Tourtière Turnovers - French Canadian Meat Pie
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy
What is Tourtière?
A tourtière is a French Canadian savoury meat pie. While the exact origins are not fully understood, we do know that it comes from the province of Quebec in Canada. It was meant to be a “poor man’s” type of dish, and the traditional has held that tourtière is a recipe to make for Christmas! Of course it can be enjoyed any time of the year, but for the Quebecois, a tourtière is an iconic Christmas dish. With that being said, traditionally the pie is made in a pie dish to slice and served at the Christmas dinner table, but this Tourtière Turnover recipe will take the elements of the classic French Canadian meat pie and adapt it to individual handheld savory pies!
If you’re looking to try something new for Christmas dinner this year, then you’re going to love these Tourtière Turnovers! Put your heart on a plate for your loved ones with these French Canadian handheld meat pies as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Get started on your cooking journey for free today by signing to my email newsletter, plus all of my latest recipes will be sent directly to your inbox!
For the step by step visual instructions to follow along from making the pie crust to assembling and baking the tourtières, be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post! I would really appreciate it if you could please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’t not already, and don’t forget to hit the bell button so you get notified when my video recipes go live with the written ones! Let’s get cooking!
What Meat is used in a Tourtière?
The traditional tourtière recipes have used a combination of game meat. Now, game meat isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so more modern takes on tourtière use a combination of pork and beef. Sometimes, tourtière is made with just pork, since it is the most economical protein. I’ll be using equal parts pork and beef for this Tourtière Turnovers recipe. You could even add in some bacon bits for an extra smoky kick!
What Spice Blend Is Used in Tourtière?
The warm spices found in tourtière make it perfect for Christmas dinner! While there are lots of added spices that vary from recipe to recipe, the core spices are cloves and cinnamon, and some nutmeg further contributes to the warm of the meat filling. Other dried herbs are added in addition to those two key spices. I’m going to add thyme, sage, and bay leaves in this meat mixture. You could add fresh herbs, if desired, but for the “budget-friendliness” feature of this recipe, dried spices will really go a long way!
Can I Make Tourtière without Potatoes?
Some variations do not use potatoes, but from what I’ve researched, the classic tourtière recipe does add in some potatoes. How those potatoes are added in varies quite a bit. For example, some recipes will add boiled potatoes on top of the meat when assembling the pies. Recipes also vary the usage of potatoes by either mashing boiled potatoes or dicing them. With that being said, if for whatever reason you don’t want to use potatoes in your tourtières, then there are some options. Instead of adding potatoes, you can also add vegetables such as carrots or celery to add subtlety of flavours.
In this Tourtière Turnover recipe, I’ll be lightly mashing the potatoes and cooking them with the meat. The reason for this is so that they get all the amazing flavours from the spices in the meat throughout. If you add the potatoes at the end, they won’t absorb all of the incredible flavours from the meat and the spices.
What If I Don’t Want to Make the Pie Crust From SCratch?
That is no problem at all! You can use a store-bought pie crust if you want, and roll it a bit to form a oval, and then proceed with the rest of the recipe as instructed. However, since these tourtières are a Christmas recipe, I really encourage you to cook from the heart and try making your own pie crust from scratch! As I describe in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!!, setting realistic but exciting goals is key to trying out new things. You may be worried about messing up the pie crust for your family dinner, but do not stress! If you are new to making pie crust, I would recommend you try making a small portion a few days before making the tourtière turnovers to test the recipe and get some practice. I guarantee you will gain the confidence in time for the main event, and your friends and family will be asking you for more turnovers!
Why YOu’ll Love this Tourtière Turnover Recipe!
Budget-friendly: As previously mentioned, tourtière was a peasant’s meal. When planning for my grocery list for this meal, I realized that I did not have to buy very much - the meat was really my only purchase, and ground pork and ground beef are quite economical cuts of meat. You can save some money by going to the butcher and purchasing only the amount of meat that you require for the recipe. Check out the recipe card below for full quantities, and you can use the scaling function if you want more or less meat pies.
Individual portions: Everyone can enjoy all the deliciousness in their very own handheld pie! No need to slice the pie and worry about uneven slices - a big hearty pie can be served to all!
Serves a crowd: These sure will be a crowd-pleaser! While the default recipe makes 4 meat pies, you can scale it using the recipe card based on how many pies you want to make. You can easily bake a dozen or so pies for your Christmas party if needed!
Make-ahead friendly: Nothing will beat freshly baked pies coming straight out of the oven, and this is what I would recommend you do if you’re making this for Christmas dinner. However, if there are leftovers, then don’t worry about them! They do reheat quite well and will stay fresh in the fridge for a few days! Storage and reheating instructions can be found later on in this post!
How Much Stuffing Do I Add to the Meat Pies?
The full recipe for the meat filling is enough to be divided into four equal portions to make four tourtieres. In terms of how much more filling you can stuff in each tourtiere, just observe if you are able to comfortably wrap the dough around the filling to create a firm seal. As long as you are able to seal the pie properly without risking any tears on the crust, keep adding as much stuffing as you would like!
Tools Needed to Make French Canadian Meat Pie
Ingredients for Tourtière Turnovers
For all ingredient quantities and to save the recipe for later, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD or press the “Jump to Recipe” button. You can also use the recipe card to scale the recipe based on how many Canadian meat pies you want to make so that you’ve got the right amount of meat and potatoes to stuff your handheld Canadian meat pies perfectly!
For the meat filling
Ground pork
Ground beef
Onion
Potatoes
Better Than Bouillon Chicken Flavoured Paste: Alternatively, you can use chicken broth.
