25 Best Savory Pies You Need To Try

Pies are the ultimate comfort food. Filling, tasty, and generally pretty easy to make. If you are feeding a crowd, you can go big or make individual little pies. They tend to freeze well, too… Making them ideal for a make-ahead dish. Pie is a catch-all term, and you’ll find various toppings and casings. Here’s a list of 25 savory pies for next time you are looking to bake something substantial. 

Best Savory Pies To Make At Home

1. Chicken Pot Pie

If you thought making a tasty pie was complicated, think again. We like to use several shortcuts in this recipe to make life simple. First, to make it saucy, we use a can of soup. We appreciate that you often haven’t got time to be making and rolling pastry, so you can use a premade pastry or a complete case without the recipe suffering. You can even use leftover chicken from the previous day! The final cheat is frozen vegetables!

2. Beef and Guinness Pie

If you were in the UK, you might hear this referred to as ‘steak and ale’ pie. The alcohol boils off during the cooking process and what you are left with is a rich and tasty gravy. By slow cooking the beef in the Guinness, it becomes really tender and juicy. Throw in a few potatoes and some other vegetables, and you’ve got a really hearty filling.

3. Pumpkin Hand Pie

I never knew that pumpkins even had hands! No, joking aside, this is a savory version of traditional pumpkin pie. The recipes don’t just contain pumpkin either. We like to roast a few other vegetables such as courgettes and tomatoes to make a handheld treat, ideal for taking to work or eating on the go.

4. Cheeseburger Pie

Bisquick is an absolute Godsend when it comes to baking. It works really well to give a biscuity texture and crust to your pies. It certainly saves a lot of time as it makes a worthy replacement for a pie crust. With added cheese and juicy sections of ground beef, this pie is different and tasty. The outside of the Bisquick mix forms a crust that makes it a little like a flan.

5. Cheese and Onion Pie

Cheese and onion pie is really easy to make and is about as savory as it gets. Cheese and onions are an amazing pairing (just ask any Brit about their favorite choice of potato chips!). If you want to really bring out the flavors, add a small spoonful of English mustard to the recipe. It adds another layer of flavor! The choice of cheese gives you plenty of options too… Use a mixture of strong cheddar and blue cheese for a slice of cheesy heaven!

6. Potato and Meat Pie

This is another classic British variation that is really quick and easy to make. It only needs four ingredients plus the pastry. Fry an onion until soft. Add ground beef and a few chopped-up potatoes and simmer in beef stock for 30 minutes. The potatoes cook and then break down, giving you a thick meaty sauce. We like to serve the pie crust separately to save time.

7. Greek Spinach Pie

Greek Spinach pie is like savory baklava with salty goat’s cheese, garlic, onions, not to mention a fair helping of spinach. This is all packaged up in a phyllo pastry topping. It tastes amazing, but we must warn you it is a little messy, so watch those crumbs. This pie is really nice to eat cold or served with a side salad on a hot day, the ultimate spinach recipe.

8. Chicken Empanadas

Empanadas are the South American equivalent of hand pies. The choice of fillings is phenomenal. Our favorite is chicken spiced with things such as cumin and paprika. We also like to add some chopped chili for a little heat and some cheese to keep it from being too dry. The dough is really simple to make too. If you make a lot, you can freeze individual empanadas to have a savory pastry snack whenever you like!

9. Mushroom and Leek Pie

Leeks are a relative of the onion, so it’s no wonder that they work so well with the cheese filling we add to this pie. We like to pad the filling out with juicy mushrooms. If you want to create something really tasty, use various large and small mushrooms to add a new layer of texture. Our favorite means of serving this dish is to use a premade flan case, but you can easily make your own in a few simple steps.

10. Bacon and Egg Pie

Bacon and egg pie is a dish you’ll find all across New Zealand and Australia. It is like a cooked breakfast, and a pie all rolled into one. It’s pretty simple to make. Just be sure to cook your bacon before you put it into the pie; otherwise, it will be soft instead of crispy. From there, it’s just a case of filling a puff pastry exterior with eggs, onions, and cream before baking to perfection.

11. Broccoli and Cheese Hand Pie

Ok, so these do look a little like empanadas. Still, good luck trying to convince an Argentinian to have cheese and broccoli in a pie! Shredded cheese and sour cream are combined to make something that will keep your pie oozy and juicy. It is up to you whether you use chunks of broccoli or give your filling a quick blitz in a food processor to keep it smooth. A top trick is to chill your filling before folding in the pastry. It is much easier to manage.

12. Shepherds Pie

Made with real shepherds? No, not quite. As pies go, this is classic in some instances, but not in others. Most people will have eaten shepherd’s pie at some point. But the savory lamb and vegetable filling isn’t topped with pastry. Instead, it is covered with a layer of mashed potato. Extra prizes awarded for stroking the potato top gently with a fork before grilling until it turns crispy and golden brown.

