This simple, old fashioned Scottish Steak Pie recipe with a golden puff pasty lid is a classic and so easy to make!
A steak pie is a real Winter warmer and pure comfort food. Serve with mashed/new potatoes and seasonal veg for a hearty, warming meal!
I hope you had a lovely Christmas! We had a lovely quiet, relaxing time – which was exactly what was needed after the crazy December rush! Can you believe it’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow?
Here in Scotland, it’s traditional to have a great big steak pie on New Year’s Day.
Like many others, I’ve often bought a steak pie from my local butchers and they are always delicious, but over the last couple of years I’ve made my own.
I keep things very simple – my steak pie recipe is admittedly a rich and tender slow cooked beef stew with a golden, crispy puff pasty lid on top.
The stew is made from onions, diced beef, gravy and seasoning. That’s it. There is no tomato puree and no herbs because personally, I don’t believe they belong in a Scottish steak pie.
This easy, no frills recipe is exactly how my husband loves it, so I wouldn’t change a thing (I would never get away with it anyway even if I wanted to!)
I make no secret of the fact that I use shop bought puff pastry.
Homemade puff pastry may be delicious, but it is a proper faff to make yourself. I like to make things nice and easy on myself and buy a block of puff pastry from the supermarket.
ingredient list
keep scrolling to find a printable recipe card with detailed instructions, but there’s important information here to help you make this recipe perfectly!
- 800g stewing steak or beef – try and use the best quality you can afford. It will really make a difference!
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
- 1 tablespoon plain (all purpose) flour to thicken the gravy
- two large white onions, peeled and thinly sliced
- 400ml beef stock. I’ll happily admit I use Bisto gravy powder or granules and an OXO cube for extra flavour – just like my Granny and Great Granny did! I also use Bisto in my Scottish mince and tatties recipe.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season to perfection
- 500g block or ready rolled puff pastry
- a beaten egg to glaze the pastry
how to make a homemade Steak Pie
make the filling
- Place the flour in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the diced beef and mix everything together so the beef is evenly coated in the seasoned flour.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the sliced onions and cook on a low-medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the onions have softened, beginning to turn light golden but not brown.
Remove the softened onions from the pan and set aside.
brown the beef
3. Turn the heat up to high and brown the beef cubes in batches, crumbling over the Oxo cube. Sealing (browning) the beef properly will give the best flavour, so it’s worth taking your time here.
4. Pour in the beef stock, place a lid on the pan, turn the heat down to LOW and let it cook on a gentle heat for a minimum of two hours or until the beef is soft, tender and coated in a thick, delicious gravy.
5. At this stage I usually allow the beef stew to cool down completely before chilling overnight. You don’t have to do this, but it really improves the flavour of the stew. It’s also much easier to assemble the pie if the filling isn’t hot.
assembling the pie
6. Spoon the beef stew into a suitable pie dish. I use a rectangular ceramic pie dish and it works very well, but I also recommend these enamel round pie dishes.
7. Roll out the puff pastry (if using a block and it’s not ready rolled, of course) on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out to roughly the same thickness as a one pound coin and make it a little larger than your dish to allow for shrinkage.
8. Dampen the edges of the dish with a little water and place the rolled out pastry on top on the dish. Trim the edges (don’t make it too short because again – the pastry will shrink slightly) and crimp in a decorative fashion. I use my fingers but you could also use a fork.
time to bake
9. If you like, decorate the top of the pie with cut-out shapes from the excess pastry. I used stars for New Year. You don’t have to do this, but I can’t even bear to throw out spare pastry so I just use it up.
10. Glaze the pie with beaten egg. Bake in a pre heated oven (200C/180Fan/400F) for 40-45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and crispy.
serving suggestions
Creamy mashed potatoesΒ is essential for soaking up all that delicious gravy, but you could also have buttered new potatoes or even homemade chips.Β It all depends on your personal preference.Β Β Roast potatoes would also be perfect!
When it comes to vegetables, I think buttered peas, carrots and mashed turnip (swede) is delicious served with steak pie.
make it in advance
Steak pie can easily be made in advance. If you can, make the pie filling a day or two ahead. This is such a time saver. The beef stew will keep well for up to two days in the fridge and the flavour will only improve. Then all you need to do on the day is spoon the cold beef stew into your pie dish and top with the pastry.
