16 Hand Pie Recipes for Sweet Treats and Savory Snacks

Updated on June 28, 2023

Guyanese Gojas (Fried Coconut Turnovers) — Photo: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

The only thing better than a full-size pie is one that fits in the palm of your hand, no fork (or sharing) required! From sweet to savory, baked to fried, there's a whole world of deliciousness self-contained in single servings of flaky pastry. Whether you choose classic peach or cheesy brussels sprouts with sweet potatoes, these hand pie recipes are as fun to make as they are to eat.

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Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potato Hand Pies

Brussels sprouts and Sweet potato hand pies — Gerard + Belevender

Made with an all-butter pie dough, the golden, crispy pastry encasing these savory hand pies shatters almost like a croissant. Lightly mashed sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, tangy sour cream, and aged cheddar make up the creamy-cheesy filling. It's a simple mixture that tastes like a handheld bite of Thanksgiving.

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Dried Apple Hand Pies

super flaky apple hand pies — Victor Protasio

As the dried apple slices rehydrate and cook in each delicate hand pie, they transform into a saucy, concentrated filling. To create a smoother, rather than chunky, apple filling, smash apples with the side of a spoon while stirring.

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Dingle Pies (Irish Lamb Pies with Herbs)

Dingle Pies Recipe — Caitlin Bensel

These savory hand pies are filled with lamb that's been cooked with thyme, rosemary, and sage, making for something close to a gorgeous, self-contained, handheld pot pie.

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Sweet Potato Cheesecake Empanadas

Sweet potato cheesecake empanadas at Boricua Soul — Lauren Vied Allen

Puerto Rico and the American South intersect deliciously in this unique dessert empanada from Boricua Soul in Durham, North Carolina, which combines the flavors of marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole with spiced pumpkin cheesecake, encasing it all in caramel-drizzled, crisp pastry.

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Cherry Empanadillas

Cherry Empanadillas — Farrah Skeiky

This delicious cherry filling will convince you that empanadillas aren't just for savory fillings. Paola Velez's empanadillas are fried until golden brown, then glitzed up with a pretty pink glaze.

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Buffalo Turkey Hand Pies

Buffalo Turkey Hand Pies — Photo: Jennifer Causey / Food stylist / Chelsea Zimmer / Prop stylist Kathleen Varner

These tasty, savory hand pies are made by filling store-bought puff pastry with diced leftover turkey that's been tossed with a buffalo-style hot sauce.

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Guyanese Gojas (Fried Coconut Turnovers)

Guyanese Gojas (Fried Coconut Turnovers) — Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Alica Ramkirpal-Senhouse, founder of the blog Alica's Pepperpot, learned to make these Indo-Caribbean coconut-stuffed fried hand pies from her grandmother, Shelia. Freshly grated nutmeg and ginger are essential ingredients for the warmly spiced coconut filling. Serve them piping hot, soon after frying, for the best texture.

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Empanadillas Gallegas

Empanadillas Gallegas — Whitney Anderson

These handheld versions of empanada Gallega, the large savory pie from Galicia, Spain, are stuffed with tuna, hard-boiled eggs, and chopped olives. Chef Katie Button mixes the filling with sofrito and wraps it up in a pastry dough enriched with lard, which she says makes an incredibly flaky crust.

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Palestinian Spinach Pies

Palestinian Spinach Pies — © Zubin Schroff

The spinach filling in these fatayer, inspired by a recipe from Palestinian-born baker Maha Ziadeh, isn't flavored with feta, as it is in the more common Greek spinach pies. Instead, it's spiked with lemon and sumac, a tangy Middle Eastern spice.

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Caramel-Pecan Hand Pies

Caramel-Pecan Hand Pies — © Dana Gallagher

At Seattle's High 5 Pie, owner Dani Cone has responded to popular demand by making these adorable, portable pies (she calls them "flipsides"), available not just in the fall but year-round. When she tries to take them out of the rotation, customers get angry; one time, she says, a woman even cried.

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Hand Pies with Pear and Rutabaga

Hand Pies with Pear and Rutabaga — © Anya Kassoff

These hand pies are a curious cross between sweet and savory, featuring rutabaga, a delicious winter root vegetable that is so often overlooked. Combined with the classic duo of pear and ginger and enclosed by light, nutty whole spelt pockets, the pies make an excellent snack, dessert, or even side dish.

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Peach Hand Pies

Peach Hand Pies — © John Kernick

These adorable peach hand pies are a fun alternative to a traditional pie. Freeze them up to a month in advance and pop in the oven for an impressive last-minute dessert.

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Natchitoches Meat Pies with Spicy Buttermilk Dip

Natchitoches Meat Pies with Spicy Buttermilk Dip — © Anna Williams

Natchitoches, Louisiana, is renowned for its meat pies. Chef Kelly English serves his mini version with a dipping sauce that combines two quintessential Southern ingredients: buttermilk and hot sauce.

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Fig and Frangipane Galettes

Fig-and-Frangipane Galettes — © Nicole Franzen

These four-inch free-form tartlets feature fresh figs and fragrant almond paste. The rim of the all-butter crust is sprinkled with turbinado sugar before baking, which adds a caramelized crunch to the golden pastry.

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Greek Hand Pies with Greens, Dill, Mint, and Feta

Greek Hand Pies with Greens, Dill, Mint and Feta — © Lucy Schaeffer

Chef Jacques Pépin ordered a saiti, a turnover filled with tangy wild greens and feta, at Marianthi tavern in the Greek village of Monemvasía. This recipe is a close approximation. The olive oil in the dough (adapted from a recipe by Diane Kochilas) makes the crust extraordinarily flaky.

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Pumpkin Hand Pies

Andrew Zimmern's Pumpkin Hand Pies — © Madeleine Hill

These delicious pumpkin hand pies are easy to make and fun to eat. According to chef Andrew Zimmern, the dough is so simple and forgiving that his 9-year-old helped him make it.

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