This homemade Savory Meat Pie recipe is a hearty dish that can easily be prepared ahead of time!
Tender potatoes, onions, and seasoned ground meat are all nestled in a buttery, flaky crust for a truly comforting meal.
What is Meat Pie?
A meat pie can come in many variations depending on location including a shepherd’s pie, cottage pie, kidney pie, or a “pasty”.
This Canadian meat pie, known as tourtiere, is made with pork, beef, or often veal and while it’s a favorite year-round – we especially enjoy it at Christmas time! It has some warm spices, including a hint of allspice and cloves, that give its distinctive flavor. This version doesn’t contain vegetables; however, finely diced carrots or mushroomed can be added.
Ingredients for Meat Pie
Crust – For this recipe, you can use a store-bought double pie crust or a homemade pastry crust.
Meat – I use a combination of ground beef and pork. Veal is a common addition as well, feel free to use all pork, all beef, or whatever you have on hand!
Spices – Both savory and warm spices give this meat pie its traditional flavor.
Potatoes – Mashed potatoes are key in this recipe as they help with consistency and make the filling hold together.
How to Make Meat Pie
Making a homemade meat pie is easy.
- Peel and dice a potato and set it in water to boil. Mash per the recipe below.
- Meanwhile, brown the meat with garlic and onion. Stir in the mashed potato, spices, and broth.
- Place the meat mixture in a pie crust and bake until golden brown.
Serve with a slice of homemade garlic bread and a fresh tossed salad or cucumber tomato salad for a yummy meal!
Tips for the Best Meat Pie
- To save time, use a prepared pie crust and premake the filling. Or premake the entire pie and freeze (before baking) for later.
- To avoid bursting at the seams, cut slits into the top of the pie to allow steam to escape.
- Let the pie rest for 10-15 minutes to allow the juices to reabsorb and the pie to hold its shape better when sliced and served.
Leftovers
To Store: The best way to store a meat pie is to keep it in the pie pan, cover with foil, and store it in the refrigerator.
To Reheat: Scoop a portion onto a microwave-safe plate and heat until piping hot.
To Freeze: Cover it completely and label it with the date. Bake from frozen in the oven for up to an hour and 30 minutes or until it’s bubbly and the crust is browned.
Savory Pie Recipes
Did you enjoy this savory Tourtiere? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Tourtiere (Meat Pie)
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground pork
- ½ pound lean ground beef
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large russet potato peeled & cubed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup beef broth or beef stock
- 1-2 tablespoons bread crumbs if needed
- 1 double pie crust 9 inch
Instructions
- Bring potato cubes to a boil in salted water. Simmer for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain well and mash.
- While potatoes are cooking, brown ground beef, pork, onion, and garlic until no pink remains using a spoon to break it up. Add remaining ingredients (including mashed potatoes) except for pie crust and bread crumbs.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until thickened. Add 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs to help the mixture hold together if needed. Cool for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Line a deep-dish pie plate with the dough and add the meat pie filling.
- Add top crust and seal edges with a fork or your fingers. Add a few slits to allow steam to escape. If desired, whisk 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the egg wash over the crust.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until bubbly and crust is golden.
Notes
- To save time use a prepared pie crust and premake the filling. Or premake the entire pie and freeze (before baking) for later! Then just bake as directed.
- To avoid bursting at the seams, cut slits into the top of the pie to allow steam to escape.
- Let the pie sit for 10-15 minutes to allow the juices to reabsorb and the pie to better hold its shape when sliced and served
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American, French© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
My crust burnt on the edges and I did not see any instructions on how to avoid this. I took strips of tin foil and covered the outside edges for the last 10 minutes.
Hi Christie, tin foil is exactly what we use to help keep the crusts from over browning if needed.
All look delicious! I will try recipe for meat pie first and go from there. Thank you
I remember this dish when Mom and I had lunch at the 17th Century restaurant
Aux Anciens Canadiens during a visit to Quebec
I am now wondering if I should make this for a birthday coming up
It would be a very different approach to her celebration
Thank you!!!!
Those really are the best kinds of memories – if you do decide to prepare this recipe for your Mom’s birthday, I can’t wait to hear her reaction!! Happy early Birthday to your Mom.
I love meat pies, this one is so good.
Turned out great. A tiny bit salty for my particular taste but that is entirely subjective and easily correctable. Thanks for the recipe. It’s a keeper.
This is so good! Mom is French-Canadian, and I made it for her. We all loved it; the mix of spices is great, and I love the mashed potatoes in it. Can’t wait to make it again!
Amazing meat pie, so flavorful!! My kids and I devoured it. I put foil over the top for the last 25 minutes to prevent the crust from burning.
I remember my Chef / Canadian father making this for the family and the aroma which lingered. I made it per this recipe and it was great but just not the same as I new it would not be.
A good recipe just the same.
I added chopped mushrooms (4 medium brown) and celery (3 stalks) and it was the best meat pie I’ve made!
I used https://fromscratchfast.com/easy-gluten-free-pie-crust/ to make both the gluten free and regular crusts and they were perfect!
Living in eastern Canada and married to a French Canadian, I have eaten MANY tourtieres. This is one of the best ever! And it is so easy to make. Thank you!
I am going to make the meat pie tonight. Since there were comments on the high heat 425F which browned the pie edge quickly, just wondering if I should adjust the oven rack to the bottom to begin with or leave it in the middle and cover with foil if that happened?
Thanks for your advice
Hi Lamyk, you can cover the edges of the pie with foil if you see them start too brown too much!
If I am making for a later date, do I freeze then bake from frozen? what temp and how long? so excited to serve these at Christmas like my grandma used to!
I would freeze before baking, then thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as per the directions in the recipe card. If the meat pies are still cold from the fridge, they may need an extra 5-10 minutes of bake time.
Would it be possible to make this a few hours ahead of time and keep in the fridge until baking time or should it be baked immediately?
Yes, this can be prepared and refrigerated. If it’s cold from the fridge, you may need to increase the baking time by a few minutes.
I was planning on making this meat pie and was wondering if I drain the grease from the beef and pork while I’m Browning it?
I don’t drain the fat as it adds extra flavor.
First time making meat pie. First time making a pie, period! This is by far the best tasting meat pie. Tastes just like the Holidays! I will never buy meat pie again. I followed the pie crust recipe on the tenderflake package. My grandmother approved! 10 stars.
Hello,
In place of the pie crust, can I use puff pastry instead?
We have only tried this recipe as written, Damaris, so I can’t say for sure. I think it would work, just adjust the cooking time because puff pastry won’t take as long to cook. Let us know how it turns out!
I used a puff pastry for the top and it was divine!! In fact, M. Wells here in NY does that intentionally and it’s always terrific. I imagine you could do both top and bottom that way. This is a fantastic recipe and easy to customize with other ingredients.
This has become our family’s traditional Christmas fare as everyone LOVES it. It is absolutely delicious! I now have a son-in-law that does not eat pork and curious if you have made using ground lamb. I actually prefer lamb to beef in dishes like shepherds pie but nervous that without the pork it won’t taste as good. Any input appreciated.
I have not tried this recipe with ground lamb but I am sure it would be delicious. We would love to hear how it turns out!