Wherever you are in the world, pies are a culinary symbol of comfort. Whether it’s a cold slice of pie for an indulgent dessert or a piping hot savoury pie on a chilly winter’s day, there’s something about pie that makes us feel warm inside. And while pies are eaten in pretty much every country, that doesn’t mean they’re all similar – in fact, the opposite is true!
So, to show you just how diverse the humble pie can be (and maybe inspire you to have a go at making your own), here are 10 delicious pies from around the world.
1. Coulibiac, Russia
If you’re looking for a pie that’s also a bit of a showstopper and would make a great centrepiece for a dinner party, why not try making coulibiac? This Russian pie is considered by many people to be the best fish pie in the world, so if you’re a fan of British fish pie, you might want to see how this beautiful Russian concoction measures up!
This dish dates back to 1850s Imperial Russia, though it remains very popular today – and for good reason. Coulibiac is usually made with layers of salmon (though sometimes sturgeon or trout is used instead), rice or buckwheat, mushrooms, eggs, and onions, and then a fresh dill and lemon sauce is poured through before the whole thing is wrapped in a buttery puff pastry case.
Making coulibiac takes time and patience, but it’s well worth the effort – particularly if you’re looking to impress guests with an innovative new dish! To make a traditional Russian coulibiac, why not try this authentic recipe from Tatyana’s Everyday Food? Or, for more guidance on making Russian coulibiac, have a watch of the video below.
2. Spanakopita, Greece
In Greece, pretty much every bakery sells spanakopita, and versions of this delicious pie have been eaten for 400 years. Made with delicate layers of crisp filo pastry, spanakopita is packed with cooked spinach, feta cheese, spring onions, and herbs like dill, mint, and parsley – although, in more rural regions, the spinach is padded out with leeks and chard.
The pies are usually made into individual triangle shapes that can be held in the hand like a pasty. However, you can also get large, spiral-shaped spanakopitas that can be cut into smaller shapes.
Spanakopita isn’t hard to make, although the spinach needs to be cooked beforehand, and then the excess water is squeezed out to stop it from going soggy. To make your own spanakopita, why not try this recipe from The Mediterranean Dish?
During times of religious fasting in Greece, spanakopita is made without feta and eggs, so if you follow a plant-based diet you can easily make a vegan version – or simply swap the feta for tofu or vegan cheese. For more inspiration, have a watch of the video below.
3. Bündner Nusstorte, Switzerland
If you have a sweet tooth and love nutty pastries, there’s a good chance you’ll love Bündner Nusstorte, which is a Swiss walnut pie. Originating in the Graubünden region of Switzerland, these sweet pies are filled with nuts and caramel, and the oldest recipe dates back to 1900. In 1934, a baker called Fausto Pult sold the first pie at the Swiss Sample Fair in Basel, and the rest is history.
Today, Bündner Nusstorte is still enormously popular, and for many bakers, these shortcrust pastry pies make up 20–40% of their total sales. Due to the rich filling, this is a really indulgent pie and it’s traditionally cut into slices and eaten for dessert with coffee.
Made with shortcrust pastry, Bündner Nusstorte can stay fresh for several months – which is one of the reasons it’s so popular to give as a gift. Whether you want to make your own to give away as a personal present or would rather just enjoy it yourself, this recipe from The Year of Pie looks great.
Or, to see how to make Bündner Nusstorte, have a watch of the video below.
4. Cottage pie, UK
While we may think of pies as being made exclusively from pastry, one of the most famous pies (and our very own export) doesn’t feature any pastry at all. Cottage pie (or shepherd’s pie) is made from minced meat and gravy, onions, carrots, and then topped with a thick layer of hearty mashed potato.
Traditionally, this dish was a way of using up leftover roasted meat and veg, and whereas cottage pie uses beef mince, shepherd’s pie uses lamb or mutton mince. While shepherd’s pie is arguably better known around the world, the term didn’t appear until 1854 – whereas the name ‘cottage pie’ has been in use since 1791.
There are many variations of this dish, but this cottage recipe from BBC Good Food fries beef mince with onions, celery, carrots, garlic, red wine, and tomato purée, and then adds grated cheddar and nutmeg to the mashed potato. You can easily make a veggie version by swapping the beef mince for veggie mince; try this recipe by Loving It Vegan. Or, for more guidance, watch the video below.
5. Pastel de choclo, Chile
In Chile, the most popular pie is pastel de choclo. This dish is an intriguing blend of cultures and flavours, and just like cottage pie, it doesn’t involve any pastry. Pastel de choclo is essentially a beef and creamed sweetcorn pie that has been influenced by the many immigrants from England, Spain, and Germany who came to Chile over the past few hundred years.
Though it’s easy to make, pastel de choclo is made from a unique combination of ingredients. Ground beef is layered with onions, olives, raisins, choclo, and hard-boiled eggs – and though this might sound unusual, the flavours work really well together. Choclo is a South American variety of corn that’s starchier and less sweet than regular corn, but you can use normal sweetcorn too.
While pastel de choclo is best cooked in a cast-iron skillet, a standard casserole dish will do. As it cooks, the creamed corn forms a delicious caramelised layer – and this, together with the olives and raisins, results in a moreish sweet-yet-savoury dish.
Why not try Nigella’s recipe? Or, to find out more about making pastel de choclo, check out the video below.
6. Torta Pasqualina, Italy
Torta pasqualina is a popular Italian pie that’s traditionally eaten at Easter – although there’s no reason you can’t enjoy it throughout the year. Originating in Liguria in northwest Italy, it’s now popular throughout the country, and it’s another pie that will look beautiful on your table.
