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Beef Pot Pie

A savory pie with bacon, onion, beef, gravy, carrots, potatoes, and cinnamon, topped with pastry.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Beef Pot Pie

Oven425°F
Timeabout 20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Fry bacon until soft but cooked, then drain it on paper towels.

  2. Discard all but 3 tbsp of bacon fat in the skillet.

  3. Add onion and cook until soft.

  4. Add beef, gravy, carrots, potatoes, and cinnamon, stirring constantly until bubbling.

  5. Salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble and bake

  1. Put beef mixture into a deep pie dish or shallow casserole.

  2. Preheat oven to 425°F.

  3. Roll out pastry and place on top.

  4. Crimp edges and cut a small vent on top.

  5. Bake about 20 minutes, or until bubbling and top is golden.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

535Calories
35 gProtein
19 gFat
57 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Pastrynot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,107 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  3. Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,555 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Carrot + cinnamontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together981 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  5. Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Bacon
Adds fat and smoky flavor to cook the onion and season the filling.
Beef
Provides the main meaty body and substance of the filling.
Gravy
Supplies moisture and savory flavor that binds the filling together.
Potatoes
Add body and starch that thickens the filling as it bubbles.
Carrots
Contribute sweetness and texture to the filling.
Pastry
Forms a golden crust that seals in the filling while baking.

The step that matters

Stirring the filling until bubbling. Stirring constantly while heating the beef, gravy and vegetables keeps them from scorching on the bottom of the skillet and heats the mixture evenly before it goes into the dish.

Swap the cinnamon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, beef, carrot, potato, pepper):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Celeryfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Cinnamonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, beef, carrot, potato, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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