Do bear in mind if you assemble the pie when the filling is cold, you’ll need to cook it for 45-50 minutes to ensure the filling is piping hot.
can you freeze steak pie?
Sure! To freeze a steak pie, prepare the pie as instructed (please make sure the filling is completely COLD) but don’t glaze with egg wash. Tightly wrap the whole dish in a double layer of strong cling film or use a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months.
Defrost overnight in the fridge before cooking at 180C/160Fan/350F for 40-45 minutes or until piping hot.
make a steak and sausage pie
In Glasgow it’s traditional to add sausages to a steak pie. It’s not something I’ve ever come across in the Highlands, but I have tried it and can agree it’s delicious!
All you need to do is fully cook the sausages separately – I fry them in a pan until golden – cut them into pieces and add to the pie dish along with the beef stew.
cooking a scottish dinner for hogmanay?
My vegetable Scotch broth would make a great starter along with oatcakes or bread rolls. For dessert, you couldn’t go wrong with Scottish Cranachan and Scottish shortbread!
If you order a cup of coffee after dinner in a Scottish restaurant you’ll often find a piece of super sweet crumbly Scottish tablet on the side.
Want to see more Scottish recipes?
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment – or if you have any questions or need any help, just let me know!
If you made the recipe and loved it, I would really appreciate it if you would leave a rating by clicking on the stars in the recipe card. Thank you!
Scottish Steak Pie
This simple, old fashioned Scottish Steak Pie with a golden puff pasty lid is so easy to make! It's traditional to serve steak pie in Scotland on New Year's Day, but it's perfect for anytime of the year. Serve with mashed/new potatoes and seasonal veg for a hearty, warming meal!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
- 2 Large onions, sliced thinly
- 800g best quality stewing or casserole beef, cut into cubes
- 1 Oxo cube
- 400 ml good beef stock (I use Bisto)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 500g block puff pastry
- flour for rolling out the pastry
- one beaten egg for glazing the pastry lid
Instructions
- Place the seasoned flour in a large bowl. Tip in the beef cubes, tossing it in the flour to ensure it is well coated.
- Heat the oil in a large pan and add the sliced onions. Cook for about 10 minutes over a low-medium heat or until the onions have softened and are beginning to turn light golden but not brown.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions from the pan and transfer to a dish. Turn the heat up and brown the meat in small batches. Crumble in the Oxo cube and transfer the browned meat to a bowl while you do the next batch. It's worth taking your time with this stage - browning the meat properly will give your gravy great flavour.
- When all of meat has nicely browned, tip it all back into the pan along with the onions and pour in the beef stock.
- Turn down the heat to low, cover and simmer for 2-2 1/2 hours or until the beef is very tender and is coated in a thick gravy. I often do this the day before to allow the flavours to develop. Stew always tastes much nicer the next day, doesn't it?
- Pour the beef stew into a large pie dish and preheat the oven to 200C/180Fan/400F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out your pastry a little larger than your pie dish (to allow for shrinking). Place the pastry on top of your pie dish.
- Trim the edges, seal with a fork or crimp with your fingers and brush with beaten egg.
- At this stage you can cut out shapes from the pastry trimmings to decorate the pie, if you like. Bake the pie for 40-45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp.
- Serve with mashed potatoes, carrots and peas (or whatever takes your fancy!)
Notes
To make a steak and sausage pie, shallow fry a pack of 4-5 sausages in a little oil until fully cooked. Cut into pieces and add to the pie dish along with the beef stew.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 764Total Fat: 44gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 670mgCarbohydrates: 75gFiber: 4gSugar: 7gProtein: 17g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.
Oh yum! What a gorgeous recipe to start the year with. I do love pies and this would be very comforting at the start of the year.
Thanks Corina! I love the flaky pastry topping!
Such a tasty steak pie one of the best i have ever eaten
Thanks, so glad you enjoyed it!
Ah you know I love a no frills but tasty recipe – and this one looks fab!! I did not know it was traditional to have steak pie for NYD in Scotland. Now there’s a tradition I’d be very happy to adopt down here. π Eb x
Ohh I do love a good homemade steak pie.
Happy New Year and thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
My Grandma was Scottish and I feel cheated by my Mum for not telling me about this tradition! Your steak pie looks so rich and delicious. I am all about using shop bought pastry too!
