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Nigerian meat pie is a delicious pastry snack filled with minced beef, onions, green pepper, and Irish potatoes. It is the pastry of choice for all kinds of parties and celebrations in Nigeria.

To make the perfect meat pie, the outside of the pie should be crispy and flaky with a juicy inner filling. Make sure not to overwork the dough, as over mixing can make the dough chewy and dense.

In this recipe you’ll learn how to make rich Nigerian meat pie with an oven, gas cooker, or stove. Let’s get started.

Ingredients for Nigerian meat pie

This recipe will give you about 10 meat pies. The number of meat pies you’ll get depends on how you cut your dough. If you’re using a cutter that is 8 inches in diameter (20 cm) you should get roughly 10 pies.

For the dough:

• 1 kg all-purpose flour (8 cups)
• 500g (1.1lbs) margarine or butter
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ tablespoon of salt
• 1 medium-sized egg (for egg wash)
• ½ cup (100ml) of cold water

For the meat pie filling:

• 500g (1.1lbs) minced meat or ground beef
• 1 big-sized Irish potato (white potato)
• 3 medium-sized carrots
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 1 medium-sized green pepper
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 cooking spoon vegetable oil
• 1 bouillon cube or 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder
• 1 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon curry or thyme (optional)
• Salt and spice to taste

Directions to prepare Nigerian meat pie

Preparing the dough:

1. In a sizeable bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt
2. Mix the margarine into the flour until you get a crumbly dough mix. It is okay to see small pieces of unmixed margarine (as it helps gives the pie a flaky texture after baking).
3. Start adding the cold water in bits, as you add, fold gently until you get a stiff but soft ball of dough. Try not to over-mix, and remember you don’t need too much water. 100ml of water should give you a soft and moldable dough.
4. Wrap the dough with a cling film and allow it to rest in a fridge (or any cool place) for 20 minutes.

Preparing the pie filling:

1. Peel and wash the potato and carrots. Dice them into small cubes and set aside.
2. Wash and slice the onions and green pepper into tiny slices.
3. With your cooker or stove set to medium heat, heat oil in a large pan. Add the sliced onion and sauté for 4 minutes. Then add the diced carrots and green pepper and sauté for extra 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the minced meat and stir, for 4-5 minutes, until no longer pink or raw. Season with bouillon cube, salt, curry or thyme, and spice to taste.
5. Add one cup of water to the pan and allow the contents to boil. Once the veggies and meat start boiling, add your diced potatoes. Allow to cook till potatoes and meat are well done.
6. To keep the meat pie filling moist after baking, dissolve 2 tablespoons of flour in little water and add to the pan.
7. Stir together and set aside to cool.

Cut, fill, and bake:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• If you’re using a stove top or cooker you’ll need a big pot with tight-fitting lid, probably the biggest pot in your kitchen. Line the base of the pot with clean sand, stones, or a wire rack – this will help transmit heat to the baking tray and prevent burns. Set cooker to low heat and allow to preheat.
• Rub margarine or butter on the insides of the oven tray and set aside – this will prevent the pies from sticking to the tray during baking.
• Break and beat the egg and set it aside.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2-4 balls. Roll out each ball with a rolling pin once to achieve a 1/8-inch (1/4 cm) thickness. Cut the dough into round sizes with a meat pie cutter or a small pot cover to get your desired size.
• Combine all the leftover dough and roll it again to make more circles.
• Scoop about 1-2 tablespoons of cooled filling into the center of the round cut dough (make sure not to over-fill the dough).
• Brush the edges of the round cut dough with the egg wash and fold one part of the dough to meet the other end.
• Using a fork, press the edges together to seal tightly. Poke the pies with a fork to create a steam outlet while baking.
• Brush the pies with the egg wash to give it a brown-crispy appearance after baking and place each pie on the tray.
• Bake for 30 – 40 minutes on medium heat if you’re using an oven or on low heat for 40 minutes if you’re using a stove or cooker. The meat pies are ready when the pie starts browning.
• Enjoy with chilled water or juice.

And that’s how to make your rich Nigerian meat pie in the comfort of your home.

You can make it in large batches and store in your freezer or fridge for later use. To make more than 10 pieces, simply multiply the quantity of ingredients to your desired quantity. You can also add any other vegetable of your choice to the pie filling. Enjoy!