Homemade Mini Meat Pies have a delicious flaky pie crust, are simple and quick to make, and great for lunch boxes, parties, picnics, and snacks. freezer friendly too!

I do love meat pies! They're very straightforward and simple to make, and you can use shop-bought pastry, or make it from scratch using our tutorial on how to make pie dough for the flaky pastry, which is what I prefer to do. It's so satisfying to make your own pastry and it is very easy and quick too! 

For this recipe, I decided to make mini meat pies, using a cupcake pan because I was hosting a party and wanted to make something which would be freezer friendly and that I could make ahead too. You can freeze these before or after baking, and simply pop in the oven when you need them.

The advantage of making mini meat pies is portion control, so you know roughly how many to make for the number of people you're serving, and if there's just the two of you at home, or you have young ones and want to make these for lunch boxes, pop them in the freezer after baking and you can just defrost what you need and serve them warm for lunch or they're just as delicious eaten cold. 

If you want to make a large homemade meat pie instead of mini ones, I would suggest using a 6-inch baking pan or ovenproof dish.  The bake time will be a little longer, around 40 minutes, so keep an eye on the pie whilst it's baking. I would also double the pastry so you have plenty to line the inside and top of your pie dish. 

Here, you can find out how to make pie pastry from scratch for your meat pie, and the filling I have used is ground meat, with an equal mix of half beef and half pork. The pork adds a little fat so this will help to keep the pie succulent and moist.

For the pastry, I have used our Lovefoodies Shortcrust Pastry recipe. This, in my opinion, is by far the best pastry to use for making this meat pie. The pastry is light and crispy, a little flaky and buttery. 

As far as the filling goes for these homemade mini meat pies, I've left it very flexible for you to add some ingredients you enjoy the most.

What seasonings can you add for the meat pie filling?

When I made these, I used a bit of fresh thyme, and some red onion chutney, and a handful of fresh cranberries which I had bought in the run-up to Christmas.  You could add a different herb, such as oregano or basil, and instead of chutney, perhaps a couple of tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce and a pinch of a spice such as a curry powder, or chili powder. Really, you can make the flavorings however you choose, so don't be afraid to swap some of the flavors around a bit to suit! 

So let's get straight to the recipe and see how to make these delicious homemade mini meat pies. Please enjoy!

Prep Time

20 Minutes

Cook Time

25 Minutes

Serves

12- 16 

Ingredients

The Pastry

8 oz or 225 g defrosted Shortcrust Pastry or make your own with these ingredients
8 oz or 225 g plain flour
5 oz or 150 g cold butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp cold water

The Filling

8 oz or 250 g FINE ground meat, half beef, half pork.
1 egg
Fresh herbs of your choice. I used half teaspoon fresh thyme leaves.
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons of your favorite Chutney
OPTIONAL: Add a handful of chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
1 egg (for egg wash)

Instructions

1. Make the pastry as follows: (If using ready made pastry, skip to STEP 8 )
Mix sieved flour, and salt in a large bowl. Add cubes of butter.

2. Rub in fat using the tips of your fingers until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Aerate the flour by lifting (with your fingertips) the mixture above the bowl and allowing to fall back through the fingers.

3. Once the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, make a well in the middle and start by adding the beaten egg and 1 tablespoon of cold water.

4. Using a metal round-bladed knife, stir the mixture and combine well before adding a further tablespoon of water.

5. Once the mixture starts to go lumpy, use your hand to combine the mixture. Try not to handle the dough too much as it will lose its lightness and crumbliness once cooked.

6. Keep combining with your hand, adding a tiny bit of water as you go if necessary. Don’t worry at this stage if you think it’s too dry. Your instinct is to add lots more water, but trust me, DON’T! The more you mix it, the dough will come together. Be patient!

7. The ultimate goal is to have the mixture come together into a ball, your bowl should be completely cleaned from pastry, (i.e. it is not sticky and gluey), and the dough should be dry enough it doesn’t stick to your hands, and quite stiff.

Every brand of flour is different and absorbs liquid at different amounts, so it is difficult to be precise with how much water you will need so add a little at a time.

8. Once your dough is ready you can place it in the fridge for 20 minutes to rest.

9. Meanwhile, Preheat the oven to 375 F or 190 C. Grease the cupcake pan very well.

Add all the filling ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine well.

10. Once the pastry has had time to chill, roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of 5 mm.

11. Take 2 round cutters, one large one to fit the cupcake mold and the other cutter, slightly smaller to fit as a lid for each pie.
If you don't have any cutters, see if you have any glasses of different sizes and use those!

12. Using your cutters, cut a large and a small circle of pastry and continue until you have enough to fill your cupcake pan. You may need to re-roll the pastry offcuts and continue. 

The cookie cutters you see in the photos are from my grandmother. They have a fluted edge and also a straight edge so you can choose which you like when you use them.

If you have any small offcuts of pastry after you have cut all the circles you need, make some decorations using a sharp knife, cut some shapes out!

13. Place each large pastry circle in the cupcake pan and gently push down. 

Then add a tablespoon of filling into each mold. 

Brush the edges with egg wash then gently press the pastry lid onto each pie.

14. Take a pair of scissors and snip in the center of each pie to create a little air vent. this will allow the pastry to puff up and not be soggy whilst the filling is cooking.

15. Brush the lids with the remaining egg wash 
If you made any decorations from your pastry offcuts, add those now and brush over with egg wash.

and put in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the pastry has puffed and is golden.

16. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then turn out on to a cooling rack or serve hot.

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our Homemade Mini Meat Pies recipe. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

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