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Beef and Vegetable Pie

This delicious homemade pie has a filling of tender slow-cooked beef, potatoes, carrots in a full of flavour gravy and all encased in golden puff pastry – comfort food at its best! A wonderful family dinner and also great for casual entertaining.

A family sized Beef and Vegetable Pie sitting on top of a resting rack on a dark wooden table with plates, cutlery and napkins in the photo.
Close up of a Beef and Vegetable Pie which is only half in the photo with a knife next to it.

This is a hearty pie that has a very generous filling of beef and vegetables without being too rich.

I wanted to create a pie filling that wasn’t wine based. This one has great flavour from a combination of beef stock, herbs, onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Tomato sauce and spices which are all combined together with the beef and vegetables. They are slow-cooked in the oven to create a flavoursome tender stew, which is then cooled down; ideally overnight in the fridge, and used as a filling for the pie.

A blue Le Creuset Dutch oven filled with Beef and Vegetable filling, cooked and ready to be chilled.
A family size Beef and Vegetable Pie that has had a wedge of pie removed so you can see the filling inside. Behind the pie are white plates, cutlery and a bowl of pea puree.

This recipe makes enough for one large rectangle pie (approx 30cm x 20cm) or 2 round pie dishes (approx 22-24cm round 1.6 litre capacity) and feeds approximately 10 people.

I sometimes make one (1) round pie with half the mixture and then freeze the other half of the filling to use at a later date (1 round pie using half the mixture, feeds 5-6 people).

Preferably, the stew filling is best made the day before you assemble and cook the pie, as it allows the flavours to develop further and a refrigerated/cold filling helps prevent a soggy pastry base. That is not to say you can’t make it on the same day – just make sure the filling has had time to cool down to room temperature at least.

It is a great recipe for a family dinner but also a good dish for casual entertaining. We love serving this pie with a Pea Purée. You can find the recipe for my Pea Purée here. You can make the pie filling up to 2 days before it is required, and then all you have to do is fill the pies on the day, or even the day before they are required.

A round pie dish lined with one sheet of puff pastry.
A round pie dish lined with puff pastry.
Adding strips of extra pastry to the first sheet, to create a sealed base.
A pastry lined round pie dish filled with Beef and Vegetable filling.
The chilled filling is added to the cold pastry base.
2 round pie dishes that are both uncooked and ready to go into the oven. One is decorated with a flower made of pastry and the other has the word 'pie' and a heart on it.
Close up of one of the round Beef and Vegetable pies that is ready to be baked in the oven.
Making a hole or slashes in the pastry lid allows steam to escape when the pie is cooking.
A cooked Beef and Vegetable family sized pie in a red ceramic pie dish, sitting on a wooden table on top of a wire resting rack.

The filling of the pie is delicious and can be served in other ways too:

  • It can be served hot as a stew/casserole with a mash for a family meal.
  • It can also be made as a pie, with just a puff pastry topping/lid (ie. no base or sides).
  • We also sometimes have it served on toast, or use as a filling for toasties or jaffles.

The recipe is straightforward to make, but you do need to allow time for the filling to be slow-cooked in the oven, and cooled, before assembling the pies.

Looking down onto the Beef and Vegetable pie that has had a wedge taken from it, with a bowl of pea puree in the background. There is also a pewter plate with cutlery on top of it and a small jug of tomato sauce.
We love serving this pie with a super simple Pea Purée – dinner sorted!
The family sized round Beef and Vegetable Pie on a dark wood table with white plates and cutlery in the background and a knife beside it.

Beef and Vegetable Pie

This delicious homemade pie has a filling of tender, slow-cooked beef, potatoes, carrots in a full of flavour gravy and all encased in golden puff pastry – comfort food at its best! A wonderful family dinner and also great for casual entertaining.
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Australian, English
Keyword: beef and potato pie, beef and vegetable pie, beef pie, comfort food, dinner, family meal, pie
Servings: 10
Calories: 928kcal
Author: Katrina | Katy’s Food Finds

Equipment

  • Dutch oven or similar heavy based oven-proof pot
  • Large Rectangle Pie dish or lasagne dish (approx 30cm x 22cm) or 2 Round Pie dishes (approx 22-24cm 1.6 litre capacity)
  • Pastry Brush

Ingredients

  • 1 kg Puff pastry frozen, 6 sheets (8 sheets if using rectangle dish) – there will be some wastage

Beef and flour mix

  • 1 kg beef chuck steak 2.5cm cubes
  • 1/2 c plain flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground

Filling

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions diced
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 4 garlic cloves crushed
  • 3 carrots 1cm cubes
  • 2 c beef stock
  • 1 tsp beef stock powder or 1 cube
  • 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 3 tbsp tomato sauce or ketchup
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 thyme sprigs
  • 4 potatoes approx 700g, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes

Egg wash

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tbsp water or milk

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Prep the Beef

  • Put the flour, salt, cumin, paprika and pepper into a glad bag along with the beef and shake to coat all the beef pieces. Set aside.

