Gluten free hand pies are incredible pies that taste incredible. Please a crowd or keep them all to yourself; either way, they are a hit. They are so easy to make and positively delightful to eat! Make my gluten free apple hand pies or gluten free pumpkin hand pies, or use your favorite pie filling.
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I'm going to let you on in a little secret with these terrific gluten free hand pies. The pie crust in this recipe isn't homemade! I was out shopping at Trader Joe's (can you blame me, they have all the best stuff!) anyway; I picked up some of their gluten free pie crust. I knew exactly what I needed to do with them.
You won't believe how perfect the pie crust worked. I love making things homemade, but it was nice to skip the step of preparing the crust from scratch. If you do want to make your own crust, check out my gluten free pie crust recipe.
One thing I love about hand pies besides the fact that you can carry them around and munch on them is that you can use sweet or savory flavors. Fill this flaky crust will all sorts of things like meats, potatoes, or pie fillings.
Are you ready to make these gluten free hand pies for yourself?
If you love apples as much as we do, you must check out all of my best gluten free apple recipes. You will find both savory and sweet apple recipes!
What is a hand pie?
A hand pie is precisely like it sounds, a pie that you can hold in your hand. Remember when you were a kid, and you would go to the bakery and buy those miniature apple pies that you could hold on to while you ate it? It's the exact same concept. Hand pies are a pastry, and they are filled with whatever you like. Typically, the pies are either baked or fried.
If you love these pies, but want to make them quickly, try my Gluten Free Air Fryer Hand Pies recipe!
Ingredient notes:
This recipe is incredibly flexible. Use pre-made pie dough, or make one. Use this easy pie filling recipe below, or use canned pie filling! The sky is the limit!
- gluten free pie crust - store bought
- pie filling - store bought
- apples, cinnamon, sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon - decide on a filling you want to fill these hand pies with and use those :-).
Recipe Step by Step Directions:
Step 1: Start with a store-made gluten free pie crust like this one from Trader Joe's or another brand. Peel the crust away from the tin. It isn't easy, they must use a machine to really smoosh it down. Don't worry because you will be flattening this crust out for the hand pies.
Don't forget, you can use a homemade pie crust too...check out my super flaky gluten free pie crust recipe!
Step 2: Smoosh the dough out flat. You can also take a rolling pin to smooth it out if you like. It doesn't have to look pretty!
Step 3: Use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles in the dough. Take the extra dough and smoosh back together and flatten to cut more circles until you use up the dough.
Step 4: For the apple filling, I used chopped apples with a sprinkle of cinnamon, melted butter, and brown sugar. I also made pumpkin pie hand pies and I will show you that filling below.
You can also use cookie cutters if you prefer shapes! Hearts are perfect for Valentine's Day!
To make the pumpkin filling add purée pumpkin with pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar. You will find the amounts in the recipe card below.
Step 5: Place filling on each hand pie circle then top with dough. Add another piece of crust on top.
Step 6: Use a fork to press down the edges, or as I did in my apple hand pies, roll the dough edges upward (see photo below).
Step 7: Cut a little hole on the top of each gluten free hand pie so the steam can vent out. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350º F. I assume each brand of premade pie crust may have slightly different ingredients so make sure to check these as they bake.
Optional filling ideas:
I chose to make pumpkin and apple hand pies, but you can use all sorts of fillings including jam. You can even make savory hand pies!! Here are a few ideas for you to try out.
- Rhubarb
- Strawberries
- Peaches
- Ground Turkey
- Ground Beef
- Chocolate or Nutella
Use the creamy pumpkin filling for fall!
Recipe FAQ:
You should store a hand pie in the refrigerator. The gluten free hand pies will last up to 4 days in the fridge. Just wrap them in plastic wrap or tin foil then put them in a bag or container that's airtight. You want to keep them away from strong-smelling food, so they don't take on those odors.
Yes, you can freeze these gluten free hand pies. It's best to first flash freeze the hand pies. To flash freeze them, you will need to lay them out on a cookie sheet, so they aren't touching. Then place the cookie sheet into the freezer for at least 2 hours. Pop the pies off the pan and toss them into a freezer bag or container. They will last 2-3 months in the freezer.
If you want to heat up a gluten free hand pie, you can toss it in the microwave for a few seconds. Don't go crazy because the filling will heat quickly. Another option would be to put them in the oven at 350º F. for 10 minutes. They don't take long to warm up. Naturally, you can eat the hand pies cold as well.
You can easily use canned pie filling in this recipe! Pumpkin pie filling also tasted great.
If you love pie, don't forget to check out my Ultimate Guide To Homemade Gluten Free Pie too. There are over 50 incredible gluten free pie recipes in this roundup!
More gluten free pie recipes:
Recipe
Easy Gluten Free Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 1 Pre-made gluten free pie crust
Apple filling:
- 2 apples
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon butter or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
Pumpkin filling
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar more if you like it sweeter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Peel the premade crust off the pie tin.
- Press flat and take a biscuit cutter and cut out circles in the pie crust dough.
- Place 6 crust circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place your favorite pie filling onto each.
- Add a top crust circle on top of the pie filling and press the edges together with a fork.
- Bake 15-20 minutes until the crust is slightly golden
Notes
- You can use a pre-made store pie crust or make my gluten free pie recipe from scratch.
- You can use your favorite canned pie filling or make one from scratch as I outline above.
- These hand pies will keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat them on a pan in a toaster oven.
- You can freeze these hand pies and store up to 4 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Lori
Do you precook the meat fillings for savoury hand pies?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Lori, the crust cooks pretty quickly so I would definitely recommend using precooked meat fillings.