Almost every country on Earth has its own special pie, from sweet fruit treats to hearty meat dinners. Pies tell stories about the people who bake them, the crops they grow, and the holidays they celebrate.
Learning about them is a tasty way to travel without leaving your kitchen. Grab a fork and get ready to discover some of the most delicious pies the world has to offer.
1. American Apple Pie
Nothing smells quite like a kitchen with an apple pie baking inside. The buttery crust and cinnamon apples feel like a warm hug on a chilly fall day.
Funny enough, apple pie did not start in America. English and Dutch settlers brought their recipes across the ocean centuries ago.
For the best filling, mix tart Granny Smith apples with sweeter Honeycrisp. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
2. British Steak and Kidney Pie
Picture a rainy afternoon in an old English pub. A steaming steak and kidney pie arrives, its crust puffed high above dark, savory gravy.
Chunks of beef and kidney simmer slowly with onions until tender. Some cooks add a splash of rich ale for deeper flavor.
Kidney might sound strange, but it adds an earthy taste many people love. Pair this classic with mashed potatoes or mushy peas for a true British meal.
3. Greek Spanakopita
Crunch! That first bite of spanakopita sends flaky phyllo flakes flying everywhere.
Inside, you find a creamy mix of spinach, feta cheese, onions, and fresh dill.
Greek families often bake it in big trays and cut it into squares or triangles. It works as a snack, side dish, or light lunch.
Working with phyllo takes patience. Keep the sheets covered with a damp towel so they stay soft while you brush each layer with olive oil.
4. French Quiche Lorraine
Some people call it fancy breakfast, others call it the perfect picnic food. Quiche Lorraine comes from the Lorraine region of France, near the German border.
The original recipe used only eggs, cream, and smoky bacon in a crisp shell. Cheese came later, and now most cooks add Gruyere or Swiss.
Here is a helpful trick. Bake the empty crust for a few minutes first, so the bottom stays crisp instead of soggy.
5. Australian Meat Pie
Ask any Aussie about their favorite snack at a footy game, and the answer is usually a meat pie. Australians eat millions of these every year.
Each little pie holds minced beef and thick gravy inside a sturdy pastry case. You can hold it in one hand, which makes it great for busy crowds.
Locals almost always squirt tomato sauce right on top. Try it once, and you might understand why the tradition sticks.
6. Moroccan Bastilla
Sweet and savory in the same bite? Moroccan bastilla proves it works beautifully.
Thin, crispy pastry wraps around spiced chicken, almonds, and scrambled eggs.
Then comes the surprise. Cooks dust the top with powdered sugar and cinnamon, often in pretty crisscross patterns.
Traditionally, bastilla was made with pigeon and served at weddings and big celebrations. Today chicken is more common.
Share it with friends, since one pie easily feeds a whole table.
7. Key Lime Pie
Down in the sunny Florida Keys, tiny limes gave birth to one of America’s zingiest desserts. Key lime pie is tart, creamy, and wonderfully refreshing.
Fun fact: real Key lime filling is pale yellow, not bright green. If it looks neon, someone probably added food coloring.
The filling uses sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and lime juice in a graham cracker crust. Chill it well before slicing for clean, pretty pieces.
8. Shepherd’s Pie
Leftovers have never tasted so good. Shepherd’s pie started as a smart way for British and Irish families to use up extra roasted meat and potatoes.
Instead of pastry, a fluffy layer of mashed potatoes covers ground lamb, carrots, and peas. The top turns golden and slightly crispy in the oven.
Quick tip: drag a fork across the potatoes before baking. Those little ridges brown nicely and add extra crunch.
Made with beef, it becomes cottage pie.
9. Italian Torta della Nonna
The name means grandmother’s cake, and one bite explains why. Torta della nonna feels like something lovingly baked in a Tuscan grandma’s kitchen.
Soft, sweet pastry holds a smooth lemony custard. Toasted pine nuts and a snowy dusting of powdered sugar finish the top.
Italians often enjoy it with coffee in the afternoon. If pine nuts are hard to find, sliced almonds make a tasty swap that still gives a lovely nutty crunch.
10. Cornish Pasty
Miners in Cornwall, England, needed a lunch they could carry deep underground. The Cornish pasty was their answer, a sealed pocket of pastry stuffed with goodness.
Inside you will find beef, potato, onion, and swede, which is a type of turnip. The thick crimped edge worked like a handle for dirty fingers.
Today, a true Cornish pasty must be made in Cornwall to carry the name. That rule is protected by European law.
11. Pecan Pie
Sticky, nutty, and gloriously sweet, pecan pie is a superstar at Southern holiday dinners. Every Thanksgiving, it competes with pumpkin pie for the top spot.
The filling bakes from corn syrup, eggs, butter, and sugar. Pecans float to the top and toast into a crunchy, golden layer.
Because it is so rich, small slices go a long way. A dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream helps balance all that gooey sweetness.
12. Turkish Borek
Walk through Istanbul in the morning and you will smell fresh borek everywhere. Bakeries pile trays high with these flaky treats before sunrise.
