Savory Dinner Pies by Ken Haedrich

Savory Dinner Pies

by Ken Haedrich

Author and savory pie expert Ken Haedrich takes you on a global tour of dinner pies from food cultures across the world in this freshly illustrated adaptation of his popular Dinner Pies cookbook.

Dinner pies have become a favorite go-to for one-dish recipes. Perfect your own crust or, dare we say, buy a pre-made crust and the variations are endless. Learn how to make classic Americana chicken pot pie, British steak and ale pies, Indian potato and pea samosas, spicy Spanish empanadas, and many more crust and no-crust versions of one of the world’s most prolific go-to dinners. Recipes for a range of crusts and make-ahead ideas are included along with how to use the almighty leftover to create pie masterpieces that are all your own!

With over 80 recipes and amazing, new four-color photography, this is both a cookbook and an around-the-world tour of culinary traditions that can be incorporated into your own home kitchen weekly menu. Enjoy making and sharing:

  • Kale & Smoked Chorizo Hand Pies
  • Creamy Red Potato & Parmesan Tart
  • Salmon, Smoked Cheddar & Dill Quiche
  • Moroccan Lamb Pie
  • Tempeh & Brown Rice Empanadas
  • Tuscan-Style Pork Turnovers
  • Thanksgiving Leftovers Shepherd’s Pie


Great for parties, families, Sunday night dinners, neighborly welcomes, holidays, and any-old-night-of-the-week dinners, and breakfasts and lunches—Savory Dinner Pies offers something for every kitchen.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Savory Dinner Pies is a well written and appealing collection of one-dish savory pies by Ken Haedrich. Released 18th Jan 2022 by Quarto on their Harvard Common Press imprint, it's a comprehensive 224 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats.

I loved this book's layout and the spare well written no-nonsense text. The author is *very* competent, he knows what he's doing, and he is generous enough to want to share that experience with the world. The entire book felt to me like a worthwhile and rewarding masterclass. The introduction contains the nuts and bolts of techniques, equipment, and ingredients. Whilst the author presupposes no previous knowledge on the reader's part, it will be useful to know one's way around a kitchen. (But if not, don't despair, a keen beginner could follow the recipes here and achieve good results).

The following chapters contain the recipes, arranged roughly thematically: pie doughs & pastries, hand pies turnovers & pizza, little pies tarts & galettes, quiches & their cousins, pot pies (MUCH love to this chapter), shepherd's pie & other meat pies, and cobblers streudels & wrapped entrees. The recipes are inspired by world cuisine and their origins are delicious and diverse.

The recipes have their ingredients listed bullet style in a sidebar. Measurements are given in US standard only; there's an abbreviated conversion chart in the back of the book. Special tools and ingredients are also listed, along with yields and cooking directions. Most of the ingredients are easily sourced at any moderately well stocked grocery store. Special dietary needs recipes are blended in without specific commentary (there aren't a lot of vegan friendly recipes included, for example). Nutritional information is not included.

It's beautifully illustrated throughout with color photos. Serving suggestions are attractive and appetizing. I'm a visual learner, especially with cooking, and having the photos really helped me. The food styling is very well done.

Five stars. It is, admittedly, a niche cookbook, but the recipes are so varied and so tasty that this would be a great choice for library acquisition, or for "everyday" cooks looking for some variation on meat & potatoes.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 18 January, 2022: Finished reading
  • 18 January, 2022: Reviewed