For the times when you need a hearty, homecooked meal, it's worth having some British pie recipes in your back pocket. These type of traditional dishes make wonderful family meals as most of them can be bulk-made or prepared in advance.
Whether you’re an apple pie lover or prefer a meat and potato dinner or a fish pie, we’ve put together the most delicious and popular British pie recipes.
The best British pie recipes 2024
Cottage pie
Cottage pie contains beef meat and is a classic British favourite. It’s fairly cheap to make and stores really well in the freezer. You could even switch the mince beef for veggie mince if you’re trying to cut down on red meat. This simple recipe from Tesco serves 4 and takes 45 minutes to cook.
Serves 4 | prep time: 20 mins | cook time: 45 mins
Ingredients
•1 tbsp olive oil
**•**1 onion, finely diced
•2 carrots, finely diced
•1 celery stalk, finely diced
•1 garlic clove, minced
•500g beef mince
•1 tbsp tomato puree
•400g tin chopped tomatoes
•1 beef stock cube
•1 bay leaf
•100g peas
•1 kg (2lb) Maris piper potatoes
•50g butter, cubed
Method
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and in a large frying pan, heat the olive oil. Saute the onion, carrot, celery and garlic on a medium heat until softened, then add the beef mince. Turn up the heat for 4-5 minutes and fry until the mince is browned.
Meanwhile, peel, halve and boil the potatoes for 20 minutes or until soft. Drain and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, 160°C. Add the tomato puree, tinned tomatoes, stock cube, bay leaf and salt and pepper to the mince mixture. Fill the tomato tin with water and add that as well. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes to reduce. Add the peas at the last minute and mix through. Remove the bay leaf.
Once the potatoes have steamed, mash them well with plenty of salt and the butter cubes until the butter is melted and mixed through. Pour the mince mixture into an ovenproof dish and top with the mash. Use a fork to rough up the top to help it colour. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until piping hot and golden. Serve immediately.
Shepherds pie
Remember, shepherds herd sheep, so Shepherds pie is made using lamb mince. A tasty shepherd's pie is comfort food at its finest. This recipe from Kitchen Stories can be made in individual ramekins for a personal sized portion or in a larger dish for families.
Serves 6 | prep time 30 mins | baking time 20 mins
Ingredients
•500g lamb (ground)
•350 ml chicken stock
•1 kg mashed potatoes
•1 stalk celery
•1 carrot
•1 onion
•1 clove garlic
•1 tbsp tomato paste
•2 sprigs thyme
•2 tbsp flour
•30 g parmesan cheese (grated)
•salt
•pepper
•olive oil for frying
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C/ 392°F. Finely chop onion, garlic, and thyme leaves. Peel carrot and cut into fine dice. Cut celery into fine dice.
Heat some olive oil and sear ground lamb for approx. 2 – 3 min., breaking it up with a cooking spoon. Add onion, garlic, thyme, carrots, and celery and fry for approx. 5 – 8 min. Season well with salt and pepper.
Add tomato paste and fry for approx. 1 – 2 min. Then, add flour and stir constantly for approx. 2 – 3 min.
Add chicken stock and let simmer over medium heat for approx. 10 – 12 min.
Place meat into a large ovenproof dish and spread mashed potatoes evenly on top.
Top with parmesan and bake in preheated oven at 200°C/ 390°F for approx. 20 – 25 min. until golden.
Meat and potato pie
This delicious recipe from Paul Hollywooduses chunky cuts of meaty braising steak along with two different types of potato to add extra flavour and thick, rich gravy too.
Serves 4 | cooks in 30-40 mins
Ingredients
For the suet crust:
•375g self-raising flour
•175g shredded beef suet
•About 250ml very cold water
For the filling:
•2 large onions, chopped
•700g chuck steak (braising steak), cut into 4-5cm chunks
•400g waxy potatoes, such as Estima or Maris Peer, peeled and cut into 4cm chunks
•400g floury potatoes, such as King Edward, peeled and cut into 4cm chuncks
•Salt and pepper
Equipment:
•1.2 litre pie dish
Method
First make the filling. Put the onions and steak in a large pan. Add enough water to just cover them and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat and simmer very gently for 1½ hours.
Add the potatoes to the pan, along with some salt and pepper, and cook for a further 30-35 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and the meat is tender. The gravy should be nicely thickened by the potatoes. Check the seasoning.