Thin yufka dough gets layered or rolled around fillings like white cheese, spinach, ground meat, or potatoes. Some bakers coil it into big spirals.
Turks love eating borek with a glass of hot black tea. Try warming leftovers in the oven instead of the microwave to keep the layers crisp.
13. Pumpkin Pie
Autumn just would not feel complete without pumpkin pie. Its silky orange filling tastes like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cozy sweaters all at once.
Early American colonists sometimes cooked pumpkins whole, filling them with milk, spices, and honey. Over time, this turned into the pie we know today.
Canned pumpkin works great and saves time. Let the pie cool completely before cutting, since the custard keeps setting as it rests.
14. Portuguese Pastel de Nata
Back in the 1700s, monks in Lisbon used leftover egg yolks to create a little treasure. Pastel de nata was born, and Portugal has loved it ever since.
These mini pies have shatteringly flaky shells and creamy custard centers. Very hot ovens give the tops their famous dark, caramelized spots.
Locals sprinkle cinnamon or powdered sugar on top. Eat them fresh and slightly warm, because they taste best within hours of baking.
15. Canadian Tourtiere
Snow falls outside while families in Quebec gather after midnight on Christmas Eve. On the table sits tourtiere, a spiced meat pie that means holidays are here.
Ground pork, sometimes mixed with beef or veal, gets seasoned with cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. Mashed potato often helps hold everything together.
Every family seems to guard its own secret recipe. Serve it with a sweet tomato relish or ketchup, just like many Quebecois do.
16. Chilean Pastel de Choclo
Corn lovers, this one is for you. Pastel de choclo is Chile’s comforting summer pie, baked in clay dishes called pailas.
The bottom layer holds seasoned ground beef, onions, chicken, olives, raisins, and hard-boiled eggs. On top sits a thick blanket of sweet blended corn mixed with basil.
Many Chileans sprinkle sugar over the corn before baking. It caramelizes into a crunchy, sweet crust that makes every bite surprisingly delightful.
17. Banoffee Pie
Bananas plus toffee equals banoffee, and the result is pure happiness. A small restaurant in East Sussex, England, invented it in 1971.
The best part? You barely need an oven.
A crushed biscuit base holds thick caramel, sliced bananas, and fluffy whipped cream.
Add banana slices right before serving so they stay fresh and do not turn brown. A sprinkle of chocolate shavings on top makes it look extra impressive at parties.
18. Russian Kurnik
Long ago, Russian brides received a towering pie called kurnik at their weddings. People called it the king of pies, and it certainly looks royal.
Shaped like a dome, kurnik stacks layers of chicken, rice, mushrooms, and eggs. Thin pancakes often separate each layer to keep flavors distinct.
Bakers decorate the top with pastry flowers and braids. It takes time to build, so it makes a fantastic weekend cooking project.
19. Cherry Pie
Bright red juice bubbling through a golden lattice is a sight worth waiting for. Cherry pie brings summer straight to the table.
Traverse City, Michigan, calls itself the cherry capital of the world and even hosts a giant cherry festival every July. Tart cherries make the best filling.
Add a bit of cornstarch so the juice thickens instead of flooding your plate. A drop of almond extract makes the cherry flavor really shine.
20. South African Melktert
Simple ingredients can make magic, and South Africa’s melktert shows how. Its name means milk tart, and it tastes like a soft, sweet cloud.
Dutch settlers brought custard traditions to the Cape hundreds of years ago. The filling uses milk, eggs, sugar, and a little flour, all poured into a crisp shell.
A dusting of cinnamon finishes it off. South Africans even celebrate National Milk Tart Day every February 27th.
21. Lemon Meringue Pie
Tall, fluffy peaks of toasted meringue make this pie look like a dessert mountain. Underneath, bright lemon curd delivers a tangy, puckery punch.
The contrast is what makes it special. Sweet, airy meringue balances the sharp citrus filling perfectly.
Spread the meringue all the way to the crust edges to seal it. That simple step stops it from shrinking and weeping little droplets as it cools.
Bakers swear by it.
22. Indian Samosa Pie
Love samosas but want enough to feed the whole family? Home cooks have turned the famous Indian snack into a big, sliceable samosa pie.
The filling keeps all the classic flavors. Potatoes, green peas, cumin, coriander, and garam masala cook together until fragrant and golden.
Bake it in a regular pie dish with flaky crust, then cut wedges. Serve with mint chutney and sweet tamarind sauce for dipping, just like street vendors do.
23. Austrian Apple Strudel
Legend says Austrian bakers stretched strudel dough so thin you could read a newspaper through it. That paper-thin pastry is the secret to this Viennese classic.
Rolled around apples, raisins, cinnamon, and buttery breadcrumbs, it bakes into a crispy spiral. Each slice shows pretty layers inside.
Vienna coffeehouses serve it warm with vanilla sauce or whipped cream. Store-bought phyllo makes a quick shortcut if stretching dough sounds too tricky.