This savory Italian Easter Pie recipe (also known as pizza rustica or pizza chiena) has a creamy ricotta filling studded with Italian deli meat and cheeses, all baked together inside of a buttery double crust.
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In my Italian-American family, no Easter season is complete without eating Pizza Rustica. This supersized pie is stuffed with three different types of cheese and tons of Italian meats. It's traditionally eaten at room temperature or cold, but my own family also enjoys it warm from the oven.
You can customize the filling based on what you like or have on hand (more on this below!).
While the pie is traditional for Easter, it will most certainly be welcomed at the table at any time of year. I like to think of it as the savory companion to another Italian Easter favorite: Sweet Ricotta Pie.
What's In a Name?
Before I go any further, I should probably say that this recipe is known by many names. Here are just a few of them:
- torta salata
- Italian meat pie
- Italian Easter pie
- savory ricotta pie
- pizza ripena
- pizza gaina
- pizza chiena
So, let's get to making it, shall we? The article below details all the information you need to know to make this successfully, concluding with the recipe at the end. You can jump around using the menu below, or skip to the end of the article for the full recipe.
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Ingredients Needed and Substitutions
Here is a brief overview of the ingredients needed. The recipe card lists the full recipe with quantities and detailed instructions (located below this article).
- all-purpose flour
- egg wash
- unsalted butter
- eggs
- Italian deli meats (see more on this below)
- ricotta cheese (buy a good quality if you can, I really like Calabro or Galbani)
- mozzarella + provolone cheeses
- sugar (just a pinch for the pie crust)
- baking powder
- coarse kosher salt (This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease the volume by half.)
Customizing the Add-ins
The recipe calls for one and a half cups of Italian deli meats. You can use any that you and your family enjoy. Here are some suggestions:
- ham
- salami
- pepperoni
- soppressata
- mortadella
- prosciutto
- cooked Italian sausage
Making the Pie Crust
Pasta Frolla is an Italian shortcrust pastry. It's easy to make and tastes amazing. Because it has a lower water content, it can be made and rolled out right away! The dough will be soft, but it's quite easy to work with right after being made.
Pasta Frolla is made in the food processor and it takes about 5 minutes to throw together.
It can be made and kept in the refrigerator up to 2 days ahead of time or frozen for up to 3 months.
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until broken down into pea-sized pieces.
Step 2: Add in the water and eggs and let the dough process until it forms a cohesive ball around the blade.
Step 3: Transfer the dough to a work surface dusted with flour.
Step 4: Divide the dough into 2 pieces--about ⅔ and ⅓.
Preparing the Filling
If you use a lower quality (read: cheap) ricotta, you will likely have ricotta that hasn't been strained very well. In general, ricotta has a grainy texture to it; after all, it's made of curds, which are coagulated milk solids. However, lower-quality ricotta that isn't well strained will have more defined grains which may be less than ideal for this pie. So I'd recommend straining the ricotta overnight, or at least for a few hours. Check on the notes in the recipe for how to do this.
This filling contains just a few ingredients, but it is pretty magnificent. You'll notice there is no added salt in the filling, and that's because the addition of the Italian deli meats and cheeses should add a nice savory note to the finished product without the need for more salt.
Step 1: Mix together the eggs and ricotta.
Step 2: Cut the Italian deli meats into small dice.
Step 3: Add the meats and the cheese to the filling.
Step 4: And fold together until combined.
How to Best Assemble the Pie
This double-crust pie has a decorative fork-lattice design on it. The scoring on the pastry isn't just decorative; it serves a purpose. Since the ricotta filling puffs up and expands when the pie is baking, the scoring directs the pastry where exactly to crack during this expansion. Then, once the pie cools and sinks back down, you can hardly tell there was any cracking.
Take your time scoring the pastry with the fork, as this makes a difference in guiding the pastry to break in those weak points as the ricotta expands.
Step 1: Roll out the larger piece of dough for the pie.
Step 2: And place the dough in a springform pan.
Step 3: Roll out the remaining piece of dough, chill it, then score the pastry.
Step 4: Place the filling in the pastry-lined springform pan and place the scored crust on the top.
Step 5: Cut off any excess pastry and crimp the top and bottom edges of the dough together as desired.
Step 6: Brush the top with an egg wash, then bake .
How to Tell When It's Fully Baked
This pie is fully baked when it has puffed throughout and the filling feels set. The internal temperature of the pie should be pretty close to 180ºF. A little less than that is okay, as it will continue to carryover-cook as it rests. The crust should also be fully baked and light golden brown throughout.
