Tourtière is a traditional French Canadian Meat pie. Tourtière, which is also known as meat pie is traditionally made with ground meat, onions, spices, and herbs baked in a pie crust.
This traditional French-Canadian meat pie is enjoyed throughout Canada and New England. Meat pie is made with ground meat, onions, celery, savory seasonings and baked in a flaky pie crust.
My grandmother’s meat pie recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner or any time of the year.
My French-Canadian grandmother was born in Quebec, Canada. Then later moved to Berlin, New Hampshire. She always made this delicious meat pie for Thanksgiving and the holidays.
She said you could serve it with the turkey for Thanksgiving in place of stuffing. But, many times she put the meat stuffing into a meat pie with homemade pie crust for French Meat Pie. Get your ketchup ready for this delicious meat pie recipe!
For more homemade pie recipes be sure and check out Easy Cherry Pie, Best Apple Pie, Fried Apple Hand Pies, Pecan Pie, and Easy Pumpkin Pie.
Why this recipe works
- Made with simple ingredients, readily available in your local grocery store or butcher shop.
- Prep ahead of time – Make this meat pie a few days ahead of time and freeze unbaked.
What you’ll need
- Ground beef and pork – This combination of ground chuck and ground pork is traditional in French meat pie. Ask your butcher to double grind the meat for you. (Grandma used to insist on this!)
- Celery & onion – Chopped fine and will add a pop of flavor to this recipe.
- Chicken stock – We prefer the flavor of Better than Bouillon and combining that with really hot water to make our own chicken stock. But, you can use whatever you prefer.
- Poultry seasoning – Located easily in the spice aisle or order here.
- Seasoned breadcrumbs – Adds some seasoning and helps keep the meat filling together.
- Pie crust – We love pie crust from scratch, but you can also use store-bought.
How to make Meat Pie
Step 1: In a large pot or Dutch oven, over medium heat. Cook the onion and celery for about 5 minutes to slightly soften. Stir with a wooden spoon to not burn.
Step 2: Add the chicken stock mixture, ground pork, ground beef, and poultry seasoning. Cook over medium heat until the meat is cooked, about 20 minutes.
Step 3: Add salt to taste. Should only need a pinch of salt. (remember bouillon and breadcrumbs already have salt in them!)
Step 4: Let cool completely. Add to unbaked pie shells. Either homemade pie crust or store-bought. Top with pie crust. Roll edges under and pinch around the entire pie. Use a sharp knife to slice a slit in the top of each pie.
Step 5: Brush with egg wash. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until the crust is nicely browned. About 30 to 45 minutes.
This past Thanksgiving we headed back to the homestead. I’m in my glory at home in Connecticut on the farm. I made homemade pie crust and my grandmother’s French Meat Pie.
You can either use this meat stuffing as a side to your holiday dinner, or make pies. This recipe makes two 9-inch pies or about 15 or so 5-inch pies. I made these 5-inch pies in disposable aluminum pie plates and baked them. After they cooled I packaged them up in freezer zip-style bags for quick lunches for my dad.
How to Freeze Unbaked Meat Pies
- Make the pie crust and refrigerate.
- Roll out the pie crust and form into oven safe or disposable aluminum foil pie pans.
- Assemble the meat pies.
- Wrap the entire pie well with plastic wrap. Use caution to not press or pull the plastic wrap too taught, as it will squish the meat pies.
- Place the pies into your freezer. They will last for several months.
Recipe FAQs
We use a combination of ground beef and pork in our meat pie recipe. But, you can use also use venison or lamb.
Homemade DIY Christmas Gifts
Or make a Christmas cookie tray filled with Chewy Fudge Brownies, Grandma’s Molasses Cookies, Raspberry Oatmeal Bars, and rolled sugar cookies. Or make these beautiful homemade Christmas cookies made from a rolled sugar cookie and decorated with royal icing. One of my absolute favorite holiday desserts is my grandma’s Cream Puffs recipe.
My grandmother had her local butcher double or triple grind the meat. With some of the higher-end grocery stores, they will have no issue doing this for you. I’m fortunate to have heirloom recipes from both sides of my family and some from other family farms. Aren’t heirloom recipes handed down from generation from generation the best?!
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French Meat Pie
Ingredients
French Meat Pie
- 2 pounds ground pork
- 2 pounds ground beef (round)
- ¾ cup finely diced celery
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 5 cups hot water
- 2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon chicken base
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 Homemade or store bought pie crust (for 9-inch pies)
Instructions
French Meat Pie
- Dissolve the Better Than Bouillon chicken into the hot water. Set aside.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, over medium heat. Cook the onion and celery for about 5 minutes to slightly soften. Stir with a wooden spoon to not burn.
- Add the chicken stock mixture, ground pork, ground beef, and poultry seasoning. Cook over medium heat until the meat is cooked, about 20 minutes.
- Add the breadcrumbs, allspice, ground cloves, and black pepper. Stir to combine. Let cook another 10 minutes.
- Add salt to taste. Should only need a pinch of salt. (remember bouillon and breadcrumbs already have salt in them)
- Let cool completely. Add to unbaked pie shells. Either homemade pie crust or store-bought. Top with pie crust. Roll edges under and pinch around the entire pie. Use a sharp knife to slice a slit in the top of each pie.
- Brush with egg wash. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until the crust is nicely browned. About 30 to 45 minutes.
- Makes two 9-inch pies.
