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These English cornish pasties are SOO GOOD! The outside is a flaky crust that’s filled with delicious steak, potatoes, and veggies! If you haven’t tried this before then you are in for a real treat!

This makes the perfect entree for any meal. Pair it with this delicious asparagus, these simple rolls, and this salad. It will be a meal that everyone in the whole family will love!

A few cornish pasties on a plate. One has been cut open.

What ARE Cornish Pasties?

I get it, you want to know what you’re making and where it comes from before you commit to cooking it! A Cornish pasty comes from Cornwall, England. If you are looking for English comfort food at its finest then this is it! This was originally made for miners who couldn’t come up for lunch. They needed something that they could still enjoy that was hearty and filling! So the pasty was made and the “handle” (the thick crust around the edge) was used for them to hold. This way, they could still eat without getting the main part of the pasty dirty with their hands.

The cornish pasty is made with a pie crust that is then filled with the most amazing steak, potatoes, and vegetables. They’ve all been seasoned and cooked to perfection. The outside is flaky and it perfectly holds everything inside. It’s a super simple recipe that anyone can make! In fact, have your kids help you… They will love filling up the pie crust and pinching all of the edges closed!

Ingredients for Cornish Pasties

The ingredients are simple and you probably have most of them on hand already! See the recipe card below for exact ingredient measurements.

  • Pie crust: You can use your favorite homemade pie crust or get one that’s premade.
  • Beef: You can use beef skirt, flank or sirloin steak for the meat!
  • Yukon gold potatoes: I love the flavor of Yukon gold potatoes but you could use any potatoes that you love!
  • Carrots: When you cut these up, keep them the same size so that they cook evenly!
  • Seasonings: These are super simple! I just used salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
  • Yellow onion: Dice this up into smaller pieces!
  • Butter: I always like to use unsalted butter in these recipes so that I don’t have to change the amount of salt!
  • Egg: A large egg will work great!

How to Make a Cornish Pasty

Now that you have all of your ingredients ready, it’s time to make it! It only takes about 25 minutes of prep and then you just have to wait! And let me tell you… It’s worth it!

  1. Preheat oven and prep pan: Preheat oven to 350ยฐF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Cut up meat and veggies then toss in seasonings: Cut the steak into bite sized cubes. Peel and dice potatoes, onion, and carrots. Combine the filling ingredients into a bowl and toss together. Season with salt, pepper, and dried thyme. Set aside.
  3. Roll dough: Using chilled pie dough, roll dough into 4, 8-inch rounds. Rolling between wax paper makes it easier.
  4. Fill with meat: Fill the top half of each 8-inch round with the meat mixture.
  5. Pat on butter: Place 1 tbsp pat of butter on top of the meat mixture before folding. Don’t skip this part! This will help add moisture to the inside filling.
  6. Fold and crimp: Fold dough over to form a half circle and seal by crimping the edges.
  7. Make egg wash: Whisk the egg and 1 tbsp water together to make the egg wash. Brush each of the pasties with the egg wash. Prick the top of each pastie with a fork to help release steam while it bakes.
  8. Bake: Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown, and the meat is cooked through.
4 pictures showing how to roll the dough, fill it and then pinch it back up and put an egg wash on it.

Baking Tips

Here are a few tips that you can try to make these Cornish pasties turn out just right! Feel free to change up the meat and vegetables to make this your own!

  • Rutabaga: Rutabaga is traditionally used in Cornish pasties.  Feel free to add 1/4 cup peeled and diced if you desire!
  • Store bought pie crust: If using a refrigerated store bought pie crust, you will need to use both pie crusts in the box.  Let the crusts sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.  Cut each crust in half so you have 4 total.  Roll the halves into a ball before rolling them out into a circle.
  • Don’t open the oven door: I know that it’s tempting to open the oven door while you are baking your pasties. After all, you just want to see how they are doing! But when you open the door while you are baking, you let a lot of the heat out. This makes it so that it can bake unevenly.
Cornish pasties cooked and on a pan with parchment paper.

How to Store Leftovers

These cornish pasties make a fantastic lunch the next day! If you have leftovers, here is how you can store them!

  • Refrigerate: Once they have cooled, place them in an airtight container. Then, put them in your fridge! They will last 2-3 days.
  • Reheat: You can easily reheat these in the microwave! Set them on a plate and cook them on high for one minute. Flip it over and cook for another minute or until heated through!
Cornish pasties on a plate cut open so that you can see the meat and veggies inside.

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Easy Cornish Pasties

By: Alyssa Rivers
These English cornish pasties are SOO GOOD! The outside is a flaky crust that's filled with delicious steak, potatoes and veggies! If you haven't tried this before then you are in for a real treat!
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4 pasties

Ingredients 

  • 1 Pie crust (your favorite homemade pie crust or premade) chilled
  • 1/2 pound beef skirt, flank or sirloin steak
  • 3/4 cup Yukon gold potatoes (about 1 medium potato) peeled and cubed
  • 1/4 cup carrots peeled and cubed
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 cup yellow onion diced
  • 4 Tablespoon butter divided
  • 1 large egg

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350ยฐF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
  • Cut the steak into bite-sized cubes. Peel and dice potatoes, onion, and carrots. Combine the filling ingredients into a bowl and toss them together. Season with salt, pepper, and dried thyme. Set aside.
  • Using chilled pie dough, roll dough into 4, 8-inch rounds. Rolling between wax paper makes it easier.
  • Fill the top half of each 8-inch round with the meat mixture.
  • Place 1 tbsp pat of butter on top of the meat mixture before folding. Don't skip this part! This will help add moisture to the inside filling.
  • Fold dough over to form a half circle and seal by crimping the edges.
  • Whisk the egg and 1 tbsp water together to make the egg wash. Brush each of the pasties with the egg wash. Prick the top of each pastie with a fork to help release steam while it bakes.
  • Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown, and the meat is cooked through.

Notes

Rutabaga is traditionally used in Cornish pasties. Feel free to add 1/4 cup peeled and diced if you desire!
If using a refrigerated store-bought pie crust, you will need to use both pie crusts in the box.ย  Let the crusts sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Cut each crust in half so you have 4 total. Roll the halves into a ball before rolling them out into a circle.

Nutrition

Calories: 439kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 17gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 481mgPotassium: 454mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1755IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: English
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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5 Comments

  1. Question, please? I have someone who does not like any beef but ground beef. I have someone who cannot chew or takes for ever to chew chucks of beef. Have you tried this with ground beef? Maybe a small roast cooked long and slow and tender, then shredded?

  2. I make my own pastry. 8 oz SR Flour, 2 ozs lard and 2 ozs butter and 1/4 cup water. I use turnip and parsley..my Cornish sister in law’s recipe. I’d like to try thyme instead of parsley. I don’t like carrots.