and it is extremely easy to make. The addition of butter adds extra flavour and the pastry bakes to a crispy softness that melts in your mouth.

    The texture of unbaked suet pastry is slightly different to normal pastry. It has quite a thick texture, with knobbly bits in it where the suet hasn't broken down. Don't worry - the suet will melt into the pastry as it bakes, producing a soft flaky texture.

    Pre-heat the oven to 200F / 400C

    Suet pastry - Step 1

    Flour, cubed butter and suet in a mixing bowl.

    Place the flour, salt, suet and butter into a large mixing bowl.

    Suet pastry - Step 2

    Butter and suet rubbed into flour to form coarse breadcrumbs in a mixing bowl.

    Rub the butter and suet into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

    The suet will not break down completely, but this is normal and expected. It will melt into the pastry as it bakes.

    Suet pastry - Step 3

    A ball of suet pastry in a mixing bowl.

    Add three-quarters of the water and mix with your fingers until the dough comes together in a soft non-sticky ball. If you need the remaining water, add a tablespoon at a time, so the dough doesn't become too sticky.

    Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave it to rest for half an hour.

    Assemble and bake

    Assemble and bake - Step 1

    Suet pastry rolled into a rectangle next to a rolling pin.

    Dust your work surface lightly with flour, and roll the pastry into a rectangle large enough to cover your baking dish.

    Assemble and bake - Step 2

    Suet pastry laid over a meat and potato pie.

    Lay the pastry carefully over the cooled filling in the pie dish. It's fine if the pastry rests on top of the meat and potato filling. The gravy will soak into the underside of the pastry as the pie bakes resulting in a delicious gravy-soaked pastry.

    Assemble and bake - Step 3

    Meat and potato pie covered in suet pastry, ready for the oven.

    Use a fork to press the pastry against the sides of the pie dish. Trim away any excess pastry with a sharp knife.

    Prick the top of the pastry with the fork to allow any steam to escape while it is in the oven.

    Brush the top of the pie lightly with milk.

    Assemble and bake - Step 4

    A cooked meat and potato pie.

    Bake in a preheated oven (200C/400F) for 25 to 30 minutes until the pastry is cooked and golden brown.

    Remove the pie from the oven and serve hot with your favourite vegetables.

    The traditional Yorkshire way of serving it is with mushy peas.

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    Overhead shot of meat and potato pie on a plate with vegetables.

    Tips and FAQ

    Can I freeze meat and potato pie?

    If you want to freeze the unbaked pie, my advice would be to assemble the pie in a large disposable aluminium pie dish. That way your baking dish can remain in your cupboard 🙂 .
    Wrap the cooled assembled pie in a layer of tinfoil and cover it with one or two layers of plastic cling film before freezing.
    You can freeze this pie for up to 3 months.
    To use, remove from the freezer and allow to defrost in the refrigerator then bake according to the recipe instructions.
    Alternatively, you could freeze the cooled filling. When you are ready to make the pie, defrost the filling in the refrigerator, pour into a pie dish, cover with pastry and bake according to the recipe instructions.

    Can I make this in advance?

    You can make both the filling and the pastry up to 2 days in advance and store them (separately and covered) in the fridge.
    When you are ready to make the pie tip the meat into a pie dish, top it with the pastry and bake as per the recipe instructions.

    Do I have to use suet pastry?

    You don't HAVE to use suet pastry, but then you won't get the lovely soaked-up gravy and suet combination. You could substitute the suet for lard or you could top the pie with puff pastry or shortcrust pastry instead.

    What is suet?

    Suet is the hard fat that is found around a cow's kidneys. Atora, which is the brand I use, contains 85% shredded beef fat plus the addition of wheat flour with added calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin.

    Save for later

    If you would like to try this meat and potato pie yourself, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards? Just click on 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 hearty meals

    Visit my British recipes page for other traditional recipes from Britain and the British Isles. Here are a few you might enjoy:

    📋The recipe

    A helping of meat and potato pie on a plate with vegetables.

    Traditional meat and potato pie

    This hearty meat and potato pie is a traditional Yorkshire dish made with steak and potatoes, covered in a soft buttery suet pastry crust. Serve with a bowl of mushy peas or your favourite vegetables for a deliciously comforting supper. Or as they say in Yorkshire 'for a meal that will stick to your ribs'
    Recipe by: Veronica
    Main Course
    British
    Calories 758
    Prep 20 minutes
    Cook 1 hour 20 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
    Servings: 4 people
    Print Pin Comment Bookmark
    4.85 from 26 votes

    (Click the stars to rate this recipe)

    Equipment

    • Pressure Cooker OR
    • Large saucepan
    • Frying Pan
    • Sharp Knife
    • Chopping Board
    • Mixing bowl
    • Rolling Pin
    • Baking dish 8" x 12"

