10 British Pie Varieties
Ranked From the Best To the Worst

Cheese and onion pie is an English comfort food dish. Although it is consumed all over the country, some sources suggest that it's a north-western tradition. The pie is typically made with a combination of shortcrust pastry, cheddar or crumbly cheeses, and cooked or fried onions. Common, yet non-traditional additions include potatoes, crème fraîche, and a sauce made with flour, milk, and cream. It is recommended to serve the pie warm or cold, preferably accompanied by chips and a salad on the side.Expand

A multiple winner of the annual British Pie Awards, the world-famous Melton Mowbray pork pie is filled with the finest fresh pork meat which is chopped and seasoned with salt and pepper. When baked, the meat filling turns grey in color, just like roast pork, and it is particularly succulent. Melton Mowbray pies are traditionally baked free-standing, without a hoop, which gives the golden-brown pastry case its typical shape.Expand

Meat and potato pie is a comforting English staple that's perfect for a family meal. The pie shell is made from flour, beef suet, and cold water, while the filling is usually a combination of onions, beef (or sometimes lamb) chunks, and potatoes, whether waxy, floury, or both. This meat pie is baked until it becomes golden bown, and before serving it's left to stan for a short while. The filling can optionally be enriched with carrots. Meat and potato pie is usually made at home and it's often accompanied by red cabbage on the side.Expand

Mince pie is a staple Christmas snack in England, consisting of a crumbly pastry shell filled with dried fruits and spices (often called mincemeat). Originally, the pies contained both sweet and savory ingredients such as ground meat, lard, and cheese. Due to their original, rectangular shape, people used to associate the pies with the manger Jesus had been laid in, and the snacks were prepared for Easter and Christmas, while the amount of spices and ingredients was used as a way to show off the cooks' wealth to other people. By the 20th century, no meat products were incorporated into the pies apart from suet. Today, mince pies are made in a round shape and served either hot or cold.Expand

Game pie is a traditional dish consisting of a pastry shell filled with rich gravy and slowly cooked game meat such as venison, rabbit, and pheasant. The dish is typically prepared during the colder months, since the British game season usually runs through autumn and winter. It is believed that game pie became popular during the 16th century in Britain, when it was prepared with whatever meat could be found, such as pigeons and blackbirds. Today, the availability of game makes it easier to prepare even the more elaborate pies that are often heavily decorated or engraved in order to impress the consumers.Expand

Fidget pie is a traditional pie originating from Shropshire. Although there are a few variations on the dish, it’s usually made with a combination of bacon, onions, Granny Smith or Bramley apples, salt, pepper, cider, parsley, cornstarch, beaten eggs, and hot-water crust or shortcrust pastry. The crust or pie shell consists of flour, milk, salt, water, and beef suet, lard, or shortening. It’s placed into a pan pie, then filled with the mixture of bacon, chopped apples, onion, parsley, salt, and pepper. The combination is topped with a mixture of cider and cornstarch. The second crust is then laid on top, sealed, brushed with beaten eggs, then baked until it develops a golden-brown color. Once done, fidget pie is sliced and served warm. If desired, potatoes such as King Edward or Maris Piper can also be added to the pie.Expand

Lancashire butter pie consists of shortcrust pastry filled with onions, potatoes, butter, salt, and pepper. Although vegetarians might think that this pie is suitable for them, they need to be apprehensive because bakers sometimes use lard in the crust. The pie is derived from local meat-and-potato pies, but the meat is replaced with butter because a sizeable Catholic population in Lancashire couldn't consume meat on Fridays. Therefore, this pie has got alternative names such as Catholic pie and Friday pie. These days, butter pie can be found in supermarkets and local chippies, and it is traditionally served with pickled red cabbage on the side.Expand

Katt pie is a traditional savory pie. The pastry is made with a combination of flour, salt, lard or suet, eggs, and water, while the filling consists of ground lamb or mutton, thyme, lemon zest, currants, and brown sugar. Once assembled, the pie is baked until golden brown, and it's then traditionally served hot. Katt pie was originally prepared to celebrate Fair Day (12th November) in Templeton.Expand

This traditional Scottish pie consists of a hearty filling made with thinly beaten slices of beefsteak that are rolled around mussels or oysters—which are often themselves wrapped in streaky bacon—and an egg-glazed, puff pastry top. As suggested by its name, the pie hails from Musselburgh, one of Edinburgh’s fishing ports which was originally known as Eskmouth, but was eventually renamed because of the abundance of mussels at the mouth of the River Esk. Musselburgh pie is said to have originated in the early 1800s and was invented by the local housewives who used to source the mussels from the said river, using them as a frugal way to bulk up their meat pies.Expand

Fatherless pie is a traditional pie originating from the Isle of Man. The pie is made with shortcrust pastry, milk, water, butter, potatoes, and seasoning. The potatoes are cut into thin pieces, then assembled on the shortcrust pastry with butter, salt, and pepper. Once assembled, the milk and water are poured over the filling, and the whole thing is topped with a pie crust before being baked in the oven. This simple pie is traditionally eaten with boiled fish on Good Friday.Expand