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These easy meat pies include tender, buttery, flaky pastry wrapped around a flavorful ground beef, cheddar, and caramelized onion filling. Thanks to a couple of shortcuts, the convenient savory hand pies come together quickly and can be assembled in advance for busy weeknight dinners!
Table of Contents
There are so many different types of meat pies — from a classic American pot pie, to a shepherd’s pie (or cottage pie) with potatoes on top, empanadas in Latin America, and Natchitoches meat pies from Louisiana. The list goes on, but today we’re focused on simple-yet-flavorful beef and cheese hand pies with a decidedly American spin!
Beef and Cheddar Hand Pies
Think of these meat pies as savory “Pop Tarts” or “Hot Pockets.” You get a flaky pastry crust filled with ground beef, cheese, and caramelized onions. The hand pies taste a lot like cheeseburgers in neat little packages, and are delicious served alongside pickles, potato chips, French fries, or ketchup for dipping.
The hand pies can easily be prepared in advance and stashed in the freezer until ready to bake, so they’re a convenient option when serving a crowd, when you need a quick afternoon snack for one or two, or when you’re trying to get a homemade dinner on the table at the end of a busy weeknight. You can’t beat a fun, easy meal that the kids will enjoy, too!
Ingredients for Ground Beef Hand Pies
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a delicious meat pie. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Ground beef: the base of the meat pie filling. Sub with other ground meat (such as turkey, pork, chicken, or sausage) if you prefer.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper: to enhance the other flavors in the dish.
- Cayenne pepper: an optional ingredient that makes the filling a little bit spicy.
- Salted butter: for caramelizing the onions.
- Sweet onion: adds savory flavor and sweetness to the filling.
- Garlic, thyme, and parsley: for even more fresh, savory flavor.
- Worcestershire sauce: provides salty, umami flavor that pairs really nicely with the beef. Soy sauce would be a fine substitute.
- Dijon mustard: for a bit of bright, zesty tang. Yellow mustard would work, too.
- Sharp cheddar cheese: I use a package of pre-shredded cheese for a shortcut, but you can use a block of cheddar that you grate by hand instead.
- Refrigerated pie crust dough: you can make your own pie crust dough from scratch; however, we think that Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts are a wonderful shortcut.
- Egg: to brush the pastry before baking, which creates a golden brown crust with a little bit of shine.
How to Make Meat Pies
With help from a package of store-bought pie crust and a bag of pre-shredded cheese, these meat pies are fairly easy to assemble. Make them in advance and stash them in the freezer for low-stress evenings!
I’ve included detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Cook the ground beef filling.
- Cut out the pastry dough rounds. Re-roll the scraps with a rolling pin if necessary in order to get about 8 rounds from each crust.
- Stuff the rounds with the meat mixture, using a fork to crimp and seal the edges.
- Chill in the freezer.
- Cut small slits in the top of each pie to vent, and then brush with egg wash.
- Bake until golden brown.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the savory meat pies with ketchup, mustard, or honey mustard for dipping. They’re also great with any of these sides:
- Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
- Baked Potato Wedges, Crispy Parmesan Potatoes, or Old Bay Roasted Potatoes
- Wedge Salad, Southern Caesar Salad, Classic Caesar Salad, House Salad with Candied Pecans, Kale Apple Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing, Mixed Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, or a Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
- Easy Potato Salad or Easy Pasta Salad
- Tomato Salad with Basil and Balsamic or Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Salad
- Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon or Southern-Style Green Beans
- Broccoli Cauliflower Salad or Broccoli and Cheese
- Fried Apples or Baked Apple Slices
- Fried Cabbage with Apples and Onion, Braised Red Cabbage, or Roasted Cabbage
- A bowl of French Onion Soup, Minestrone Soup, or 30-Minute Tomato Basil Soup
Preparation and Storage
- Make Ahead: Assemble the meat pies as instructed through Step 4. Freeze until firm, and then wrap each pie individually in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, cutting slits and brushing with egg right before baking. You may need to add a couple of extra minutes to the total baking time.
- Storage: Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They don’t even get too soggy!
- How to Reheat: Arrange the baked hand pies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 325°F until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if they start to get too brown on top.
Meat Pies Recipe Variations
- Use ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork, or ground sausage for the meat pie filling.
