Savory Mushroom Hand Pies

Ever since developing this cauliflower pot pie (and inadvertently having to eat it for every meal for like 2 weeks), I’ve been pretty excited about adding puff pastry to my ingredient arsenal. It’s far from the healthiest thing in the world, but it’s so convenient, and delicious filled/topped with almost anything. The golden, puffy look has a festive feel to it, making it ideal for the holidays.

Store-bought puff pastry is what makes these savory mushroom hand pies possible. They’re reminiscent of meat pies, but instead of ground beef, this vegetarian version has mushrooms fortified with carrots, onions, peas, and lots of seasonings. You can think of them as individual mushroom wellingtons and serve them a main course – or make them smaller and have as an hors d’oeuvre instead.

What’s In These Savory Hand Pies

The vegetarian filling consists of cremini mushrooms, carrots, onions, garlic, dried thyme, and peas, as well as some tomato paste and soy sauce. The dough is store-bought puff pastry.

Mushroom Hand Pies Step-by-Step

Find complete instructions with ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Prep the Mushrooms

Using a food processor or working by hand, finely chop all the mushrooms into roughly the size of lentils.

Step 2: Cook the Filling

Combine olive oil, mushrooms, onions, carrots, garlic, and thyme in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until all the liquid is evaporated and the mushrooms are starting to brown a little, about 20 minutes. Avoid stirring the mixture more than necessary. At the end, add peas, tomato paste, and soy sauce. 

Step 3: Form the Hand Pies

Roll the thawed puff pastry into a large rectangle and cut into 4 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, fill the dough, wet the edges (to help them seal), and crimp them closed with a fork. (Be sure to cool the filling a little before forming the pies; if it’s too hot, the dough may melt and become too sticky to work with.)

Step 4: Finish the Pies

When all the pies are formed on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet, cut an X into the center (to release steam during baking) and brush the pies lightly with oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you want.

Step 5: Bake the Pies

Bake until they’re puffed and golden, about 25 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes before serving. These are best served while still warm and flaky.

Tips for Making the Mushroom Filling

• If you have a food processor (or some other style of food chopper), this is a great time to break it out. It will make it significantly easier and faster to chop the large volume of mushrooms.
• 1 1/4 pounds may seem like a lot of mushrooms, but they cook down to less than half their size.
• Don’t stir the filling too much during cooking. Just let the liquid evaporate, then allow the filling to brown a little – this will add lots of flavor.

Tips for Working with Puff Pastry

• Puff pastry is sold in the freezer section of most supermarkets. Pepperidge Farm is vegan, but doesn’t have the best ingredients. DuFour and Trader’s Joe’s brands have “cleaner” ingredients, but are not vegan.
• Wait to roll it out until it’s completely thawed – this usually takes at least 30 minutes at room temp. Do not unfold the dough when it’s still frozen/stiff.
• Roll it out on a lightly floured kitchen counter, coating the rolling pin with flour as well if it’s sticking. If you don’t own a rolling pin, use a bottle of wine/vinegar.
• If the dough is cracking during rolling, it means it is still too cold and needs more time to thaw. If the dough is sticking to the rolling pin or counter, sprinkle it lightly with flour. If the dough is wet/slimy, it has gotten too warm and should be refrigerated for a few minutes to firm up again.