DIY poor man’s pie – it’s a staple in my dinnertime repertoire. There are lots of recipes in my family that are supposed “family secrets” exclusive to my family tree alone. However, as it turns out, most of those recipes can also be found in other families. So much for a big secret!
Some of my favorite “secret recipes” shared by my family are zucchini relish, a classic apple pie, and of course, poor man’s pie.
Poor man’s pie is a recipe that’s been passed down to me from many generations ago. Although I inherited the recipe in one of my mother’s cookbooks, I’m not exactly sure where it originated in my family.
I always thought it was my family’s and my family’s alone – but after doing some digging, it turns out that poor man’s pie is actually something beloved by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. And as it turns out, each family puts a slightly different spin on this classic.
Here’s my family’s DIY poor man’s pie recipe – and some tips on how you can make it for yourself! No secrets here.
What is Poor Man’s Pie?
In researching this article, I learned that there are actually a few different variations on poor man’s pie. Most of them (including the one that I will write about here) are meat-based pies that make good use of whatever you have on hand – things like canned cream of mushroom soup, potatoes, and ground beef.
There’s also a poor man’s pie variation that is more of a sweet pie, made out of things like a light cream and white sugar. Some even have pecans. This is generally referred to as Amish poor man’s pie.
My poor man’s pie recipe is a dinnertime staple that I love for several reasons.
For one, it’s a real “stick to your ribs” kind of meal. It’s made out of heavy foods like ground beef, mashed potatoes, corn, and cheddar cheese. It’s similar to shepherd’s pie, if you’re familiar with that recipe, but has a unique flair with the addition of cream of mushroom soup to make it even heftier!
Now again, it’s important not to confuse this recipe with Amish poor man’s pie. I’ve had Amish poor man’s pie, too, and it’s equally delicious – but more of a dessert pie.
Related: Canning Amish Poor Man’s Steak
The poor man’s pie recipe that I’ll detail in this article is sometimes also referred to as sausage and oat pie (because it can also be made with those ingredients) or Scottish pie.
Why is it Called Poor Man’s Pie?
Now, why is this recipe referred to as poor man’s pie? You’ll probably get a good idea of just why, exactly, after reading the list of ingredients.
Poor man’s pie contains simple ingredients that are not expensive – things you likely already have in the pantry. You don’t need to run out to eh store and spend $100 on fancy ingredients that aren’t versatile and that you’ll never use for any other recipe.
Instead, you’ll rely on one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can find (ground beef) and the cheapest vegetables (beans and potatoes).
It is s important to note that many of the ingredients in this recipe can be substituted for whatever you happen to have on hand. For instance, ground beef can also be substituted for ground venison, ground lamb, or ground turkey.
Related: How To Preserve Beef in Glass Jars
You can use any kind of vegetables instead of corn and green beans, such as tomatoes, carrots, or peppers, too (I personally like the corn and green bean versions best myself, though).
Of course, you can make this casserole without the cheese – though I wouldn’t personally recommend it unless you have some sort of lactose intolerance, since the cheddar cheese is really the cherry on top of this amazing dish.
How to Make Your Own Poor Man’s Pie
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Type of Cuisine: American/Scottish
Ingredients
● 1 lb ground beef (can substitute lamb, turkey, venison, etc)
● 1 can (10.75 oz) cream of mushroom soup (can substitute cream of celery)
● 1 can (16 oz) green beans, drained
● 4 cups cut red potatoes
● 4 Tbsp butter
● 2 cups shredded cheese (any kind, sharp cheddar is best)
● Garlic powder to taste
● Onion powder to taste
● Salt and pepper to taste
Related: 50 Foods You Can Turn Into Powder To Last Longer
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
2. While the oven is preheating, brown the ground beef in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. It should be crumbly and fully cooked, taking about ten minutes. Season the meat with your spices (to taste), then drain the excess grease. 
Stir in the green beans and cream of mushroom soup, then bring the mixture to a light simmer.
