A New Zealand classic, the Bacon & Egg pie, gets a delicious makeover in this Mushroom, Bacon & Egg Breakfast Pie!
Bacon and egg pies are a classic in New Zealand and Australia. That flaky pastry, those golden-yellow egg yolks, fat chunks of salty bacon and that heavenly smell of baking pies, are as much a part of the Kiwi identity as those sprawling, spectacular farming landscapes. And as much a part of the Kiwi food culture as burgers are here in the US. My mother used to make these a lot for me when I was a kid, and these would often be my school lunch. And even now as an adult, I still love making these pies and they truly are near and dear to me.
While the classic meat pie with tomato sauce (ketchup) is very popular, the bacon and egg pie is a close second and is my personal favourite of the two. A hard boiled egg (or scrambled) and bacon in a classic pie, was the gas that fueled many days of my student life. The version I’m sharing with you guys today however, is so much better, and truly is the ultimate breakfast pie!
In addition to the bacon and eggs, these pies have been jacked up with delicious sauteed mushrooms and a generous dose of thyme and parsley. It’s safe to say that my student self would have loved these so much better than the bacon & egg pies I used to get from the university cafeteria.
I made these pies using homemade puff pastry that I infused with cayenne pepper for extra flavour and bite. I will share the recipe for that puff pastry at some point in the near future, but you’re welcome to use store-bought puff pastry OR make your own using my recipe here for rough puff pastry.
You can make these ahead of time, freeze them and then bake them in time for breakfast, brunch of even dinner! Really, that “breakfast pie” is just a suggestion. These taste so damn good, I wouldn’t fault you if you wanted to have them for all three meals of the day. Plus, because they puff up really well, it’s okay if they don’t look completely neat. These are actually meant to look quite rustic. I didn’t even cover up and seal the pie completely, because I STUFFED it with mushrooms, bacon and eggs, so it needed space to expand and cook properly. After all, that rustic look is all part of the “home-made” charm right?
And of course it doesn’t hurt that your house will smell of butter, thyme and bacon and all kinds of baking goodness!
This pie honestly doesn’t need anything else. If you’d like to, you could maybe have a salad on the side. But definitely no tomato ketchup please. Seriously, I will smack your hand if you bring that ketchup anywhere near this pie!
Ingredients
- 1 lb / 450g ready made puff pastry
- 12 oz/ 340g bacon roughly cut in to 1 cm strips (1 lb packet is OK too)
- 7 oz / 200g brown mushrooms baby bella / swiss brown, thinly sliced
- Leaves of 3-4 sprigs of thyme
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tsp chili flakes less if you prefer less heat
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
- 2 tsp spicy mustard
- ¼ cup milk any kind is OK
- 8 small - medium eggs
- 1 egg lightly beaten - for the egg wash
Instructions
- Heat a pan on medium-high heat. Add the bacon when the pan is hot and fry till the edges start to brown.
- Drain the bacon fat, but do not discard it. Add mushrooms, paprika, chili flakes, pepper and thyme and cook until the mushrooms start to turn a golden colour at the edges. Add salt to taste (this will depend on the salt content of the bacon).
- Add about 2 tbsp of the bacon fat (or oil or butter) and sprinkle the cornflour over the bacon-mushroom, and mix through.
- Add the parsley, milk and mustard and mix well. Let the mixture thicken up slightly (which should take only a couple of minutes). Remove from the heat and let it cool completely.
To make the pies
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. Place a baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well. Grease 4 pie tins that are 5 inches/13 cm in diameter.
- Roll out the puff pastry until it's about 3 mm thick. If you have puff pastry sheets that are thicker than 3mm, roll them out to this thickness.
- Cut out circles slightly larger than the top of the pie tins (this will be to cover the pies).
- Line the four pie tins with the rest of the puff pastry, and fill ⅔ of the way with the cooled bacon and mushroom filling. Break two of the eggs on top and sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper. Use a fork to lightly mix the egg whites with the filling.
- Place the puff pastry circle that you cut out earlier over your pie and press it down gently over the edges to seal it rouhly. You can seal it using a fork if you like.
- Brush the tops with some egg wash and bake in preheated oven, on the preheated baking sheet until the pastry is golden coloured and has puffed up (about 15-20 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and let them cool down a little.
- Serve while warm.
Recipe Notes
Notes on freezing - If you'd like to freeze your pies before baking, I would recommend adding half of the filling, then add the eggs next (break the yolk), and then top up with the rest of the filling. Alternatively, you could add cooked scrambled eggs (if you don't like freezing your pies with raw eggs, but mind you, your filling will come out a little drier this way). Remember to add salt and pepper to the eggs too. You can bake them from frozen, but this will take longer. I would suggest thawing them out in the fridge overnight.
If you're baking the pies the following day, you can just keep them in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
Notes on Variations - You can add some grated cheese along with the filling for some cheesy goodness.
Substitute thyme with any herb of your choice.
Or even substitute the bacon with cooked chicken.
Since I sauteed the bacon and the mushrooms together, the flavours really do come together! The pie filling is deliciously creamy, almost like you cooked the filling in a creamy mushroom base.
