If you’re looking for a new dinner recipe to add to your meal plan, consider this beef pot pie. I enjoy this recipe especially in the fall and winter months. It’s also a great way to clean out your fridge and use up vegetables that you have nearing the end of their peak freshness. If you want to, you could make mini beef pot pies in a muffin tin. Individual pot pies are a way to customize this classic meal and still have this perfect comfort food.
Save Money With This Dinner Recipe
When people ask for advice on how to save money on groceries, two things that I always tell them are that first they need to reduce their produce waste and that they need to plan meals around ingredients that they already have in their home. This recipe helps to accomplish both of these things. The cooking time will vary depending on the type of meat that you are using. I am using lean ground beef in this recipe but you could also use leftover chuck roast if you are making it the next day after having a roast.
When I am going to make this pot pie I look at what is in my fridge that needs to be used up and oftentimes I can add this to the pot pie. It allows me to use those vegetables in a way that we will enjoy and ensure that they do not go to waste. Some examples of vegetables that I use in this recipe are celery, carrots, and radishes from the fridge as well as potatoes and onions from the pantry. I also use my homemade beef stock which is always in my pantry as well.
Keeping Vegetables Fresh
Most fruits and vegetables will stay fresh in my fridge for 3 weeks or more because of the way that I wash and store them. I have full directions for washing and storing 75 produce items in my book, the Zero Waste Produce Guide.
Knowing how to keep fruits and vegetables fresh for weeks allows me to spread out my shopping trips in order to save money. I try to use up everything in my fridge before I go shopping to reduce the money that I spend on groceries.
Batch Cooking Tips
Batch cooking is one way to make your life easier. By cooking once and being able to enjoy the meal multiple times, you are saving time, money and energy. This beef pot pie recipe could be made using leftover beef from a roast. It is a way to repurpose leftovers in a new way that your family will enjoy. This beef mixture can also be cooked and frozen to use at a later date.
I recommend doubling the recipe, then freezing half. You can take it out of the freezer and be able to make a homemade dinner on a busy night. Souper Cubes are one of the items that I use for freezing. They are silicone containers that allow you to freeze in different size portions. When you want to eat it you can pop out the food and easily reheat it.
Beef Pot Pie Crust
In this beef pot pie recipe I am using a phyllo dough. That is what I had in my freezer and I wanted to use it up. It filled the bottom of a 9x9 baking pan which is the size that I used for this beef pot pie. You could use puffed pastry or make your own homemade buttery pie crust. Use what you have on hand or what your family prefers. Whether you make your own crust or use a store-bought pie crust, it will taste great and make an incredible beef pot pie.
Toxin Free Cookware
If you’re looking for toxin free cookware, the pan that I find myself using all of the time in the kitchen is my Always Pan my Our Place. I even gifted this pan to family members last year because I enjoyed it so much. It is big enough to make the filling for this Beef Pot Pie recipe. For this recipe, I transfer the filling into a pie pan. Depending on what you are making, this pan can go directly in the oven which makes for easy cooking and cleaning up! They also offer a dutch oven which can be used for other easy recipes.
Beef Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- ½ onion
- 1 c. celery (2-3 stalks)
- 1 c. carrots (2-3 carrots)
- 1 c. potatoes
- 2 cups beef broth
- 3 T tomato paste
- 1 T Worcestershire sauce
- 1 T garlic powder
- 1 T italian seasoning
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ cup chopped spinach
- 2 T fresh parsley
- ½ cup peas (frozen)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large skillet, cook 1 lb of ground beef on medium heat or medium-high heat and set aside.
- Add oil to pan and cook onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, and any other vegetables until tender
- Add meat back to the pan
- Add beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings
- Cook for 5 minutes
- Add chopped spinach, fresh parsley, and frozen peas.
- Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add pie crust to a baking dish or muffin pans
- If using phyllo dough, brush melted butter between the top layers
- Use an egg wash on the top crust of the beef pot pie
- Place pie on a baking sheet if desired
- Bake for 20 minutes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer
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