Rich Guinness-braised beef is baked under a flaky pie crust for the ultimate comfort food dinner. This Beef Pot Pie can be made as four elegant single servings or as one whole pie.
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A truly hearty dinner, this Guinness Braised Beef Pot Pie features stout-braised, tender beef in a rich and savory gravy, baked underneath the most delicious, buttery pie crust. This pot pie recipe is perfect for St. Patrick's Day or any day you want a comforting and filling meal.
This beef pot pie can be made in individual containers for single servings or baked in a standard pie dish for serving a crowd.
What I love most about this type of pie (similar to Chicken Pot Pie or Lentil Pot Pie) is that it can be made in stages or completely assembled and then frozen ahead of time. Don't worry, I'll share all the details about how to break down the steps, how to freeze it, and defrost it as well.
So, let's get to making it, shall we? The article below details all the information you need to know to make these 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).
- stout beer (we're talking Guinness here!)
- homemade pie crust or store-bought puff pastry (see below for pie crust recipe options)
- beef that can be braised (see below for some options)
- mushrooms + carrots
- garlic + onion
- all-purpose flour
- tomato paste
- fresh thyme leaves
- beef broth
- turbinado sugar
- eggwash
- 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.)
The Best Cut of Beef to Use for Beef Pot Pie
The best cut of meat for this beef pot pie is one that can withstand a long cooking time. Generally speaking, this means a tough cut of meat that will tenderize once braised. Here are my top choices in order:
- brisket
- chuck roast
- rump roast
- bottom round roast
What to Bake it In
There are two options for the vessel with which to bake this beef pot pie: individual ramekins or a large 9-inch deep-dish pie plate! It really comes down to your preference. The baking time is largely the same for both, plus a few extra minutes in the oven for a full beef pot pie.
Pie Crust Options
For this beef pot pie, the recipe calls for a top crust only, since the filling is already pretty rich. That means you'll need one pie crust or one package of store-bought (or homemade) puff pastry. I've included a recipe below for a really delicious 3-ingredient sour cream pie crust. Don't want to make the sour cream pie crust? There are a few other options here on the site that would work well:
- butter pie crust (classic and so delicious)
- cream cheese pie crust (just like a butter pie crust, but with a slightly improved flavor, because cream cheese makes everything taste better)
- whole wheat pie crust
- spelt pie crust
Step-By-Step Recipe Overview
This savory pie is a bit labor-intensive. Here is a quick visual overview of the steps needed to make this recipe. This is not the actual recipe, which is located at the end of this article and has much greater detail to ensure success.
Step 1: Brown the beef.
Step 2: Brown the mushrooms, then sweat down the veggies.
Step 3: Add the spices, flour, and tomato paste and cook until darkened, then deglaze the pan with the stout.
Step 4: Let the braised beef cool until at least room temperature. Transfer to the beef to ramekins or the pie plate.
Step 5: Roll out the pie crust (or puff pastry) according to the size needed for your pot pie.
Step 6: Place the pie crust on top of the cooled braised beef.
Step 7: Brush the pastry with an egg wash.
Step 8: Bake until pastry is cooked through and golden.
Freezing Tips
You can and should freeze this beef pot pie, and your future self will thank you! You can freeze the pie unbaked or baked. It will last up to 3 months in the freezer either way. Just make sure you are preparing the pie in a pie plate that is both freezer and oven safe.
To Reheat it from Frozen:
The best method to reheat a fully-baked frozen pie is to let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Then, bake the pie at 400ºF until the filling is bubbling. If possible, check the pie with an instant-read thermometer. The inside of the middle of the pie needs to be a minimum of 170ºF. If you don't have a thermometer, you can stick a knife in the middle of the pie, and then feel the metal to see if the filling is hot or not. It should be hot, not lukewarm.
If at any point the crust is getting too brown while you reheat it, cover it loosely with foil.
To Bake it from Frozen:
To bake this pie directly from frozen, remove it from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature until the dough is "tacky" or sticky, about 10-15 minutes depending on how warm your kitchen is.
Then bake according to the instructions of the recipe! It's that simple. The total bake time will be a bit longer. If at any point the crust is getting too brown, cover it loosely with foil. If possible, take the temperature of the middle of the pie. It should be above 170ºF with an evenly golden crust.
More Savory Pie Recipes
I am so honored when you make a recipe from my site! If you make this Beef Pot Pie recipe, please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating with your experience! If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to comment here, and tag me on Instagram!
Full Recipe
Guinness Braised Beef Pot Pie
Rich Guinness-braised beef is baked under a flaky pie crust, making this Beef Pot Pie the ultimate cold-weather comfort meal. It can be made as individual servings or as one whole pie. The recipe requires some prep work, along with resting and chilling time, so be sure to read through the instructions and plan accordingly.
