A quick, easy beef and vegetable pot pie, made with store-bought puff pastry, and filled with beer-braised beef, potatoes, carrots.
Why I love this beef pot pie
This beef pot pie is a family favourite and a quick and easy meal. Store-bought puff pastry makes it super easy and the fact that the beef doesn’t need to braise too long makes it quick. Just a quick trip to the oven and this hearty one-skillet meal is ready.
You can make the filling ahead and refrigerate, then just allow to come to room temperature, put it in the skillet, top with the puff pastry and bake. The 25-30 minutes in the oven to cook the pastry is the perfect amount of time to re-heat the filling, too. As for the pastry, I use store-bought. I use the extra to add some cut-outs on top, just to pretty it up a bit.
Ingredients and Subsitutions
- Stewing beef – stewing beef is convenient, but you could cut up a steak or roast into cubes, if you like.
- Bottle of beer – lager is recommended, but any beer will work here. If you don’t want to use the beer, simply replace it with more beef broth.
- Dried Spices – Thyme oregano and basil, or use fresh if you happen to have on hand. You’ll want to double the amount for fresh herbs.
- Beef broth – or you could use chicken broth if that’s all you have on hand.
- 2 sheets store-bought Puff pastry – the pre-rolled sheets are most convenient if available.
Cook’s Notes
You could cut your puff pastry in a round to fit the pan, but I happen to love the crispy, puffy bits that hang over the edges, so I keep it square.
Feel free to add any vegetables you like to this pie. Mushrooms would also be a nice addition.
Get the Recipe: Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 lbs. stewing beef
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 1 standard bottle beer, lager recommended
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 large potato, diced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 cup beef broth, divided
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Topping:
- 400 g Puff pastry, 2 blocks or sheets, thawed
- 1 egg
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Add half the beef and cook, turning several times until seared. Remove to a plate. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and brown the remaining beef and remove that to the plate as well.
- Add onion and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring, until onion is softened. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the beer, carrots and potato and 1/2 cup of the beef broth. Add the browned beef pieces. Stir to combine. Season with salt, pepper and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 30 minutes, or until beef and vegetables are tender.
- After 30 minutes, combine the remaining 1/2 cup beef broth with the cornstarch and add to the pot. Cook uncovered, stirring, until sauce thickens. Spoon mixture in to an 8-inch cast-iron skillet or baking dish, place on a baking sheet and set aside to cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425° F. with rack in the centre of the oven. If your puff pastry is in a block, roll one block in to a square large enough to cover the top of your skillet, with a bit hanging over the edges. If desired, with the other sheet, roll into a rectangle and cut shapes from it using a leaf-shaped cookie cutter. When stew has cooled slightly, lay the rolled pastry sheet over top and then, if using, place the pastry leaves on top. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg with 1 Tbsp. of water and brush this mixture over the puff pastry.
- Place in the oven (on top of the baking sheet) and bake for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 400° F. and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until golden brown.
- *Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Allow to come to room temperature before baking.
Notes
More Beef Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Great recipe Jennifer
Used venison instead of beef. Family thought it awesome
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
This is really good and I make it all the time. I’ve make it exact to recipe (which is delicious), but have also experimented with different beers. They make the flavours slightly different but just as good.
So glad you are enjoying it, Carrie and yes, different beers is a great way to tweak the flavour. Thanks!
I have just had the pleasure of finding this blog and I’m extremely happy with the recipes. They are refreshing, well written and enjoyable. Thank you
Thanks so much, Rose :)
Hi Jennifer, you really used an 8inch cast iron skillet and served 6 people? Would love to make this; please clarify. Thank you!
Hi Christine. Yes :) Bear in mind that an 8-inch skillet is 8-inches on the bottom. It’s 10-inches across the top. And 2 inches deep. So it hold quite a bit :)
Christine , in my humble opinion this serves 4 adult appetites. If 2 adults with young children maybe 6.
Yum, looks great! Question: at what stage after initial browning is the beef added back in? I’m guessing with the carrots so it simmers for the 30 min, though I wouldn’t want to over cook it if that’s wrong! Thanks, I look forward to trying this!
Hi Anna, Yes, it goes back in with the carrots. Sorry, I forgot to include that. (Fixing now :)
Jennifer, I just found your site through Pinterest – lucky me! The stew for this pie is simmering now and the house smells wonderful. I am making the pork loin with wine and herb gravy tomorrow. Beautiful site, gorgeous photographs and lovely recipes! Thank you!
Enjoy Lisa! I just made the pork loin dish again over the weekend. One of my favourites :)
This looks so warm and hearty, perfect for this time of year! And you know how I feel about puff pastry – yum!
This looks so comforting and delicious, Jennifer. Love your decorative puff pastry topping!
Thanks Liz. I was trying to hang on to Fall ;)
I’m with you, I don’t drink it on its own, but beer is magical to cook with— I love the leaf decorations on the crust!
Thanks Sue. I hate to waste the bit of extra puff pastry, so I used it for leaves :)
This looks like the most comforting pot pie, love the golden topping!
Thanks Laura and yes, perfect comfort food :)
This pie looks so English, Jennifer! Love it. Comfort food at its best for sure. I completely agree I don’t really drink beer that much but it makes stews and meat pies absolutely out of this world delicious.
Yes, it’s definitely perfect pub food, Julia :) And beer and beef go perfectly together!
This looks so good! Perfect comfort food on these brisk days. I have a special place in my heart for Sam Adams Lager (I really enjoy their summer brews), since they are based in my hometown. Excellent use of a fantastic beer!
Thanks so much, Jessie. This lager was great in this beef pie!
I didn’t have any beer so I used an equal amount of beef broth . For some reason it didn’t thicken up well so I added more cornstarch . It got thicker, but I’m not sure how thick the final product is supposed to be. When it came out of the oven , it was like a soup. The taste was excellent and the puff pastry is an elegant addition . Thanks for including the step to put this on a baking sheet as it overflowed a bit.
Hi Kim, how much broth did you use? I suspect beef broth isn’t an exact substitution for beer, as beer contains lots of bubbles :) It may also evaporate differently. I do know that it thickens up nicely for me when using beer, as you can see in the photos. I haven’t tested beef broth.