Beef and onions are such a classic combination, and why tamper with what works? Here is a recipe for a delicious Slow Cooker Steak Pie. Tender chunks of braised beef are stewed in a rich onion gravy, and topped with a light puff pastry lid. Simple and satisfying!
What are the ingredients in Slow Cooker Steak Pie?
The ingredients in this Slow Cooker Beef Pie recipe are as few as possible. This allows the rich flavours of the braised beef steak and onions to really shine through!
Carrots and mushrooms are added for a bit of sweetness and texture, but otherwise I think that this is such a classic British dish that keeping the list refined works best.
The result is a beef pie with a gorgeously dark gravy which makes for the most wonderful comfort food on a cold day.
How easy is it to make Slow Cooker Steak Pie?
Preparing the steak pie is a quick task and really just a case of searing the meat, chopping the vegetables and seasoning. Then let it cook!
Once cooked, the additional step is applying the pastry lid. As with the notes on the Slow Cooker Chicken Pie, you can make this step much easier by using shop bought pastry.
Does anyone really have time to make their own puff pastry?
How to create a perfect Steak Pie pastry lid
The key to a good puff pastry rise is to cool the contents of the pie first. If you’re in a rush, the quickest way to do this is to add the cooked pie contents to a pie dish and put it in the fridge until it’s cool.
Once it’s properly chilled, then (and only then!) you can add your puff pastry top.
If the contents are even the slightest bit warm, the butter in the pastry will melt before you’ve even got it near the oven.
The pastry lid will end up flopping into the pie dish and looking pretty miserable. Trust me on this, I’ve learnt the hard way!
Can I keep leftover Steak Pie?
If you have leftovers of the beef steak in gravy then it’s not necessary to add the pie lid. It makes a tasty beef stew in it’s own right and I will often serve up leftovers with a good dollop of mash potatoes and vegetables!
If you do end up with some ingredients left, it’ll keep in an airtight container for three months in the freezer, or two days in the fridge.
Ensure that it’s piping hot all the way through before serving.
Slow Cooker Steak Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 750 g beef braising steak
- 1 large white onion
- 1 carrot
- 150 g mushrooms
- 2 beef stock cubes
- 600 ml hot water
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 tbsp flour plain or cornflour
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 egg beaten
- 650 g puff pastry
Instructions
- Cut the beef steak into large chunks and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper. Coat the meat with the oil and then place in a hot pan to lightly sear on all sides (1-2 minutes). Remove from the heat and put into the slow cooker pot.
- Slice the onions and mushrooms, cut the carrots into roughly 2 cm pieces and add all vegetables to the slow cooker. Sprinkle over the corn flour, thyme, bay leaves and remaining black pepper and stir through well to ensure an even coating.
- Melt the stock cubes in the hot water and pour over the meat and vegetables in the slow cooker, then add the tomato paste and sugar and stir through. The meat and vegetables should be submerged in the liquid.
- Place on the lid and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- Once cooked through, remove the beef and vegetables from the heat and allow to cool. A good way to do this is to divide the mixture into the individual pot pie dishes and refrigerate for half an hour. Allowing to cool will ensure that your pastry lid doesn't simply melt into the beef stew mixturefb!
- Brush the edge of the pie dishes with the beaten egg and then line them with a strip of pastry all the way around. Then egg the top of the strips again.
- Place over your pastry lid so it sits on the strip of pastry neatly and press down gently with a fork. Remove any excess pastry from the edge of the dish.
- Place in the oven to cook on setting 200°C/400°F for 20 minutes or according to manufacturers instructions if using ready made pastry.
Natalie-Ann
Wednesday 25th of October 2023
Hi there. Can I put pastry at the bottom as well as we like our pies in the pastry? If so, what would the process be before putting in the beef. Thank you.
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Monday 26th of June 2023
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Simon H
Saturday 7th of January 2023
Great recipe, but it's not a pie - it's a stew with a lid ;-). Pie is fully encased in pastry!
Julia
Thursday 5th of January 2023
Im going to try this but I thought you weren’t supposed to put hot food into a fridge to cool
Trevor
Wednesday 10th of August 2022
This is also good topped with mashed potato sprinkled with cheddar and placed in an oven at 180 for 25-30 mins to crisp up.