An easy to make, crowd-pleasing, mini meat pies recipe, featuring shortcrust pastry cups filled with meat and baked with a cheese topping. Perfect as a party snack!
As we approach the winter months, it can only mean it’s time for hearty pies. You’ve got to love a good meat pie – warming and hearty flavours paired with buttery pastry…even the thought of it makes me drool already! There are all these different types of pies out there, so many variations when it comes to fillings, and all never fail to put a smile on one’s face. In this post, I’m sharing one of my favourite pie recipes to make that’s been loved by my siblings – Mini Meat Pies.
A mixed concept
The concept of this pie is almost a blend of a classic meat sauce and chilli con carne. It’s more inclined towards a classic meat sauce flavour-wise. But since I’ve added baked beans in there as well, I think the best way to describe it is to refer to having a chilli con carne influence.
I simply go with a tin of classic Heinz baked beans. Personally, I like the sweetness and a more tomato-y flavour. Alternatively, a more barbecue-y sauce base should work too! As for the choice of meat, I usually use beef mince, but lately, I’ve been using Quorn mince and it works very well here as a pie filling.
Making pastry cups
I use ready-to-roll shortcrust pastry for these pies. First, I mould them on the back of my muffin tin to form the pie crust and bake them till golden. Then I simply scoop in the meat mixture into each pie crust, top it with cheese, and bake till the cheese melts. I kept them as an open pie but if you like to play around with pie designs, be my guest! Me, for one, am rather terrible at handling pastry so keeping them open is a way to hide my limitation (shh, don’t tell anyone).
Why do I like making these so much? They’re really easy to make. Mini sizes mean quicker cooking time either and also making them great party snacks. Most importantly, they tasted great! My youngest sister actually doesn’t like baked beans but she went for seconds for this pie. Hopefully, that’s enough credentials for you to follow me!
How to make Mini Meat Pies
Essentially, there are three parts to making these Mini Meat Pies. (1) Making the pie crust. (2) Making the meat filling. (3) Assembling the pie.
Ingredients:
- Beef Mince (or Quorn mince)
- Garlic, finely chopped
- Red Chilli Flakes
- Onion, chopped
- Paprika
- Chilli Powder (optional)
- Oregano
- Tomato Paste
- tinned Chopped Tomatoes
- tinned Baked Beans
- Bay Leaf
- Salt & Black Pepper
- Fresh Parsley Leaves, chopped
- Cheddar Cheese, grated
- Read-to-roll Shortcrust Pastry
- Egg (for egg wash)
Instructions
(1) Making the pie crust
First, preheat oven to 200C.
Roll out the shortcrust pastry and cut into 4-inch circles using a cookie cutter. I actually do not have a cookie-cutter so I first slice them into even square slices. Then, I roll each square into a ball and flatten it out as a circle.
Grease the backside of a muffin tin and then press each pastry circle onto the backside of each muffin tin cup.
Brush with egg wash and bake on the top rack of the oven for 15 minutes until golden. Set aside and let cool down before removing them from the tin.
Making the Meat Filling:
Meanwhile, heat cooking oil in a pot over medium heat. Cook garlic and chilli flakes for a minute until fragrant.
Add the chopped onions and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the mince, breaking up any lumps, and cook for 5-10 minutes until browned.
Season with salt, black pepper, paprika, chilli powder (if using), and oregano.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook until deepened in colour.
Add in the baked beans, followed by the chopped tomatoes, beef stock, and bay leaf.
Bring to a boil. Then turn to medium-low heat, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes until reduced.
Stir in chopped parsley and cook for another 5 minutes before removing from heat.
Assembling the Pie:
Preheat oven to 200ยฐC again if your oven has cooled down.
Scoop the meat mixture into each pastry cup until filled up. Top with grated cheddar cheese.
Bake at the top rack of the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and turned golden.
Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Mini Meat Pies Recipe
Equipment
- Muffin Tin
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Pie Filling:
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Chilli Flakes
- 1 Onion chopped
- 300 g Beef Mince
- 415 g tinned Heinz Baked Beans
- 1 tsp Paprika
- ยฝ tsp Chilli Powder optional
- 1 tsp Oregano
- Salt & Black Pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 400 g tinned Chopped Tomatoes
- 1 cup Beef Stock
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley Leaves chopped
- 1 tbsp Cooking Oil
- Cheddar Cheese grated
Ingredients for Pie Crust:
- 3 sheets Ready-to-Roll Shortcrust Pastry
- 1 Egg for egg wash
Instructions
Making the Pie Crust:
- Preheat oven to 200ยฐC.
- Roll out the shortcrust pastry and cut into 4-inch circles using a cookie cutter. Alternatively, you can first slice them into even square slices, ten roll each square into a ball and flatten it out as a circle.
- Grease the backside of a muffin tin and then press each pastry circle onto the backside of each the muffin tin cup.
- Brush with egg wash and bake on the top rack of the oven for 15 minutes until golden. Set aside and let cool down before removing them from the tin.
Making the Pie Filling:
- In a large pot, heat cooking oil over medium heat.
- Add garlic and chilli flakes. Cook for a minute until fragrant.
- Add chopped onions and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
- Stir in the mince, break up any lumps, and cook until browned.
- Season with salt, black pepper, paprika, chilli powder (if using), and oregano.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook until deepened in colour.
- Add in the baked beans, followed by the chopped tomatoes, beef stock, and bay leaf.
- Bring to a boil. Then turn to medium-low heat, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes until reduced.
- Stir in chopped parsley and cook for another 5 minutes before removing from heat.
Assembling the Pie:
- Preheat oven to 200ยฐC again if your oven has cooled down.
- Scoop the meat mixture into each pastry cup until filled up. Top with grated cheddar cheese.
- Bake at the top rack of the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and turned golden.
- Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
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