    Ingredients

    Pie filling

    • 1¼ pounds 570 grams stewing steak cubed
    • 1½ lb / 680 grams potatoes cubed
    • 2 medium onions chopped
    • 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
    • 2 tablespoons tomato puree
    • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
    • 2 beef stock cubes
    • 2 cups boiling water
    • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
    • 1 to 2 Tablespoons Sunflower oil for browning the meat and onions

    Suet Pastry

    • 1½ cups / 200 grams self-raising flour
    • ½ cup / 100 grams beef suet
    • 2 ounce 60 grams butter
    • ¼ cup cold water
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    Instructions

    Preparation

    • Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes, remove any fat and discard
      1¼ pounds 570 grams stewing steak
    • Peel the onions and chop them coarsely (about 1-inch pieces)
      2 medium onions
    • Peel the potatoes and chop all except one into chunks. Grate the remaining potato. This will help thicken the stock. (You will need about 1 cup of grated potato)
      1½ lb / 680 grams potatoes
    • Dissolve the stock cubes in 2 cups of boiling water and add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree Dijon mustard and salt.
      2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons tomato puree, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 2 beef stock cubes, 2 cups boiling water, ½ teaspoon salt

    Filling

    • Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan and brown the cubed meat in batches. Place browned meat in a pressure cooker or saucepan and set aside.
      1 to 2 Tablespoons Sunflower oil
    • Fry the onions on a moderate heat in the same pan that the meat was cooked in, for about 5 minutes until they have started to soften and have picked up any residue left over from the meat. Add them to the meat in the pressure cooker or saucepan.
    • Pour the prepared stock over the meat and onions and stir in the grated potato.
    • If using a pressure cooker - cook the meat on the highest setting for 30 minutes ('Stew' function on my Pressure King Pro)
    • If cooking in a saucepan on the stove-top - cover with a lid and simmer for 2 hours. Check occasionally and top up with extra stock if it starts to boil dry.
    • Add the cubed potatoes to the meat.
    • If using a pressure cooker - cook the meat and potatoes for a further 8 minutes on medium setting ('Meat' setting on my Pressure King Pro')
    • If cooking in a saucepan on the stove-top - cover with a lid and boil for 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the gravy has thickened.
    • Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.
    • Tip the meat and potato mix into a large pie dish and allow to cool.

    Suet Pastry

    • Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F
    • Place the flour, salt. suet and butter into in a large mixing bowl.
      1½ cups / 200 grams self-raising flour, ½ cup / 100 grams beef suet, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 ounce 60 grams butter
    • Rub the butter and suet into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
      The suet will not break down completely, but this is normal and expected. It will melt into the pastry as it bakes.
    • Add sufficient water to make a soft dough. Do not add the water all at once. Use about ¾ of the water and add the remainder as needed.
      ¼ cup cold water
    • Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator to rest for half an hour.
    • Dust your work surface lightly with flour, and roll out the pastry into a rectangle large enough to cover your baking dish.
    • Lay the pastry carefully over the cooled filling in the pie dish. It's fine if the pastry rests on top of the meat and potato filling. The gravy will soak into the underside of the pastry as the pie bakes resulting in a delicious gravy-soaked pastry.
    • Use a fork to press the pastry aginst the edges of the pie dish. Trim away any excess pastry.
      Prick holes on top of the pastry with a fork and brush the pastry lightly with milk.
    • Place in the preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes until the pastry has turned golden brown.
    • Remove from oven and serve with mushy peas or your favourite vegetables.

    Notes

    When browning the meat, do it in small batches.  You just want to sear the outside of the meat.  If you overcrowd the pan the meat will start to boil and release its juices.
    This pie needs a lot of liquid, as some of the liquid will soak up into the pastry while it is in the oven.
    You shouldn't need to add any thickening agent.  The grated potato will cook away and thicken the gravy naturally.  If you use a waxy potato, it may not have sufficient starch to thicken the gravy.  In this case, just make a slurry with cornstarch and water, and drizzle that into the gravy, stirring over a low heat, until the gravy thickens sufficiently.
    Packets of beef suet are available from Amazon.  The brand I use is called Atora Shredded Suet and is available in both Beef and Vegetable varieties.  You can use either variety for this pastry.
    Calories are based on the assumption that this pie will feed 4 people.

    Nutrition

    Calories - 758kcal | Carbohydrates - 82.9g | Protein - 43g | Fat - 27.9g | Saturated Fat - 8.8g | Cholesterol - 32mg | Sodium - 824mg | Potassium - 870mg | Fiber - 7g | Sugar - 6.5g | Vitamin D - 8µg | Calcium - 47mg | Iron - 4mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

    Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
    All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
    Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I'd love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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    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.

