Nigerian Meat Pies
Nigerian Meat Pies have a flaky and tender crust filled with perfectly seasoned ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and mixed vegetables. Meat pies are easy to make from scratch, reheat well, and are delicious every time!
I mentioned in one of my recent Instagram posts that my sister and I have been trying to cook more of our own culture’s food. As a result of the slave trade and the dispersion of our people across the world, African Americans have become a people without definite culture outside of the one shaped in America. This is very frustrating and sad.
A few years ago, we decided we wanted to cook a few West African dishes during the holidays, in addition to our normal (delicious) soul food. I wanted this addition to help us to try to regain a small part of our history through food. There are so many cookbooks I want to buy and recipes to try!
So far we have made Jollof rice, Chin chin, Puff Puff, suya beef, fried plantains, and these Nigerian Meat pies. We are West African (primarily Nigerian) and Haitian, and as we continue to try more cultural dishes I hope to share the recipes with you all as well!
Flo Chineyere a.ka. Auntie Flo from All Nigerian Recipes has been a great help to me for discovering Nigerian dishes.
(She has a Youtube channel where she shows almost in real-time how to make certain dishes and gives substitutions for certain ingredients for Africans in the Diaspora.)
I got this meat pie recipe from her, but I made a few changes to accommodate the ingredients and quantities I normally use. I’ll link the original recipe here if you want to check it out!
Key Ingredients in Nigerian Meat Pies
Butter or Margarine
Auntie Flo uses Margarine in her recipe, but I normally use organic butter. The dough for the crust is kneaded, so you don’t have to worry too much about the butter being super cold to begin with. The baking powder also helps the dough to not be too tough. The crust is almost like a very tender biscuit.
Ground beef (minced beef)
I almost always prefer chicken to beef but these meat pies are perfect with ground beef. You could also use ground goat meat as well.
Veggies
Traditionally these meat pies are only made with diced potatoes, onions, and carrots, but I love to add mixed veggies to almost everything. I added these in addition to the other ingredients.
Seasonings
The seasonings are another area where I took creative liberty. I used many of my favorite spices to season the ground beef- all-purpose seasoning, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. I also added a dash of curry powder, and cayenne pepper. All of these seasonings together result in a perfectly seasoned beef filling.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure here.
Tools You May Need:
Parchment paper, to prevent sticking
My family and I love this recipe and while they do take a second to prepare, they are perfect to have for lunch, dinner, or a quick and easy snack. I hope you try this recipe out and let me know how you like it in the comments!
Looking for More Recipes?
How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth
Nigerian Meat Pies
Ingredients
Meat Pie filling:
- 4 tablespoons ghee/ vegetable oil
- ½ lb ground beef
- ½ onion diced
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon of all-purpose seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 medium russet potato diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- ½ cup of mixed vegetables frozen
- 1 ½ - 2 cups Homemade Chicken Broth
- 2 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour and 3 ½ tablespoons water for slurry
Meat Pie dough:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick of unsalted butter ½ cup
- 4 - 5 tablespoons water
Egg wash:
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
How to Make the Meat filling:
- In a large cast-iron skillet, brown the ground beef in a few tablespoons of ghee or vegetable oil. Then add in the diced onions. When the onions are just starting to brown, add in the minced garlic and all the seasonings - all-purpose seasoning, dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried oregano, paprika, cayenne pepper, curry powder, salt, and pepper.
- Next, add in the diced potatoes, carrots, frozen mixed vegetables, and 1 ½ cups of homemade chicken broth. Stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and water to create the slurry that will thicken the meat pie filling. Mix together the slurry and the meat mixture. Turn the heat down to low, and cover.
- Cook the meat filling covered until the potatoes are tender, 15 - 20 minutes. Stir the mixture frequently, so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add extra chicken broth to the mixture if it looks too thick.
- Once the potatoes are tender, taste to adjust seasoning. Then remove from the heat and allow the filling to cool completely, 30 minutes - 1 hour.
How to Make the Dough:
- Preheat the oven to 400 F, and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt together.
- Cut the butter into cubes and work the butter chunks into the flour with your hands, until you have coarse crumbs and the flour feels like buttery sand.
- Work the water into the flour mixture with your hands to create a firm kneadable dough. Knead the dough until you have a smooth dough, 2 - 3 minutes. Allow the dough to rest covered for 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 8 sections. Take one section, while keeping the other sections covered. Roll out the dough into roughly a 5 x 7-inch circle, ¼ inch thick. You don’t want the dough to be too thin, because the filling will poke through.
- Add 2 - 3 tablespoons of filling to one half of the dough. Wet one edge of the dough, fold over the half. Press the edges together with your fingers, then crimp them with a fork.
- Make a tiny slit in the middle of the meat pie for ventilation. Place the meat on the parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining sections of the dough.
Make the egg wash:
- 8. Whisk together the egg, water, and salt to make the egg wash. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over each meat pie.
Bake:
- 9. Bake the meat pies in a 400F oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the meat pies are golden brown. Allow them to cool before serving, enjoy!
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.
