I’ve updated this British meat pie recipe with low carb ingredients and lots of cooking tips. Your meat will turn out mouthwateringly tender in a luscious gravy with a fun cauliflower crust.

My British mother-in-law moved to the States when she was in her twenties, but she still loved making several traditional recipes from across the pond. One was a meat pie filled with tender bite-size beef. She used beef chuck which is an inexpensive cut and makes these meat pies quite economical.

She passed on this recipe to me, but when my family started following a gluten-free diet, I had to find a way to tweak her recipe. I kept everything from the original recipe, but I created a velvety smooth gluten-free gravy, and I found a gluten free pie shell at my local supermarket. The gluten-free meat pie was one of the first recipes I published on this blog.

Fast forward to today. The pre-made gluten-free pie dough that I had recommended is no longer available. And now that John and I are following a low-carb diet, it’s time to adapt and update this recipe once again and get rid of the gluten-free flour for good.

If you’re not following a low carb diet, go ahead and make this recipe with my velvety gravy and bake it in your favorite pie shell.

Either way, I do have a lot of tips to make a juicy tender meat filling. So read on.

What’s inside the meat pies: healthy and hearty ingredients

Not only are these pies a hearty dinner, they’re a healthy one.

Stew meat is so good for you. 5 ounces of beef chuck (pictured below) equals 42 grams of protein. That’s more than 6 eggs! Read more: the importance of protein to retain muscle quality.

Additionally, you’ll thicken your gravy with gelatin. Many times to keep a meal low carb, I simply serve au jus gravy, but for these meat pies I wanted to add some body to the gravy. Stirring in unflavored gelatin and some butter does the trick.

Gelatin is a healthy ingredient too. It’s good for joints, skin, and brain function.

Another healthy ingredient is cauliflower for the crust. Cauliflower is an excellent source of potassium. It’s rich in dietary fiber, folate, manganese, and vitamins C, K, and B6.

Ready to make meat pies? Let’s get started.

Instructions with step by step images

*Free printable recipe card is available at the end of the post.

Take the meat out of the refrigerator an hour before you’re ready to cook, if you can, to bring it to room temperature. Pat the meat dry with paper towels so it won’t steam. Instead, it will get a nice sear.

Additionally, pound the meat with a meat tenderizer to soften the fibers of the meat. You don’t want to pound it too hard, but a light pounding with the rough edge of a meat mallet will do the trick.

Trim excess fat and remove any gristle and set aside.

The chunky meat filling is made as a stew. But sometimes I find that when I start a stew in the usual way by searing beef cubes, they get dried out, and my stew meat turns out dry and tough. Has this ever happened to you? It’s so disappointing.

Then I came across a tip from chef J. Kenji López-Alt to sear the meat as whole steaks before cutting it into cubes. This retains more of the juices and your meat turns out melt in your mouth tender and juicy.

So, you’ll begin by building flavor by caramelizing a small diced onion in oil in your pot. Transfer the onion to a bowl and set aside.

Next heat some more oil in your pot for a minute or two. Then season your meat with salt and place it in the pot.

For the oil, I use refined avocado oil because it is very heat stable with one of the highest smoke points. This makes it one of the best possible oils for frying. It is also highly nutritious and loaded with antioxidants. Read all about its health benefits here.

After about 3 minutes, flip the meat over and sear the other side for another 3 minutes.This will add tremendous flavor to your pot of stew.

Transfer your meat to a cutting board and deglaze the pan with wine scraping up the brown bits. Simmer until the wine is reduced by half (about 5-7 minutes).

Meanwhile, cut the meat against the grain into strips and then each strip into one-inch cubes. It will just be seared on the outside, not cooked all the way through.

Return the caramelized onions and beef cubes to the pot. Add some chicken broth, diced carrots, garlic, a little tomato paste, a little tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme.

Now let that simmer with the lid slightly ajar to keep the temperature low. We want this to cook low and slow, not boil.

Thicken your gravy with gelatin

First, sprinkle the powdered gelatin into a cup of cold water and let it sit for 5 minutes. This is called blooming. Add this gelatin mixture to your stew, and it will dissolve evenly. Go ahead and add some butter too. Yum.

The perfect low carb crust: cauliflower flatbreads

Now for the crust. Cauliflower flatbreads were the perfect crusts for my chicken pot pie and mini spinach pie. They’re perfect once again for these beef pies.

The cauliflower needs to be turned into a flour-like consistency in order to make the flatbreads. You can do this while your meat is simmering on the stove.

