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Irresistibly Delicious Irish Meat Pies – An Easy Recipe

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On St. Patrick’s Day make these easy Irish Meat Pies for dinner for an authentic Irish meal. Flaky pie crust is filled with ground sirloin, cabbage, and potatoes and then folded into a hand pie and baked until golden brown.

This is a traditional Irish dish served during the observance of St Patrick’s Day, a religious holiday. It includes meat, cabbage, and potatoes!

This Irish Meat Pie is perfect for weeknight dinners year-round, meals-on-the-go, batch cooking, and lunches for work.

Irish Meat Pies on a plate Pin

Even children will love biting into a savory meat pie.

In about an hour, you’ll have a flaky pie crust, with a warm savory meat filling that you can hold in your hand ready to enjoy!

HOW TO MAKE IRISH MEAT PIES

Flaky pie dough is filled with savory meat, cabbage, and potato filling that is baked until golden brown for a meal the whole family will enjoy!

Are you ready to get started?

You’ll find the specific ingredient amounts and detailed instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of this post.

Irresistibly Delicious Irish Meat Pies

KITCHEN TOOLS YOU MAY NEED

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IRISH MEAT PIES INGREDIENTS

Irish Meat Pies

This savory Irish Meat Pie recipe uses everyday kitchen staples to create a delicious meal your family will love.

All you need is:

  • olive oil 
  • green cabbage 
  • red potatoes
  • ground sirloin 
  • tomato paste 
  • Worcestershire sauce 
  • thyme 
  • Ready to eat pie crust 
  • salt and pepper 

IRISH MEAT PIES RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

Irish Meat Pies Ingredients

Begin by adding diced potatoes and shredded cabbage to a cast iron skillet with two tablespoons of olive oil.

Sautéed cabbage and potatoes

Sautee for 5-7 mins until it begins to turn brown.

Remove from the pan and add ground sirloin into the pan.

Ground Beef and tomato paste

Cook all the way through, then add tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, potatoes, cabbage, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Irish Meat Pies

Cook another 3-4 mins.

Add in ½ cup of water and bring to a boil.

Met Pie filling

Cover and reduce heat to low for 10 mins allowing the potatoes time to become soft.

Stir every couple of mins to ensure no burning.

Once the meat mixture is done and has been seasoned to your liking, let cool.

Irish Meat Pies

Using store-bought or homemade pie crust, cut out circles (3-5 inches in diameter).

Irish Meat Pies

The larger the circle the bigger the pie will be when folded.

Irish Meat Pies with fork

Place the meat mixture on the inner half of the large circle and fold over and press the edges of the pie dough with a fork.

Irish Meat Pies Small

For smaller circles, you can sandwich the meat mixture by enclosing another pie crust on top.

Irish Meat Pies on a wood board

Be sure to cut 3 slits in the top of the crust, to vent the pies.

Irish Meat Pies

Place the pies on a cookie sheet and cook in a 400 F. degree oven for 12-15 mins or until golden brown.

In about an hour, you’ll have a savory meat pie that’s sure to become a new favorite!

Irish Meat Pies cut in half on plate

IRISH MEAT PIES TIPS AND QUESTIONS

If you’ve never made Irish Meat Pies, don’t worry! Below are some common questions and helpful tips.

Hopefully, this will answer any questions you may have. If not, feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll answer the best I can.

HOW LONG DOES IT REALLY TAKE TO MAKE IRISH MEAT PIES?

One of the many reasons I love using pre-made pie dough is because everything you make takes less time. This Irish Meat Pies recipe takes approximately 62 minutes. TOTAL.

This includes:

  • About 10 minutes to dice the potatoes, shred the cabbage, and saute until brown
  • Close to 7 minutes to cook the ground sirloin
  • Around 15 minutes cook the mixture with the rest of the ingredients and boil the potatoes
  • 15 minutes to cut the pie dough, fill with the meat filling
  • 15 minutes to bake the pies until golden brown

HOW DO I STORE IRISH MEAT PIES?

You can store Irish Meat Pies in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 5 days or in your freezer for up to 3 months.

Simply reheat in the microwave, oven, or toaster oven until warm or enjoy at room temperature.

