Savory Pie Recipes

April 09, 2012
Photo: Howard L. Puckett
With an array of fillings and different options for crusts, savory pies are exquisite as a main course, or served with several other dishes on a spread for entertaining.
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Skillet Chicken and Root Vegetable Potpie

Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Skillet Chicken and Root Vegetable Potpie

Classic potpies use several pans to simmer and sauté vegetables, build a sauce, and bake the pie. The skillet does it all here, and it is the perfect size for a golden, flaky piecrust lid. No chicken collection is complete without a potpie. You can substitute diced Yukon Gold potatoes and kale or chard for the turnips and turnip greens.

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Greek Greens and Sweet Onion Pie

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner
View Recipe: Greek Greens and Sweet Onion Pie

Chances are, when you hear the word pie, visions of sugar plums and other sweet fillings begin to dance in your head. However, pie can also be savory and satisfying as a main course. These 14 recipes feature hearty ingredients for dishes that can be stand-alone stars or accompanied with various sides.

To start us off, our Greek Greens and Sweet Onion pie is double phyllo-crusted and filled with fresh dill and feta cheese flavor. Serve with vegetable soup and crusty bread. Cutting slits into the top phyllo layer allows steam to escape so the crust will be crisp. To serve a larger crowd, double the recipe, and bake the pies side by side in the oven.

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Chili-Corn Chip Pie

Photo: John Autry
View Recipe: Chili-Corn Chip Pie

This recipe is a healthy version of Fritos Chili Pie. Often served from concession stands at fairs, festivals, and sporting events, this crowd-pleaser usually involves splitting the bag of chips open, ladling chili into the bag, and then topping with cheese, onions, and other garnishes.

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Turkey, Broccoli, and Phyllo Pie

Photo: Greg Dupree; Styling: Lindsey Lower
View Recipe: Turkey, Broccoli, and Phyllo Pie

Skip the potpie and try a fragrant, flaky casserole for your turkey leftovers. We ditch the pastry dough for a flaky, golden phyllo crust—a nice alternative to the pies and potpies you may be wary of by now. Don’t fret about getting the phyllo topper to fit snugly in the baking dish; any overhang will become delightfully crisp in the oven. Thawed phyllo can be finicky: Unroll very carefully, and keep remaining sheets under a slightly damp kitchen towel while you work. If you don't have leftover turkey from yesterday, use shredded rotisserie chicken.

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Moroccan Shepherd's Pie

Photo: John Autry
View Recipe: Moroccan Shepherd's Pie

Sweet potatoes provide a nice foil for the full-flavored lamb, tangy olives, and earthy spices. You can also bake the entire mixture in an 8-inch square baking dish. Assemble up to a day ahead, cover, refrigerate, and bake just before serving.

 

 

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Chicken Potpie Skillet Pizza

Photo: Greg Dupree
View Recipe: Chicken Potpie Skillet Pizza

Try this quick, playful spin to turn pizza night on its head—in a good way. You get all the creamy goodness of chicken potpie, in a fun, eat-with-your-hands way that kids will love. Grown-ups will dig it, too, especially if you offer hot sauce at the table. Cooking the pizza in a preheated cast-iron skillet makes the crust wonderfully crispy so that it doesn’t sog out when the creamy sauce goes on. Be sure to use only 10 ounces of dough (though you’ll likely have to purchase in a 1-pound or larger ball); save the remaining dough to make breadsticks the next night.

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Green Chile Tamale Pie

Photo: John Autry
View Recipe: Green Chile Tamale Pie

Our Green Chile Tamale Pie brings sirloin and a multitude of vegetables together in a tender crust for a stand-alone, hearty, and comforting dish.

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Sausage and Spinach Spaghetti Pie

Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Sausage and Spinach Spaghetti Pie

Meet your new favorite casserole recipe. This budget-friendly dish (costing under $10) allows you to stretch a small amount of meat over several servings. It's family friendly, filling, and loaded with flavor--the perfect weeknight meal. The high heat on this recipe allows it to cook quickly, crisping the spaghetti slightly on the outside to make the perfect "pie crust" for this dish. You can use crumbled sausage in this dish, or start with Italian sausage and remove the casing, which is what the recipe calls for. Remove the casing by cutting up the side with a knife or kitchen shears, then crumble the sausage using a spoon in the skillet as it cooks.

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English Cottage Pie

Photo: John Autry
View Recipe: English Cottage Pie

Leftover mashed potatoes are mixed with white cheddar cheese to form the top crust for this British pub-food staple. Ground beef is traditionally used, but lean ground turkey will work, as well. Brown the crust under the broiler for a minute or two, if you like.

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Upside-Down Shepherd's Pie

Romulo Yanes
View Recipe: Upside-Down Shepherd's Pie

To keep things lightning-fast, we forgo the layered-in-a-skillet approach to shepherd's pie and instead serve the veggie-flecked beef mixture on top of a bed of creamy mashed potatoes.

