Beautiful meat pies are such wonderful comfort food, regardless of the season. Buttery golden pastry and a hearty meat-and-veg filling looks so tempting on the dinner table! What's even better is that this minced beef pie is economical, tasty, and easy to make. Let's get started!
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Questions
Is mince pie beef?
Minced beef is the key ingredient in this savory pie. The traditional Christmas dessert called mince pies did contain meat in medieval times, but they no longer are made with it. These two pastry dishes are quite different!
What is the difference between ground beef and minced beef?
The only difference is the name! Beef that's been very finely chopped or put through a meat grinder is called ground beef in North America, while in the UK, it's called minced beef.
What to Serve with Minced Beef Pie
I recommend serving it with mashed potatoes and mushy peas for an authentic feel. You can also serve it with homemade dinner rolls as well.
How to Make
Prepare the vegetables and measure out the rest of the ingredients.
Brown the meat, and keep it on medium heat until almost all of the fat is gone.
Dump in the mushrooms, carrot, and celery and cook for a few minutes; then add the onion. Stir in the stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper and boil away the liquid until it's nearly gone.
Brush the rim of a 9-inch dish with beaten egg and lay strips of puff pastry (or homemade rough puff pastry) on the rim.
Brush the strips of pastry with more beaten egg, then cut out a circle of pastry and lay it on top. Press the edges to seal, brush with more egg, and cut vent holes.
Bake at 400 F (200 C) for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown. The delicious aroma will get your family asking you what's for dinner!
I can't wait to dig in--how about you? I hope these photos inspired you to bake supper tonight!
Pro Tips
- Use lean meat to speed up the cooking time and reduce the fat.
- Cut the veggies in small pieces to provide a nice texture.
- Cover the edges of the pastry with aluminum foil if they're getting too dark while baking.
- Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
- Store the leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Recommended Tools
- Emeril Skillet: this heavy-bottomed skillet cooks very evenly.
- Metal Spatula: this will help break up clumps of ground beef.
- Enamel Pie Dish: this is the preferred dish for baking savory pies.
- Pastry Brushes: these natural-bristled brushes are much better than the silicone ones.
Other British Savory Pies
The pleasure of a 5-star review would be greatly appreciated.
Recipe
Minced Beef Pie
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 1 pound 5 ounces ground beef
- 8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups yellow onion, chopped
- 1 ½ cups carrot, sliced
- 1 ½ cups celery, diced
- ½ cup unsalted beef stock
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Pastry
- 9 ounces puff pastry or homemade rough puff pastry
- 1 large egg, beaten
Instructions
Making the Filling (30 minutes + 30 minutes cooking)
- Rinse the mushrooms, then cut the mushroom in half from top to bottom, and then into slices. Chop the onion, slice the carrot, and dice the celery.
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, then let it continue to cook until almost all the fat is gone.
- Add the mushrooms, carrot, and celery and cook over medium heat until the carrots begin to soften. Dump in the onions and cook for a couple minutes more, stirring occasionally.
- Mix in the beef stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Let the juices boil down until they have thickened and are nearly gone, but the filling is still moist.
- Let the filling cool for 10 minutes off the heat.
Assembling & Baking the Pie (10 minutes + 35 minutes baking)
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Spread the filling in a 9-inch pie plate, then brush the rim of the dish with beaten egg.
- Roll out the pastry until it's a little larger than the dish. Cut out a circle of pastry large enough to cover the dish, using a dinner plate as a template. Set the circle aside.
- Cut the remaining pastry into strips and stick them onto the rim of the pie plate. Brush the pastry strips with beaten egg.
- Lay the pastry circle on top, pressing the edges firmly to seal. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and cut several vent holes.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is a rich golden brown. Let it cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes, then cut in slices and serve with mashed potatoes and mushy peas.
Notes
- Use lean meat to speed up the cooking time and reduce the fat.
- Cut the veggies in small pieces to provide a nice texture.
- Cover the edges of the pastry with aluminum foil if they're getting too dark while baking.
- Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
- Store the leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Libby
Great minced beef pie recipe! I tried it for the first time tonight and everyone loved it! It was pretty easy to make, too! The photo tutorials here are so helpful! I didn’t have celery so I used frozen mixed veggies, and I also substituted the beef stock for chicken broth since that’s what I had on hand. Even with the adjustments, the pie was delicious. My whole family thought it was great! I’ll be making this again for sure. 🙂
Emma
That's wonderful, Libby! I'm so glad your family enjoyed the minced beef pie!
Joan McCutchon
It is a delicious pie. If you can't eat pastry, you could put mashed potatoes on top and bake it until it's light brown. Yum!!
Emma
Thank you! It definitely would taste nice with mashed potatoes on top, too. 🙂