{"id":1860064,"date":"2023-03-03T10:35:52","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T10:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/recipes\/louisiana-meat-pies\/"},"modified":"2025-03-03T19:29:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T01:29:48","slug":"louisiana-meat-pies","status":"publish","type":"recipe","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/recipes\/louisiana-meat-pies\/","title":{"rendered":"Louisiana Meat Pies"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a taste of the old South\u2014as in the 1700s old\u2014you don’t need to travel back in time. Louisiana meat pies (aka Natchitoches meat pies) are a regional specialty dating back to the very origins of the United States.<\/p>\n

As a type of hand pie<\/a>, almost every Louisiana meat pie recipe features a savory, meaty filling of equal parts beef and pork, along with aromatics and color from the Cajun holy trinity<\/a>\u00a0(the classic southern mixture of cooked onion, bell pepper and celery). The filling is nestled inside a crispy, flaky pastry that’s often deep-fried.<\/p>\n

What is a Louisiana meat pie?<\/h2>\n

Louisiana meat pies come from a place of historical significance in the development of the United States.<\/p>\n

The City of Natchitoches was founded in 1714 by French colonists near a village of the Natchitoches tribe. As the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory, this area represents a collection of cultures where French and Spanish colonists and early American settlers converged with Native American culture and heritage. It is here where the Natchitoches meat pie originated.<\/p>\n

Often called Louisiana meat pies, they were made famous in the 1960s by local butcher and chef James Lasyone. The savory handheld pie from north-central Louisiana features a ground beef-and-pork filling cooked with onion, green bell pepper and celery in a flour pastry crust.<\/p>\n

What makes this Louisiana meat pie unique?<\/h2>\n

This recipe from Taste Recipes<\/em> contributor Kristyne McDougle Walter features her customized version of this iconic meat pie.<\/p>\n

In Walter’s version, beef and breakfast sausage serve as the meat filling, along with a variation of the holy trinity\u2014celery, sweet red pepper and onion\u2014cooked into a flour-thickened filling. Rather than the traditional scratch wheat pastry dough, this recipe uses frozen puff pastry to cut back on time and make this recipe more approachable. The meat pies are cooked in an air fryer instead of a typical deep fryer. Anyone looking to avoid fried foods (or a splattered mess in the kitchen) can give these a go!<\/p>\n

Ingredients for Louisiana Meat Pies<\/h2>\n