- Total Time03:00 plus chilling / resting time
- Yield6 servings
Ingredients
For the Sour Cream Pie Crust:
- 1-¼ cups (150 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (113 grams) cold salted butter, diced
- ⅓ cup (80 grams) sour cream
For Guinness and Beef Filling:
- 1 tablespoon high-heat oil
- 2 pounds beef brisket or boneless chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 8 ounces button or baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
- 4 medium to large carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1-½ teaspoons (5 grams) coarse kosher salt (see note)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups beef broth
- 11 ounces stout beer (such as Guinness)
- 1 tablespoon turbinado or brown sugar
- Egg wash
Instructions
Make the Pie Crust:
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and the diced butter. Toss to coat the butter with the flour. Work the butter into the flour using a pastry blender, by using your fingers to squeeze the butter chunks until they're flat and then rubbing them into the flour. Some larger pieces can remain, up to the size of a marble. Continue blending until the dough looks shaggy.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the sour cream to it. Using a spatula, mix the sour cream in the flour.
- Using your hands, knead the dough a few times to help blend the sour cream into the flour until it just comes together as one large ball.
- Transfer the pastry to a work surface and shape into a rough disk shape. Place the dough in a piece of plastic wrap and wrap tightly. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it stretches to the edges of the plastic wrap to ensure a tight seal. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
Braise the Beef:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and place an oven rack in the middle part of the oven.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the meat on all sides. Once browned, remove the beef and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are softened and have evaporated all of their liquid, about 8 minutes.
- Add in the carrots and onions and cook for 8 minutes, until they begin to soften.
- Add the flour, tomato paste, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for 30 seconds until the tomato paste has turned a rusty color.
- Deglaze the pot with the beef broth, stout, and sugar, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Nestle the set aside browned beef into the liquid. Bring the mixture up to a boil, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and transfer to the oven. Let braise until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened, about 1-½ to 2 hours.
- When the meat is tender, taste and adjust the seasoning. If too much liquid has reduced and the sauce is salty, add water to balance it out.
- Transfer the braised beef filling to a shallow container and let cool at room temperature until no longer hot, about 1 hour. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Assemble and Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and place an oven rack in the lowest part of the oven. Place six 8-ounce ramekins on a sheet pan. Roll out the pastry thin and cut circles to fit over the tops of the ramekins.
- Divide the chilled filling between the ramekins and place the pastry circles on the top. Brush the pies with egg wash and cut a slit in each crust to allow the steam to vent.
- Bake the pies on the lowest rack until the crust is golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Originally published in 2022, this recipe has been regularly re-tested and updated to ensure it remains perfect.
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 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. See this Salt Guide for more information about how salt affects your cooking and baking.
Don't want to make homemade pie crust? Store-bought puff pastry is an easy solution to use with this beef pot pie.
This recipe can easily be made into a single large pie instead of 6 mini pies. Place the filling into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, place one pie crust on top, and follow the steps for baking. A large pie can take a few extra minutes for the crust to bake fully.
- Prep Time: 00:25
- Resting / Chilling Time: 02:00
- Cook Time: 02:30
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Irish-American
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Shanna
Hello! I would love to make this recipe, but I am severely intolerant to egg and dairy. Any recommendations for substitutions? Thank you!
Kelli Avila
Yes, please use a different pie crust (I have an olive oil based one on my website you can search up) and just don't use the egg wash on the pie crust.
Lynn
I having the filling braising now and, omg, does my home smell amazing!! I am going out of town, so I am making the filling and defrosting it when I get home to pour over a baked potato for St. Patrick's Day! ! It in NO WAY takes 7 hours to cook as some other comments have said. Thank you for this beautiful recipe!!!
Tobi
Can you turn this recipe in to more of a beef stew and add potatoes to it?
Kelli Avila
Yes, I actually have a stew that is pretty similar on my other website: https://everydayfamilyeats.com/slow-cooker-irish-beef-stew/
Barbara T
Haven't made yet but looks like a good recipe and well explained.
I would like to put this totally together the night before needed. Do I need to cover the pastry covered pots in the refrigerator then?
Also is there any reason not to overlap the pastry a bit over the edge of the ramekins? Thanks.
Kelli Avila
Yes, always cover pastry so it doesn't dry out 🙂
Sabrina Wiater
Good recipe, wildly inaccurate estimated time. Make sure to start it early or even the night before
Kelli Avila
Hi Sabrina, glad you liked the recipe. Is the 3 star rating (which negatively impacts my website) because of the "wildly inaccurate estimated time?" Also, would love to know what about the timing felt off for you? Appreciate your reply. Thanks! Kelli
Sabrina
Yes, the food was delicious but it just needs a more accurate time. It says total time is 3 hours. But just cooking the filling is two hours, then cool for an hour, then chill for another two hours. Then continue baking for another 30 minutes. Including the prep this took us about 7 hours. We ended up having to order a pizza and eat it the next day
Shirley
Yummy! Flavorful I used instapot to cook the filling, 30min and added the flour to thicken after natural release ~20min but kept everything else the same. Store bought puff pastry worked great. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Kathy
This has become a fast favorite in our house. The flavors are amazing and it’s just a beautiful pie! Thanks for a great recipe!
Barrie
Made this tonight for dinner. Substituted beef broth for the beer and added frozen peas just before placing pastry on top. It was delicious! The only thing I would change next time would be to omit the brown sugar. I just feel it wasn’t needed.
