• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Pineapple Farmhouse
  • About
    • Meet Emily From Pineapple Farmhouse
    • Privacy
    • Disclosure
  • Food from scratch
    • Recipe Index
  • Handmade home
  • Contact Us
    • Media Enquiries
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Food from scratch
  • Natural living
  • Handmade home
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Food from scratch
    • Natural living
    • Handmade home
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Blog » Food from scratch

    How to make Irish lamb pie with roast dinner leftovers

    Categories: Food from scratch Author: Emily Date Updated: November 13, 2023

    • Share13
    Graphic with an image of the finished pie with tile of blog
    ↓ Jump to Recipe
    Pin the Recipe

    This Irish lamb pie is a great way to turn roast dinner leftovers into a hearty meal. In this recipe nothing goes to waste. Roast drippings are used to make shortcrust pastry from scratch and leftover meat, gravy and potatoes become the filling. 

    The finished pie is cooling on a rack

    This large pie makes the perfect family meal and is inspired by the traditional Irish dingle pies which originate from the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. 

    I'm a big fan of hearty Irish food like this recipe, along with shepherds pie and Irish stew. It makes for the ultimate comfort food on a frosty winter's day. 

    This savory meat pie recipe uses up left over roast lamb drippings, gravy, meat and vegetables and features a homemade shortcrust pastry pie crust.

    It's a great way to use every part of your roast dinner to the fullest, and follows my favourite 'cook once, eat twice' philosophy. 

    Slice of Irish lamb pie on a plate

    Lamb is a rich source of high-quality protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12.

    I love cooking with lamb because it's typically grass fed, readily available and reliably tender. I find roasts to be the easiest and most economical cut of lamb to buy and I can usually stretch one roast across two meals.

    I also love using leftover roast lamb on homemade sourdough pizza. Download my FREE Beginners Guide to Sourdough for my quick and easy sourdough pizza crust recipe.

    Irish lamb pie Ingredients

    The key ingredients in this pie are are roast lamb and potatoes, gravy and herbs.

    To learn how to make the best gravy from scratch, check out my gravy recipe.

    The ingredients for the lamb pie induce lamb dripping, pepper, dried herbs, lamb, potatoes, beans, gravy, flour, salt and egg

    Pie filling

    • 280 g roast lamb, shredded or diced into small pieces
    • 230 g roast potato or combination of other left over vegetables, diced into small pieces
    • 250 ml thick gravy
    • 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano)
    • ground black pepper

    Pastry

    • 100 g cold lamb dripping (from roast), butter, or combination of each
    • 190 g wholemeal all purpose flour
    • 1 tablespoon cold water
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 egg, cold, lightly beaten

    Egg wash

    • 1 egg
    • dash of milk

    Equipment

    • Measuring cups and spoons
    • Large mixing bowl
    • Wooden spoon
    • Beeswax wrap or cling film
    • Pie dish
    • Fork
    • Butter knife
    • Pastry brush

    How to make Irish lamb pie

    First make the pasty. Add the flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and still well. Next add the cold dripping/butter to a bowl and rub with your finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

    Rubbing the dripping into the flour

    Next add the egg and water and mix with a wooden spoon until the pasty comes together to form a ball. If the pastry isn't coming together, add another tablespoon of cold water.

    The egg and water is added to the pastry mixture

    Cover the pastry tightly with wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

    Ball of pastry wrapped in plastic wrap

    Meanwhile, combine the roast lamb, vegetables, gravy, herbs and pepper and stir well.

    The lamb, gravy, potatoes, vegetables and herbs are mixed together

    Preheat the oven to 200C/390F.

    Grease the pie dish with butter or a little oil. 

    Once chilled, divide the pastry dough roughly into ⅔ and ⅓ portions. Take the ⅔ portion and roll to a thickness of 4mm on a lightly floured surface. Carefully transfer the rolled pastry over the base of the pie dish and press into place. Pierce the base of the pastry a few times with a fork.

    Trim the pastry.

    The pastry is pressed into the dish

    Bake the unfilled pie pasty for 10 minutes.

    the crust of the pie is baked

    Add the pie filling.

    The pie is filled with the lamb mixture

    Take the ⅓ portion of dough and roll to a thickness of 4mm on a lightly floured surface. Carefully transfer the pastry over the top of the filling.

    The pastry for the top of the pie is rolled

    Trim the pastry using a butter knife and pinch the edges of the pastry with a fork to seal.

    Don't worry if your pie doesn't look perfect, the more rustic the better in my opinion!

    The pastry top is added to the pie

    Make a small venting hole in the middle of the top of the pie.

    Whisk the egg and milk to make the egg wash.

    Using a pastry brush, spread the egg wash over the top of the pie.

    The pastry is brushed with egg wash

    Bake in a preheated oven at 200C/390F for 25 mins or until golden brown.

    The pie has finished cooking and is golden brown on top

    Top tip

    Next time you make roast lamb for dinner collect the lamb drippings and keep the leftovers to make this delicious Irish lamb pie.

    Substitutions and variations

    • Ground/minced lamb or beef can be used in place of roast lamb
    • Any combination of vegetables can be used in place of potato
    • Ready made puff pastry can be used to create a pot pie if you're short on time. Simply fill a pie dish with the filling, top with pastry, trim and bake.
    • Top the pie with creamy mashed potatoes and a sprinkle of shredded cheese for a traditional Shepherd's pie.

    Storing Irish lamb pie

    Store leftover pie in and airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven for best results.