    More Recipes from the British Isles

    About VJ

    Before I started my food blog I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, mostly made from scratch, using everyday pantry ingredients.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      4.85 from 26 votes (14 ratings without comment)

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    1. Lynda

      4 stars
      Cooked this today and it tasted amazing / just one question please - how thick should the diet pastry be - mine was quite think and didn’t have the soft underside I was expecting- think it may be been too thin? Thanks

      Reply

      • Lynda

        Sorry that should have read suet pastry 😂

        Reply

      • VJ

        5 stars
        I roll my pastry between 1cm and half an inch in thickness, and make sure I lay it directly on the filling so that the gravy can soak in. Glad you enjoyed it though!

        Reply

    2. Andy

      5 stars
      My mum used to make a meat and potato pie every week for 20 kids at the home she ran. It was legendary. When she passed away recently my kids thought they'd not have grandma's pie again. This recipe is as close to hers as I've found. They love it. My 9 year old now makes it with me. Thank you!

      Reply

      • VJ

        Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it!

        Reply

    3. steve

      5 stars
      My Mum, Nan, and Aunty were all from Yorkshire and all made meat and potato pie the proper way. If you struggle for suet then use lard (grated from freezer)

      The one think that is missing is Hendersons relish!! From Sheffield, anyone who knows Meat and potato pie in Yorkshire will have a bottle of Hendersons in the cupboard just for that! You can now find it onloine 🙂

      Reply

      • VJ

        Good tips Steve - especially the one about the lard - I must try that!
        Re your comment on Hendersons relish, hubby swears by Worcestershire sauce - I guess it's a regional thing 🙂

        Reply

    4. Jerry w

      5 stars
      Absolutely bloody delicious…..roll on Autumn and the cold weather so I can start making it again!!

      Reply

      • VJ

        Not sure where in the world you live, but here in the UK we can eat it all year round 🙂

        Reply

    5. Bernadette halliwell

      5 stars
      Made this for tea tonight and oh my it was delicious and so tasty it was polished off quickly by all thanks for the recipe going to be trying a few more soon

      Reply

      • VJ

        That's what I like to hear 🙂 . It's one of hubby's favourites too!

        Reply

    6. Zoe Jarvis

      5 stars
      Made this for tea tonight had to replace onion for onion powder as my son hates onions but it was still very tasty and he loved it thanks

      Reply

      • VJ

        5 stars
        That's the beauty of this pie - you can swap out the ingredients and it still tastes good. How about trying chopped celery in place of the onions next time?
        VJ x

        Reply

      • Vicky

        My children hate onions to so I soften them first and blend them into the stock before I add it, they don’t have a clue there eating them, I actually do this with all veg they don’t like, blend them into a sauce and add it to faves like pasta etc, what they can’t see they can’t dislike 🤫

        Reply

    7. Amanda

      5 stars
      I made this today and had some trouble getting it to thicken up because of the kind of potatoes I had. I scooped out a bit of the liquid and made a slurry and that seemed to help. Suet is somewhat hard to come by here so I just used a regular pie crust. The flavor is phenomenal and suits my meat and potatoes husband. When he’s snoring an hour after dinner then my dear we have a winner!

      Reply

      • VJ

        I'm so pleased it turned out well for you. This is my hubby's favourite meal and his standard answer whenever I ask 'what would you like for dinner'! The potatoes I use are quite 'fluffy' and disintegrate into the gravy if they are grated. I also didn't realise that suet isn't as readily available in the US as it is here in the UK. I use a brand called Atora Shredded Suet. I've googled it, and if you want to make the original version of my pie with traditional suet you can order it from Amazon. I'll update the recipe to reflect your comments. I do appreciate constructive criticism 🙂

        Reply

    8. Melanie Powell

      Absolutely gorgeous, I have made this three times in a matter of weeks. My family love it! Thank you for the recipe x

      Reply

      • VJ

        Thank you so much for the lovely comment. I love it when I get such positive feedback. I'm always so worried that I might have made a mistake with the recipe and cause someone to have a disaster 🙂 .

        Reply

    9. Dawn

      How much meat would I need to make meat and potato pie for 40 people ? X

      Reply

      • VJ

        Hi Dawn, I'm so glad you asked that question. I have just had a look at the recipe, and I think I might have been a bit over-generous with the amount of meat I allowed 🙂 . 600g would be a more realistic amount for 4 people, which would be 150g per person, rather than 250g, and I am going to update the recipe to reflect this.
        To answer your question you will need 150g of meat per person, so for 40 people you would need 150g x 40, which works out to 6 kg.

        VJ x

        Reply

    10. Melanie Storey

      5 stars
      So tasty the Perfect comfort food

      Reply

    11. VJ

      5 stars
      This is the best meat pie I've eaten in a long time. The meat is so juicy and tender!

      Reply