Food

Our 20 Best Savory Pie Recipes Because Apple Shouldn't Have All the Fun

Nestling hunks of meat, tender veggies, and gooey cheese, savory pies are the perfect all-in-one feast

By SAVEUR Editors

Updated: November 20, 2017

We often associate pies with sweet fillings—apples, cherries, pumpkin. Though these sugary fillings make for the perfect seasonal dessert, a flaky pie crust pairs equally well with savory ingredients. As the ultimate comfort food, a savory pie provides a nice one-dish meal so tasty and filling you don't even need sides. From creamy pot pies to portable hand pies, our best savory pie recipes will surely convince you to swap out the sugar for salt.

Mortadella and Fontina Slab Pie — This flaky, comforting puff pastry hand pie is evil but genius—it tastes like the Italian version of a ham and cheese croissant, but without the labor of from-scratch pastry. Mortadella, a pork-based deli meat with pistachios and delicate morsels of pork fat, is available at many grocery stores, and Italian markets. Get the recipe for Mortadella and Fontina Slab Pie »Stacy Adimando

Italian Easter Pie (Pizza Gain, a.k.a. Pizza Rustica) — Sometimes called pizza rustica or Easter pie, this savory southern Italian pie—eaten around the holiday—incorporates chopped cured salamis and Italian cheeses into a dense, eggy filling surrounded by a pastry-like crust. It's most delicious eaten warm the same day it's baked, but leftovers (which you are almost certain to have) will keep for 4 to 5 days. Get the recipe for Italian Easter Pie (Pizza Gain, a.k.a. Pizza Rustica) »Matt Taylor-Gross

Crawfish Pie — Firm and sweet, crawfish meat goes well just about anywhere you'd use lobster; here, it's combined with peppers, celery, tomatoes, and cayenne pepper and baked in a flaky pastry dough for a spicy twist on pot pie. This recipe first appeared in the tablet edition of our April 2014 issue with Felicia Campbell's story Born on the Bayou. Get the recipe for Crawfish Pie »Helen Rosner

Easter Lamb Pie — These moist lamb pies are popular in Sicily during Easter celebrations. This recipe appeared in our March 2011 issue as a part of our special feature, Soul of Sicily. Get the recipe for Easter Lamb Pie »Zoe Schaeffer

Chicken Pot Pie — This recipe for old-fashioned chicken pot pie, an adaptation of one in James Beard's American Cookery (Little, Brown; 1980), originally appeared in the September/October 1995 issue of SAVEUR. It's still one of our favorites. Get the recipe for Chicken Pot Pie »Laura Sant

Beef Short Ribs Empanadas — In his version of Chilean empanadas, chef Rodolfo Guzmán of Boragó replaces lean ground chuck with rich beef short ribs, which make each bite tender. Get the recipe for Beef Short Ribs Empanadas »Justin Walker

Beef Cheek and Stout Pie with Stilton Pastry, British Pies — "If making a pie, one should make it indulgent," says chef Daniel Doherty of London and New York's Duck & Waffle. He follows his own advice for this meat-stuffed pie with a pungent crust. Get the recipe for Beef Cheek and Stout Pie with Stilton Pastry »Bill Phelps

Chicken Pot Shepherd's Pie — Give this comfort food staple the best of both worlds by topping a rich chicken stew with mashed potatoes and puff pastry. Get the recipe for Chicken Pot Shepherd's Pie »Farideh Sadeghin

Marion Buote's Meat Pie — This flaky double-crust pie, from Prince Edward Island resident Marion Buote, is filled with a sumptuous beef, chicken, and pork stew. Get the recipe for Marion Buote's Meat Pie »Gemma and Andrew Ingalls

Bobotie (South African Meat Pie) — This Cape Town specialty generally consists of spiced meat mixed with chutney and tamarind paste and milk-soaked bread, poured into a dish, topped with a custard of egg and milk, and baked until it's golden on top. Get the recipe for Bobotie (South African Meat Pie) »Todd Coleman

Stargazy Pie (English Sardine Pie) — In this whimsical Cornish dish, whole sardines poke their heads through the crust of a savory pie filled with bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and a mustard-laced custard. Get the recipe for Stargazy Pie (English Sardine Pie) »André Baranowski

Rabbit and Crawfish Stargazy Pie, British Pies — In this whimsically constructed pie from restaurateur and cookbook author Mark Hix, rabbit and sweet crawfish form a thick, creamy, cider-rich sauce under a biscuit-like beef suet crust. Get the recipe Rabbit and Crawfish Stargazy Pie »Bill Phelps

Jerusalem Artichoke and Comté Pasties, British Pies — Pasties were originally made for miners—they could hold the pies' thick edging with dirty hands and discard it after eating. James Lowe updates the pedestrian pasty by marrying tender, earthy tubers with melty cheese for the filling. Get the recipe for Jerusalem Artichoke and Comté Pasties »Bill Phelps

Tourtière (Québécois Meat Pie) — The recipe for this French Canadian classic came from Saveur kitchen assistant and resident Canadian Anne-Marie White. "This is my favorite kind of rustic home cooking," she says, "and the apple cider and warming spices make it a perfect holiday dish." Get the recipe for Tourtière (Québécois Meat Pie) »Maxime Iattoni

Bacon and Egg Pie — This New Zealand combination of flaky pastry, canary-yellow yolks, and salty bacon has cross-cultural appeal. Get the recipe for Bacon and Egg Pie »Penny De Los Santos

Mustard Tart — Two kinds of mustard bring bright, tangy, and savory notes to this quiche, which is full of vegetables and less heavy than the standard. Recipe adapted from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Get the recipe for Mustard Tart »Farideh Sadeghin

Moroccan Pigeon Pie (B'stilla) — This sumptuous Moroccan starter—a spiced poultry pie enriched with scrambled eggs and decorated with ground almonds, sugar, and cinnamon—is typically served at weddings and other festive occasions. Traditionally the pastry known as warqa and bone-in pigeon are used to make b'stilla, but phyllo and chicken thighs, quail, or Cornish game hen make excellent substitutes. This recipe first appeared in our November 2014 issue with the story Not-So-Humble Pie. Get the recipe for Moroccan Pigeon Pie (B'stilla) »Andre Baranowski

Manresa Quiche — One of the best quiches we've ever tasted comes from Avery Ruzicka, the head baker of Manresa Bread. She gives the filling a velvety texture by adding a touch of flour and baking it long in a relatively cool oven; she also adds in plenty of soft cheese for good measure. For a flavorful, buttery crust, use a mix of whole grain flours and leave your butter in large chunks, not pea-sized pebbles. Get the recipe for Perfect Blue Cheese Quiche With Whole Grain Crust »Matt Taylor-Gross

Bstilla — B'stilla, a North African meat pie, is traditionally made with poultry. Cookbook author Suzanne Zeidy's take includes veal and caramelized pearl onions. When ordering the veal for this recipe, have your butcher remove the bone. Get the recipe for Veal and Pearl Onion B'Stilla »Matt Taylor-Gross

Shepherd's Pie — In this pub staple, gravy is added to minced meat, onions, and any vegetables on hand and topped with a buttery mound of mashed potato is dolloped on top. Get the recipe for Shepherd's Pie »Penny De Los Santos

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