3. Peel and boil your potatoes, then mash with the butter.
4. Once the oven has warmed, spread the beef and soup mixture into a casserole dish. 
Spread the mashed potatoes atop the ground beef and soup, then sprinkle cheddar cheese over the entire mixture.
5. Sprinkle salt and pepper atop the casserole.
6. Bake until the mixture is heated through and the cheese is brown and bubbly, or for about 20 minutes.
7. Serve hot and enjoy!
DIY Poor Man’s Pie: Other Recipe Notes
That’s all there is to it! Easy enough, right?
If you have any leftovers (you probably won’t!) you can reheat them in the microwave or pop the entire casserole back in the oven to freshen it up before serving.
This recipe is so easy to make that I recommend whipping up a few and stashing some in your freezer for busy weeknights.
It freezes remarkably well and should keep its quality for about three months after being frozen (though it will of course remain safe to eat long after that time).
Feel free to play around with the ingredients and substitute in or swap out your favorite and least favorite foods.
DIY poor man’s pie is a recipe that is sure to become one of your family’s preferred dishes – so give it a try tonight!
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Nice to have an old but new recipe, to add to the mass that I have. lol
Thanks.
we ate a lot of white gravy and ground meat and toast. it was good.
But somethings I don’t eat so much any more. Burned out,. still to this day.
Only in a SHTF scenario…
Happy Cooking.
Growing up, a version of this was a standard “we’re getting to the end of the month and running out of money” dish. Being of Swedish heritage, beef, potatoes, salt and pepper are kind of the base of many dishes. Our version had green peas from a frozen package mixed in.
I remember several versions of this dish over the years! A twist that I really enjoyed (still do!) is made with white fish, like haddock, topped with carmelized onions, then mashed potatoes and sharp cheddar cheese. I don’t see why it couldn’t be made with other mild flavored fish.
Reminds me of Shepherds Pie 🙂
1. Ground beef on the bottom, if you have it mushrooms, onions and brown gravy mixed in
2. 2nd layer a can of corn and a can of creamed corn
3. 3rd layer mashed potatoes
4. 4th layer grated cheese, season with salt & pepper
Bake until top layer is melted and golden
I was also thinking diced onion sauteed in with the meat – the two corns sounds better than the beans !!!!!
My kids favorite was ground beef browned, stir in cream of mushrooms soup, serve over egg noodles. Serve peas or greenbeans on the side.
My Mom made lots of casseroles. Always mashed potatoes, cream of musgroom soup plus whatever was handy, usually leftovers.
Thank you for reminding me of this!!
This looks like an Americanized version of Sheppard’s pie.
I’m sure its delicious.
I like the creamed mushrooms! Tamale pie is good, too. Cheap, and everything precooked. We make one with ground beef, onions, nopalitos, spices, and roasted chilis all in the pot and cooked together. When done and the grease drained (and saved) cheese is mixed in and sourdough batter poured over it, and it’s baked till the batter is done. Beans are served on the side as refried. niio
Sounds so good! When do we eat?
Best recipe ever!
we frequently take left over pork chops or roast and dice into half inch cubes. heat in a frying pan and stir in a can of mushroom soup and a half can of milk. add a drained can of french cut green beans, bring to a simmer and serve over mashed potatoes, noodles or rice. top with shaker cheese, parm or romano. No reason it won’t work with ground beef, diced roast beef, chicken, turkey etc.Start the mashed potatoes or whatever first and by the time the gravy is done the potatoes will be ready also. Maybe 25 minutes from start to table.
The sweet pie the author refers to as an Amish Milk Pie, is an Americanized version of the “German/Austrian Milchrahmstrudel” or “Milk Strudel”. The filling is made out of milk, cream and curd cheese. We would easily recognize it more as kind of like a really good cheese Danish.
