Easy Ground Beef Hand Pies
Quick and easy hand pies using ground meat or leftovers and puff pastry. A flexible, kid-friendly weeknight dinner that comes together fast.
These easy weeknight hand pies are one of my favorite ways to turn leftovers into a dinner that feels fun instead of repetitive. They’re ready in about 30 minutes, endlessly flexible, and the kind of meal that works just as well for picky kids as it does for tired adults.
Traditional meat pies are wonderful, but they’re also a weekend project. Between braising meat, building flavor, and making pastry from scratch, they’re not exactly designed for a random Tuesday when everyone is hungry now. These hand pies take a different approach: ground meat (or finely chopped leftovers), quick-cooking vegetables, and store-bought puff pastry to keep things simple without sacrificing flavor.
This recipe is especially helpful on nights when your fridge feels like a collection of odds and ends. Leftover roasted chicken? Toss it in. Extra ground meat from another meal? Perfect. Half a bag of frozen veggies or a handful of cooked carrots from last night’s dinner? They all work here. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s using what you have and getting dinner on the table without overthinking it.
Why these will work for real life:
These hand pies are:
- fast enough for busy weeknights
- familiar in flavor, but fun in form
- easy to customize for different eaters
- a great way to reduce food waste without announcing it
They’re proof that leftovers don’t have to feel like leftovers—and that dinner can still feel special, even when it’s simple.
How to make hand pies on a weeknight
This is a quick overview to help you plan. For exact measurements and full details, scroll down to the recipe card.
Make the filling
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet (or skip this step if you’re using leftover cooked meat). Add the vegetables and cook until softened. Stir in the tomato purée, herbs, salt, and pepper. Mix a quick flour-and-milk slurry, add it to the pan, and let the mixture simmer briefly to thicken. Finish with parmesan cheese and bacon.
Assemble the hand pies
Roll out the puff pastry and cut circles to fit a muffin pan. Press the pastry into each well, fill with the meat mixture, and top with another pastry circle. Use egg wash to seal the edges and brush the tops.
Bake until golden
Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake until the puff pastry is puffed and golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.
Serving this to your family
These hand pies work really well as a complete meal on their own, but they’re also easy to round out with something simple on the side. Try serving them with a crisp green salad.
They’re also great tucked into a lunchbox with some fruit the next day. Because they’re handheld and familiar, they’re especially nice for busy evenings when you want dinner to feel comforting without a lot of extra effort.
If recipes like this help dinner feel a little less stressful and a little more doable, you’ll feel right at home in my free Foodie Family community. It’s where I share simple meal ideas, gentle ways to explore new flavors with kids, and resources to make weeknight cooking feel easier and more fun. You’re always welcome to join us and take what’s helpful for your family.
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Weeknight Beef Hand Pies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large cast iron skillet, brown the ground beef (If you are using leftover meat that is already cooked, skip them step).
- Add in the onions, mushrooms, carrots, and peas and cook, stirring often, until the veggies are soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add in the tomato puree, dried sage, dried thyme, salt and pepper and stir.
- In a small cup, mix together the flour, milk and ale or stock to a paste. Pour it into the pan and stir. Allow to simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and the crumbled bacon.
- Roll out two sheets of puff pastry and cut out circles that fit into a muffin pan and that will be the tops.
- Spray the muffin pan and press the bottom pieces of puff pastry into each muffin well.
- Fill with the meat mixture.
- Top with the remaining circles of puff pastry, using an egg white wash to seal the edges and to brush over the top.
- Sprinkle with course salt.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the puff pastries are golden brown.
- Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes, and then enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a general estimate and may vary based on ingredients, brands, and substitutions. For specific dietary needs, we recommend calculating nutrition using your preferred tool.
This looks fun and fairly simple, but rather than cooking directions, you have the list of ingredients twice. Do you have the directions to include with your ingredients?
I was looking for the same thing! How long do you think you have to cook these?
Hi Alie and Susan! Thanks for alerting me that the recipe wasn’t on there! For some reason it wasn’t displaying correctly, but its all fixed now! I hope you make them and enjoy them! 🙂