Mince Pies: History and a Simple Recipe

Published October 24, 2026 · GiveOwl

The mince pie is one of Britain's favourite Christmas treats, but it began as a savoury pie. This page explains how it changed, and gives a simple recipe for 12 pies.

From meat pie to sweet treat

• Tudor pies: Historic UK says Tudor mince pies were rectangular, shaped like a manger, and often had a pastry baby Jesus on the lid. It was only after the Reformation that they became round.
• Meat and spice: They are said to have had 13 ingredients, including lamb or mutton for the shepherds and spices for the Wise Men.
• "Minst pye": The earliest reference to a small mince pie, rather than a "chewet", is a recipe from 1624 called "For six Minst Pyes of an Indifferent Bigness".
• Dropping the meat: It is hard to say exactly when. By the 18th century the meat was more likely to be tongue or tripe, and by the 19th century minced beef. Historic UK says it was not until the late Victorian and early 20th-century period that the pies became all fruit, though still with suet.

Luck customs

• Stir the mincemeat clockwise for good luck.
• Make a wish when you eat the first mince pie of the season.
• Never cut a mince pie with a knife.

Easy mince pies (makes 12)

Our own recipe; we have not kitchen-tested it. It uses a jar of mincemeat, which is the easy way. Read the label: mincemeat often contains suet (so check it if you cook for vegetarians), nuts and sometimes alcohol.

Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour, plus a little extra for rolling
• 125 g cold butter, diced
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk and 2–3 tbsp cold water
• About 400 g (one jar) mincemeat
• 1 beaten egg or a little milk for glazing

Method

1. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar.
2. Add the egg yolk and just enough cold water to bring the dough together. Wrap it and chill for about 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) and grease a 12-hole tin.
4. Roll out the pastry thinly. Cut 12 larger circles for the bases and 12 smaller circles or stars for the tops.
5. Press the bases into the tin and add about a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat to each. Do not overfill, or it will bubble over.
6. Add the tops, press the edges together, brush with egg or milk, and make a small slit in each lid.
7. Bake for about 15–20 minutes until golden. Leave in the tin for a few minutes, then move to a wire rack. Hot mincemeat can burn, so let them cool before eating.

This is our own simple recipe with everyday ingredients – we have not kitchen-tested it, so treat times and temperatures as a guide and adjust for your oven. Allergens: depending on the recipe it contains gluten (flour, breadcrumbs), milk (butter), eggs and nuts or almonds, and dried fruit may contain sulphites. Check every label before you cook for other people.

Equipment

Ad: Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The price is the same for you. Prices and availability change – see the current price on Amazon.

🥧 Dexam mince pie tins (amazon.co.uk) ↗ (ad). A standard 12-hole bun tin also works.

Mince pies also appear in Christmas dinner and Boxing Day traditions and Christmas pudding recipe and Stir-up Sunday. For the full list of dates 2026: Christmas in the UK: traditions and recipes.