- Swap out the cheddar cheese and try other good melting cheeses, such as Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Colby, Colby Jack, American (Velveeta), mozzarella, gouda, Swiss, or gruyere.
- If you don’t have time to wait for the onions to caramelize, no problem. Just cook them until they’re soft and translucent — about 5-7 minutes. They won’t be as sweet and flavorful, but the filling will still taste great!
- Add extra veggies to the filling. Instead of just onion and garlic, you might like finely diced green bell pepper (or other sweet bell peppers), diced celery, or grated carrots.
- Make your own pie crust dough from scratch (you’ll need enough for two crusts), rather than using a package of the store-bought Pillsbury crusts.
Tips for the Best Meat Pie Recipe
- I use a 3 ½-inch round pastry cutter from a set like this, which you can also use for biscuits, cookies, and the like. Trace a small bowl with a sharp knife if you don’t have round cutters, or use a different size round cutter instead. You can make these hand pies as big or as small as you like.
- You might not need all of the filling. If you have extra, enjoy the leftover ground beef mixture on its own, serve it over rice, or tuck it into a sandwich bun.
- Chill the pies in the freezer for at least 5-10 minutes before baking. The cold pastry will yield a flakier crust.
- Don’t skip the egg wash. This helps the outside of the pastry brown nicely and gives the pies a lovely sheen.
More Ground Beef Recipes to Try
Beef Chili Recipe {Classic and Easy!}
1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
Baked Meatballs
1 hour hr 40 minutes mins
Ground Beef Stir Fry with Cabbage
25 minutes mins
Ground Beef and Cheddar Meat Pies
Ingredients
- ½ pound ground beef
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Pinch of cayenne (optional)
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 cup chopped sweet onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 (14.1 ounce) box refrigerated pie crust dough (2 count), softened as directed on box (I use Pillsbury brand)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until browned and crumbly, about 7-8 minutes. Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Remove beef to a plate and wipe out the skillet.
- Add butter to the skillet. When the butter melts, and the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce; cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Dijon mustard, cheddar cheese, parsley, and cooked beef.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the pie crusts from the pouches; unroll on a lightly floured surface. Using a 3 ½-inch round cutter or bowl, cut 8 rounds from each crust (re-roll the scraps as necessary). Place half of the dough rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the dough with about half of the beaten egg. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the beef mixture on each round to within ½ inch of the edge. Top the pies with the remaining 8 dough rounds; press the edges together with a fork to seal. Freeze until firm, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Use a paring knife to cut a small “X” in the top of each hand pie to vent. Brush with remaining beaten egg.
- Bake until golden brown, about 17 to 19 minutes. Let the pies cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
-
- I use a 3 ½-inch round pastry cutter from a set like this, which you can also use for biscuits, cookies, and the like. Trace a small bowl with a sharp knife if you don’t have round cutters, or use a different size round cutter instead. You can make these hand pies as big or as small as you like.
- If you don’t have time to wait for the onions to caramelize, no problem. Just cook them until they’re soft and translucent — about 5-7 minutes. They won’t be as sweet and flavorful, but the filling will still taste great!
-
- You might not need all of the filling. If you have extra, enjoy the leftover ground beef mixture on its own, serve it over rice, or tuck it into a sandwich bun.
-
- Chill the pies in the freezer for at least 5-10 minutes before baking. The cold pastry will yield a flakier crust.
-
- Don’t skip the egg wash. This helps the outside of the pastry brown nicely and gives the pies a lovely sheen.
Which would be better , to freeze these baked or unbaked. Thanks
Hi, Sue! For the best quality, freeze them before baking. Here are the instructions:
Make Ahead: Assemble the meat pies as instructed through Step 4. Freeze until firm, and then wrap each pie individually in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, cutting slits and brushing with egg right before baking. You may need to add a couple of extra minutes to the total baking time.
This is a really nice base to use! Made a bigger batch of this. I used a bit of taco seasoning mix I had on hand vs the cayenne. I separated it… some got corn and black beans, some got broccoli, some got diced green and red bell pepper. I had used crescent roll sheets to sorta do this before. I like this base and using the pie dough better! Served with a garden salad.
Thank you, Scott! We’re glad you enjoyed it!