Scottish Steak Pie is THE dish to have on New Year’s Day. Who knew?
Well, not us, until we saw everyone buying them on New Year’s Eve here in Scotland and wondered what was going on. This is a different, larger pie to the traditional Scotch Pie. If you want to make one of those you can find our recipe here.
If you don’t know, New Year’s in Scotland is a pretty big deal. It even has its own name, Hogmanay, and the party lasts for more than just the one night!
Pin for later!
Scottish Hogmanay (New Year) Traditions
There are all sorts of traditions associated with Hogmanay. Aside from holding hands and singing Auld Lang Syne, it was a time for cleaning the house to be ready for the new year, as well as clearing any debts.
Then there’s “first-footing” where the first person to cross the threshold after midnight determines the good luck of the household for the year. Ideally, it would be a tall, dark, handsome man, carrying gifts of whisky, black bun (a fruit cake wrapped in pastry), coal, and salt.
So how does steak pie fit in? It turns out that because New Year’s Day wasn’t always a holiday in Scotland and people were too busy to cook with everything going on, they would buy a large steak pie from their local butcher to have something to eat after all the celebrations.
However, a traditional Scottish Steak Pie is pretty simple to make and not available everywhere, so we figured we better have a recipe so you can make your own!
Made with melt-in-your-mouth beef stew topped with a flaky puff pastry lid, this delicious meat pie can be made at any time of the year of course, but it’s definitely one to bring out for Hogmanay!
Things you’ll need to make a Scottish Steak Pie
- Large Pot/Pan
- Mixing Bowl
- Pie Dish – We used a round 22cm (8.5inch) tin
Ingredients for Steak Pie
We used a 22cm diameter pie dish, adjust the ingredients to suit your dish. The filling can be reheated and eaten as a stew if you make too much!
- 800g Diced Beef Stewing Steak (Approx 2lb)
- 2 tbsp Plain Flour
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil/Butter
- 2 Large Roughly Chopped Onions
- 500ml Beef Stock (Approx 2 cups)
- 35ml Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, Pronounced – Wooster-sher ( Approx 0.14 cups)
- 1 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Puff Pastry
We cheated by buying our puff pastry as the purpose of this dish is ease and simplicity, do feel free to put us to shame and make your own pastry though!
In the UK pre-made pastry is usually found in the chilled section of the supermarket, but we’ve since been told that most of the rest of the world buys theirs frozen! You’ll want to allow the pastry to thaw before you make this, so take it out well in advance to ensure you can roll (if necessary) and place on the top of the pie.
- 375g Ready Rolled Puff Pastry (Approx 13.2 oz)
Adding Sausages
Many Scots swear by a Steak and Sausage pie, rather than just steak alone. We don’t mind adding sausages also, but personally like to have just steak most of the time. However, this recipe is easy to adapt if you want to! We’ll share more in variations below, but you can add 4-6 sausages if you like as well.
How to make Steak Pie step by step method
The great thing about this recipe is that the pie filling can be prepared in advance giving it time to thicken up, this will help you make a really tasty pie and save time. This preparation will then leave you to just pop it in the oven to be ready to serve.
Firstly take your mixing bowl and toss the beef in the plain flour, this will help insulate the meat while browning as well as helping the sauce to thicken. You can season the flour to help add an extra depth of flavour if you’d like.
Heat your pan and oil/butter, once hot add the onions and cook until soft.
Once the onions are soft add the beef to brown it, this should only take a few minutes.
This process of browning simply means to lightly cook the surface of the steak to caramelize it and add a richer flavour to the meat.
Once browned add the stock, Worcester Sauce, Tomato puree, Dijon mustard and seasoning.
Bring the mixture slowly to the boil.
Once it begins to boil reduce the heat and allow to gently simmer for 2.5 hrs.
During this time stir occasionally and, if like us, you have a gas stove that doesn’t have a low enough setting to simmer keep rotating the pan to avoid too much heat in one place.
If you’re adding sausages (see variations) then you can chop and add them about halfway through cooking. If they have a high fat content you may want to fry off in a separate pan or even boil for 10 minutes to remove some of the fat so that the pie won’t get too greasy.
Once the sauce is good and thick and the meat is breaking apart nicely tip the mixture into the pie dish, it should be roughly 3/4 full.