The eggs are fantastic too. When you break the egg over the filling, you can imagine how the egg white disperses through the filling and mixes with the bacon and mushrooms while the egg yolk also soaks up all the flavour. And if you have any fussy kids (or adults) who aren’t particularly fond of egg yolk, consider lightly scrambling the eggs and adding it to the filling instead of whole eggs. You could even sprinkle some cheese on top if you like. The flavours will be amazing regardless.
I can tell you right now that taking these pictures required a healthy dose of self-restraint. I was genuinely concerned that the pies wouldn’t last long enough for me to take pictures of them. That smell when you take these out of the oven and then when you see that beautiful flaky pastry and the egg yolks peaking through…
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You have some amazing recipes,thanks
I totally feel like you and I should be BFFs. Pie for breakfast. Yes. OF COURSE.
Plus, you know, the whole Kiwi thing.
Yep, we should be BFFs. Think about it, okay?
😉
These pies look SOOO good! Wish I could wake up to these every morning!
Ah! I am missing these delicious pies. Cannot wait to surpass my daughter next week when she starts school with one in her lunch box 🙂
I studied abroad in Australia and I seriously still DREAM about the meat pies there! I have never tried anything like them in the states so I am making these and hoping they bring me back! They look so delicious!
These look so delicious Dini!! Yum! 🙂
Man this breakfast pie is so fancy! Mushroom + bacon + egg +puff pastry?? Count me in! We’ll have a small celebration coming up this weekend and this will be the winner recipe to cook!
Thank you Maggie!! 🙂 We absolutely loved these, and hope you do too! If you do make them, let me know what you think!!
I loved learning more about your kiwi identity. Plus, the golden brown outside with the rich filling on the inside is amazing. These are bound to be gobbled up at the fiesta!
This sounds like the perfect breakfast! Way better than the averige eggs on a Sunday 🙂 I could eat this every Sunday 😀 Yumm!
This I’ve got try – it has 3 of my favorite breakfast staples – mushroom, bacon, and eggs.
You had a MUCH better childhood than My brother and I. WE just got cold cereal and milk for breakfast. At college, the vending machines didn’t spit out gorgeous handmade pies either.
I believe my husband would get thoroughly spoiled in no time on these delicious gems. I will definitely learn how to make your recipe for a special breakfast once in a while. I will be very popular on those mornings! Thanks so much!
Yum! Looks great, and I know they must just melt in your mouth!
Oh my! Mornings would be so much easier to deal with if I had these to look forward to – they looks os fab!
We love brunch on weekends….and this sounds like something that will be awesome to add to the list!!
These look so appealing! I honestly want these in my life right now. Going to make these this week for sure! I’d love for you to come link up with is at this weeks Throwback Thursday’s going all weekend long!
These look like a little slice of breakfast food heaven!
Omg – this is an amazing idea for a breakfast! I love breakfast, my favourite meal, and I have no idea why I have never thought of something like this! Definitely will be making this in the winter!!
This really could be my husband’s favorite breakfast – it has all the ingredients he loves…especially mushrooms! I can’t wait to make this for him!!
Wow, such a great breakfast, very clever and original. It must be delicious! Definitely pinning!
Gorgeous pies and pics! I want it to be breakfast already so I can give these a try. Yummy!
I was crazy about the ice cream, but these breakfast pie has my name all over it! Double yum!
hahaha!! Thank you Julie!!
Ohhhh wow, I need these in my life!! Yum!
Cannot wait to try these! Homemade, rustic and everything right in the world. I seriously would eat these every meal of the day and not feel one bit bad about it. Pinning and looking forward to EATING them up! Thanks for sharing! #FoodieFriDIY
Thank you Kathryn! I really hope you enjoy it! I know we did not feel one bit bad after eating these either 😀 Thank you for pinning it too!
Dini!!! These look so pretty!!! I love the ooze factor 🙂 Sexy little pies aren’t they!!!
Thank you Mila! 😀
I made a slightly modified version of your breakfast pies for the missus this morning. Used what I had available in the pantry, live in the Missouri Ozarks and store is a bit of a drive away. Made a flaky pie crust dough, used bacon we salt cure and smoke here, added a bit of garlic, sweet onion, and used some moistened up,dried morel mushrooms I picked this spring. Lightly scrambled the eggs and used milk that was fresh from our cows this morning. Didn’t turn out half bad at all. Probably not as flaky or pretty as yours, but passable for a old hillbilly.
You made my day Grampa Bear! 😀 I am only a couple of hours away from the Ozarks, and I would have gladly joined you for breakfast! Especially since you used beautiful morel mushrooms too… Your variation of the this pie sounds heavenly… flaky pie crust or not! 🙂 Thank you so much for visiting my blog!
Meat and ketchup has nothing on this bad boy! What a savory combination. I would have done even better in college if my dining hall even knew these existed!
Thank you Christine! 🙂 I have to say, I can’t believe how much I loved the store bought bacon and egg pies, once you’ve tasted the homemade version! 😀 Ah… the college days… if only we knew better!
You have just changed my morning routine! YUMMY!! This will make me actually want to get out of bed instead of stumbling around like a zombie:)
Thank you Jen! Zombie mornings are a regular occurrence here too! 🙂
Beautiful! These would be so pretty for a brunch or special luncheon!
Thank you Mimi 🙂