Savory Hand Pies with Puff Pastry

Savory hand pies in air fryer or baked in the oven turn out delicious. Chicken hand pies with puff pastry can be stuffed with vegetables to keep vegetarian or leftover ham is great too. With this ready made light flaky dough you can make all sorts of snacks and meals this way.

Savory Hand Pies Recipe

Once you get the hang of how these are made and cooked you can fill the insides with all sorts of things. Desserts like Puff Pastry Fruit Strudel are easy with a bit of sugar and fresh fruit, or just use pie filling out of a can. This frozen dough is kind of amazing. Once defrosted it can hug any sort of filling you want!

Below we will share our favorite way of cooking, as an easy air fryer recipe. You can bake on a sheet pan as well though if you wanted to bake a larger batch all at once. If puff pastry dough is new to you you’re going to be obsessed with it. You can find it in a box in the freezer section of your local grocery store.

Savory Hand Pie

Pepperidge Farm is the most common brand sold but many stores now have their own brand that makes it. I will say that I haven’t used anything but the main one but assume they would be almost identical. we have used pie crust too with our Pumpkin Hand Pies which is an option.

To begin with you need tips on how to defrost puff pastry sheets; You should follow these steps to ensure it thaws properly without compromising its texture and quality:

1. Place the box or remove and keep rolled in the refrigerator. Leave it there for several hours or overnight, depending on the thickness of the pastry. Generally, puff pastry takes around 4-6 hours to thaw in the fridge.
2. It’s important to keep sheets sealed during the thawing process to prevent moisture from getting in and affecting the layers.
3. Avoid thawing the puff pastry at room temperature or using a microwave, as this can lead to uneven thawing, resulting in a loss of texture and rise.
4. Once thawed, handle it gently. Avoid squeezing or pressing it as this can cause the delicate layers to stick together.
5. Once thawed, it’s best to use the puff pastry as soon as possible. If you’re not using it immediately, you can store it in the refrigerator for a short period, but try to avoid keeping it there for too long.
6. When you’re ready to use the thawed sheets, follow your recipe instructions for baking. Generally, preheat your oven to the temperature specified in your recipe.
7. Roll out, fill and typically you’ll pinch the edges to keep the filling inside, or proceed with your puff pastry breakfast recipe of choice.

Remember that the quality of frozen puff pastry might not be exactly the same as fresh, but proper thawing and handling will help you achieve the best results. Always consult the packaging for any specific thawing instructions provided by the manufacturer.

Savory Hand Pies with Puff Pastry

You’re going to want to use precooked meat inside, with your other items. Our simple chicken pot pie recipe is a great one to use for the filling, similar to this one. With that said you could make something similar with beef and cream of mushroom instead if you cooked steaks the night before, just dice and use.

• 3/4 c chicken precooked and diced
• 2 sheets cut in 4 rectangles, so 8 pieces for top and bottom
• Frozen vegetables, defrosted
• 1/2 c cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
• 1 pinch salt and pepper
• 1 egg wash to brown the top

Now as for why we use this crust, it cooks up flaky and light. Something like our pot pie crust or refrigerated pie crusts have a harder time getting done all the way thru into the middle and you don’t want it to stay raw at all. It stays more dense too wrapped all the way around top to bottom.

Vegetarian Savory Hand Pies

Air fryer savory hand pies – Preheat air fryer to 340 degrees F for 5 minutes. Defrost or cook until no longer frozen your vegetable mix (or use canned and drained). Pour into a bowl. Add shredded cooked chicken (unless making it vegetarian) and cream of chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything thoroughly.

• Add salt or pepper. Unroll store bought puff pastry from plastic wrap or paper that has been defrosted, and cut the 2 sheets into 4 rectangles, so you have 8 pieces.
• On half of each piece of dough, put 2-3 tbsp of filling for your Hand Meat Pies
• Cover the filling with the second half of the dough, seal the edges with your fingers and also using a fork.
• Grease the air fryer grate with olive oil so they don’t stick.
• Place the pies inside, brush the top of the hand pies with the beaten egg on top.
• Cut two slits on the surface of the dough so that hot air gets inside and the cake bakes faster from the inside.
• Cook in the air fryer basket at 340 F for 7-8 minutes until golden brown.
• Use a spatula to carefully flip each one over and air fry for about 2 more minutes. 

Hand pies in the oven – Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Follow the same directions to create them. Lay on paper. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown on the top.

You can make this as one of our Toaster Oven Recipes too!! Just use the same timing and temp as the air fryer but keep a close eye on them as the coils are sometimes a bit closer.