Meat Pies on a table

CAN I MAKE IRISH MEAT PIES AHEAD OF TIME?

Yes, you can easily make Irish Meat Pies the day before serving.

Simply reheat in the microwave, oven, or toaster oven until warm and serve immediately.

You’ll have warm, savory meat pies ready for the family. 

WHAT GOES WELL WITH MEAT PIES?

Irish Meat Pies go well with a wide variety of meals and sides. These recipes would be great to serve together any night of the week.

Some of my personal favorites include:

Irresistibly Delicious Irish Meat Pies

CAN I USE GROUND TURKEY INSTEAD OF GROUND SIRLOIN?

Yes, you can use ground turkey in this recipe instead of ground sirloin. The steps will be pretty much the same.

Ground sirloin is the traditional meat used in Irish meat pies but ground turkey will still taste great. 

WHAT ELSE CAN I ADD TO THIS MEAT PIE RECIPE?

This delicious Irish Meat Pie recipe not only tastes great, but it’s also incredibly versatile.

Try sautéing the potatoes and cabbage plus some diced onion and a minced garlic clove in butter and olive oil for an added depth of flavor. YUM!

Irish Meat Pie

WHAT’S NEXT

I hope you enjoy this Irish recipe as much as my family does!

If you get a chance to try it, let us know! Leave us a comment below, or share it with a picture on Instagram or Facebook! Don’t forget to tag us  @kelly_reci_ and use the hashtag #Kellysthoughtsonthings so we can see what amazing meals you are cooking up!

IRISH MEAT PIE RECIPE

Yield: 8

IRISH MEAT PIE

Irish Meat Pie

On St. Patrick’s Day make these easy Irish Meat Pies for dinner for an authentic Irish meal. Flaky pie crust is filled with ground sirloin, cabbage, and potatoes and then folded into a hand pie and baked until golden brown.

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Bake 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 2 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ head green cabbage, shredded (cut very thin)
  • ¼ pound red potatoes, scrubbed and diced
  • ½ pound lean ground sirloin
  • 1.5 tablespoons tomato paste
  • ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • Ready to eat pie crust
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper, possibly more to suit your tastes

Instructions

  1. Add diced potatoes and shredded cabbage to a cast iron skillet with two tablespoons of olive oil.
  2. Sautee for 5-7 mins until it begins to turn brown.
  3. Remove from the pan and add ground sirloin into the pan.
  4. Cook all the way through, then add tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, potatoes, cabbage, thyme, salt, and pepper.
  5. Cook another 3-4 mins.
  6. Add in ½ cup of water and bring to a boil.
  7. Cover and reduce heat to low for 10 mins allowing the potatoes time to become soft.
  8. Stir every couple of mins to ensure no burning.
  9. Once the meat mixture is done and has been seasoned to your liking, let cool.
  10. Using store-bought or homemade pie crust, cut out circles (3-5 inches in diameter). The larger the circle the bigger the pie will be when folded. For smaller circles, you can sandwich the meat into a mixture but enclosing another pie crust on top.
  11. Be sure to cut 3 slits in the top of the crust, to vent the pies.
  12. Cook in a 400-degree oven for 12-15 mins or until golden brown.

Notes

This is a traditional Irish dish served during the observance of St Patrick’s Day, a religious holiday.

While using a pie crust is traditional, using a can of rolled-out biscuits is a beautiful twist on this already delicious recipe.


Using a various-sized cookie or biscuit cutters worked well with the pie crust, regardless of shape or size.


The biscuit method does not necessarily need an egg wash but the pie crust method will need an egg wash to help achieve a nice golden brown color.


If your family is big on bold flavors, try sautéing the potatoes and cabbage plus some diced onion and a minced garlic clove in butter and olive oil for an added depth of flavor.

Fresh herbs work beautifully in this dish as well as freshly ground black pepper and sea salt

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 218Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 199mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 10g

Nutritional information is automatically calculated with ingredients and serving size and may not be accurate. Please always double check with your own nutritional apps as well.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

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Kelly

Tuesday 26th of March 2024

Question: Can I warm up these meat pie by deep frying?

Kelly R

Wednesday 27th of March 2024

Yes you can.

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