Thomas
If the beef has to braise for two hours and then chill in the fridge for two hours before you assemble and bake the pot pies, which you give no instruction for, this is at least a 4 hour recipe.
Sarah Guseman
Why does it say sugar in the instructions but not in the ingredients?
Kelli Avila
Hi Sarah, it is listed in the ingredients, right above the egg wash 🙂
Shay Bisbee Haude
I made this and it taste delicious the filling but it’s a little bitter and I’m wondering if I can cook it longer to get some of that out or add some more brown sugar? I doubled the recipe so I doubled the Stout and I’m also wondering if that was a mistake. It smells delicious and it taste good. It has a better aftertaste. Thank you so much.
Eric Ackerson
First of all, I have to complement you on the Koch mode button so my screen doesn’t keep shutting off. Unfortunately, I didn’t see it until the end. 😫. Second, this is a great recipe. Well balanced flavors and a really nice outcome.
JP
This was great! I do want to note that your instructions do not make it clear that you need to put the beef back into the pot before putting it into the oven or that you need to shred the beef to create the mix.
Kelli Avila
Hi! Thanks for catching the omission of the step to add the beef back into the pot. Both my editor and I missed that. I've updated it. However, I'm not sure what you mean by shredding? The beef is cut into 1" pieces and once it's braised, it's naturally tender and falls apart and doesn't need to be manually shredded. Did you experience something different?
Misty
Hi!
Looks great. Do you think I could do these in muffin tins for smaller servings? If so what changes should I make? Thanks!
Kelli Avila
I think it might be too complicated to serve it if you make them in a muffin tin since there is no bottom crust. I would suggest sticking with ramekins so they can be served individually.
Rachel Brown
I made this today exactly according to the recipe except I didn’t have a dutch oven. It’s so delicious!! It took all day (6 hours in total). I was able to put the servings into 2cup pyrex dishes (4 total) with left over filling. This recipe is so filling we could only eat half a pyrex dish, and froze the left overs. Since I don’t have a dutch oven, I made everything in a large pot and transferred it to a 9x13, it was full but not overflowing- covered it with foil. I’m not sure if the sauce reduced the same as if I would’ve had a dutch oven, but it worked the same. I’d love to see an option to edit this recipe to different serving sizes (there’s only 2 of us- so lots of left overs).
Rona Gregory
Hey Is it possible to do this in the crockpot rather than the oven do you think? Many thanks 🙂
Kelli Avila
Yes! I have a very similar recipe on my other website using the crockpot: https://everydayfamilyeats.com/slow-cooker-irish-beef-stew/
Sandy
I just finished the braising process and the filling is very runny. I double checked the ingredient list and no ingredients were missed? Any ideas on what went wrong or how to fix?
Kelli Avila
Nothing necessarily went wrong, you just need to evaporate the liquid a bit. Next time you can either let it braise with the cover off for a longer length of time. Or you can evaporate it on the stove top.
Charlie
How would I do this without the beer?
Kelli Avila
Swap the beer with stock or water.
Charlie
Thankyou
Melody
This looks great! Could this be frozen? I'm looking for a few meals I can prep ahead for busy nights in my future. 🙂
Kristina
One of my favorite fall recipes to make. Enjoy trying adding in different veggies. Making this with our friends home brewed stout this time. Can’t wait to see the results.
Kelli Avila
Amazing! Hope it turns out great! Thanks for sharing your feedback.
Sue
This was so good! I had some home made pastry in the freezer so used that up. Otherwise I followed the recipe except for cutting down a bit on the carrots and added some celery. The braising liquid is just delicious and the entire meals looks impressive when it comes out of the oven. Thanks for a great recipe!
Heather
10/10 Highly recommend and would make again—awesome flavor. Used beef chuck and an Everyday Pie single butter crust that I had frozen and thawed in fridge. Made the filling one day ahead. I mixed in 1/2 cup frozen peas after pulling filling from oven and added a bit more salt since I used low sodium beef broth. Put in 9“ deep pie plate to cool and refrigerated. Next day rolled out crust and baked! House smelled heavenly during the braising and baking. Took maybe 10 extra minutes to bake and brown the crust as a full pie.
Kelli Avila
Thanks for sharing your experience, Heather! Glad you enjoyed!
Jessica
I would like to make the crust this evening so it can go in the fridge overnight, but I only have unsalted butter on hand. Can I save a trip to the store and add salt? If so, how much? Thanks!
Kelli Avila
Apologies for the late reply. Yes you can use unsalted--add about 1/4 teaspoon of coarse kosher salt.
Karen
I made this is one large pie. The only thing the instructions of the recipe omitted was to put the beef back into the pot. I used a premade crust for the bottom and proofed it and then used puff pastry for the top. It looks great.
Roxanne
So yummy! Your detailed instructions are so helpful!
Ada
The deep flavor on the filling is extraordinaire!!!!!! I cant even… 😍
Sue
This is a delicious take on a beef pot pie. It wasn’t difficult at all. I prepared the filling yesterday, refrigerated overnight, and today baked it with a puff pastry top. (400° for 35 minutes). Per the instructions I tasted and adjusted seasoning prior to baking. I halved the recipe as there are only 2 of us. I will definitely make again.