Spiced Beef Hand Pies Recipe

By
Anita Schecter
Anita Schecter_BW
Anita Schecter
Professional recipe developer, food photographer, and blogger with more than a decade of experience creating Middle Eastern recipes.
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Updated on 12/16/21
Spiced Beef Hand Pies

The Spruce / Mateja Kobescak

Prep: 45 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Refrigerate: 60 mins
Total: 2 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Almost every culture and cuisine has a form of savory hand pie. They make great vehicles for on-the-go food, picnics, work and school lunches. They are also a great way to turn leftovers into a meal such as these Leftover Pot Roast Hand Pies, Mini Pork Pies, or Leftover Turkey Empanadas.

The basic pastry dough can be made plain or you can create a more savory version with herbs or cheese, filled and either fried or baked. The basic browned ground beef mixture in these savory pies gets a Middle Eastern flair from spices such as ground cumin and herbs like fresh thyme and parsley. These can also be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen. Just bake them off as needed and enjoy.

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Ingredients

For the Pastry:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 4 ounces (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

  • 2 tablespoons ice water

For the Spiced Beef Mixture:

  • 1/2 pound ground beef

  • 1 onion, peeled and diced

  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

  • 1/4 cup beef stock

  • 1/4 cup red wine

  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.

    Spiced Beef Hand Pies ingredients

    The Spruce / Mateja Kobescak

  2. Make the pastry dough by adding the all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, baking powder, salt, and fresh thyme to a food processor. Pulse a few times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

    all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, baking powder, salt and fresh thyme in a food processor

    The Spruce / Mateja Kobescak

  3. With the food processor running, slowly pour the ice water through the feed tube and continue running just until a dough ball forms.

    dough in a food processor

    The Spruce / Mateja Kobescak

  4. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

    dough ball wrapped in plastic

    The Spruce / Mateja Kobescak

  5. While the pastry is chilling, add the ground beef to a large sauté pan along with the diced onions, minced garlic, ground cumin, garlic powder, fresh thyme, dried oregano, cayenne, ground black pepper, and salt. Cook until the beef is browned and then stir in the beef stock and red wine. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes and then stir in the parsley. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

    ground beef, diced onions, minced garlic, ground cumin, garlic powder, fresh thyme, dried oregano, cayenne, ground black pepper in a bowl

    The Spruce / Mateja Kobescak

  6. Roll out the pastry to about a 10-inch round and cut out 8 large (approximately 4-inch) circles.

    rolled out dough, with circle cut into it

    The Spruce / Mateja Kobescak

  7. Fill 4 of the circles with equal amounts of the cooled ground beef mixture and top with the remaining 4 circles.

    dough with filling on top

    The Spruce / Mateja Kobescak

  8. Use a fork to crimp the edges closed and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

    hand pies on a baking sheets

    The Spruce / Mateja Kobescak

  9. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the pastry is a light golden brown. Note that both the pastry and beef recipes can be doubled.

    baked Spiced Beef Hand Pies on a plate

    The Spruce / Mateja Kobescak
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
503 Calories
33g Fat
29g Carbs
20g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 503
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 33g 43%
Saturated Fat 18g 90%
Cholesterol 111mg 37%
Sodium 679mg 30%
Total Carbohydrate 29g 10%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 20g
Vitamin C 7mg 36%
Calcium 85mg 7%
Iron 4mg 21%
Potassium 387mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)