This old fashioned meat and potato pie is a comforting, economical dish that reheats well and is freezer friendly. The filling is made up of ground beef, mashed potatoes and onions, and is wrapped up with a homemade shortcrust pastry top and bottom.
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🥧An economical and traditional pie
This old fashioned meat and potato pie is my great grandmother's recipe. My grandmother also made them all the time, and our freezer was always stocked full with meat and potato pies. My grandmother doesn't bake any more, so I have carried on making this homey recipe.
The meat and potato pie's filling is very easy to make, it's also very economical - it calls for only half a pound of ground beef! The filling also includes onion and potatoes.
You can use a store bought pasty if you choose, but I urge you to try this easy pastry recipe. I use it for sweet recipes too, such as apple pie or banana cream pie. I just add some sugar to the pie dough, if it's for a sweet pie, and omit the sugar and add more salt, if it's for a savoury pie.
🥘Ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Ground Beef - you only need a half a pound for this recipe! Double the recipe to use the whole pound of ground beef, and freeze one pie for later use!
- Shortening/lard - The shortening/lard needs to be chilled. Make sure to use it straight from the fridge.
- Potatoes - Use a type that is great for mashing, like russet or yukon gold.
🔪Instructions
The first step to making a meat and potato pie, is to make the filling. Place ground beef, onions and potatoes in a large stock pot, and cover with water. Cook over medium heat until the meat has cooked through, and the potatoes are fork tender. Drain the meat mixture, reserving 2 cups of the water.
Use a potato masher to mash the filling ingredients together, pouring a bit of the reserved water in at a time, until the mixture is moist. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Making pastry
If you want to save some time, or are out of practice in making pastry, you can use store bought pastry. I have a very detailed post on making flaky pie crust if you are new to baking with pastry, or just need a refresher.
This pastry does not need to partially baked (par-baked). The filling is not wet, so it will not make the pastry soggy. A filling that is more wet, like my pumpkin pie recipe, requires the pastry to be par-baked.
To assemble
When ready, cut the pastry in two pieces, with one half slightly larger then then other. The larger will be the bottom pastry, and the smaller, the top pastry.
Roll out the bottom pastry onto a floured surface to about ¼ inch thick, and place into a pie dish. Spoon the filling into the pie dish and then roll out the top pastry, the same thickness. Brush a bit of the leftover milk/water mixture over the edges of the bottom pastry and lay the top pastry over the top of the pie. Crimp the edges to make a seal and cut several vents in the center of the pie with scissors.
Chill the prepared pie in the refrigerator while you preheat the oven. Brush pastry with the egg wash and bake the pie for an hour, or until the top is nicely browned and the filling is bubbling.
For more step by step photos, see my web story for meat and potato pie!
✔️Expert Tips
- The filling doesn't need to fully cool before it gets added to the pie, but it shouldn't be too hot either. It will reheat as the pie cooks.
- There's no need to par-bake the pie shell. The filling isn't a wet filling.
- If your pastry tears, you can "paste" it together with a bit of milk. Press down to adhere it.
💭FAQs
This savoury pie comes from England. There are many versions and contain potatoes with lamb or beef, sometimes carrot, and/or onion.
No necessarily. This recipe is better with a pastry bottom though.
You can make the filling up to 3 days in advance. The pastry can also be made 3 days in advance. Store both in the refrigerator until ready to use.
The meat and potato pie freezes really well. Cover the cooked and cooled pie in plastic wrap. Then wrap in a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw by leaving it in the refrigerator overnight.
📖Related recipes
📋 Recipe
Meat and Potato Pie
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- ½ cup water cold
- ½ cup milk cold
- water to cover ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup shortening chilled
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Pie Filling
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 lbs russet potatoes approximately 6, peeled and cut into chunks
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper adjust to taste
Instructions
Pie Filling
- Place ground beef, onions and potatoes in a stockpot. Fill with water to just cover ingredients, and cook over medium heat until ground beef has been cooked through and potatoes are soft when you prick them with a fork.
- Drain the water, reserving 2 cups. Use a potato masher and mash ingredients together, adding a bit of the reserved water at a time until mixture is moist, but not watery.
- Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Pie Crust
- Grease a 9 inch pie plate with butter and set aside.
- Combine milk and water in a cup and place in freezer to get it very cold, about 10 minutes.
- Place flour and salt in a medium bowl and whisk together. Using a pastry cutter, cut shortening into the flour until the shortening pieces are about the size of peas, with some larger chunks.
- Pour a bit of the milk/water mixture, a tablespoon at a time, into the flour mixture and use your hands to knead the pastry together. Keep adding more liquid until pastry comes together.
- Divide pastry into two halves, one slightly larger then the other. Flatten into discs and cover with plastic wrap, Refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
- On a floured surface roll out the larger pastry disc to ¼ inch thickness. Line pastry in the prepared pie dish.
- Pour filling into the pie plate and brush milk/water mixture on the edge of the pastry.
- Roll out other pastry disc to ¼ inch thickness, and cover the top of the pie with it, crimping the edges all around to seal. Cut several vents into the top of pastry with scissors. Chill the pie in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while you preheat oven to 350°F.
- Whisk egg with water. Brush this all over pie crust. Bake for 1 hour or until pie crust has nicely browned and filling is bubbling.
- Store pie in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- You can double the recipe to make 2 pies and freeze the second one after baking.
- Make sure you use all cold ingredients to get a nice and flaky pastry.
- The filling doesn't need to fully cool before it gets added to the pie, but it shouldn't be too hot either. It will reheat as the pie cooks.
- There's no need to par-bake the pie shell. The filling isn't a wet filling.
- If your pastry tears, you can "paste" it together with a bit of milk. Press down to adhere it.
Did you try this recipe? Comment below to let me know ☺️