Homemade Beef Pot Pie Recipe

There are many cherished hearty meals, from macaroni and cheese to chicken fried steak, but one truly delicious meal that's an all-time favorite is beef pot pie. After all, this is a dish that's typically flooding with savory flavor, thanks to the meat and vegetable contents hiding inside the pie. And now you can create this classic feast in the comfort of your own home thanks to recipe developer and private practice registered dietician Kristen Carli's homemade beef pot pie recipe.

Although this isn't necessarily classified as a "simple" recipe, it's perfect for anyone who's up for a challenge and a really good meal. "This is what I would consider an intermediate/advanced level difficulty," Carli says. "The hardest part is making the homemade crust."

Taking around 80 minutes to cook and accompanied by a decent-sized ingredients list, we hope you're ready to make art in your kitchen. Though this pot pie recipe brings it on its own, a side dish is always encouraged. "This is a complete dish on its own, but pairs nicely with a simple green salad," Carli notes.

Before you can start cooking, you'll need to gather the ingredients for this homemade beef pot pie recipe. You'll need flour, salt, butter, ice water, bottom round slices, carrots, celery, and onion. You'll also need garlic, beef broth, water (this is in addition to the ice water), pepper, and bay leaf. Rounding out the ingredients, you'll also need parsley and an egg.

You'll want to take this time to chop your vegetables and the beef. Near the end of this recipe, you'll need to make an egg wash, which typically consists of water and an uncooked egg.

Now that the ingredients are out and ready for cooking, it's time to make the dough. You'll add 1 ½ cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of salt to a food processor, and then stir with a spoon. Next, add cold, unsalted butter to the food processor, and then process for about 20 seconds, and stir well. You'll then add 1 more cup of flour to the mixture, and pulse for about 15 seconds.

Cold butter might sound odd, but it's essential for this type of baking, because it can lead to a perfectly flaky pie crust. And in case you're wondering, the dough should also be cold, which is why the following step consists of ice water and fridge time.

Now that the dough is formed, you'll put the flour and butter mixture into a large bowl. Pour the ice water on top of it, and then stir with a wooden spoon until the dough begins to come together. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball.

Using a dough scraper, you'll cut the dough into two equal portions, and then store it in plastic bags (or plastic wrap) in the fridge for at least one hour. This step might seem superfluous — and we understand you're ready to chow down on some beef pot pie — but it's essential for an adequate pie crust.

While the fridge is doing its magic with the dough, you can start cooking the beef. Of course, you can time this so that the pot pie mixture is finished around the same time the dough is ready.

Now, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, and then add the beef. Cook the beef until it's no longer pink, which should take about eight minutes. Once it's ready, you'll remove the beef from the pan, and set it aside. While you want to ensure the beef is cooked, you don't want to overcook it, especially since it will continue to heat up in the following steps.

Now that the beef is cooked and set aside, you'll move on to the vegetables. First, you'll add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot, and stir well. Allow these ingredients to cook until the onion is translucent, which should take about five minutes.

Next, add the beef broth, water, pepper, and bay leaf to the pot. At this time, you can also return the beef to the pot. Heat these ingredients over medium heat, and then cover the pot with a lid, and cook the mix for 30 minutes.

Once the 30 minutes have passed, remove the lid. Then, add the remaining flour, and stir well. Continue to cook for 10 minutes.

Now, you'll preheat the oven to 425 F. Next, remove the dough from the fridge, and allow the dough to sit out for five minutes. After the five minutes have passed, you'll roll out both pieces of dough to about 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Then, place one piece of dough on the bottom of the pie dish. Press the dough into the pie dish. Using a knife, cut the excess dough off, and discard it. Poke a few holes in the bottom crust with a fork. Using a spoon, scoop the beef mixture into the crust. Top the beef mixture with the chopped parsley.

Now that the beef mixture is nestled into the pie dish, you'll top the mixture with the remaining dough. Press the edges of the dough together to stick. Use your fingers or a fork to crimp the edges. Using a knife, remove the excess dough, and discard it. Poke a few holes in the top crust dough with a fork. Brush the top crust with egg wash, which you can prepare right before brushing the top of the pie crust. Then, pop the pot pie in the oven, and bake it for 15 to 20 minutes.

After 15 to 20 minutes have passed, you'll take the beef pot pie out of the oven. Your kitchen will smell simply divine. Although you'll want to follow your timer, Carli notes that you'll know when the pot pie is done because "the crust should be a golden brown."

As the pot pie ingredients are likely going to be hot (This tends to come with the territory of pot pies!), you'll want to wait about five minutes for it to cool down before eating this masterpiece. Once five minutes have passed, and the pot pie has cooled, you can serve and enjoy! The presentation is amazing, and the taste will not disappoint anyone you serve it to.

This is a really yummy recipe to prepare for family and friends alike. You are sure to get tons of compliments and be asked to make it time and again.