Pulse a few cauliflower florets at a time in your food processor until they’re the size of couscous.

Next, bring half a cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan. After stirring in the cauliflower, turn off the heat and cover the pan. The pan sits covered for ten minutes before you remove the lid and transfer the cauliflower to a cheesecloth.

Twist the cheesecloth into a pouch and use it to gently squeeze out most of the moisture. It’s important for the cauliflower to be dry.

Finally, place the cauliflower in a large mixing bowl and mix in an egg, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper for a lovely blend of flavors.

I flavored the crusts with aged parmesan cheese. Aged cheeses are supposed to have a lower lactose content than lesser aged varieties.

The end result is a grainy, easy to manage batter that is ready to be shaped into circles that will fit perfectly in the bottom and on the top of each pot pie.

Yes, I put the cauliflower on the top and the bottom. My family loved the top crust so much that we had to have double. 😉

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, brush with oil, shape the circles of batter right on the oiled paper, and bake at 375℉ them until golden.

You can see the cauliflower flatbread in the bottom of the dish in the photo below.

Assemble your pot pies

Using a spatula, gently place one baked cauliflower crust on the bottom of each oven-safe crock or ramekin. Fill with your luscious beef mixture and top with another cauliflower crust.

Score each top with a sharp knife for ventilation. Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly.

And they’re ready to be eaten! Grab a spoon, dig in through the cauliflower crust to the piping hot saucy filling underneath, and eat until you discover the ultimate surprise: more cauliflower crust on the bottom.

Pro tips and recipe notes

Today I have a 2 pound chuck roast cut into two thick steaks. A flat iron steak would also work well or even a ribeye.
I sear the meat before cutting it up so it turns out melt in your mouth tender and juicy. If you’re starting with beef cubes, try not to cook them all the way through at first. You only want a slight sear for added flavor.
Don’t have avocado oil? No problem. You can use extra-virgin olive oil or any oil you prefer. You don’t need to have a high flame. Just keep the flame on medium and make sure the oil doesn’t start to smoke.
Since the size of heads of cauliflower can vary, be sure to divide your crusts into thin circles.
I used Knox unflavored gelatin from the supermarket. Next time I’ll probably go with Vital Proteins gelatin as it’s made from grass fed beef.
I wrap the steamed cauliflower in cheesecloth to squeeze out the excess water. You can use a clean thin dish towel if you don’t have cheesecloth.
Make ahead. This recipe reheats well. I think stews like this are even better the next day. It would be best to store the stewed meat with the gravy in a separate air tight container in the fridge or freezer. The cauliflower crusts should be stored separately because they would get soggy in the gravy. Then warm up the meat, assemble the pies, and bake when you’re ready to enjoy them.
You will have gravy left over from this dish that can be refrigerated in a jar for 4-5 days to pour over meals you’ll make for the week.
If you would like to make one 9 inch pie: divide the cauliflower batter into 2 sections. Press one section into a thin crust in the bottom of an oven-safe pie dish and shape the other section into a thin 9 inch top crust on an oiled parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake your crust at 450°F for 10-15 minutes and set aside.
Then turn the oven down to 350°F and continue to follow the recipe for the filling.
When the filling is ready, fill the crust lined pie dish with meat mixture and carefully top with the cauliflower top crust.
Score the top with a sharp knife for ventilation.
Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly.

I hope you love these individual pies. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me in the comments or shoot me an email, and I’ll respond ASAP!

The warm savory gravy, hearty tender beef, and cauliflower crust definitely make this one of the most delicious comfort foods.

More recipes inspired by classic British dishes

Yorkshire pudding – Gluten free Yorkshire pudding smothered in gravy served along side a wonderful roast is the quintessential British dinner.

Toad in the hole – Sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding batter! Yes, please.

Pigs in a blanket – The minute you bite into these fluffy pancakes with slightly crispy edges and discover the spicy breakfast sausage inside, you’ll know it’s going to be a special day.

Gluten free cottage pie – Savory ground beef is topped with homemade mashed potatoes. Yum.

Absolutely delicious shepherd’s pie – Rich ground lamb covered in a heavenly blanket of golden-brown mashed potatoes is sure to get a thumbs up from your family. And we all love that, right?

Super low carb cottage pie with cauliflower mash – This is a low-carb version of cottage pie, replacing the usual mashed potato topping with cauliflower.

Healthier homemade french fries (aka chips in England!) – Crispy on the outside, fluffy inside, not a bit greasy: these healthy chips are in a category all their own.

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