Pour off 300-600ml of liquid from the pan – enough to leave the filling nicely moist but not swimming in liquid – and save this to serve as gravy with the pie. Transfer the filling to a 1.2 litre pie dish and leave to cool completely.
Heat your oven to 200°C/gas6.
To make the suet pastry, combine the flour and suet in a large bowl with some salt and pepper. Add most of the water and mix to a soft, slightly sticky dough with one hand, adding more water as needed. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to around 7-8mm thickness. Cut a 2cm wide strip of pastry. Dampen the rim of the pie dish with water. Stick the pastry strip onto the rim and dampen this too. Lay the sheet of pastry on top. Press down the edges to seal and crimp or flute them, trimming off excess pastry.
Bake the pie for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Leave to stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Fish pie
A healthier option is a fish pie recipe. You can add plenty of veg into this pie, and to make it extra nutritious, this recipe from Jamie Oliver uses a root veg topping for added texture, taste and colouring.
Serves 10 | Cooks in 1 hour plus chopping
Ingredients
•200 g alliums (shallots, onions, leeks)
•400 g green veg (courgettes, peas)
•2 kg mixed veg/root veg (potato, carrot and butternut squash)
•30 ml olive oil
•400 g leafy greens (spinach, kale)
•2 litres white base sauce
•1 kg mixed fish (salmon, cod, haddock, pollock) , skin off, scaled & pin-boned, from sustainable sources
Method
Recipe kindly shared by the Tesco Community Cookery School with Jamie Oliver. The recipe has been written to be flexible and scalable up to 50 portions. Note: all veg weights are for trimmed, prepped vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
Peel (or trim) the alliums, then roughly chop. Roughly chop the green veg (if needed). Peel and grate the root veg.
Place a large pan big enough to hold all the ingredients on a medium heat with the oil.
Add the alliums and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the green veg, cook for 5 minutes more, then tip in the leafy greens and leave to wilt for a further 5 minutes.
Pour in the white base sauce, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.
Roughly chop the fish into 2.5cm chunks and stir it through the sauce.
Transfer to a deep oven tray (40cm x 60cm), smoothing it out into the corners.
Scatter the grated root veg over the pie mixture.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
Apple pie
Just like sticky toffee pudding and jam roly poly, Apple pie is a firm favourite pudding here in Britain and it tastes amazing with custard, ice cream or cream. This delicious pie from Mary Berry is full of flavour and the topping has a double crust for extra crispiness.
You can find the full recipe for Mary Berry's apple pie hereon the Yours website.
Banoffee pie
Another sweet choice of pie is banoffee. Mary Berry’s delicious banoffee pie is made using bananas, toffee and chocolate for a match made in heaven from The Happy Foodie.
Serves 8-12
Ingredients
For the base:
•150g (5oz) digestive biscuits (about 10)
•75g (3oz) butter
For the filling:
•75g (3oz) butter
•75g (3oz) light muscovado sugar
•1 x 397g tin of full-fat condensed milk
•1 tsp vanilla extract
For the topping:
•3 small just-ripe bananas
•300ml (10fl oz) double cream
•50g (2oz) dark chocolate, broken into pieces, or 1 tbsp cocoa powder
Essential kit:
•20cm (8in) round
•Spring-form tin with deep sides
•Piping bag (optional)
Instructions
Line the sides of the tin with strips of cling film (using a little water to help the cling film stick) and then line the base with a disc of baking paper.
First make the pie base. Place the biscuits in a freezer bag and finely crush with a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan over a low heat, add the biscuits and combine. Spoon into the base of the tin, pressing down with the back of the spoon to level. Chill for 15 minutes.
To make the filling, heat the butter and sugar in the same pan and stir over a low heat until combined. Add the condensed milk and bring to the boil and boil, stirring continuously, for 2–3 minutes or until dark golden, taking care that the mixture doesn’t catch on the bottom. Do not allow to boil for too long or it will become grainy. Add the vanilla extract and pour into the tin. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
Peel and slice the bananas and arrange in neat rounds on top of the caramel. Whip the cream to soft peaks and spoon or pipe it over the bananas, then level the top before chilling in the fridge for an hour.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over pan of gently simmering water. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Remove the edges of the tin from the banoffee pie, peel off the cling film and transfer to a serving plate, slipping the baking paper from underneath. Zigzag the melted chocolate over the top (if using), making sure it’s cool or it will melt the cream, or dust with cocoa powder.