Recipe Notes
Meat Pie:
Ask your butcher to double or triple grind the pork and beef. You can add 1 or 2 cups of mashed potatoes or small diced cooked potatoes to this meat stuffing. Note, you will not be browning the meat! It simply cooks in the liquid. Cool completely before adding to an unbaked pie shell!Nutrition
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Victoria Cole Brofman says
Hello from BERLIN NH! I just ran across your recipe for meat pie! My great grandparents came from Quebec just prior to 1851 and my grandmother was born in. Groveton NH (about 30 miles west of Berlin) in 1871. Meat pie was never something we had at home. I don’t remember my dad ever saying anything about his mother making it. About 94 % of my genealogy is from England, Scotland, and Ireland (especially on my mom’s side) either only about 4% being French Canadian. But my very first meat pie was made by my French Canadian neighbor when we first moved to Berlin (1984). My son was a very picky eater but he loved her meat pie. I have her recipe…made much like yours with the addition of mashed potatoes and cinnamon. But I am going to try yours this year! I just saw a recipe in our Free paper that called for two potatoes finally shredded and cooked with the meat. Might try that too. I am going to look for your cook books. I try very hard to cook things that are traditionally New England. I don’t know when you were last here but we now have a Federsl Prison do lots of the people who come here to work are from other parts of the country. I like to introduce them to our traditions!
I understand my grandmother made a Canadian Fruit cake. I have looked everywhere for the recipe to no avail. I don’t suppose you have one?
Jessica Robinson says
My great grandparents also came from Quebec and settled in Berlin, NH.
I’ll have to look through grandma’s handwritten recipes for the Canadian Fruit cake. It’s possible we have one.
Kathleen O’Leary Lahue says
I made this last Christmas for our family get together. It has been requested again for this year. My father was born on a farm in Hinchenbrook, Quebec on the First Concession. This is a tribute to him.
Jessica Robinson says
Kathleen,
Thank you for commenting! My grandparents were from Quebec as well. This was our family recipe, passed down generations from my grandmother and her family. My grandparents were also raised on family farms. So happy to hear everyone enjoyed it!
Faith Flaherty says
Any suggestions to help a too dry pie. This meat is my turkey stuffing and it’s delicious. I put it in a pie and hubby complains that it’s too dry–even with ketchup.
Jessica Robinson says
Hello Faith,
My grandmother always baked the meat stuffing into a pie shell as well. It’s possible you overcooked the meat and the liquid is no longer. You can certainly add a little chicken or beef stock to it for added moisture.
MaryAnn Coy says
When I was growing up (I’m 67y0) my French Canadian Mother always made her special “Meat Stuffing” for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Turkeys. A French Canadian patient introduced me to Tourtière Pie when I was in Nursing School. I really liked it, so she gave me her family recipe. I still have it.It has become our traditional Christmas Dinner (not the Canadian tradition of Christmas Eve. We don’t use ketchup on it either , it tastes marvelous with Cranberry Orange Relish/Sauce. The only departure from the traditional basic recipe, I make is adding a small carton of Baby Bella Mushrooms, finely chopped. They add a wonderfully deep earthy flavor. Each carton replaces ½ lb of meat. I make the mashed potato version, adding only ⅓ cup of plain Greek yogurt to the mashed. This year for the first time, I’m making the filling in my slow cooker and baking the crust in the oven as cutouts(like cookies), so they bake up crispy and brown. I’m having to streamline my cooking to accommodate my painful back that is the result of my long years in Nursing. I’m also short of breath these days, so long days of cooking in the kitchen are ove, plan things out in stags so everything is ready for the meal, without spending hours on my feet and huffing and puffing too much. Plus I get to enjoy the Holiday. I serve a simple baked or steamed side vegetable, rolls are in the freezer, and a simple gingerbread Bundt cake for dessert. My cranberry relish can be made ahead and freezes well. I’m hoping a slow cooker method with the pie will make meal prep and serving easy peasy.
Jessica Robinson says
MaryAnn,
Thanks for visiting our website! Nice to hear about your family traditions! Many blessings this Christmas.
Cathleen says
Thanks for this recipe — it is so similar to my grandparents’ version, though we make a “gruel” with the potatoes, bread crumbs, onions and celery, then drain off liquid and mix in meats and spices. We ALWAYS had this as meat dressing at Thanksgiving; leftovers were put in a crust for after Midnight Mass with homemade mustard pickles. mmmmm!
Jessica Robinson says
Oh you are more than welcome! So happy to hear you had a similar version in your household!
Vicki says
Actually original tourtiere is made with pork and venison or moose vs beef, and that is how we continue to make it today.
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks so much Vicki for visiting and your comment! This is the way my French Canadian grandmother made her meat pie. My husband’s grandmother made it very similar but added small pieces of potatoes. For each family and each different region, it’s made with different meats and slightly different ways.
Sylvia Wyllins says
Being British I am very familiar with Meat Pies..
The Pies we make in UK are made mostly with Stew Beef.
Beef is cooked until Tender, cut into small cubes, add about cup of diced Onions.Add some Brown Gravy to moisten. Put into double Crust. Brush Egg Wash.. Bake until golden..
I do plan on trying this Canadian Version. But will Brown ground Beef
First….add Onions ..Then add Mashed Potato’s..
Jessica Robinson says
Oh this is so interesting to hear your British versions of meat pies. Glad to hear you are inspired to do your own unique twist on my Grandmother’s French Canadian meat pie. I would highly recommend you make the recipe AS directed. Yes, do not brown the meat. Her version is incredible. Should you want to add mashed potatoes or cooked small pieces of potatoes that is fine.