Belizean Meat Pies Recipe

Small yet satisfying.

A delicious and sometimes delightfully messy street food. Meat pies are commonly found throughout Belize. There are many a gas station, water taxi terminals, or local shops that will have meat pies baked daily available. In Belize City, Dario’s Meat Pie Bakery is famous for having some of the best meat pies in Belize. 

The recipe below is for a home cook looking to recreate that tasty meat pie at home. These meat pies can be frozen and reheated. We recommend making a larger batch and freezing or sharing some with friends and family. 

• Prep Time 35 mins
• Cook Time 20-30 mins
• Yields 36 Belizean Meat Pies

Belizean Meat Pies Recipe

Filling Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef  
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 chopped sweet pepper
• 1 chopped habanero
• 1 handful of chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. Lawry’s Seasoned salt
• 1 tablespoon Maggi Consomme powder
• 3 tablespoons Maizena cornstarch flour
• 3 cups of water
• 3 small Red Recado balls

Meat Pie Dough Ingredients

• 1 and a half lb flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 9 oz shortening (any shortening)
• Coldwater

Step 1: Filling Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 F or 175 c (this is for the pies, not the filling)
2. In a large frying skillet, brown the meat in a little oil then add the onion and sweet pepper, habanero, seasoning salt, and cilantro and saute for 5 minutes 
3. Mix the water, and red recado until well blended then add Maggie Consommé (Amazon) and let it simmer gently for 30 minutes only.
4. Then mix in three tablespoons of cornflour like Maizena (Amazon) and stir the meat mixture till it starts to simmer and reduce to make it thickish.
5. If it is too thick add more water.
6. The mixture should be thick but still runny. Taste for flavor if you want spicier add another habanero
7. Allow cooling a little before placing in muffin tins (Amazon) lined with crust.
8. Turn off the heat, and allow it to cool.

Step 2: Dough Preparation

1. Add shortening and most of the water. Mix and blend by hand, rubbing fingers together. Press between fingers until the dough forms tiny bread crumbs. The final dough should barely hold together and have a breadcrumb-like texture.
2. Add the last cold water (about 1 cup) a little bit at a time while mixing the dough and water with your hands. A soft dough will form.
3. Gather the dough to form a small ball but do not knead the dough. If you knead this dough it will not be flaky.
4. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out and use a water glass to cut circles for the bottom and top crust. 
5. Line each muffin tin with the dough, then add filling ¾ full then add the top crust.
6. For the top crust roll the dough with a wooden rolling pin (Amazon), a little thinner then cut again with glass to make circles and brush with water so you can stick the top and bottom crust together firmly.

Step 3: Filling the Meat Pies

1. Assembling the meat pies:  Fill each dough crust with cooked ground beef mixture leaving some room. Don’t overfill the pies as they will bubble and overflow when baking.
2. Place covers on each meat pie.
3. Make a little hole in the middle of the top crust with a toothpick so steam can escape when baking.

Step 4: Baking the Belizean Meat Pies Recipe

1. Place in the oven @ 400 F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dough turns golden brown and the pies are hot!

We enjoy this piping hot. If you are saving some for later allow it to cool before freezing to avoid having soggy dough.