There are few things I love more than a fresh slice of pie.
Sweet pies like my Pear Pie recipe are usually the first that come to mind when I think about pie.
(Which is often.)
But I love savory pies just as much.
Savory Mini Pies
These Savory Mini Pies with Potato and Asparagus are my favorite savory pies.
The potatoes, cream cheese, and cheddar make these pies creamy. They’re not overly “egg-y” because there’s only one egg in this recipe. And they don’t feel particularly heavy, even if you eat a couple of them.
I speak from experience.
The asparagus, tomatoes, and chives/green onion are fresh, light flavors that balance out the richness of the potatoes and cheese.
The final flavor note in these pies is paprika.
Paprika is in both the filling and the pie dough. It adds a sharply sweet flavor, and also lends to the gorgeous color of these pies: the paprika enhances the golden hue of both the filling and the crust.
Make These Savory Mini Pies
Make these pies the next time you need an elegant appetizer. Or, make them a meal, and serve with white beans and a salad like this one.
Either way, these mini pies are proof that savory pies are just as crave-worthy as their sweet counterparts.
One Thing!
You want a good quality paprika for the filling and crust in this recipe.
Here’s my favorite paprika from Simple Organic [aff. link]. You can also find this paprika in my Amazon store here.
Savory Mini Pies with Potato & Asparagus
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds potatoes, diced to ¾ inch cubes; use red, yellow, or white potatoes so you don't have to peel them
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup vegetable broth or water
For the rest of the filling:
- 3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp fresh chives or green onion, thinly sliced
- 6 asparagus spears, cut to 1 inch pieces (I cut mine on the bias)
- 1 cup cheddar, freshly grated
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp onion salt
- 1 pinch of pepper
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup almond milk, unsweetened
- ¼ cup flour
For the dough
- 3 cups flour
- ½ cup cold butter, cubed
- ½ cup cold crisco, cubed
- ¾ tsp paprika
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- ¼-⅓ cup cold water
Everything else:
- cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
Instructions
Make the dough
- To a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, paprika, butter, and Crisco. With your hands or a pastry cutter, mix everything together until you have clumps the size of peas.
- Now add the water. Start with ¼ cup, and mix until the dough comes together. If the dough is too dry, add an additional 1-2 Tbsp of water. If the dough is too wet, add a little more flour, but only about a tsp at a time.
- The dough consistency is correct when it all comes together cohesively, and you can form one disk out of the dough. The dough should be moist, but not wet.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before using.
Make the potatoes
- While the dough refrigerates, make the filling.
- Add the olive oil, potatoes, garlic, and salt to a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Stir frequently to keep the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Now turn the heat down to medium, add the vegetable broth or water, and cover the pan. Stir occasionally, and cook the potatoes for 12 minutes, until a fork can easily pierce through a piece.
- Keeping the heat on medium, uncover the potatoes, and cook for two more minutes. Flip the potatoes continuously to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat, and let the potatoes cool slightly.
Make the filling
- While the potatoes cook, prepare the rest of the filling ingredients.
- To a medium size mixing bowl, add the cream cheese. Use a fork, and mix the cream cheese in the bowl to soften it a little bit. Don’t worry if the cream cheese is a little lumpy at this point. The warmth of the potatoes when we add them will smooth the cream cheese out.
- Now add the chives/green onion, asparagus, salt, pepper, paprika, onion salt, and cheddar to the bowl. (Do not add the egg, milk, or flour yet.). Do a rough mix, then add the potatoes. Mix everything together until completely incorporated. The warmth of the potatoes will help soften the cream cheese and melt the cheddar.
- In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, almond milk, and flour. Whisk until there are very few clumps of flour, then pour the egg/milk/flour mixture into the bowl with the rest of the filling.
- Carefully stir everything together until incorporated.
Press in the crust
- I recommend using two standard-sized 12 cup muffin/cupcake tins. You will get a total of 16-18 mini pies.
- Spray the tin with cooking spray.
- Use a slightly heaping 1 Tbsp of dough per mini pie. With your fingers, press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of each muffin cup.
Put the filling in the crust
- Now put the filling in each cup of the muffin tin. Use a heaping 1 Tbsp of filling per muffin cup. The filling won't rise much in the oven, so don't worry if each muffin cup is filled to just about the top.
- Top each veggie pie with 2-3 tomato slices.
Bake the pies
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Bake the pies for 35 minutes, until the crust is slightly browned, and the filling is golden-orange.
Serve and enjoy!
- Serve these veggie pies as an appetizer, or make them a meal. These mini pies are excellent served with white beans—garbanzo or cannellini are my favorite—and a salad like this one.
This Post Has 6 Comments
I love savory pies and sweet as well, but I really love savory mini pies. What a great idea and recipe. I love the paprika addition to the pie dough. We have a number of different savory pies here, but my favorite is a new potatoes pie with cheese and spinach, so your asparagus mini pie hits the spot.
Thank you so much Ron! Ohhhh that sounds absolutely AMAZING!!! Can’t beat the combo of cheese, spinach, and new potatoes. YUM!
I’m with ya here, Shannon. I usually think of sweet pies when someone says “pie,” but this savory version sounds delicious. I also love that you made these in mini “appetizer” forms. We actually have all of the ingredients to make these right now, so I might need to put these on the menu. The asparagus has been so good lately, but I imagine it’ll be even better in pie form!
Thanks David! YES hasn’t the asparagus been amazing lately?!!! I’ve been appreciating it even more after all the weeks of cooking with what we had in the pantry. It’s so nice to be able to incorporate more fresh veggies again!
This sounds like the ultimate in comfort food.
Oh for sure Jeff, I have a hard time stopping at just one of these mini pies!