Irresistibly flaky and golden, this homemade Steak and Mushroom Pie is the stuff dreams are made of! Savoury, rich and full of flavour, it features chunks of tender beef, mushrooms and luscious thick gravy, all encased in buttery, flaky pastry. Pure comfort food!
Nothing says “comfort food” quite like a crispy, flaky, buttery pie. Just like these chicken leek and bacon pies, chunky party pies and chicken and mushroom pie, this gorgeous steak and mushroom pie is the ultimate comfort food!
The savoury filling boasts melt-in-your-mouth tender chunks of steak, bacon and buttery mushrooms, all simmered together in a luscious, rich gravy. And if that wasn’t enough, everything is topped with flaky puff pastry to make a hearty and cosy dinner to enjoy on colder nights.
Aside from being delicious, it’s also super simple to make! This recipe makes the most of frozen puff pastry, to save time and fuss. The pie (or just the filling) can even be made ahead and kept in the fridge or freezer, ready to bake when you want to eat it!
Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- Easy to prepare – the easy filling is made in one pan and uses simple, affordable ingredients (nothing fancy here!). And ready-made puff pastry saves you even more time.
- Make ahead – both the filling and the pie can be made ahead and stored, ready to assemble and bake. And it tastes even better when the flavours are left to develop!
- Ultra-comforting – rich, cosy and comforting, it is packed with loads of delicious savoury flavours that promise to keep you warm, toasty and satisfied.
- Freezer friendly – keep the filling or the whole baked pie in the freezer, ready to reheat and enjoy in no time. Perfect for busy weeknights!
- Versatile – serve it however you like! It makes a great leftover lunch or weeknight meal with some mashed potatoes, crispy potato wedges, green beans, steamed veggies or salad.
What You Need
Using the cheaper cuts of beef, such as gravy, chuck or casserole beef, make this steak and mushroom pie very budget friendly.
Note: Please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for ingredient quantities and the full detailed method.
- Shortcrust pastry – the base of the pie. Use my homemade version here, or ready-made sheets from the supermarket. Be sure to blind bake the pastry before adding the filling, to prevent a soggy base.
- Puff pastry – tops the pie and is baked until flaky and golden brown. In Australia, puff pastry comes frozen in pre-cut squares of 25cm x 25cm (10" x 10“). Allow the pastry to thaw on the benchtop while you prepare the filling, or, if you prefer to make your own, try this recipe!
- Olive oil – to brown the beef.
- Steak – cut into 2 cm cubes, with the fat trimmed. Use a stewing or braising beef (like gravy, chuck or casserole beef) that can be found in supermarkets and is sometimes pre-cut into cubes. These cuts are lean but tougher than the more expensive cuts of beef, and therefore require longer cooking times to soften, but the result is fall-apart tender meat that is very flavourful.
- Onion - a medium brown onion.
- Mushrooms – use regular field mushrooms, button mushrooms, Swiss or brown mushrooms.
- Bacon – choose a nice, streaky bacon or middle bacon with some streaks of fat to add flavour and richness to the gravy.
- Stock – beef stock/broth, to enhance the beef flavour and add richness, this is the liquid base of the gravy.
- Tomato paste – to add richness and depth to the gravy. Use plain, unsalted tomato paste with no additives.
- Worcestershire sauce – adds a complex savoury flavour and a little sweetness to the sauce.
- Cornflour – also called corn starch, to thicken the gravy.
- Egg – an egg wash is used to make a glossy, golden and crispy pie crust.
- Sesame seeds - optional, for sprinkling over the top.
Equipment Needed
To make the pie filling, you will need a large frying pan and a wooden spoon.
To bake the pie, you will need an oven-safe baking dish. You can use any large pie or baking dish for this recipe, as long as it has a minimum 6 cup capacity. In the photos above I used a deep 20cm x 28cm pie tin.
Step by Step Instructions
There's just three simple steps to make this satisfying Steak and Mushroom Pie - prepare the base, make the filling, assemble and bake.
Note: Please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for ingredient quantities and the full detailed method.
Step 1 - Prepare The Pastry
Prepare your shortcrust pastry (homemade or ready-made) and layer it in your baking dish. Blind bake the pastry until golden brown.
Tip: see link for blind baking my homemade shortcrust pastry.
Step 2 - Prepare The Pie Filling
While the pastry cooks, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over high heat.
Cook the cubed beef over a high heat in batches until browned (approx. 5 minutes).
Set browned beef cubes aside in a separate bowl. Leave the excess fat in the frying pan. Cooking in batches stops the beef from becoming watery and 'stewing' in the pan.
Place the onion, mushrooms and bacon into the frying pan and fry over medium-high heat until softened and the liquid has evaporated.
Add the cooked beef, beef stock, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and stir.
Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes (or until starting to thicken), stirring occasionally.
Add the cornflour mixture whilst stirring and simmer until thickened.
Taste and season with salt and pepper and allow to cool.
Step 3 - Assemble The Pie And Bake
Spoon the cooled pie filling into the prepared shortcrust pastry base.
Place the sheet of thawed puff pastry over the top of the pie and press the edges of the puff pastry together with the shortcrust pastry base.
Lightly brush the top of the pastry with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and then bake until the pastry is puffed, flaky and golden.
Expert Tips
- Don’t add hot filling to the pastry case. The filling must be allowed to cool completely otherwise it will melt the butter in the pastry causing it to become soggy.
- Follow this link for instructions for blind baking homemade shortcrust pastry.