Filling

  • Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy based Le Creuset pan Dutch Oven or similar oven-proof pot, over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, and 1/2 tsp sea salt and cook for 5 minutes to soften onions slightly. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove the vegetables from the pot and set aside.
  • In the same pot, add another tablespoon of olive oil over medium/high heat, and add 1/2 the beef. Spread out and brown the beef to seal them. Stir so they don't burn. This will only take a few minutes. Remove to a dish and repeat with the rest of the beef adding more oil if required. Once the beef is browned, add all the beef back to the pan, along with the onion mixture, flour, beef stock, beef cube, worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, bay leaves and thyme. Stir well to lift any bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Bring everything to the boil,and once boiling, cover with a lid and place the pot in the preheated oven to cook for 45 minutes.
  • After 45 minutes, remove from the oven and add the potato cubes. Stir to combine and to cover the potatoes. Cover and return to the oven for another hour. Check again after 1 hour and stir mixture. It will probably need another 30 minutes to 1 hour for the beef to be tender and potatoes to soften, so put back in the oven and check again in 30 minutes. Once ready, remove from the oven, discard the bay leaves and thyme sprig, and set aside to cool in the pot. Season to taste if required. Cool to room temperature, and ideally refrigerate overnight before using as a filling for the pies.

To Assemble Pie/s:

  • Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease the pie dish or dishes. Make sure the puff pastry sheets are defrosted but chilled/cold.
  • For a round pie dish: Take one sheet of pastry and place flat in the bottom of the pie dish. Take another sheet of pastry and cut into 4 even strips. Take one of the strips and use it to cover one of the sides by letting it overlap the first sheet slightly, pressing down to seal the join together (see photos). Repeat with the other 3 strips and sides. The pie dish should now be completely covered with pastry and all joins pressed together to seal. Fill the pie dish generously with cold beef filling and spread mixture out. Take a third sheet of pastry and place over the top of the filling to form the top. The lid should cover the whole top and lip of the pie dish, so press pastry together and trim the sides. Use a fork or fingers to crimp the edges to seal. If the pie pastry top doesn’t quite reach all sides, then use the excess pastry on the sides to fold over/roll to enclose the filling (see photos showing both ways). Repeat with second round pie dish. If using a large rectangle dish, then follow the same principles explained here, to cover the dish with pastry, but you may have to use more pastry sheets.
    Decorate the pie however you like with excess pastry pieces. You can also leave it undecorated. Cut out a small hole in the middle of the pastry lid, or make a few slashes as this allows steam to escape when it is cooking.
    Combine the egg yolk and water together. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until golden on top. If the pie is browning too quickly, cover the top loosely with tin foil. Rest for 15 minutes before serving and cutting.

Notes

Ideally this recipe is best started the day before – make the filling and refrigerate overnight, then assemble the pie on the day. The pie can be made and refrigerated, uncooked for a few hours or overnight, if the filling is pre-chilled.
Beef – chuck steak is my favourite cut to use for this pie. Gravy beef is too lean and while you can use boneless beef short ribs, they are a fattier cut of meat.
Beef Stock – good quality store-bought liquid stock is best for this recipe, however you can use beef stock cubes or powder mixed with water (as per packet instructions, to get 2 cups liquid stock). In addition to the 2 cups of liquid stock, the recipe also require an extra cube or teaspoon of stock powder.
Pastry – If you prefer, you can use shortcrust pastry for the base of this pie. I sometimes do, but more often than not, I just use puff pastry. If you do use shortcrust pastry, you can blind-bake it first. I always use puff pastry for the top.
Storage – cooked pies will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in a low oven 150°C – cover loosely with tin foil for first half.
Nutritional facts – the amount of pastry used to calculate the nutritional facts was 1 kg, however this is not the amount used, as there is some pastry that is discarded.

Nutrition

Calories: 928kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 59g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 890mg | Potassium: 995mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3181IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 6mg
Have you cooked one of my recipes? I’d love you to tag me @katysfoodfinds or #katysfoodfinds!

6 Comments

  • Tania Jakins
    June 28, 2020 at 6:35 pm

    5 stars
    I made the filling the day before as recommended, yum! I have never made a pie before and I’m excited to say I nailed it apparently, thank you!

    Reply
    • Katrina
      June 30, 2020 at 9:58 am

      I’m so glad you loved this pie. We love the flavour of this pie too. Welome to the world of pie-making! ☺️ ?

      Reply
  • Jessica Fong
    December 6, 2020 at 10:43 pm

    5 stars
    I have made this pie several times and it is hearty and delicious! I am not an amazing cook but this pie definitely makes a good cook of me! I love that the filling can be prepared the day before making dinner simpler on the night of serving which is especially handy if I’m entertaining guests!

    Reply
    • Katrina
      December 10, 2020 at 10:17 am

      I love when people make my recipes several times. Thank you so much. I love the flavours in this pie and I am delighted that you and your family enjoy it too. Preparing the filling the day before makes things much easier too – glad it makes entertaining easier for you. Katrina x

      Reply
  • Renee
    July 11, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent recipe, everyone loved it! Easy, delicious and very impressive! Will definitely make it again.

    Reply
    • Katrina
      July 19, 2021 at 10:32 am

      Thank you so much Renee. So great to hear you would make this again ?

      Reply

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