Pie Recipes You Need to Try

There are few dinner recipes as satisfying as a good, homemade pie. Whether you go for a traditional pastry version, or a comforting mashed potato-topped pie, there’s no better way to warm up on a chilly day. 

We love to prove that just about anything can go into a pie – from meat or fish to cheese or vegetables. Often filled with rich gravy and encased in buttery pastry, you’d be forgiven for thinking pie is off the menu when you’re putting together a slimming-friendly meal plan. 

In true Pinch of Nom fashion, we’ve got plenty of hacks to give these proper pies a low-calorie makeover. 

Pastry-topped pies

A family favourite, this Chicken and Mushroom Pie seems like the best place to start. With its golden, scrunched filo topping, and a simple, creamy filling, it’ll sort your pie craving right out. 

It only takes 5 minutes of preparation and half an hour in the oven, so you won’t have long to wait before your first bite. Using ready-made filo pastry is a great way to keep the calories down, as well as making sure this recipe is nice and easy to make. 

At only 247 calories per serving, you can add a few Homemade Oven Chips on the side, or serve with a good dollop of Creamy Mashed Potatoes. 

When it comes to classic pie recipes, there’s no way we could miss Steak and Stilton Pie off the list! This one tastes so rich and indulgent, we sometimes serve it on a Sunday instead of a roast. 

Underneath that crunchy golden filo lid you’ll find tender, melt-in-the-mouth steak and deliciously tangy Stilton. The steak needs to be simmered for a couple of hours to get beautifully velvety and soft, but if you have a slow cooker, you can always pop your ingredients in there instead – we’ve got a slow cooker version of this recipe right here.

Spoon some Garlic Green Beans on the side and you’re onto a winner!

Proving that you don’t need meat to make a hearty and delicious meal, this Samosa Pie packs Indian-inspired flavour into a crisp, filo case. You’ve got pastry all the way around this one, so if you’re a big fan of pies with a crunchy exterior, you need to give it a try. 

We’ve stuffed the inside with potato, peas, carrots, cauliflower and onion, cooked in a fragrant homemade spice mix. A cross between a samosa and a pie, this recipe is lower in calories than either option. It looks so impressive on the table, and it can be cut into smaller slices if you fancy serving it as a starter for your fakeaway night. 

Easy, cheesy and so satisfying, this Homity Pie is another vegetarian recipe that delivers on all the warming, comforting flavour you want from a pie. This time, the pastry goes on the base, forming a tart-like case to hold that gooey, golden filling.

The original recipe for Homity Pie is believed to have been created during the Second World War, to make a hearty meal from basic rations. Our version also turns simple, budget-friendly ingredients into something delicious, albeit with a few slimming-friendly swaps. 

Rather than shortcrust pastry, we’re sticking to our favourite filo – it’s so much lighter, and it turns lovely and crisp in the oven. Reduced-fat cheese and semi-skimmed milk also help to lighten the recipe, so you can enjoy a slice for only 288 calories. 

A Cornish pasty is an absolute British classic, so we couldn’t resist seeing if we could put a Pinch of Nom twist on it (turning it into a pie in the process!). Our Cornish Pasty Pie is a thing of beauty, and we don’t just mean how tempting it looks. 

Topped with a lattice of light puff pastry, we haven’t scrimped on the moreish, meaty filling. Instead, we’ve swapped beef chunks for lean mince, to help you get more for your money. You can pad out the filling with absolutely any vegetables that you like – it’ll all taste amazing cooked down with the stock, seasoning and a sneaky spoonful of Marmite. 

Just because it’s full of veg, it doesn’t mean you can’t serve it with even more. We can’t resist adding these Marmite Sprouts on the side. 

Potato-topped pies

No one said you had to have pastry to make a pie. Some of our favourite comfort foods are topped with potatoes and baked in the oven. Shepherd’s Pie anyone? One of those dinners that you always look forward to at the end of a long day, everyone has their own version of this classic. Ours might be more slimming friendly than most, but it won’t let you down on flavour. 

Rather than lamb mince, which can be fairly high in fat, we’ve used leaner lamb chunks, which give the filling a nice texture. We’re never shy with the vegetables, and this is another recipe where practically any veggies that need using up can be thrown in the mix. 

Cook it all down until the gravy inside is rich and luscious, and the mashed potato on top has turned beautifully golden brown. Perfection!

Crack out your piping bag if you want to make an Admiral’s Fish Pie that looks just like ours! This recipe will work just as well if you spoon your mashed potato on the top, but piping it on prevents it getting mixed into that creamy filling. 

It’s always a good idea to get more fish into your diet, and this recipe is such an easy (and tasty!) way to do it. Pack it full of your favourite seafood – you can usually find fish pie mixes at the supermarket that include chunks of different fish, prawns and mussels, which work out cheaper than buying each ingredient separately. 

A little more indulgent at 600 calories per serving, this is a delicious special occasion recipe that’ll warm you right up. 

It’s no secret that we like to mash together a few of our favourite recipes to come up with a fresh twist on classic dishes. We sprinkled a bit of Pinch of Nom magic onto a British takeaway fave, and came up with this Fish and Chip Pie. Okay, so it might not have pastry or a mashed potato topping, but we think a layer of golden, homemade chips does the job nicely!

Inside, we’ve packed in all the flavours of the perfect chippy tea, with flaky, oven-baked fish and a layer of mushy peas. 

You’ll even get a hint of vinegar from the chips – we season them really well and sprinkle on the vinegar before piling them on top of the pie and baking them to perfection. 

Proving that just about anything tastes incredible when you turn it into a pie, we’ve spooned mash onto a creamy, flavourful curry to create this next slimming-friendly recipe. Our Chicken Korma Pie is sure to be a hit with the whole family – and it’s easier to make than you might expect. 

The Korma is mild and aromatic, made with fragrant garlic and ginger, light coconut milk and finished with ground almonds. Tuck it underneath our herby mashed potatoes, then bake it until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden. 

When you need something you can throw together in a flash, using only ingredients that you already have around the house, there’s one obvious answer: our Fish Finger Pie. 

Grab a tin of beans out of the cupboard and the fish fingers stashed at the back of the freezer. Add a couple of spuds and some cheese, and you have pretty much everything you’ll need to make this filling, family-friendly midweek meal. 

Dinnertime is sorted in less than an hour, and we can guarantee there’ll be clean plates and happy faces all round. 

Making a slimming-friendly pie for dinner?

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You can also head across to our Facebook group if you’re looking for ideas and inspiration. With almost 1 million members, it’s the place to be for motivation and support on your slimming journey,