- If you don’t want to use shortcrust pastry, you can make a 'pot pie' by spooning the meat filling directly into the pie dish and topping with puff pastry, ready to bake and serve.
- Taste the filling and add salt and pepper (if required) to ensure that the pie is properly seasoned.
- Storage - you can make the filling ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge for 3-4 days, ready to assemble the pie when you want to eat it (or see freezing notes below). Keep any leftover steak and mushroom pie in the fridge for 3-4 days.
FAQ's
Blind baking is the process of par-cooking pastry before adding fillings and continuing to cook. This avoids the base pastry to from going soggy.
The pie filling can be made in advance and kept covered for 3-4 days in the fridge. Then assemble with pastry when you are ready to bake. The filling tastes even better when made a day or two in advance, as the flavours have more time to mingle and develop!
You can freeze the pie filling for up to 3 months. Simply transfer the cooled filling to a freezer-safe, airtight container and place it in the freezer. Allow the filling to thaw in the fridge overnight and then assemble and bake when required.
Alternatively, you can freeze a whole pie, baked or unbaked. Assemble the pie by adding the filling to the pre-baked shortcrust base and topping with puff pastry. Then, wrap the entire unbaked pie and store it in the freezer. It will need to be thawed in the fridge overnight before baking.
If the pie is already baked before being frozen, simply reheat until crisp and steaming hot in the middle.
Once the filling is already cooked, the pie only needs to bake for as long as it takes for the puff pastry top to become crisp, puffed and golden and for the filling to become steaming hot in the middle. This will take around 45 minutes at 200 C, but cooking times can vary depending on the type of oven used. Check it at the 40-minute mark and keep an eye on it from there.
Related Recipes
This steak and mushroom pie is such a popular family dinner and I'm sure you will enjoy it just as much as we do.
Who else finds it impossible to resist flaky, delicious pies and pastries!?
Steak and Mushroom Pie
Ingredients
- 1 quantity shortcrust pastry see notes
- 1 sheet puff pastry defrosted
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 850 g beef chuck or round steak cut into small cubes (approx 2cm)
- 1 brown onion medium, chopped
- 400 g mushrooms sliced
- 150 g bacon diced
- 750 g (3 cups) beef stock
- 3 tbs tomato paste
- 1 tbs worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbs cornflour
- 125 g (¼ cup) water
- salt and pepper to season
- 1 egg beaten, for brushing over as a glaze
- sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare and blind bake the shortcrust pastry in a minimum 6 cup capacity baking dish - refer to Notes section for recipe link. Set aside to cool.Alternatively you can blind bake store-bought defrosted shortcrust pastry.1 quantity shortcrust pastry
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over high heat.
- Add half of the cubed beef and cook, until browned and the liquid has evaporated (approx 5 minutes). Set aside in a separate bowl.Repeat with the remaining beef and set aside.Leave the excess fat in the frying pan.
- Place the onion, mushrooms and bacon into the frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until softened and the liquid has evaporated.
- Add the cooked beef, beef stock, tomato paste and worcestershire sauce and stir.
- Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes (or until starting to thicken), stirring occasionally.
- Mix the cornflour and water together until completely dissolved.
- Stir as you pour the cornflour and water into the beef mixture.
- Allow to simmer and thicken (the mixture should be thick).
- Season the mixture with salt and pepper and then set aside to cool completely (the mixture will continue to thicken on standing).
- Place the puff pastry sheet on the bench to defrost.
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
- Spoon the pie filling into the blind-baked pastry shell.
- Place the sheet of puff pastry over the top of the pie and press the edges of the puff pastry together with the shortcrust pastry base.
- Lightly brush over the beaten egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
- Bake for 45 minutes or until golden.
Notes
- Shortcrust pastry – the base of the pie. Use my homemade version here, or ready-made sheets from the supermarket. Be sure to blind bake the pastry before adding the filling, to prevent a soggy base.
- Steak – cut into 2 cm cubes, with the fat trimmed. Use a stewing or braising (like gravy, chuck or casserole beef) that can be found in supermarkets and is sometimes pre-cut into cubes. These are lean cuts but tougher than more expensive cuts and therefore require longer cooking times. The result is flavouful fall-apart meat.
- Puff pastry – tops the pie and is baked until flaky and golden brown. In Australia, puff pastry comes frozen in pre-cut squares of 25cm x 25cm (10" x 10"). Allow the pastry to thaw on the benchtop while you prepare the filling.
- Don’t add hot filling to the pastry case - allow the filling to cool completely or it can melt the butter in the pastry, causing it to become soggy.
- If you don’t want to use shortcrust pastry - you can make a pot pie by spooning the pie filling into the pie dish and topping with puff pastry then bake and serve.
- Taste the filling - and add salt and pepper (if required) to ensure that the pie is properly seasoned.
- Storage - you can make the filling ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge for 3-4 days, ready to assemble the pie and bake when required. Keep any leftover pie in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freezing filling - you can freeze the pie filling for up to 3 months. Simply transfer the cooled filling to a freezer-safe, airtight container and place it in the freezer. Allow filling to thaw in the fridge overnight and then add it to the pie tin as normal and bake.
- Freezing baked or unbaked pie - you can freeze a whole pie, baked or unbaked. Assemble the pie by adding the filling to the pre-baked shortcrust base and topping with puff pastry. Then, wrap the entire pie and store it in the freezer before thawing in the fridge overnight before baking. If the pie is baked before being frozen, simply reheat until crisp and steaming hot in the middle.
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