Preheat your oven to 180°C or 356°F, approx gas mark 4.
Cover the top of the pie dish with the rolled puff pastry, use your thumb or a fork to push down or crimp the edge of the pastry along the rim of the dish, helping to seal the mixture and the flavour in.
Make a hole in the centre of the pie to allow steam to exit during cooking.
Place your pie into the preheated oven for roughly 30 mins or until the pastry has risen and is golden brown.
Variations
As with many of our other savoury Scottish recipes, like Cullen Skink and Scotch Pies, we stuck to the most traditional way of making the dish. In this case that meant just using beef stock and a couple of other flavourings we enjoy for the sauce of the pie. It makes for a delicious beef pie, but there are some additions or changes you can make if you like too.
Adding sausages
As mentioned, many Scots like to have a Steak & Sausage pie, and you’ll see these sold in abundance around Hogmanay as well.
You can chop and add around 4-6 sausages, depending on size. We would suggest adding these partway through the whole mixture cooking, so they don’t break down too much.
If you are using sausages with a high fat content then consider boiling for 10 minutes or frying off in a pan before adding, so not too much fat goes into the pie which can cause it to be greasy.
Extra vegetables
Some recipes call for carrots or mushrooms, so you can slice and add these to the pie too.
Adding alcohol
For a more modern take on the steak pie, you can opt to use red wine or ale in place of some of the stock. We would suggest about 1/3 red wine to 2/3 stock or half and half for ale. The alcohol will burn off during the cooking but you’ll be left with a depth of flavour from the wine or beer.
Haggis & Steak Pie
Of course, you can also add some haggis for a steak and haggis pie!
Loved this recipe?
Join us in our Scottish Scran Facebook Group for more recipes, stories and chat
Learn more
Scottish Steak Pie Recipe
Steak Pie is traditionally eaten at Hogmanay in Scotland, so we made this tasty Scottish Steak Pie Recipe just for the occasion! Of course, you can enjoy this simple but heart-warming meal at any other time of year too.
Ingredients
- 800g Diced Beef Stewing Steak (approx 2lb)
- 2 tbsp Plain Flour
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil/Butter
- 2 Large Roughly Chopped Onions
- 500ml Beef Stock (approx 2 cups)
- 35ml Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, Pronounced - Wooster-sher ( approx 2 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 375g Ready Rolled Puff Pastry (Approx 13.2 oz)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Beaten egg or milk to brush the pastry (optional)
Instructions
- Firstly take your mixing bowl and toss the beef in the plain flour, this will help insulate the meat while browning as well as helping the sauce to thicken. You can season the flour to help add an extra depth of flavour if you’d like.
- Heat your pan and add the oil/butter. Once hot add the onions and cook until soft.
- Once the onions are soft add the beef to brown it, this should only take a few minutes.
- Once browned add the stock, Worcester Sauce, tomato puree, Dijon mustard and seasoning.
- Bring the mixture slowly to the boil.
- Once it begins to boil reduce the heat and allow to gently simmer for about 2.5 hrs.
- During this time stir occasionally and, if like us, you have a gas stove that doesn’t have a low enough setting to simmer keep rotating the pan to avoid too much heat in one place.
- Once the sauce is good and thick and the meat is soft tip the mixture into the pie dish. It should be roughly 3/4 full.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C or 356°F, approx gas mark 4.
- Cover the top of the pie dish with the rolled puff pastry and use a knife to trim off any excess pastry. Use your thumb or a fork to push down or crimp the edge of the pastry along the rim of the dish, helping to seal the mixture and the flavour in.
- Brush with a beaten egg or milk to help the pastry brown. Make a hole in the centre of the pie to allow steam to exit during cooking.
- Place the pie into the preheated oven for roughly 30 mins or until the pastry has risen and is golden brown.
Notes
You can make the stew in advance, like the night before or in the morning. This actually helps it to thicken up and enhances the flavours.
This recipe was made in a 22cm round pie dish, so you can adjust accordingly depending on the size of dish you use.
Variations
- Add 4-6 sausages partway through cooking. If you are using sausages with a high fat content you may want to boil for 20 minutes or fry off in a pan first so the pie doesn't get too greasy.