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Spinach Pie with Goat Cheese, Raisins, and Pine Nuts

Photo: Ellen Silverman
View Recipe: Spinach Pie with Goat Cheese, Raisins, and Pine Nuts

This savory vegetarian pie is full of flavor and elegant enough for special occasions.

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Forager's Pie

Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Forager's Pie

The addition of mushrooms—what a forager might find—makes for a delicious twist on classic shepherd's pie.

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Empanada Gallega (Galician Pork and Pepper Pie)

Photo: Randy Mayor
View Recipe: Empanada Gallega (Galician Pork and Pepper Pie)

You may be more familiar with the Latin American variety, but the savory pocket pie called the empanada originated in Galicia in northwest Spain. This version is filled with a typical combination of seasoned meat and tender onion and bell pepper.

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Chili Potpie with Cheddar Biscuits

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Amy Stone
View Recipe: Chili Potpie with Cheddar Biscuits

We thicken the chili slightly, stir in more fresh fall vegetables, and bake with a flaky cheddar biscuit topper for a fun, fast take on a classic potpie. Creamy butternut squash and hearty beef chili provide combine to make this wholesome, easy weeknight dinner. We skipped the hassle of peeling and chopping the squash by buying the packaged cubes. Topped with flaky cheddar biscuits that rest atop the potpie like soft pillows, this meaty dish is a great way to repurpose chili and make use of seasonal fall vegetables. The kids won't be able to resisting dunking biscuit after biscuit in this flavorful beef chili. Use a vegetarian chili for a tasty meat-less option.

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Chicken Potpies

Photo: Randy Mayor
View Recipe: Chicken Potpies

Who says pie is only for dessert? Try this recipe for a warm, comforting meal on one of those last cold nights before spring. The best part: You can go from raw materials to finished potpie in less than half an hour.

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Lentil Shepherd's Pie

Photo: Brian Woodcock
View Recipe: Lentil Shepherd's Pie

The bulgur releases just enough starch to bind the lentil- and mushroom-packed filling together. The skin of the potato contains about half the total fiber; we love the rustic edge and earthiness it adds to our creamy tater topper. Even better—our plant-packed pie saves 282 calories, 20g sat fat, and 244mg sodium over traditional meat-based shepherd's pie.

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Spring Greens Pie

Photo: Beau Gustafson
View Recipe: Spring Greens Pie

Flaky phyllo, fresh flavor, and the vitamins-and-minerals punch of greens make this pie a taste and nutrition powerhouse. It'll serve eight as a stylish dinner-party starter or four as a vegetarian main course for the family.

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Turkey Tamale Potpie

Photo: Randy Mayor
View Recipe: Turkey Tamale Potpie

Capture the flavors of your favorite tamale recipe in a casserole. This hearty turkey tamale potpie takes under 40 minutes to prepare from start to finish.

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Crisp-Crust Chicken Potpie

Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Crisp-Crust Chicken Potpie

Turn to rotisserie chicken and frozen puff pastry dough to shave time from this deconstructed version of a comfort classic. Cooking the crust separately keeps it crisp and crunchy.

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Biscuit-Topped Chicken Potpie

Photo: Randy Mayor
View Recipe: Biscuit-Topped Chicken Potpie

Serve a homemade chicken potpie for dinner tonight. It tastes just like mom's, but cooks in a fraction of the time.

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Chicken Mushroom Potpie

Photo: Justin Walker
View Recipe: Chicken Mushroom Potpie

This homey pie boasts creamy, savory sauce and refrigerated piecrust dough for convenience.

 

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Shrimp Pie

Photo: Randy Mayor
View Recipe: Shrimp Pie

The pastry is a breeze to prepare. Much like a cheesecake crust, the crumbly mixture is simply pressed into a deep-dish pie plate--no kneading or rolling required.

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Tamale Chicken Potpies

Photo: Randy Mayor
View Recipe: Tamale Chicken Potpies

Serve these individual potpies with a side of spicy black beans: Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper and 2 minced garlic cloves; sauté until soft. Stir in 1 (15-ounce) can rinsed and drained black beans, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind; cook until thoroughly heated (about 5 minutes). Stir in 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, if desired.

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Buttercrust Corn Pie with Fresh Tomato Salsa

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner
View Recipe: Buttercrust Corn Pie with Fresh Tomato Salsa

The fresh tomato salsa livens up the traditional corn and cheese flavors in the pie. Serve with a salad for a light weeknight dinner.

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Speedy Shepherd's Pie

Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Speedy Shepherd's Pie

Making the most of supermarket convenience items gets this family favorite on the table in a flash. Precut matchstick carrots are easier to chop into small pieces quickly, and using prepared mashed potatoes for the topping is a good trick for when you don't have leftover mashed potatoes on hand.

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Seven-Layer Tortilla Pie

Photo: Howard L. Puckett
View Recipe: Seven-Layer Tortilla Pie

Peppers, tomatos, cilantro, and spices come together to create a south-of-the-border inspired dish that's delicious and vegetarian friendly, too.

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