Mushroom pie
Using a huge range of different wild mushrooms, this pie from Great British Chefs has a real deep and rich flavour. It uses ready made puff pastry so takes all the work out of pastry making. Plus it's also a great vegetarian recipe.
Serves 4 | total time: 1 hr 30 mins
Ingredients
•30g of dried porcini mushrooms, roughly chopped
•1kg mushrooms, wild and cultivated (use at least 4 of porcini, trompettes, chicken of the wood, chanterelles, shiitake, chestnut, field and tiny button mushrooms)
•40g of butter, or use vegan butter if preferred
•5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
•100ml of vermouth, or dry white wine
•2 tbsp of olive oil
•2 large onions, cut into 2cm cubes
•2 fresh bay leaves
•10g of 100% cacao, grated (Willie recommends Venezuela Black Hacienda Las Trincheras)
•soy sauce, 1/2 to 1 tbsp
•1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
•salt
•freshly ground black pepper
•500g of puff pastry
For the stock:
•2 large onions
•3 tbsp of olive oil
•1 pinch of salt
•1 celery heart, roughly chopped
•2 carrots, roughly chopped
•2 bay leaves
•1 pinch of dried tarragon
•2 sprigs of fresh thyme
•2 sprigs of parsley
•mushroom trimmings
•1 tbsp of soy sauce
Method
To begin, make the stock. Cut the onions into 1cm slices. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onions and salt and fry over a moderate heat until they are very brown and caramelised. Take care not to burn them as this will make the stock bitter.
Add all the remaining stock ingredients plus 1 litre of cold water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and leave to simmer for about 1 hour. Strain into a clean pan, return to a gentle boil and continue cooking until reduced to about 300ml liquid. Set aside.
Now prepare the stew. Stir the dried porcini mushrooms into the hot stock and set aside. Pick over and clean the wild mushrooms. Only resort to washing those that you cannot clean with a brush or cloth, such as the trompettes, which often grow in sandy soil. Leave the smaller mushrooms whole, and cut the larger ones either in half or into fat chunks, depending on shape and size
Divide the prepared mushrooms into three batches. Melt about a third of the butter in a large frying pan and cook one batch of mushrooms over a medium heat until starting to soften. Add a little of the garlic with some salt and pepper to taste and a splash of the vermouth or wine and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute. Tip into a bowl and set aside while you cook the remaining batches of mushrooms in the same way.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan or flameproof casserole, add the onion cubes and fry until they are a nutty brown. Pour in the prepared stock, then add the cooked wild mushrooms, the bay leaves and the cacao. Bring to the boil and cook gently over a low heat for 5–7 minutes (don’t overcook or you will lose the individual flavours of the mushrooms). Adjust the seasoning to taste with the salt, pepper and a little soy sauce. Allow to cool completely, then place in a large pie dish.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.
Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 3mm. Cut a long strip off the pastry, just wider than the rim of the pie dish. Wet the rim with a little water, then press the pastry strip down onto it. Brush the strip with a little more water, then lay the sheet of rolled-out pastry on top. Press down firmly along the edges to seal, then trim off any excess. Cut a few slits in the pastry topping and glaze by brushing with beaten egg. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and puffed up. Serve immediately.
Pumpkin pie
This is the ideal pie for the autumn/winter season and is great for using up any leftover pumpkin from Halloween. This can be eaten hot or cold with a big dollop of cream.
You can find the full recipe for this delicious pumpkin pie recipe here on the Yours website.
Chicken pot pie
Made using chicken, vegetables, cream and topped with a flakey and buttery puff pastry lid, this Delish recipe makes the ideal comfort food for cosy night’s in. It also stores in the fridge for up to five days!
Serves 6-8 | prep 0-30 mins | total time 1 hr 45 mins
Ingredients
For the crust:
•375 g plain flour, plus more for surface
•225 g butter, cut into 1.5 cm pieces
•1 tsp. baking powder
•1 tsp. salt
•120 ml ice water (or more, if needed)
For the filling
•4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
•110 g butter, plus more for baking dish
•salt
•Freshly ground black pepper
•2 large carrots, peeled and diced
•1 medium onion, chopped
•3 cloves garlic, crushed
•95 g plain flour
•720 ml low-sodium chicken stock
•60 ml double cream
•150 g frozen peas
•2 tbsp. freshly chopped parsley
•2 tsp. freshly chopped thyme leaves
•Egg wash
•Flaky sea salt
Method
Make dough: Place flour and butter into freezer for 30 minutes before starting crust process. In a large food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until pea-sized and some slightly larger pieces form. With the machine running, add ice water into feed tube, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough just come together and is moist but not wet and sticky (test by squeezing some with your fingers).
