17 Savory Pies & Tarts for Serious Pie Lovers
Savory pies and tarts don’t get nearly enough credit. They’re endlessly versatile, they work for any occasion, and they have a way of making even the simplest filling feel like a proper meal. This collection covers a lot of ground, from classic Greek phyllo pies like spanakotiropita and tiropita to an Italian-inspired carbonara tart, a British beef and oyster pie, and a snapper pie with kataifi pastry that’s unlike anything else on the list.
Some of these recipes are quick and easy weeknight options, others take a bit more time, but all of them are worth making. If you love a good pie (and who doesn’t?) you’ll find plenty to love here.
Let us know which one of these you’d try first!
1. Mediterranean Spinach & Egg Pie
Spinach and eggs are a natural combination, and this pie wraps them in a flaky puff pastry crust with cheese for a result that works at pretty much any time of day — breakfast, brunch, or lunch. The “nest” of egg baked right into the filling is both a clever technique and an appetizing visual touch. The cheese can be swapped freely depending on what’s in the fridge since feta, cheddar, or goat’s cheese are all great options. Ready in forty minutes from start to finish.
2. Mini Tomato & Mozzarella Tarts
Individual tarts always feel more special than a single large one, and these are a good example of why. The filling layers sliced sweet potato, a creamy egg and cream mixture, fresh tomatoes, and mozzarella in small ramekins, baked until the mozzarella is golden and bubbling. They work as a starter, a party snack, or a light lunch alongside a salad, and they can be served hot or cold. The homemade yeasted dough is worth making from scratch because it gives the shells a slightly softer, more bread-like character than standard shortcrust.
3. Savory Sweet Potato Pie
Sweet potato as a pie crust is a clever idea, and the execution here is just as good as the concept. The boiled, mashed sweet potato is pressed into a tart tin, frozen to set firm, then baked until golden and brushed with egg yolk for a glossy finish. The filling that goes inside is unabashedly cheesy, a combination of cream cheese, cheddar, gouda, and parmesan. The pie is rich flavored and creamy in the middle with a natural sweetness contrast coming from the crust. It’s a great vegetarian main that can also be served alongside grilled meats.
4. Greek Cauliflower Pie
Greek cuisine has a long tradition of savory pies, and cauliflower might be the most interesting filling in the category. To make it, cauliflower florets are roasted with curry powder and mustard for a depth of flavor that goes well beyond the usual cheese-and-vegetable formula. They’re added in a crispy phyllo base with a smooth bechamel-style sauce and baked until golden. The recipe gives no restrictions on how much extra cheese you can add on top, which is, honestly, exactly the right attitude.
5. Cavolo Nero Tart with Pecorino
This twenty-five-minute Italian tart is made with crispy puff pastry spread with pesto, topped with cavolo nero, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and pecorino baked at high heat until golden. Cavolo nero has a robust, earthy bitterness that works really well in combination with the two cheeses and the herby depth of the pesto, and the high-heat bake gives the edges a satisfying crunch. A great choice for a quick weeknight dinner or a relaxed starter when you have company.
6. Broccoli Tart
Broccoli isn’t the most obvious candidate for a tart filling, but this recipe makes a convincing case for it. The florets are blanched, then layered into a homemade shortcrust shell with mushrooms and a three-cheese filling and seasoned with spearmint, paprika, and thyme. The filling bakes slowly until set and nicely browned. It holds its shape beautifully when sliced and has considerably more character than tour run-of-the-mill savory pie. It’s a longer bake, but most of that time is passive and the result is well worth it.
7. Hortopita: Greek Greens Pie
Hortopita is one of Greece’s oldest and most honest pie traditions — a double-crusted pie packed with seasonal greens, leeks, and a generous handful of herbs, baked until the homemade dough turns golden and slightly crisp. What makes it stand apart from spanakotiropita (its more famous spinach & cheese pie cousin) is the absence of cheese and eggs: this is purely a greens pie, which also makes it fully vegan and perfect for fasting days. The dough is made with a splash of white wine vinegar, which gives it a subtle tang and a pleasantly supple texture. It serves eight and holds well as a leftover meal too.
8. Beef & Oyster Pie
Adding oysters to a beef and ale pie is a classic British combination that dates back centuries, and this version makes a strong case for why the pairing deserves a revival. Slow-braised beef in dark ale forms the base, deeply savory and tender after a couple of hours on the stove, then topped with a suet and butter pastry that bakes up rich and golden. The oysters go in just before the final ten minutes of oven time, keeping them barely cooked and briny rather than rubbery. A grilled parsley breadcrumb crust over the oysters in their shells, served on top of the pie, is the kind of finishing touch that makes this feel truly special.