Thanks Eb! ? x
You canβt beat a good homemade one! ? Thanks Jacqui, Happy New Year to you
Thanks Cat ? Itβs very simple but really good. Iβm not sure if itβs traditional all over Scotland, it may vary region to region but itβs a very popular choice here in the Highlands ?
Made my first steak pie yesterday (Hogmanay) going to put the pastry on
And putin the oven for dinner tonight. So far dead easy,ready to put in the
Oven at 180 and enjoy with family and friends. Thanks.
I really hope you enjoyed it! Happy New Year to you!
Where is the sausages
Hi Billy, if you want to add sausages, please feel free!
Where is the sausages in the scottish steak pie or links as we call them in Scotland
Omg that steak pie was lovely thanks for sharing the recipe
You’re very welcome Lynette, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
If you do make your “stew” the day before, do you allow longer cooking time for teh final pie or do you perhaps reheat the stew before adding teh pastry?
Hi, I would cook the pie for a further 10-20 minutes to make sure the filling is piping hot. If the pastry looks like it is browning too much, cover the top with a sheet of tin foil.
If you buy a Scottish steak pie from a butchers in Scotland, it has a special flavour, does anyone know what is added to the meat to give it the flavour
Hi Kate, I could be wrong but as far as I know the secret is simply slow cooking the meat for a good few hours in a rich, well seasoned beef gravy/stock. My husband loves a Butchers steak pie and he says this recipe is exactly like the pies we can buy in our local butchers for around 8 pounds. It’s very simple but good!
Thank you for this! Since leaving Scotland I’ve tried a number of recipes for Steak Pie and none of them tasted “right”. They often added tomato paste or Worcester sauce and this recipe proves it’s just not necessary. The secret is in a simple stew. Making this for the second time in a week today.
I’m so glad you like it!
Just in the process of making this steak pie will be adding sausages later on first time making a steak pie first time ever making any type of pie will let you know how it turns out Charlie
Thanks Charlie, hope you like the recipe. I must try adding sausages to the pie sometime π
Made the steak pie my wife said it was delicious i hav to agree with her will be better next time I make it which will be about new year for all the family still got enough left for seconds tomorrow night with all the vev thank you very much Charlie
Fantastic Charlie, I’m glad you enjoyed it! π
Was brought up on Scotch steak pie for New Yearβs Day dinner, I even took this tradition to South Africa when we lived there. My recipe is slightly different to yours in that I put links in mine and carrots. I have my Grannyβs ashet which I bake it in and serve it with mash, sprouts and of course neeps. A family favourite everywhere we go.
Sounds delicious Marie, I must try adding sausages one day π Thanks for your comment!
I make great steak pie according to my friends. It is one of my favourite meals.
This almost identical to the one we make in our family. I grew up in Scotland and use my Granny’s ashet to make it in. The only thing that I do differently is that I add allspice berries when cooking the stew. One comment talked about a different flavour and I think this is it. My brother in law from Glasgow calls it “Jamaican ginger”!
This is almost identical to the one we make in our family. I grew up in Scotland and use my Grannyβs ashet to make it in. The only thing that I do differently is that I add allspice berries when cooking the stew. One comment talked about a different flavour and I think this is it. My brother in law from Glasgow calls it βJamaican gingerβ!
Made you pie
Turned out fine thanks
For your help
Sorry would have love to have sent you a photo
But i am not on any of the above message services
By the way “Happy New year”
I’m so pleased you liked it! Happy New Year π
What kind of sausages would one add to this pie? Pork?
Pork or beef are both good π
I moved down South 10 years ago so can’t get a proper steak pie down here. This is the only authentic recipe I’ve been able to find this year! So many want HP sauce and herbs! Eeh, naw! Thank you for making me feel at home.
How many teaspoons of bisto do you use?
Iβm sorry for delay in replying, your comment went into the spam folder for some strange reason. I use about 4 heaped teaspoons.
Iβm so glad you like it, thank you! π
Comfort food at its best! The pie was lovely though I added some beef link sausage to reuse the meat I had in the freezer and replaced the OXO with Worcestershire sauce just because I don’t like using cubes. Hope it might help other fellow readers.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the tip π
Had a trial run making this hoping that I can use this recipe for Boxing Day dinner. It was delicious and will definitely be the centre piece of our table on Boxing Day this year! Thank you and your Scottish recipes are spot on!
Hi Anne, I’m delighted to hear this. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me know π