Water
Egg & water: To make the egg wash.
For the pie dough
How to Make Tourtière Turnovers
For the pie dough
In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the shortening with the flour mixture using your hands or a dough scraper until the flour becomes crumbly.
Add water, little bit at a time and mix until the dough just comes together. There is no need to knead the dough. Form the dough to a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
For the Tourtière Turnovers
Preheat the oven at 375 F in the convection setting.
Heat a nonstick pan on medium heat and once hot, add olive oil. Add the onions, season with a pinch of salt and sauté until they soften.
Add the ground beef and pork and break any large chunks down using a wooden spoon. Continue to cook until the meat is almost all the way brown and then add the dried spices (sage, thyme, black pepper, ground clove, ground nutmeg), bouillon paste, water, potato and salt.
Mix really well and lightly mash the potatoes into smaller chunks. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until the spices have cooked well. Add the maple syrup, stir well, taste and adjust for seasoning and then take the pan off the heat.
Taste and adjust for seasoning and then transfer to a container and chill in the refrigerator until it is at least at room temperature. You may remove any excess fat from using a lint free paper towel or by draining it out.
To prepare the meat pies, remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into 4 portions. Then roll each of them out into an oval shapes, roughly 1/8th inch thick each.
Divide the meat mixture equally onto one half (longer side) of the pie portions, leaving a 3/4 inch rim around the edge and then fold the dough over the meat and press down to seal the seams.
You can create a pattern with the tines of a fork as well.
Transfer the pie portions to a baking sheet lined with parchment and then whisk 1 egg with 1 tsp of water to prepare an egg wash. Brush the tops and edges of the pie portions. Cut 2-3 slits on the top of the pie to allow for steam to escape.
Bake until golden brown - about 35-40 minutes.
Serve hot and fresh!
How to Serve Handheld Tourtières
Tourtière is quite heavy, so it is definitely a meal in itself! However, there are lots of condiments and some light side dishes you could enjoy with your Canadian meat pie so that it is a well-rounded meal!
Appetizers: I can’t imagine a Christmas dinner without some sides & starters! Some easy holiday appetizer recipes I recommend are my phyllo samosa recipes, including Cream Cheese & Spinach Samosas, Jalapeño, Corn and Cheddar Samosas; and Leftover Mashed Potatoes Samosas. You may also like my Ham & Cheese Pinwheels or Mozzarella Sticks!
Ketchup: A basic condiment that you can’t go wrong with!
Chutney: I have not had this combination, but chutneys would go really well with a tourtière! One option you can try out is my Cilantro-Mint Chutney for a more spicy flavour, or Tamarind Chutney for a sweeter flavour. Even my Tomato Chutney would be excellent here!
Hot sauce: I really enjoyed serving these handheld Canadian meat pies with my favourite Dawson’s hot sauce! I truly do use it on everything!
Salad: A salad will nicely complement the meat and bread here! I recommend my Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese and Almonds for a light side.
Dessert: A holiday meal isn’t complete without dessert. You could bake some Huge New York Black and White Cookies, Eggnog Creme Brûlée, or even Gingerbread Banana Bread! For something quick for a smaller party, I’m sure my Apple Spiced Caramelized Bananas or Air Fryer Crescent Roll Baby Cinnamon Buns would be a hit!
Tips & Tricks For A Hearty French Canadian Meat Pie
For a modern (traditional) mix, use a combination of beef and pork for the tourtière filling, but to get a taste of this dish’s origins, pick gamey meats like venison.
Allowing the potatoes to cook with the meat helps absorb some of the moisture which protects the meat from drying out while baking. This is why having them is smaller chunks guarantees a juicy bite.
To taste the traditional pie crust, use lard instead of butter to prepare the pie crust. And make sure to keep the dough chilled until ready to form into pies.
Adding vegetables like carrots, celery or tossing in some mushrooms can add subtlety of flavours and keep the moist level up.
Storing Leftover Individual Tourtières
If you have an airtight container large enough to fit your handheld tourtières, then allow them to completely cool down and store them in a container in the fridge. However, I stored mine in large Ziploc bags in order to preserve the freshness and to have them fit perfectly inside! Since there is cooked meat and fresh pastry crust involved in making this tourtière recipe, I would not recommend keeping them for longer than 3-4 days.
Can I Freeze Handheld Tourtieres?
Yes, you can, and they actually freeze really well! If you want to freeze your Tourtière Turnovers, you want to freeze them after you have formed and assembled them. Freeze them on a baking sheet and make sure to wrap the baking sheet in two layers of plastic wrap to ensure they freeze evenly and straight. Once they are have completely frozen, you can transfer them into Ziploc bags, as described above.
When you’re ready to bake your Individual Tourtières, there is no need to thaw them overnight in the fridge. You can bake them directly from frozen, just keep in mind that the baking time will be a little longer.
How Do I Reheat Canadian Meat Pies?
These Tourtière Turnovers can be reheated in either the oven or in the microwave! To reheat in the oven, set the temperature to 350 F. You can reheat the Canadian meat pies as the oven heats, and this should take about 10 minutes. However, if you’re like me and you’re very impatient, then you can definitely reheat your tourtières in the microwave! It should only take about 20 to 30 seconds to reheat. Keep in mind that if you reheat tourtières in the microwave, then you won’t get that crispy crust on the outside that you get when you reheat in the oven. To speed up the oven process, you can microwave for about 10 seconds, then continue the reheating process in the oven. You will get results that will be quite comparable to the tourtières being freshly baked!
On the other hand, if you do have an air fryer, then I recommend that you reheat the tourtières by air frying at 350 F.