- Add carrots or mushrooms, although this isn't strictly traditional.
- Try with some haggis as well for a Steak & Haggis pie!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 314Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 435mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 16g
The nutritional data in this recipe is provided by a third party and these values are automatically calculated and offered for guidance only. Their accuracy is not guaranteed.
recipe card
I am making your Scottish steak pie right now, the meat mixture (I added carrots) has an hour left to simmer, it smells delicious! I am looking forward to it.
We hope it tasted as good as it smelt!
I would like to make this as a “thank you gift” What directions would I give to heat. Thank you in advance! P.S. my mom was from Scotland, I’m in the US & so miss a good steak pie!
That’s a very good question! The pie will keep covered for around 3-5 days in the fridge max. When you want to reheat you can place some foil over the top to stop the pastry from browning too much, and pop in the oven for about 45-60 minutes until piping hot. What a kind gift, well done you!
Steak pie has been a News Years tradition in my house for as long as I can remember. My Mother also adds beef sausage to the pie. Steak pie, mashed potato and mashed neeps. Don’t forget the trifle for dessert.
This recipe looks good (just doing a nosey around the Internet) however I would add that most (but not all) Scottish steak pies for Hogmany have beef or pork sausages in it to “fill it out” as this is meant to also be a cheap (ish) dish so it’s not normally all steak. Never added Dijon mustard to my stew so might give that a go.
Great recipes all round though guys, use this website to jog my memory now and again or try something new with the recipes I have/remember!
Who doesn’t like a good nosey around the internet! We researched the infamous Scottish Steak pie and agree that it certainly can be made with sausages as well as just with steak. A lot of it depends on the area and, as you mentioned, to help make it a more affordable dish. We went with keeping it simple and used a cheap cut of beef to help with costs.
Thanks so much for your praise and your comment, let us know how you go with the Dijon!
Enjoy,
Phil
Do you havebto defrost thebpuff pastry?
We didn’t use frozen pastry so it’s hard for us to say as it will depend on the type of pastry you buy. Ours was in a roll so it wouldn’t have worked frozen.
It you have time to answer today 🙂 If I pre-prepare the stew do I need to reheat before adding pastry and baking? Concerned that the steam from the mixture will make the puff pastry mushy…
Hoping this gets to you in time! It should work if you make sure you cut a couple of vents in the pastry to let the steam out, or use a pie funnel if you have one. It’s actually better if the filling is not hot because then it won’t melt the layers of the fat within the pastry and the pastry should turn out more flakey! Good luck 🙂
Is it possible to do this in the slow cooker once the mixture has came to a boil and transfer? Or would it have to boil and simmer and then transfer to slow cooker for extra tenderness? Haven’t tried yet but sounds delicious!
You could make the whole mixture in the slow cooker if you like! However, we always toss the meat in a little flour and brown before putting it in the slow cooker to add more flavour. Less water evaporates as well so you may want to add slightly less stock or same amount of stock but less water if it’s a powder stock.
what do you think the timings would be for use in a SC please?
We would add only 3/4 of the liquid maximum and put on low for 10-12 hours or high for 4-6 hours. The longer the better to be honest to make the meat nice and tender. If the stew is a bit thin you’d need to take the lid off for the last 30-60 minutes or so and thicken with cornflour. We haven’t tried it ourselves so it would be a bit of an experiment! Let us know how you get on.
I LOVE this recipe – I made it yesterday to celebrate the New Year. I made my own shortcrust pastry which went deliciously well with the pie!
That’s very kind of you Sinead, we’re really pleased you liked our wee pie!
Making this for the 2nd time today, first being for New Year’s, after I left it too late to get one from Scotland delivered. It’s absolutely delicious and going in for seconds is easily done. I leave to stew overnight, to get richness of flavour, and pop the pastry on before putting in the oven. So pleased I found your recipe and look forward to trying others!
What an amazing comment, thank you!
Just made this steak pie tonight. It was delicious! Reminded me of my granny’s New Year’s Day gatherings. Thankyou so much for this recipe and such easy to follow instructions. It was absolutely perfect 👌 next time I will try adding sausage and I’ll be trying a lot more of your lovely recipes.
Hi Kirsty,
We’re so pleased you liked it, thank you for letting us know!
