Beef Pot Pie is a hearty, delicious comfort food recipe featuring savory ground beef and veggies in a flavorful gravy topped by a flaky, buttery pie crust. And if you prefer, it's just as easy to make it with tender cubed beef!
Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat oven to 400°F.
Set a large pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and butter and allow to melt together; swirl the pan to coat. Add the garlic, mushrooms, and carrots and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. Remove the veggies to a bowl or plate and set aside.
Add the ground beef to the empty pot. Cook until no longer pink, breaking apart and stirring as the meat cooks; drain the grease and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour over the cooked beef and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the veggies back to the pot.
Pour in the beef broth, then add the half-and-half and the wine (if using). Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pot. Increase the heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Continue to stir occasionally while the mixture simmers for a minute or two, or until thickened. Stir in the thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Stir in the cubed potato and the frozen green peas, then remove the pot from the heat.
Pour the mixture into a *deep* 9-by-9-inch baking dish (or a comparable 3-quart baking dish). Roll out the pie crust so that it's about one inch larger than your baking dish. Place the crust on top to the pot pie mixture and press the edges into the size of the dish. Cut vents in the top of the crust.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
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Notes
To make this recipe with cubes of beef sirloin or roast or stew meat instead of ground beef, sear your cubed beef on all sides in butter and/or olive oil as the first step. Remove the seared beef cubes to a plate and proceed with the recipe (adding more butter/olive oil to the pot as directed). Then stir the seared beef back in at the very end, at the same time as the potatoes and peas. The beef will finish cooking through once the whole dish is popped in the oven.
Your potato should be pre-cooked and peeled before cutting it up and stirring it into the finished pot pie filling. I prefer using a Russet. Regardless of the size of your potato(es), you'll need 2 to 3 cups of cubed potato total. I either use a leftover baked potato from the night before (I'll cook an extra one knowing that I'll need it the next day for pot pie), or I quickly cook one in the microwave. To do so, wash and dry a large potato, poke holes in it with a fork, and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Flip it over and cook for 5 more minutes (give or take, depending on the size of your potato and/or the power of your microwave). Allow to cool while you prepare the rest of the pot pie filling.
If I don't have beef broth or stock on hand, I use organic Better Than Bouillon Beef Base and water to mix up my own. I happen to think this bouillon base makes the gravy taste extra "beefy." But it can also be rather salty, so be sure to taste your final gravy before gradually stirring in any additional salt.
To lighten things up, you may substitute milk for the half-and-half.
If you wish, you may leave out the wine altogether.
If you happen to have fresh thyme, it's less potent than dried so plan on using three times as much (a heaping 2 teaspoons total of fresh chopped thyme leaves).
If your baking dish seems especially full or the crust comes all the way up to the top edges, I recommend placing your pot pie on a rimmed cookie sheet before placing in the oven to prevent any potential mess made by bubbling over.