Beef Pot Pie

What You’ll Need

I’ve included the ingredient list for this beef pot pie recipe below.

Refer to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredient amounts.

Filling Ingredients

• Olive oil – This is used to cook the beef and vegetables.
• Beef stew meat – Homemade beef pot pie was made for stew meat. It’ll become super tender after simmering in the thickened beef and tomato broth/gravy mixture.
• Salt & pepper
• Onion – I use a yellow onion.
• Carrots – This adds earthy, sweet flavor and texture to the filling.
• Potatoes – Potatoes are a natural companion to beef, and the potatoes add heft to this pot pie.
• Mushrooms – I use cremini mushrooms but you could use white mushrooms or baby portabellos.
• Garlic – For an earthy flavor kick.
• Tomato paste – This adds a concentrated tomato flavor to the beef broth and helps make a flavorful gravy for the filling.
• Stout beer – I always use Guinness, but you can use your own favorite stout.
• Paprika – For a little hint of smokey spice.
• Italian seasoning – If you don’t have Italian seasoning you can use a mix of dried basil and oregano.
• All-purpose flour – Flour helps to thicken the beef broth to create a gravy-like sauce.
• Peas – I use frozen peas in this recipe.
• Beef broth – Beef broth helps to make the flavorful gravy, or sauce, in the pot pie.

Pie Crust Ingredients

• Flour – All-purpose flour forms the base of the pie crust.
• Salt – Salt enhances the flavor of the butter in the crust.
• Butter – I use unsalted butter for the crust – if you want to use salted butter omit or lessen the salt called for so the crust is not too salty.
• Ice water – Ice water helps bring the crust altogether.
• Egg yolk + milk – Combine these to create an egg wash, to brush over the finished pie crust. This gives the crust a pretty browned look.

Recipe Variations

It’s easy to adapt beef pot pie to include anything your heart desires. Here are a few suggestions for how to change up this recipe a bit:

• Use different cuts of beef. Beef stew meat is an economical choice that’s always easy to find. However, you could use sirloin steak or beef chuck roast in place of the stew meat.
• Use different meat. You can use lamb in place of the beef to make a lamb pot pie.
• Add or subtract vegetables. Try different vegetables – like corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, parsnips, or pearl onions – in this homemade beef pot pie or simply add more in depending on what you like.
• Substitute red wine for the stout. Red wine will also give a different flavor note to this beef pot pie if you don’t want to use stout. If so, use 1 cup dry red wine + 1/2 cup additional beef broth.
• Make a whole wheat flour pie crust. You can substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour. You may need to add a little more water when you form the crust because whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid.

How to Make Beef Pot Pie

Here’s my method for making this beef pot pie:

For the Filling

• Brown the beef. In a large Dutch oven (or similar heavy pot with a lid), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season the beef stew meat with salt & pepper, then add it to the pot. Brown the beef on all sides. 
• Add the veggies. Then add the onion, carrots, and potatoes. Sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes, until they just begin to soften.

• Stir in the mushrooms. Add the mushrooms to the pot and cook for a few more minutes. 

• Add in the garlic and tomato paste. Stir in the minced garlic and tomato paste, and cook for a minute, until fragrant.

• Pour in the stout, then simmer. Slowly pour in the stout beer while stirring constantly. This will help deglaze the pot and create a flavorful gravy. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

• Add seasonings, then simmer. Add the paprika, Italian seasoning, and black pepper to the pot and give everything a good stir. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

• Pour in the beef broth, then simmer. Pour in the beef broth and stir well to incorporate. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, then cover the pot and cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes. This will make the beef beautifully tender and bring all the flavors together.

• Stir in the peas, then simmer. Remove the lid and stir in the peas. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, to warm the peas and slightly thicken the sauce.
• Thicken the sauce into a gravy. Mix the flour with a few spoons of water and add to the pot. Stir vigorously to combine and thicken the sauce into a gravy. Taste test and add more salt and pepper if needed.

• Transfer filling to baking dish. Remove the pot from the stovetop and transfer the hot beef stew filling to a 9″ x 13″ baking dish (or similar-sized oval dish), to let the filling cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, prepare the pie crust.

For the Pie Crust

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. 
• Cut in the butter. Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. Then use a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingers to incorporate the butter into the flour, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Bring it altogether. Drizzle a few tablespoons of ice water over the crumbs, adding more if needed, until you can gather the mixture altogether with your hands to form a mound of dough.

• Roll out the dough. Roll out the pie crust on a floured surface, to a size and shape that fits the baking dish, and place it over the cooled filling. You can either cover the entire pie with the crust or create a lattice pattern. 
• Trim and seal the crust. Trim away any excess pie crust, then crimp the edges to seal the pie. Make a few small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape during baking.
• Add the egg wash. Mix the egg yolk and milk together, then brush the surface of the pie crust with the egg wash. This will the crust a pretty browned appearance.
• Bake. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

• Let cool slightly before serving. Remove the beef pot pie from the oven and let it cool slightly before serving. 

Tips for Success

Homemade beef pot pie is always welcome on our dinner table, especially on a blustery winter day. Here are a few tips that will help you to make the best beef pot pie every time:

• Make the filling in advance. To make dinnertime easier, you can make the filling ahead of time and then make a crust and bake off the pie when you want to eat it. You can store the cooked filling in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or you can place the filling in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag and freeze it for up to 3 months. Then simply thaw the filling in the freezer overnight before using it.
• Simmer until tender. In Step 7, when simmering the filling mixture, check to make sure the beef chunks are very tender before proceeding with the next step.
• Grease the baking dish. Lightly spray the baking dish with non-stick cooking spray (or use butter), so the baked crust comes away from the baking dish more easily.
• Try different variations. As noted earlier, under “Recipe Variations”, you can save time by using a pre-made pie crust or puff pastry. I include a variety of other suggestions for filling substitutions as well.

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve homemade beef pot pie with a fresh green salad or other vegetable sides. Here are a few of my suggestions for how to serve this hearty dish:

• Soup starter. For special holiday meals, I like to include steaming bowls of my mom’s easy oyster stew. It’s a lightly creamy soup that’s a beautiful contrast to the meaty beef.
• Fresh salad. My winter apple salad recipe is a favorite, as well as this simple arugula beet salad. Or go super duper simple with your favorite greens and a delicious homemade dressing such as buttermilk ranch dressing, balsamic vinaigrette, or Italian vinaigrette.
• Green vegetables. I always like to pair beef with asparagus. Try my roasted asparagus or grilled asparagus, or this super yummy bacon-wrapped asparagus!
• Pickled vegetables. For a mouth-puckering contrast to the rich, savory pot pie, serve pickled vegetables like pickled asparagus, pickled beets, or pickled carrots.

How to Store & Reheat Leftovers

Store any leftover beef pot pie in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To freeze leftover pot pie, place it in a freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating it.

You have several options for reheating beef pot pie:

• Microwave – Place a portion of pot pie on a microwave-safe plate and heat it in the microwave at 30-second intervals, until it’s heated through to your liking.
• Oven – Heat the oven to 300° F. Place the pot pie in an oven-safe dish and heat in the oven for 10-15 minutes until it’s hot. Time will depend on the amount of pot pie you are warming.

Can I Freeze Homemade Beef Pot Pie?

Absolutely! Beef pot pie is a great candidate for batch cooking and freezing.

Wrap the assembled, unbaked pie in plastic wrap, and then a double layer of heavy duty foil, and place it in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake it, unwrap the pie and place it directly in the oven to bake – note that bake time will be longer from frozen. And if the crust is browning faster than the whole pie is warming, just place a piece of foil loosely over the top of the dish.