A true Kiwi classic, mince and cheese pie! This is my take on this classic to make it a super easy weeknight meal. Flavourful mince in a delicious gravy, with tasty cheese, and topped by a flakey puff pastry… yum!
Traditionally, a mince and cheese pie is a little handheld pie you’d find in bakeries across New Zealand. To make this meal minimal effort, I’ve curated this recipe to fit in an oven safe dish with a single layer of flakey pastry.
Key Ingredients
- Vegetables in this dish are made up of aromatics and carrots. The aromatics are the classic onion and garlic, these build the base flavour to the gravy. Carrots not only add a pop of colour, and of course are good for you, they bring a nice balance of sweetness to the mince and cheese pie.
- Mince will be consisting of the beef variety. For this dish I have gone with premium lean beef mince, to reduce the amount of fat. Recently I have made a habit of buying our meat from the butchers, and it has made a big difference! Often cheaper, but if not definitely better quality.
- Cheese may be a controversial combination… I used grated tasty cheese, the best kind in my opinion, as well as tasty processed cheese slices. Now, hear me out, adding the processed slices brought the dish to another cheesy level. You can skip if you’d like, but just trust me on this.
- Gravy is made up of bisto and water. I love the flavour of bisto when it comes to having a gravy base. I also added a beef oxo cube for an extra flavour boost.
- Additional sauces added to the mince and cheese pie are soy sauce and worcestershire sauce. These enhance the umami flavour, bringing another level of depth to the dish.
- Seasonings consist of garlic powder, italian herbs, and onion powder. Garlic and onion powder help boost the flavours of the aromatics, then the italian herbs bring a lovely earthy tone to the mince and cheese pie.
- Butter is used to help the pastry turn a nice golden brown colour.
- Flakey pastry is the star topper of this dish! A mince and cheese pie most definitely needs a flakey top. To simplify this dish, I only place the pastry on top – rather than the bottom as well. I just use premade pastry, we’re all about convenience here!
How to make this delicious mince and cheese pie
Preheat the oven and brown the mince.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Add the beef mince to an oiled pan on medium-high heat. Use the spatula to break the meat apart into mince. Cook the beef mince until browned, and remove any excess fat.
Prepare your vegetables.
Whilst the beef mince is browning, prepare your vegetables. Peel and dice the onion and carrot into small pieces.
Saute the aromatics and carrot.
Once the mince has finished cooking, remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl. Add the onion and carrot to the pan and saute until the onion begins turning translucent, then also add the crushed garlic. Saute for a further few minutes.
Season and make the gravy.
Season the aromatics and carrot mix with the beef oxo cube, garlic powder, onion powder, and italian herbs. Give these a good stir. Then mix together the bisto powder and water separately to form a gravy.
Finish the mince base.
Pour the bisto gravy into the pan, as well as the soy sauce and worcestershire sauce. Leave everything in the pan to simmer and thicken for 5 minutes.
Layer the mince and cheese pie.
Transfer the beef mince mixture to an oven safe dish. Sprinkle the grated tasty cheese over top, then add the layer of processed cheese slices. Pop this in the oven for a few minutes to let the cheese melt slightly.
Place the pastry.
Cut the flakey pastry into pieces to fit your dish. Place the flakey pastry on top of the mince and cheese mixture. Lightly poke small holes across the pastry.
Bake the mince and cheese pie.
Place the mince and cheese pie in the oven for 20 minutes. Half way through, brush melted butter over the top of the pastry, then put the pie back into the oven at 200℃.
Serve and enjoy!
Let the pie cool slightly before serving, then enjoy!
Storage
Let the mince and cheese pie cool to a lukewarm/room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container, or wrap tightly in gladwrap. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days, could be up to 3 however the pastry will most likely turn soggy.
More cozy recipes:
- Brie and Bacon Gnocchi
- Massaman Curry
- Leek and Bacon Orzo
- Camembert Bacon Wedge Bake
- Tomato Pesto Pasta
- Pulled Pork Tacos
- One Pot Lasagna
Alrighty, you should now know everything you need to make this delicious mince and cheese pie. So come on, let’s grab those ingredients and get to cooking! You do not want to miss out on this one.
Mince and Cheese Pie
Ingredients
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 500 g beef mince
- ½ c grated tasty cheese
- 6 slices processed tasty cheese
- 1 tbsp butter melted
- 4 tbsp bisto mixed in 2 cups water
- 1 beef oxo cube
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp italian herbs
- 1 sheet flakey pastry
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180℃.
- Add the beef mince to an oiled pan on medium-high heat. Use the spatula to break the meat apart into mince. Cook the beef mince until browned, and remove any excess fat.
- Whilst the beef mince is browning, prepare your vegetables. Peel and dice the onion and carrot into small pieces.
- Once the mince has finished cooking, remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl. Add the onion and carrot to the pan and saute until the onion begins turning translucent, then also add the crushed garlic. Saute for a further few minutes.
- Season the aromatics and carrot mix with the beef oxo cube, garlic powder, onion powder, and italian herbs. Give these a good stir. Then mix together the bisto powder and water separately to form a gravy.
- Pour the bisto gravy into the pan, as well as the soy sauce and worcestershire sauce. Leave everything in the pan to simmer and thicken for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the beef mince mixture to an oven safe dish. Sprinkle the grated tasty cheese over top, then add the layer of processed cheese slices. Pop this in the oven for a few minutes to let the cheese melt slightly.
- Cut the flakey pastry into pieces to fit your dish. Place the flakey pastry on top of the mince and cheese mixture. Lightly poke small holes across the pastry.
- Place the mince and cheese pie in the oven for 20 minutes. Half way through, brush melted butter over the top of the pastry, then put the pie back into the oven at 200℃.
- Let the pie cool slightly before serving, then enjoy!
