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Australian · New Zealand

Aussie meat pie

Non-vegetarian

A family-sized pie with a crisp shortcrust base and flaky puff lid around a rich minced beef and gravy filling — best with a dollop of tomato sauce.

Aussie meat pie is an Australian pastry, ready in about 2 hours 50 minutes and made with ground beef and all-butter puff pastry. It serves 8 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep
40 min
Cook
1 h 10 min
Rest
1 h
Total
2 h 50 min
Serves
8
Level
Intermediate
Calories
596

Ingredients

8 servings

For the shortcrust base

For the filling

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Pulse 250 g flour, ½ tsp salt and the butter to fine crumbs, then add the ice water until the dough clumps. Flatten into a disc, wrap and chill 30 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion (opens in a new tab) until soft. Add the beef and brown well, breaking it up. Sprinkle over the remaining 30 g flour and stir 1 minute.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the stock, tomato paste (opens in a new tab), worcestershire, soy sauce (opens in a new tab), thyme (opens in a new tab), pepper (opens in a new tab) and remaining salt. Simmer, stirring, until thick and glossy, about 15 minutes. Cool completely (chill to speed this up).

    • 15 min
    • medium-low heat

  4. Step 4

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 200 °C with a tray inside. Roll the shortcrust to line a greased 23 cm pie dish (opens in a new tab), fill with the cold mince, brush the rim with egg (opens in a new tab) and cover with the puff pastry (opens in a new tab). Press to seal, trim, cut a steam hole and brush with egg.

  5. Step 5

    Bake on the hot tray until the lid is puffed and deep golden and the base is crisp, 35–40 minutes. Rest 10 minutes and serve with tomato sauce.

    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Australia · Commonly attributedDescended from British meat pies; the hand-held mince-and-gravy pie is an icon in both Australia and New Zealand.Also popular in New ZealandMore food from Australia
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Pastries · Main courses
Cooking method
Oven-baked, Simmered
Taste
savoury, umami, buttery, peppery
Diet
No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Freezer-friendly · Make-ahead · Child-friendly
Cook more with
Ground beef · All-butter puff pastry · All-purpose flour · Unsalted butter · Onion · Beef stock
Techniques
Baking · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom unsalted butter, all-butter puff pastry
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Fishfrom worcestershire sauce
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, soy sauce, all-butter puff pastry
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, all-butter puff pastry
  • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce
  • May contain: Mustardfrom tomato ketchup
  • May contain: Celeryfrom beef stock, worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom worcestershire sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

596 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 242 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 15%
  • Carbohydrate 29%
  • Fat 56%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy596 kcal247 kcal
Protein21.9 g9.1 g
Carbohydrate42.8 g17.7 g
Net carbohydrate41 g17 g
Sugars2.1 g0.9 g
Added sugars——
Fibre1.8 g0.8 g
Fat37.1 g15.4 g
Saturated fat15.2 g6.3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol108 mg45 mg
Sodium686 mg284 mg
Salt equivalent1.7 g0.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
480 mg
Calcium
43 mg
Iron
4.6 mg
Magnesium
36 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
123 µg
Vitamin C
2 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
1.7 µg
Folate (DFE)
149 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: tomato ketchup.
  • All-butter puff pastry: Frozen puff pastry (FDC 172790). Shop-bought puff pastry varies; some brands use vegetable fat.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • A hot tray under the dish helps the base crisp rather than go soggy.

Common mistakes

  • Filling the pastry with hot mince melts the butter and gives a soggy crust.

Serve with

  • Serve with mashed potato and peas, or 'pie floater' style in pea soup.

Food safety

  • Chill the cooked filling before it goes into the pastry; don't leave it to cool on the counter for more than 2 hours.
  • Reheat slices until the filling reaches 74 °C.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 3 days, or freeze baked pie for 2 months.

Reheating

  • Reheat in a 180 °C oven for 20–25 minutes; avoid the microwave, which softens the pastry.

Variations

  • Steak and mushroom pie: Use slow-braised diced chuck steak and mushrooms instead of mince.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 4

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 50 min

    Keep the butter and dough at the same cool, pliable temperature; chill between folds.

  2. Rest · about 30 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 40 min at 200 °C

    Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).

  4. Cool · about 10 min

    Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

  5. Start to finish: about 2 h 10 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Crust too hard or thick

    Likely causes

    • Baked too long at too low a temperature
    • No steam at the start

    What to do

    • Bake hotter for a shorter time
    • Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
    • Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust

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