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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Nan says
Have never made small tourtieres. Look very good. Can’t wait to try
Jessica Robinson says
Thank you so much!
Stefania says
These are a lot of pies for my small family . Is there some way I could cut the size down to maybe 4 servings ?
Jessica Robinson says
You can always make the recipe as follows and freeze the unbaked pies. Or feel free to cut the recipe in half to make less.
Mark Jasper says
I Been making meat pie for ever my grandma was French Canadian. They used what ever kind meat then could shoot , raise or buy. Story goes People who were poorer used filler like potatoes or breads . Lots combination they all turn out good .
Jessica Robinson says
So nice to hear about different versions that were made! Thanks so much for sharing!
Cheryl L Heaps says
Can this pie be made a couple of days ahead and then popped in the oven
Jessica Robinson says
Cheryl,
Yes, of course! Just make it ahead of time. You can either freeze it unbaked or baked.
Terry says
My family has been having meat pie as our Christmas Eve dinner for years and it is now our tradition to share it with others. I make small pies and freeze to give as gifts to friends and family. Thank you for sharing your story and continuing to keep this recipe alive.
Jessica Robinson says
Hello Terry,
Glad to hear you also have a similar meat pie recipe that is part of your family tradition! Thanks for stopping by.
Bob Pariseau says
I’ve been making this pie for 30 years and have a few healthy suggestions. After you cook the meat in the stock, tilt the frying pan a little so the liquid will flow to one side. Push the meat back a little and spoon all the liquid into a fat separation funnel. Let the fat rise to the top and remove. Poor liquid back into the pan.
I begin with about 1/2 teaspoon of cloves and nutmeg. Keep adding 1/4 teaspoons until you like the taste. Spices loose flavor with age and peoples tolerance for cloves varies. Taste your food don’t just add per the recipe. We added about 1 1/2 teaspoons of 2 year old cloves this year
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks Bob for your suggestions. Happy to hear you’ve been making a similar recipe for many years. Merry Christmas!
Don says
Traditionally it is 50/50 meat and potatoes, that is what makes it a complete meal. Leave out the potatoes if used as stuffing. My recipe is over 100 years old and never used that much liquid.
And OMG, no ketchup. LOL
Jessica Robinson says
Don,
This is my Grandmother’s recipe that was handed down to her. You’re welcome to add potatoes to your meat pie if you prefer. My husband’s grandmothers recipes included potatoes. MY grandmother’s did NOT.
It’s all a personal preference. Good luck with your recipe.
Janie barbour says
I’ve never cooked ground beef and pork in water…..no draining…? Seems like 5 cups chicken stock is a lot?
Jessica Robinson says
Yes ma’am. Old school recipe from my grandmother. It’s the correct amount of chicken stock. No draining. The meat and the bread crumbs absorbs the chicken stock.
Denise says
I want to make it for New Year’s eve canadian theme. I would like to make then like a hand pie. How long would you think I should cook them?
Jessica Robinson says
Denise,
The meat is already cooked… so I would follow the directions in my apple hand pies recipe. You can either fry them (375 degrees) for about 2 minutes. Or brush with egg wash and bake in a preheated 400 or 425 degree oven until the crust is nicely browned. (I would estimate about 30 minutes)
Jolene says
My Aunt Harriet would make this “pork pie”-(that’s what it was called back in the day). We would eat this after returning home from mid-night mass. Loved it! Found your recipe and will make it for the holidays. I like the smaller pies seen in the picture.
Jessica Robinson says
It’s probably a similar recipe to what your Aunt Harriet made! Thanks for stopping by Jolene!
CC says
Our family does 80 pork 20 beef and some do a biscuit type crust, others do traditional pie crust. One family saves some of the juices and makes a gravy to serve over it. We thicken ours with a vinegar and corn starch mix when ground meat is finished cooking. Some add extra vinegar at the table! Many French Canadian families here in Croghan NY (it was called French settlement) and each seemed to add their own preferences. Some use just chunks of pork rather than the ground but most hold true to just the added vinegar, no spices besides salt and pepper! None in our tree use potatoes. Our own family came from LaPraire near Montreal and were Frontenac Soldiers protecting early fur trade. I ponder that these pies were popular at Christmas because it would have been another use for meat scraps from butchering?
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks so much for commenting! It’s so nice to hear your family story about your version of French meat pie! My French Canadian great-grandparents settled in Berlin, New Hampshire and my grandmother moved to Bristol, Connecticut when she was 18 years old. Loved hearing your story!
Sapana says
I love how easy it is to make these pies — passed this along to my friend who’s been looking for a simple recipe to make this weekend.
Jessica says
How delicious this looks! I’ve never made something like this before but have heard good things about Better Than Bouillon and am interested in trying it out.
Jessica Robinson says
You’ll love Better Than Bouillon! It’s such a great product!
Danielle says
Tourtière is one of those recipes that is quite rare but when you see, you just want to make it. Delicious pie that I am really looking forward to trying!
Jessica Robinson says
Thank you so much!!
Andrea Metlika says
I have never had anything like this. It is so flavorful and just a perfect meal.
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks for stopping by Andrea!
Emese says
The spices you use sounds so intriguing. Never tried to use them before for ground beef. Definitely saving this recipe.
Jessica Robinson says
Thank you so much! This is such a great recipe!