13. Ham Pot Pie

Ham is one of those things we all love, but there always seems to be some leftover. If this sounds familiar, cubes of salty ham work really well in a pie, especially when combined with crispy corn, juicy peas, and succulent onions. Oh, don’t forget chicken stock and celery too to make it super juicy!

14. Turkey Pot Pie

If there’s one thing that is leftover after thanksgiving, it is turkey. So turkey can be a little dry, why not combine the leftovers with a few veggies, chicken broth, and a little cream to make something that will keep you feeling full all day. If you are struggling with turkey, feel free to pad your recipe out slightly with a few potatoes or extra vegetables. No one will notice!

15. Fish Pie

Fish pie is very similar to shepherds pie in that it is topped with a layer of golden potato. The best thing about fish pie is that it is really dynamic. There is no right and wrong as to which fish you choose. We tend to go for something that has been smoked, and we crumble a hard-boiled egg over the top before adding our potato’ crust’.

16. Spaghetti Pie

Do you like pie and Italian? If so, this might be the recipe for you. This is a really non-traditional pie. As the name suggests, the crust is actually formed not from pastry or even potatoes but spaghetti. You make a little nest of cooked spaghetti and lovingly place a meat sauce in the middle. From there, it is just a case of baking your recipe until it sets into a pie.

17. Cottage Pie

Cottage pie is a little similar to shepherds pie, except there are a couple of key differences. Tradition dictates that cottage pie is made with ground beef. Whereas shepherds pie is made with ground lamb. We love to top our cottage pie with a fine layer of shredded cheese. When it is placed in the oven, this cheese bubbles then turns golden brown and crispy. 

18. Greek Zucchini Feta Pie

The Greeks are experts at cooking pies using phyllo, and here is another example. The beauty of this pie filling is that as the zucchini roasts, it releases some of its juices, which help keep the pie from tasting too dry. Zucchini is relatively mild in flavor, so we like to include a few handfuls of super-salty feta cheese to keep things interesting.

19. Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese Galette

A galette is a French folded pie where the center is left exposed. Consider it as a sort of cross between a pie and a light stuffed crust pizza. When you’ve got great ingredients like bright orange cubes of butternut squash and salty goat cheese to showcase, you can see why this works. This tart is bright and fresh-tasting, perfect for the summer as much as the winter.

20. Pastelitos de Carne

As the name would suggest, this is another pie with its origins rooted firmly in South America. The good news is that it has made its way north! These differ from empanadas in that the outer shell is made of delicate puff pastry. The ‘carne’ part of the filling comes from the inclusion of ground beef and garlic, olives, onions, and a splash of white wine to keep everything juicy!

21. French-Canadian Meat Pie

If you are looking for something filling and warm to keep you going through the winter months, the Canadians can probably teach you a thing or two. Take this meat pie, for instance. Ok, so it doesn’t fill your plate with color, but it will definitely fill your belly. The best part is that it is simple to make. The key to this recipe is combining two types of meat: ground pork and ground beef. Add a few potatoes and some seasoning, and you are pretty much there.

22. Italian Cheese and Tomato Pie

Well, cheese and tomato work in a pizza, so there is absolutely no reason why it wouldn’t work in a pie! Throw in some fresh basil, and you’ve got a real taste of the Mediterranean. Considering how impressive this dish looks, it contains a few simple ingredients. A few fresh tomatoes, some Italian cheese, and some herbs… It is exceptionally easy to make, especially if you use a premade pie crust or pastry.

23. Steak and Mushroom Pie

If you do one thing with this recipe, let this be it. Make sure you top it with puff pastry! For some reason, the underside seems to soak up all of those delicious savory flavors. And they don’t come much more savory than steak and mushrooms. Oh, and make sure you don’t forget to add a splash of red wine! Save the rest of the bottle to accompany this delicious pie!

24. French-Canadian Salmon Pie

If Canadian rivers are famous for one thing, it is salmon. Why not catch your own… In pastry? This salmon pie is created by combining fresh cooked salmon with potatoes, onions, and seasoning before covering in golden brown pastry. It works particularly well with a lemon and dill bechamel sauce. Watch out for the bones!

25. Irish Potato Pie

Bacon? Onions? Potatoes? All topped off with a thick helping of creamy sauce? It sounds pretty much perfect! This pie is a great way to use up a few leftovers… There certainly won’t be any left after you have made it! The potatoes in this recipe gently poach in the cream (hence the slightly longer cooking time). This prevents the pie from becoming dry. Throw in some crisp and salty shards of bacon, and this is heaven on a plate.

Conclusion

A light summer pie, or perhaps something more hearty for the winter? Either way, our list of 25 savory pies should give you plenty of ideas and options. Some are especially good, dare we say, better when made from the previous day’s leftovers. Can you think of any more that would make our list? Let us know in the comments below.