CC: It’s more like bread pudding, no? niio
Saltine crackers, lard, A dash of salt and some sugar or honey and you can have a saltine cracker pie crust to cook this pie in. I always end up Googling stuff when I read askaprepper, after the Civil War some smart baker took the recipe for Union hardtack, salt water and flour, and added baking soda, thus inventing the saltine cracker.
JH – Well I just learned something new today! Thank you kindly!
And with the right spices and some blackstrap molasses, you have homemade Graham crackers. https://www.thespruceeats.com/homemade-graham-crackers-5186704 This recipe doesn’t have molasses, but you can replace some of the honey to make it like the old-timers did, as a high-iron health food. niio
Red – No not really. Imagine apple strudel without the apples, but with a soft cheesecake like filling wrapped up inside instead. Oh so good with a hot cup of coffee! For a great recipe for “Milchrahmstrudel” or “Milk Strudel” go to the website @ Strudelandschnitzel.com. It’s in English.
As did I. Thanks, JH for the recipe for saltines. Don’t forget to sprinkle Kosher salt on the top or some other large crystal salt on the top of the crackers. Put up in a plastic jar with oxygen absorber, saltine crackers last a long time. I don’t know if they can go a hundred years, but as long as they aren’t rancid, does it matter that they aren’t as crispy as when first opened from the grocery store? In an EOTW situation stale saltines will be ambrosia from the gods. Especially if you have found peanut butter to go with the saltines.
I have been drying bread crusts for the last several years to use as a filling supplement to soup. Adding a handful of dried bread crusts makes a low calorie canned soup surprisingly filling. I cut the crusts up in bit size pieces, place them on a 1/4 inch square baking grid and put the grid on the top of the toaster in the morning when I am making my morning toast.
One shot while the toaster is actually making toast is enough. If I leave the croutons on the toaster for two cycles of the toaster then they get burnt. After the first exposure to the toaster making toast, I put them on after the toaster is done for four or five cycles, depending on the weather. If the humidity is high, they get longer on the cooling cycle than if the humidity is in the single digits. When they are dry to my satisfaction, they go in a two quart mayonnaise jar. No, they do not go on Funk & Wagnall’s back porch, they go in a reinforced cardboard carton to be stored away for use after the world ends.
I have tried them in a bowl of soup and they make the soup considerably more satisfying. They go with any kind of soup. Kind of like saltine crackers in your soup, only for some reason more satisfying.
I should clarify “crusts”. What I actually mean by that term is the end slices on a loaf of sliced bread. If the bread is still warm from the oven, I can’t resist eating the end slices but if it has gotten cold, then I do as described above. It really is making croutons without the added spices. If you have a good crouton recipe, then I would make croutons but I am after quick and easy, so it is plain bread The soup provides the flavoring.
LCC:
For croutons, all you have to do is take your cubes of dried bread, toss with melted butter or a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and maybe some garlic powder and herbs until all of the bread pieces have been coated, then heat in oven on low (175°- 200°) for a few minutes until warmed through and lightly browned. Stir at least once during cooking time.
I make croutons with olive oil and butter and stir fry them until they are toasty brown in a skillet. How will they survive while saving in a container? Will the oils of the croutons become rancid?
No no LCC, those end slices are like the prize in Crackerjacks, I fish them out first when I’m cooking to ‘test’ a sauce or gravy, if there’s melted butter or runny eggs around I will be there with my crust. Slice your crust in half and put Swiss cheese tween the 2 halves, brown it in butter. Sometimes I dine on lobster but mostly it’s poor man’s pie, whatever’s in the fridge. Our America is about the only time and place in history when we can eat whatever we want, even the poor in their food deserts are fat!
Mary:
I usually dry the bread pieces ahead of time – those seem to store well in an air tight container.
After you butter and season them, they keep well in the fridge for a few days, but they’re so good I usually don’t have them around much longer than that!
If in doubt, make up only what you think you will use in a couple of days. The pieces of plain dried bread can also be used, whole or crushed, in meatloaf, bread pudding, as a thickener for soups, stuffing and breading.