When the pie cools, it will shrink back down and the cracks should be unnoticeable. However, a little bit of cracking is normal!
Steps to Make in Advance
As with all pies, you can make some components ahead of time.
The pie crust can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. If you chill it before you roll it out, make sure to let it warm up before attempting to roll it out.
The filling cannot be prepared ahead of time.
The entire pie can be assembled and baked up to two days in advance. Store the pie in the refrigerator and let it come close to room temperature before serving. You can serve it directly from the refrigerator if you desire, but traditionally, it is served closer to room temperature.
Serving Pizza Rustica
This pie is traditionally served cold or at room temperature. You can serve it warm if you'd like, but the whole pie needs to cool for at least two hours before slicing into, or else it won't be fully set.
Watch It: How to Make Italian Easter Pie
More Easter Pies
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PrintFull Recipe
Italian Easter Pie (Pizza Rustica)
This savory Italian Easter Pie recipe has a creamy ricotta filling studded with Italian deli meat and cheese all baked inside of a crumbly Italian pastry. Typically served on Easter, but not exclusively, this is sure to be the star of the show at any meal.
- Prep Time: 00:25
- Cook Time: 00:50
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8-10
- Category: Savory Pie
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
Savory Pasta Frolla:
- 3 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (226 grams) cold unsalted butter, diced
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup water
Ricotta Filling:
- 32 ounces (905 grams) whole-milk ricotta, strained if very watery (see notes)
- 8 large eggs
- 1-½ cups diced Italian deli meats (ham, salami, soppressata)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup diced provolone cheese
- Egg wash
Instructions
Make the Pastry:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and place an oven rack in the middle part of the oven.
- Add the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well combined.
- Add in the butter and pulse 5-7 times, or until the butter is broken down into tiny pebbles.
- With the motor running, add in the eggs and water and let the dough process until it forms a cohesive ball around the blade, about 1 minute.
- Transfer the dough to a work surface dusted with flour. Divide the dough into two pieces, about ⅔ and ⅓ of the dough each.
- Roll out the larger piece of dough to a rough 15-inch circle. Place inside of a 9-inch springform pan, pressing the pastry into the sides and the bottom of the pan and letting a little of the pastry hang over the edges.
- Roll out the other piece of the dough to a rough 10-inch circle. Place on a flat surface (such as a sheet pan) that can fit in your refrigerator. Cover, and transfer the pie dough to the refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes.
Make the Filling, Assemble, and Bake:
- Meanwhile, make the filling: Add the (strained) ricotta and the eggs to a large bowl. Whisk together until well combined. Fold in the deli meats, mozzarella, and provolone.
- Transfer the filling to the dough in the springform pan and smooth it into an even layer.
- Remove the rolled-out top crust from the refrigerator. Score the top crust with a fork in a lattice pattern by evenly pressing and dragging the fork on the pastry. You want to get a good score on it, but make sure not to cut all the way through the pastry.
- Place the top crust pastry on top of the ricotta filling. Crimp the edges of the top and bottom dough together to seal the pie. Cut off any excess.
- Brush the egg wash onto the top crust. Cut a few small slits in the top of the pie directly along the lines left by the fork.
- Bake the pie on a rimmed baking sheet for 50-60 minutes, or until the top is golden and shiny and the filling has set and puffed up throughout.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 2 hours. Serve at room temperature or cold.
Notes
This pie requires a 9-inch springform pan. Alternatively, a 9.5- or 10-inch pie plate will also work, though you might not be able to fit all the filling.
Use whatever deli meats you like for this pie. You can also use cooked Italian sausage.
Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if your ricotta needs to be strained if you’ve never baked with it before. A good rule of thumb is that unless you are buying a local or higher-end brand, you likely should strain it. I like Calabro brand and find that it does not need to be strained. If you aren't sure, you can go ahead and strain it anyways. To strain ricotta, place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Line the fine mesh strainer with two layers of cheesecloth. An alternative to this is to use a nut milk bag if you have one of those. Place the ricotta in the cheesecloth and smooth the ricotta over to get a flat surface. Transfer the ricotta to the refrigerator to strain for about 8 hours or overnight. Discard any liquid left at the bottom of the bowl. Then, the ricotta is ready to use.
Weighing your flour is the most accurate way to measure. If you aren't going to weigh it, make sure to spoon it into the measuring cup, then level it off. If you scoop the flour out with the measuring cup and then level it, it could change the outcome of the final product.
This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease the volume by half.
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