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, form into 2 balls, and flatten into 2 discs (making sure there are no/minimal cracks). Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Cook chicken: Preheat oven to 200°C (180ºC fan). Grease a large baking dish with butter and grease one side of a large piece of parchment with butter. Season chicken all over with salt and pepper then place in baking dish. Place buttered side of parchment paper over chicken, so that chicken is completely covered. Bake until chicken is cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes. Let reset 10 minutes before cutting into cubes.
Meanwhile, start filling: In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and carrots and cook until vegetables are beginning to soften, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, then stir in flour and cook until the flour mixture is golden and beginning to bubble. Gradually whisk in chicken stock. Bring mixture to a boil and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in double cream, cubed chicken, peas, parsley and thyme. Season mixture with salt and pepper.
Assemble pie: On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disc of dough into a large round about half a centimetre (¼”) thick. Place in a shallow pie dish then add filling. Roll out second disc of dough into a large round about half a centimetre (¼”) thick and place on top of filling. Trim and crimp edges, then use a paring knife to create slits on top. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Reduce heat to 190°C (170ºC fan) and bake pie until crust is golden, about 45 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Lemon meringue pie
This zingy retro dessert from Sainsbury's is both sweet and sharp on the tongue and will most definitely make your mouth water.
Serves 8-10 | prep 55 mins | total time 1 hr 50 mins, plus chilling and cooling
Ingredients
•100g cold unsalted butter, diced
•200g plain flour
•25g icing sugar
•1 large egg yolk (optional)
•For the filling
•5-6 unwaxed lemons
•40g cornflour
•150g caster sugar
•4 large egg yolks, beaten
•40g unsalted butter, diced
•For the meringue
•4 large egg whites
•2 tsp cornflour
•225g caster sugar
Method
Rub the butter into the flour, adding a good pinch of salt, then stir in the icing sugar. Mix the egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of cold water and stir in with a knife, adding extra water if necessary (or if not using the egg yolk), then bring the dough into a ball by hand. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and line a deep 23cm flan tin, pressing in well and trimming off the excess pastry. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6.
Fill the pastry case with a sheet of crumpled baking paper and baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes on a baking tray. Remove the paper, press the pastry down gently and return to the oven to bake for 7-10 minutes until pale golden and crisp. Remove and cool.
Meanwhile, finely grate the zest from 4 lemons (see tip below, if you want to make a candied lemon zest garnish with the rest of the zest). Put the grated zest in a saucepan with the cornflour and caster sugar.
Squeeze the juice from the lemons – you need 175ml for a good balance of sweet and sharp, so measure this into a measuring jug, then make up to 375ml with water. Gradually add to the pan, stirring or whisking until smooth. Bring to a simmer, stirring until it thickens, then cook for 2 minutes to cook out the rawness of the cornflour. Remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolks, followed by the butter.
Press through a sieve to remove the zest and any eggy bits that may have formed, then smooth into the tart case and leave to cool completely. It will only come about half-way up the pastry case, leaving enough depth to hold the meringue topping.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 150°C, fan 130°C, gas 2. In a sparklingly clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, starting with the mixer on slow, then gradually increasing the speed (starting slowly gives a more stable meringue).
Once you have stiff peaks, add the cornflour, then add the sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking well between each one. The meringue should be shiny, stiff and not feel grainy. Spoon on top of the cooled filling, making sure you seal to the edges of the pastry case.
Swirl and peak it as you wish; we used a small palette knife to create slight ridges in the meringue. Bake, still on the tray, for 25-30 minutes until the meringue is set and crisp on the outside, but not too browned. Leave to settle and cool for at least 30 minutes before serving either warm or at room temperature.
Traditional steak pie recipe
There's nothing quite like a hearty steak pie to warm you up on a cold evening.
Lorna White is a Senior Digital Writer at Yours.co.uk. She was previously a writer at Yours Magazine writing features and news stories before joining the digital team. Lorna loves the great British countryside and likes to spend her spare time out and about in her home of Nottinghamshire walking her dog, Pippin.