Easy Homemade Beef Pies Using Leftover Casserole

It didn’t go quite according to plan though as I only ended up with a little bit left in the slow cooker after someone helped themselves to seconds… 😂

My vision of making a nice big pile of pies wasn’t happening but I’d already got the pastry our of the freezer so pies pretty much had to happen. I decided that I’d steal some of the corned beef from the next nights dinner of corned beef hash and make one corned beef and potato pie and one beef casserole pie. 

You don’t need any special equipment to make these as you can use a traditional pie dish, individual pie dishes or even just pop the filling into an ovenproof dish and add a puff pastry lid. I made mine in my pie maker because I’ve had it for a while and thought it was about time it earned its place in the kitchen cupboard. I actually got my it for free after swapping another kitchen gadget with a friend. I’ve written about how I got my pie maker for free before and although it was a brilliant swap, I haven’t used it as much as I thought I would.

Easy Homemade Beef Pies Using Leftover Casserole

This is one of those recipes where you don’t need to worry too much about quantities because it really depends on how much casserole you’ve got left over and how many pies you want to make.

My leftover casserole already had beef, carrots and small pieces of really soft potato in a thick gravy, so there was no need to make a separate filling or add anything else.

Ingredients

• Leftover slow cooker beef casserole, completely cooled
• Ready-made shortcrust pastry for the bases
• Ready-made puff pastry for the lids

How I made my leftover beef casserole pies

1. I took my leftover beef casserole from the fridge and made sure the gravy was thick enough to use as a pie filling.
2. I took my ready-made shortcrust and puff pastry, which I’d bought reduced and kept in the freezer, and prepared them according to the packet instructions.
3. I used a 15cm bowl as a template to cut circles from the shortcrust pastry for the bases of my pies.
4. I used an 11cm bowl to cut the puff pastry lids.
5. I preheated my pie maker and carefully fitted the shortcrust pastry into the moulds.
6. I spooned the cold beef casserole into each pastry case, making sure not to overfill them.
7. I added the puff pastry lids, sealed the edges and closed the pie maker.
8. I cooked the pies until the pastry was golden and cooked through and the filling was piping hot.

The nice thing about making pies this way is that the filling is already cooked. There’s no need to spend ages preparing meat and vegetables or making gravy because all of that was done when I made the original casserole.

Making my beef pies in the pie maker

I decided to make individual pies in my pie maker, mainly because I already had it and wanted to get some more use out of it.

The only problem was that mine didn’t come with the original pastry cutters, which made getting the pastry the right size a bit of a faff.

When I first got it, I tried using a couple of IKEA children’s plates as templates but I’m not convinced they worked particularly well, so this time I got the tape measure out and had another look.

My pie maker has moulds that are approximately 11cm across the top, 7cm across the bottom and 4cm deep. After a bit of rummaging in the cupboards, I found a 15cm bowl for cutting the shortcrust pastry bases and an 11cm bowl for cutting the puff pastry lids.

I just turned the bowls upside down on the pastry and carefully cut around them with a knife. Not quite as convenient as having the proper cutters but it saved me buying anything extra.

I used shortcrust pastry for the bases and puff pastry for the lids, filling each pie with the cold beef casserole before sealing the edges.

The original instructions for my pie maker suggest around 8–15 minutes for pies with a precooked filling, although the important thing is making sure the pastry is cooked and the filling is piping hot.

Both pies came out looking good and I’m told they tasted lovely but I can’t give you that amazing cross section of pie that I wanted to show you as my partner took them to work for his tea on nights the next night. I even sent him a message asking him to take a photo of it for me but he forgot. 

And if you haven’t got a pie maker, you really don’t need one to make these as I’m about to tell you. 😂

How to make a beef casserole pie without a pie maker

You can make exactly the same meal using a normal pie dish, whether you want one large pie or several smaller ones.

If you want a traditional pie with a base, line your pie dish with shortcrust pastry and spoon in the cold leftover casserole. Top with puff pastry, seal the edges and cut a small slit in the lid to let the steam escape.

Bake at around 200°C fan for 25–35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and cooked through and the filling is piping hot. A large, deep pie may need longer.

You could also make an even easier version by simply spooning the casserole into an ovenproof dish and putting a sheet of puff pastry over the top.

That way you don’t need to worry about making a pastry base at all and you still get a lovely homemade beef pie with hardly any preparation.

Using reduced pastry from the freezer

I always keep an eye out for reduced pastry when I’m shopping because it’s such a handy thing to have in the freezer.

Ready-made pastry saves loads of time and if I can pick it up with a yellow sticker on, even better.

For these pies, I used shortcrust pastry for the bases and puff pastry for the tops, both of which I’d bought reduced and popped straight into the freezer.

I do enjoy making things from scratch but I’m certainly not going to turn down a bargain pack of ready-made pastry if it saves me time.

It’s also worth remembering that you don’t necessarily need both types of pastry. If you’ve only got puff pastry, you can make a pie with just a pastry lid. And if you’ve only got shortcrust, you can use that for the whole pie instead.

Why leftover casserole makes such a good pie filling

The brilliant thing about using leftover casserole is that you’ve already done most of the work.

The beef has been slowly cooked until tender, the vegetables are already soft and everything is sitting in a lovely thick gravy. All you’re really doing is giving it a pastry topping and turning it into a completely different meal.

My beef casserole already had potatoes and carrots in it, so I didn’t need to add anything else to the filling.

I always cut the potatoes quite small when I make my casserole because I like them really soft, and that works well here too as they’re already in small pieces and mixed through the gravy.

It’s a great way to make a relatively small amount of leftover meat go further, especially if you’ve got plenty of vegetables mixed in.

Can you freeze homemade beef pies?

Yes, you can freeze homemade beef pies, which makes them handy for meal planning.

If you’re making pies specifically to freeze, you can assemble them using cold leftover casserole that has been stored properly in the fridge, then freeze them before baking. That means you can get them out and cook them another day.

You can also freeze the cooked pies once they’ve cooled. Just pack them into suitable freezer containers or bags so the pastry is protected.

Defrost them in the fridge and cook or reheat until the filling is piping hot throughout.

Two meals from one slow cooker casserole

This is exactly the kind of cooking I love because it means I’m making the most of food we’ve already paid for.

The original slow cooker beef casserole was a lovely comforting dinner and the leftovers became something completely different with the help of a couple of packs of reduced pastry.

I didn’t need to go shopping for anything extra and I got to make use of a kitchen gadget that cost me absolutely nothing in the first place.

It’s also a good reminder that leftovers don’t always have to be reheated and served in exactly the same way. Sometimes a little bit of pastry is all you need to turn yesterday’s dinner into something that feels completely new.

Whether you make one big pie in the oven or individual ones in a pie maker, it’s such an easy way to get another meal out of your leftovers without much extra work.

Thank you for reading, Cass x

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