All the best,
Phil & Sonja
Thank you for this great recipe!! I’ve been wanting to make a steak pie for awhile and have found other recipes to be too complex. This one is much simpler and I’m sure it will turn out delicious 😋
Question: Do you cover the pot while it simmers? Or leave it uncovered?
That’s great! We’re glad it’s helpful :D. We cover for most of the time since otherwise it would reduce a bit too much, but if you find it’s not reducing at all you can uncover partway through. It’s one of those sort of half on half off lid jobs!
I am in the middle of cooking mine following your very clear and helpful recipe and it looks and smells delicious. I have never thought of steak pie as a hogmanay dish, but as one for New Year’s day to help with the hangover and because the shops are shut. I did the browned meet with onions for two hours with Leith Porter (Guinness would do) in the slow cooker, from 10pm through the bells, and then turned it off while we slept. It’s now 10am and I have added sausages and a couple of (not too many) carrots. I plan to put mushrooms in at about 11.30 and continue cooking through noon, I will then transfer to a pie dish to let the filling cool, put the crust on at about 1pm, and it will be ready for a late lunch with a lager as befits Ne’ers day. Slainte mhath! And, as we go in to 2022, the slainte is most important. Keep healthy, and thanks for an accessible recipe.
Can I use a pressure cooker instead and how long would I have to cook it for?
Thanks
We don’t have a lot of experience with pressure cookers so wouldn’t like to say. Do let us know if you try this. 🙂
I love this recipe. I made it back in 2020 and just made it again today May 19th, 2022. I leave out the mustard and add some garlic powder everything else is the same as your recipe. Thank you for sharing.
You are very welcome 🙂 That’s a long time to wait between pies though…
My Scottish grandmother always included kidney and beef sausage with the meat filling, and it was made with just meat, water, onion, salt and pepper. She passed the recipe on to my mother, who passed it on to me. We’ve served it to friends since we came to Canada, and all are amazed. Thanks for this site; I regularly make the tablet and Golden Syrup cake recipes, which work very well.
Thanks so much for letting us know! We love hearing about different variations to try, and glad you’ve enjoyed the recipes!
I’m watching the great British baking show And the baker contestant, Nicky, from Scotland, made an illusion desert of a traditional steak pie, and I was so curious that I looked it up and here I am. I love beef stew, so this is right up my alley. I have one question, though. I think of pie as having a shell the filling goes into. Am I understanding this correctly —the puff pastry goes on top, only?
Also our pie dishes in the USA would be too shallow for this meaty creation. I think I’ll have to use a round casserole! Looks amazing.
You can make it fully encased in pastry shell and it’s great, this is just a simple way to get a great dinner! Let us know how it goes – Phil
Sausages were only added by people who couldn’t afford to only use beef as they were much cheaper. Otherwise definitely not. You’ll never buy a steak and sausage pie in a butcher.
Made this yesterday for our New Years Day dinner. It was absolutely delicious. My husband, who rarely says more than “that was good” about anything I make announced my steak pie was “excellent” that speaks volumes. A rich tasty gravy with chunks of meat you barely had to chew,so tender. Yes I replaced 1/2 cup of broth with red wine, yes I added sausages. Perfection on a plate! Yum
Sounds like a delicious variation thank you!!
Can this pie be frozen, and if so you have an idea of time and cooking time after? Love all of your recipes!!
We’ve not tried sorry! It would depend on if you mean before or after cooking. If you plan on freezing before we’d recommend just freezing the meat and then defrosting and adding the pastry top then, to avoid moisture. If you’re freezing after cooking then it needs to be heated until piping hot, which is generally around 40 minutes.
This was my first time making this dish. Outstanding! A big hit with my Scottish husband. I opted to make individual pies (with the puff pastry) and they were a real treat. I served them with a side of green beans with a bit of butter, salt and pepper. The recipe was well written – no surprises – easy to prepare and assemble. I will certainly double the recipe next time so I can make additional individual pies and freeze them. Thank you so very much!
That’s so great to hear thank you!
Thank you so much for this. I’ve been looking for a good steak pie recipe for ages and now I’ve found it. It was the most delicious pie I’ve ever tasted and I’ll be making it again next week.
Wow, what kind words thank you!