The pie is usually made with puff pastry, though according to local lore, it used to be made with 33 layers of very thin pastry – one layer for every year of Jesus’ life. Inside is a delicious spinach and ricotta filling, and what makes this pie stand out from other cheese-and-spinach combinations are the whole baked eggs inside; when you cut the pie, the baked eggs will be visible.
Traditionally, the recipe contained artichoke, but it’s usually left out these days – and sometimes chard is used instead of spinach. Torta pasqualina is meant to be served cold, and though it can keep in the fridge for several days, it’s best served immediately after it’s cooled.
If you fancy giving it a go, you might want to try this authentic recipe from Great Italian Chefs. Or, to see how to make Paul Hollywood’s version, check out the video below.
7. Chicken bastilla, Morocco
If you’re a fan of chicken pie, you might want to make the Moroccan version, known as chicken bastilla (or pastilla). This is another dish that has both sweet and savoury elements, with cinnamon, almonds, and a dusting of powdered sugar on top. And there’s a reason chicken bastilla is so popular in Morocco – it’s delicious!
Bastilla is traditionally made with warqa pastry, which is a thin, light and crisp pastry similar to filo. Making your own warqa dough can be challenging, so if you’d like to give this pie a try, you might want to think about making it with shop-bought filo pastry. It will save you lots of time, and work just as well!
Inside the pastry, there’s savoury saffron chicken, a spicy omelette stuffing, and then crunchy fried almonds flavoured with orange flower water. The powdered sugar and cinnamon on top means that each bite of this pie is incredibly fragrant and flavoursome.
To make your own Moroccan chicken bastilla, why not try this recipe from The Spruce Eats? Or, to see how to make Gordon Ramsay’s version, check out the video below.
8. Jamaican beef patties
If you’re a fan of Caribbean food and the Cornish pasty, we might have the perfect pie for you. The Jamaican beef patty is a product of English, East African, and Indian influences. In the 17th century Cornish immigrants brought their pasty to Jamaica, and while the Jamaican patty is a derivative of the Cornish pasty, it evolved to feature the Indian and African influences so prevalent in Jamaica.
Over time, different herbs and spices were added, and the fiery Scotch bonnet – a chilli pepper indigenous to Jamaica – creates the heat this patty is known for. Jamaican patties are one of the most popular dishes in Jamaica, and they’re sold in street food stalls, markets, as takeaways, and in restaurants.
Formed into half-moon shapes, these pastries are made with turmeric and curry powder, which gives them their trademark golden-yellow hue – and the ground beef filling is perfectly flavoured with onion, garlic, cumin, allspice, curry, thyme, and cayenne pepper.
If you want to make your own Jamaican beef patties, you might want to try this recipe from Original Flava. Or, to find out more about making Jamaican beef patties, check out the video below.
9. Buko pie, the Philippines
If you love coconut flavoured desserts, you might like to try buko pie, which is a sweet Filipino pie made from young coconuts and condensed milk. Though buko pie is sold in most places in the Philippines – from restaurants to street food stalls – the recipe is relatively new, originating in the city of Los Baños, on the island of Luzon.
As the story goes, around 70 years ago, Filipino sisters who’d worked in the US wanted to make apple pie. But because apples aren’t widely available in the Philippines, they decided to use coconuts instead. The pie was so popular that the sisters opened their own bakery – and the pie soon spread around the country.
Made with a flaky pastry crust, and with a creamy filling that’s sweet yet also refreshing, the most important ingredient of buko pie is fresh, young coconuts.
To make your own buko pie, why not try this recipe by Kawaling Pinoy? Or, for step-by-step guidance on making buko pie, have a watch of the video below.
10. Meat pie, Australia
In Australia, meat pies are iconic in the culinary world. Considered to be one of the country’s national dishes, it’s estimated that 270 million meat pies are eaten there every year (Australia has a population of around 26 million people!).
Meat pies have been regularly eaten in Australia since the late 18th century when the country was colonised by the British, and they’re now commonly served to school children and eaten at sporting events.
Meat pies are serious business Down Under. Bakeries compete to make the best pies in town, and there are official standards to be met; aside from flaky pastry and tasty gravy, national food standards dictate that the pie must be ‘at least 25% meat flesh’.
The most commonly used meat is beef, which is minced, cooked with onions and gravy, and then encased in a shortcrust pastry case with a puff pastry lid. For maximum authenticity, add a dollop of ketchup on top of the pie.
If this sounds like the pie for you, then why not try this meat pie recipe by Recipe Tin Eats? Or, to see exactly how to make Australian meat pie, watch the video below.
Final thoughts…
We hope you enjoyed this list of 10 very different pie recipes from around the world. Whatever type of pie you’re into, there’s a recipe out there for you.
If you like meaty pies, you might want to try making Jamaican beef patties, Moroccan chicken bastilla, or Australian meat pie. Or, if you prefer veggie pies, you may prefer the sound of Greek spanakopita, or Italy’s torta pasqualina.
And, of course, if you’re a fan of sweet pies, the rich nuttiness of Switzerland’s Bündner Nusstorte or coconutty creaminess of the Philippines’ buko pie may be more up your street!
For more cooking inspiration, check out the food and drink section of our website, where you’ll find everything from healthy and easy vegetarian recipes to bread recipes to bake at home.
Have you tried any of these pies? Or do you have any of your own favourite pie recipes you’d like to share with our readers? We’d love to hear about your foodie adventures in the comments below.