This easy Cornish Pasties recipe is filled with seasoned steak, potatoes, rutabaga and onion. They are simple and delicious!
There’s so much to love about these simple yet flavorful meat hand-pies. I love Cornish pasties for the same reason I love Argentine Empanadas and Mexican Taquitos; the ingredients are simple, and they’re fun to eat with your hands!
True Story: This easy Cornish Pasties recipe is inspired from one of my favorite cooking shows, “The Great British Baking Show.” My husband and I were watching an episode where they were tasked with making a traditional Cornish pasty and they looked so delicious that I decided right then I had to make them myself.
Take care to pronounce pasties correctly, pronounced “past”-ee, not to be confused with pastie or pastis (pronounce “paste”-ee”) meaning something different entirely…which could be embarrassing!
How to make Cornish Pasties:
This is an overview. Find more specific instructions below in the recipe card.
Make Pasties Dough Recipe: Cut in shortening and butter with the flour and salt. Stir in water until dough binds together. Divide the dough into two balls, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Prep Filling: Cut the steak into bite size cubes, chop the potatoes, rutabaga, onion. Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl.
Roll Dough: Divide each dough disc into 4 equal sized pieces and roll the dough into a thin circle.
Fill the Dough: Place beef pasties filling into the center with a sliver of butter. Lightly moisten the edges of the dough then fold one edge over the filling, laying it on top of the dough on the other side.
Crimp: Push down on the edge of the pasty and using your index finger and thumb twist the edge of the pastry over to form a crimped edge. Repeat this process along the edge of the pasty. When you’ve crimped along the edge, tuck the end corners underneath.
Bake pasties at 350ºF for 40-50 minutes until golden. Cool the best Cornish Pasties for 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Variations:
- Rutabaga Substitute: Use parsnips or turnips instead.
- Meat Substitutes: The recipe calls for sirloin steak but you can substitute other cuts of beef. Try to choose a tender cut, like shortloin, rib, or skirt steak. Traditional Cornish pasties are made with steak, but feel free to substitute chicken.
- Vegetarian Pasties: Add chickpeas or beans and chopped bell pepper in place of steak.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Cornish pasties are best baked fresh, but you can make the dough 1-2 days ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. You can also prepare the filling 1-2 days in advance (depending on the freshness of your steak) then store it in the refrigerator.
To Freeze: Freeze cooled beef pasties in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. To use, reheat pasties on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a preheated 375° oven until heated through.
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Recipe
Cornish Pasties
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons butter , chilled and cut into cubes
- 4 Tablespoons Shortening , or lard
- 6-8 Tablespoons ice water
For the Filling:
- 1 lb beef sirloin steak (or skirt, rump steak)
- 1 cup Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 1 medium size potato), cut into small ¼ inch cubes.
- 3/4 cup rutabaga , peeled and cut into small ¼ inch cubes
- 1/2 cup yellow onion (about ½ small onion), diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper , to taste
- Sliver of butter to place on top of filling before closing
- Eggwash: 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 Tablespoon water.
Instructions
- Make the shortcrust dough: Add flour and salt to a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening and butter until well combined. Stir in 5 Tbsp of water then add 1-3 more tablespoons as needed till dough binds together and is not dry. Be careful not to over mix.
- Divide the dough into two balls and form each into a log. Wrap them in plastic wrap and place chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the filling: Cut the steak into bite size cubes, and chop the potatoes, rutabaga, onion. Add steak, vegetables, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a bowl and toss.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roll the Dough: Take one dough disk out of the fridge, leaving the other to continue to chill while you make the first four pasties. Cut the log into 4 equal pieces. Place one piece at a time on a large piece of parchment paper sprinkled lightly with flour. Roll the dough into a thin circle about 7-8 inches across. Don't worry if your circle isn't perfect as you will be folding and crimping the edges.
- Add filling: Place a heaping spoonful of filling into the center of the dough. Cut off a sliver of butter and place it on top of the filling.
- Fold and seal edges: Lightly moisten the edges of the pastry dough with a little bit of water (use a pastry brush or your finger). Gently lift the dough on one side and bring it over the filling, laying it on top of the dough on the other side. If the dough punctures at all, use any extra dough to patch the hole. Squeeze the edges of the half circle of dough, pressing them firmly together.
- Crimp the edges of the dough: Push down on the edge of the pasty and using your index finger and thumb twist the edge of the pastry over to form a crimp.Repeat this process along the entire edge. Tuck the end corners underneath. Lay the cornish pasty on the baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. When you've crimped all four pasties, remove the remaining dough from the fridge and repeat process.
- Add egg wash: Lightly prick the top of each pasty with a fork (2-3 times) for air to escape. Mix egg and water in shallow dish for the egg wash and use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer on top of each pasty.
- Bake at 350ºF for 40-50 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before eating.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe March 2021. Updated March 2024.
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I will add this recipe to my growing collection and let you know how they turn out!
Traditional Cornish pasties only have salt and pepper as seasonings, no herbs or garlic powder at all.
Jim said about using skirt steak, that again is correct. It is not as string tasting as sirloin steak can be, and definitely more tender.
Still look good, so will try your version too.😀 😃 🙂
I doubled the whole recipe, there is way to much filling left over, or not enough dough…! I measured and remeasured sooooo many times. I now have a lot of filling in a bowl on my counter, have to make more dough now!
My family Loved these they are so delicious.
Traditional meat is skirt steak. Also the rutabaga and potatoes are not cubed they are chipped into small slivers. Also most cooks don’t mix the ingredients, although store bought pasties will be mixed and cubed veggies.
Not everyone knows how to “chip” potatoes or rutabagas (swedes in the UK) and I understand it is quite a learned skill. It definitely can be harmful to your fingers if you don’t know how to do it correctly! Us, the untrained (!), will continue to dice on forever and although I am ambidextrous I still value both sets of fingers.
These were sooo good! It made more filling than I needed so I might double the dough next time. Super simple and cheap and delicious!
Loved these! I’ve tried to make these in the past, but I’ve never made a crust that I’ve liked. This one was so easy (thanks for the step-by-step instructions) and it made all the difference. Next time, I will double the batch and freeze some!