    A slice of pie is lifted from the dish

    Thanks for following along. If you love this recipe please give it five stars in the recipe card and leave me a review there. Your support means so much and helps me share my recipes with you for free.

    Recipe

    A slice of Irish lamb pie
    Print Recipe
    No ratings yet

    Irish Lamb Pie

    This Irish lamb pie is a great way to turn left over roast lamb, dripping, gravy and vegetables into a hearty family meal.
    Prep Time1 hour hr
    Cook Time30 minutes mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Irish
    Servings: 4 people

    Ingredients

    • 280 grams roast lamb shredded or diced into small pieces
    • 230 grams roast potato or combination of other left over vegetables diced into small pieces
    • 250 ml thick gravy
    • 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano)
    • black pepper ground, to taste
    • 100 grams lamb dripping (from roast), butter, or combination of each cold
    • 190 grams wholemeal all purpose flour
    • 1 tablespoon water cold
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 egg cold, lightly beaten
    • 1 egg
    • milk
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • First make the pasty. Add the flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and still well. Next add the cold dripping/butter to a bowl and rub with your finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
    • Next add the egg and water and mix with a wooden spoon until the pasty comes together to form a ball. If the pastry isn't coming together, add another tablespoon of cold water.
    • Cover the pastry tightly with wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
    • Meanwhile, combine the roast lamb, vegetables, gravy, herbs and pepper and stir well.
    • Preheat the oven to 200C/390F.
    • Grease the pie dish with butter or a little oil. 
    • Once chilled, divide the pastry dough roughly into ⅔ and ⅓ portions. Take the ⅔ portion and roll to a thickness of 4mm on a lightly floured surface. Carefully transfer the rolled pastry over the base of the pie dish and press into place. Pierce the base of the pastry a few times with a fork.
    • Trim the pastry.
    • Bake the unfilled pie pasty for 10 minutes.
    • Add the pie filling.
    • Take the ⅓ portion of dough and roll to a thickness of 4mm on a lightly floured surface. Carefully transfer the pastry over the top of the filling.
    • Trim the pastry using a butter knife and pinch the edges of the pastry with a fork to seal. Don't worry if your pie doesn't look perfect, the more rustic the better in my opinion!
    • Make a small venting hole in the middle of the top of the pie.
    • Whisk the egg and milk to make the egg wash. 
    • Using a pastry brush, spread the egg wash over the top of the pie.
    • Bake in a preheated oven at 200C/390F for 25 mins or until golden brown.

    FAQ

    How to blind bake a meat pie?

    Blind baking requires you to briefly bake the pie pastry base before adding the filling. Once you have lined the pie dish with the pastry, trim it to size, then bake according to the recipe, or in a hot oven (200C/390F) for approximately 10 minutes. Depending on the recipe you may need to add pie weights, rice or beans on top of the pastry to keep the pastry from rising.

    How do you get a crispy crust on the bottom of a pie?

    The key to a crispy crust on the bottom of a pie is to briefly bake the pastry base in a hot oven (200C/390F) before adding the filling.

    How long do you blind bake the bottom of a pie for?

    Bake according to the recipe, or in a hot oven (200C/390F) for approximately 10 minutes.

    What temperature do you blind bake pastry?

    In a hot oven 200C/390F.

    Should you blind bake shortcrust pastry for a pie?

    Yes, blind baking shortcrust pastry is the key to achieving a crispy shortcrust pastry crust on the bottom of a pie.

    Related

    Looking for other ideas? Try these:

    • Air Fryer Crumbed (Breaded) Lamb Cutlets
    • A drink of easy homemade lime cordial and ice in a glass
      Easy Homemade Lime Juice Cordial
    • Emily standing next to an instant pot air fryer
      Air Fryer without nonstick coating
    • Instant pot air fryer
      How to use an instant pot air fryer

    More Food from scratch

    • Jars of tomato relish next to raw tomatoes and a dish of tomato relish
      Tomato relish recipe for canning
    • a jar filled with preserve being lowered into a water bath canner
      Step-by-step guide to water bath canning
    • A pork steak is sliced open on a plate
      How to cook pork steaks in the air fryer
    • A piece of plated rib fillet ribeye steak on a plate with green beans
      How to cook ribeye (rib fillet) steak in the air fryer

    NEVER MISS A POST

    Join our Simple Living Community and get real food recipes, lifestyle tips, and handmade home projects delivered straight to your inbox.

    Privacy

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    No Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Emily. I help families embrace simple living, reconnect with real food, and create a natural handmade home.

    More about Emily →

    Popular

    • Emily poses next to her non toxic air fryer
      The best non-toxic air fryer for healthy home cooking
    • Air Fryer Crumbed (Breaded) Lamb Cutlets
    • A drink of easy homemade lime cordial and ice in a glass
      Easy Homemade Lime Juice Cordial
    • How to get rid of lice on chickens the easy way

    Hi, I'm Emily. I help families embrace simple living, reconnect with real food, and create a natural handmade home.

    More about Emily →

    Popular

    • Emily poses next to her non toxic air fryer
      The best non-toxic air fryer for healthy home cooking
    • Air Fryer Crumbed (Breaded) Lamb Cutlets
    • A drink of easy homemade lime cordial and ice in a glass
      Easy Homemade Lime Juice Cordial
    • How to get rid of lice on chickens the easy way

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure

    Subscribe

    Join our simple living community and never miss a post plus get FREE access to our subscriber library!

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Media Enquiries

    As an Amazon Associate, and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025

    • 13

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required