9. Spinach Pie
This is the kind of spinach pie you make when you want something satisfying and homemade without a lot of fuss. The shortcrust pastry is straightforward, the filling is flexible (cottage cheese works well but goat or sheep cheese add more character) and the whole thing comes together in under two hours. The lattice top is a nice visual touch that gives it a proper homemade look without requiring much technical skill. It serves eight, keeps well in the fridge, and reheats nicely, which makes it a reliable weekday pie as much as a weekend one.
10. Carbonara Tart
Taking the flavors of pasta carbonara and baking them into a tart shell is a clever idea, and it works better than you might expect. Smoked bacon and mushrooms sit in a crisp shortcrust shell, topped with a creamy parmesan filling that sets into something rich and deeply savory during a slow bake. The result has all the umami depth of carbonara in a sliceable format, which is a practical choice for lunch or a relaxed dinner.
11. Spanakotiropita: Greek Cheese & Spinach Pie
Spanakotiropita is one of Greece’s most beloved foods and a staple of the country’s savory baking tradition, distinct from the better-known spanakopita by the inclusion of feta cheese alongside the spinach. The homemade phyllo dough here is rolled out into seven thin sheets layered with olive oil, creating a crust that bakes up shatteringly crisp while the filling inside stays creamy and herb-forward from dill and mint. It’s a pie that’s genuinely hard to eat just one slice of. It serves six generously and makes an excellent centrepiece for a Greek-inspired table.
12. Garfish Pie
Garfish is one of those underused fish that rewards the brave. Its flesh has a mild, slightly sweet flavor and a texture closer to chicken than most seafood, which makes it a surprisingly good pie filling. This recipe is considerably more ambitious than most on this list: the fish is wrapped in a crepe with a salt cod and potato brandade, then encased in puff pastry and baked until golden, served with shucked oysters in a parsley breadcrumb crust alongside a saffron and fennel escabeche. It’s a proper restaurant-style dish that takes real time and technique, but the result is a genuinely spectacular pie that would stop conversation at any dinner table.
13. Pear & Gorgonzola Tartlets
Pear and gorgonzola is one of those combinations that makes immediate sense the first time you try it since the two main ingredients are such natural counterparts, and baking them together in a buttery tartlet shell only makes the pairing better. A pinch of chili flakes over the top before the second bake adds a little heat that cuts through the richness of the cheese. They work warm or at room temperature, can be made as individual tartlets or one large tart, and store-bought tart shells are a perfectly acceptable shortcut if you’re short on time. A good appetizer for when you want something impressive without a lot of work.
14. Greek Chicken Pie
Making this pie is deceptively simple. It uses a whole chicken, poached with onions until tender until the liquid is reduced to a concentrated stock. The shredded meat and onions are covered in filo, brushed with olive oil and baked until golden. What makes it special is that sweetness of the slow-cooked onions and the gelatinous quality of the reduced stock, which gives the filling a richness that a quicker method wouldn’t achieve.
15. Snapper Pie with Slow Braised Green Beans & Kataifi
This may be the most technically ambitious recipe on the list, and certainly one of the most distinctive. Green beans and fennel are braised low and slow until completely soft and fragrant, then topped with snapper, a few briny additions, and a lid of buttered kataifi pastry mixed with sesame seeds. Kataifi — a shredded filo pastry common in Greek and Middle Eastern baking — bakes into something closer to a crunchy golden nest than a conventional pastry top, which is exactly what makes this so visually interesting.
16. Sweet Potato & Parmesan Tart
This one sits somewhere between a tart, a gratin, and a crustless quiche, and that interesting in-between quality is part of what makes it worth trying. Thin sweet potato ribbons are arranged in a baking dish, baked in a parmesan and cream custard until the top is golden and the potato is silky and tender all the way through. There’s no pastry shell to worry about, which keeps things simple, and the result is visually striking in a way that belies the minimal effort involved. It works as a vegetarian side alongside roasted meats, or as a light main with a simple green salad.
17. Tiropita: Traditional Greek Cheese Pie
Tiropita is one of the great everyday pies of Greek cuisine, eaten for breakfast, as a midday snack, or whenever the occasion calls for something simple and satisfying. Layers of phyllo are brushed with olive oil, filled with a mixture of crumbled feta, anthotiro or ricotta, fresh mint and dill, then baked until shatteringly crisp and golden on top. The filling is creamy and salty with a herby freshness that stops it from feeling too heavy. A sprinkle of sesame seeds before baking is a small detail that makes a difference to the finished look.
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