Happy St. Patrick’s Day! If you find yourself with leftover corned beef today, you’ll want to save this Reuben pie recipe. These delicious Reuben bites are the hand pie version of my favorite sandwich. They are mini corned beef pies with a homemade thousand island-style sauce, and are easy to make using pre-made pie dough. Reuben hand pies are great as a mini Reuben appetizer, lunch, or snack, and an out-of-the-box recipe to use up leftover corned beef brisket. Get the full corned beef hand pies recipe at the end of the post (feel free to click the Jump to Recipe button above if you’re ready to get cookin’), or scroll to see some step-by-step photos and cooking tips.
More ideas for leftover corned beef like these Reuben bites
What you need to make these mini corned beef pies
Here’s what you’ll need to make this mini Reuben appetizer:
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowls
- Flour (for dusting your rolling surface)
- Rolling pin
- 4-inch biscuit cutter (or a cup with a 4-inch diameter)
- Fork
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise*
- 1/4 cup ketchup*
- 2 tablespoons sour cream*
- 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish*
- 1/2 tablespoon minced red onion*
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard*
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt*
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed*
- 2 circles of prepared pie crust dough (from a 14.1-ounce package)
- 2 cups shredded cooked corned beef brisket
- 1/2 cup Bavarian-style sauerkraut with caraway seeds, drained
- 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
*Shortcut Tip: As a shortcut (or to save on ingredients), you can use prepared thousand island dressing instead of the homemade version.
How to make Reuben hand pies
To make these Reuben bites, start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the mayonnaise, ketchup, sour cream, relish, red onion, Dijon mustard, garlic salt, and dill together in a small bowl until well blended to make a thousand island-style sauce. Set the sauce aside.
Unroll the unbaked pie crusts onto a lightly floured surface and roll each into a 13-inch circle. Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter (or a cup with a 4-inch diameter), cut the dough into 16 circles, gathering and re-rolling the excess dough as needed until you have 16 total circles. Place 8 of the dough circles on top of the parchment paper on the prepared baking sheet.
Next we’re going to layer the ingredients into our Reuben hand pies. The order of the ingredients is important, as it’s planned so that wetter ingredients (like the sauce and sauerkraut) aren’t directly against the pie crust so it doesn’t get soggy while it bakes. Start by dividing the shredded corned beef (about 1/4 cup for each) onto the center of the 8 dough circles on the parchment paper, leaving some dough exposed around the edge of the mini corned beef pies.
Top the corned beef with 1 tablespoon of the thousand island sauce (save the remaining sauce for dipping later), followed by 1 tablespoon sauerkraut.
Finally, top with 1 tablespoon cheese (as the cheese melts while baking, it creates a protective layer to keep the crust from getting soggy and it helps keep the other ingredients in place). It’s going to seem like a mound of filling, but trust me that it will all close up and bake perfectly. To seal your corned beef hand pies together, first, moisten the edges of the topped dough circles with water using your fingers. Place the non-filled dough circles on top of the circles with the corned beef mixture, and carefully lift each Reuben hand pie to pinch the edges together around the filling (they will be really full). Crimp the edges of your Reuben hand pies with a fork to seal.
Whisk the egg and water together in a small bowl to make an egg wash. Brush the top of the pies with the egg mixture, then sprinkle carraway seeds over the top. This little touch with the carraway seeds helps mimic the flavor of rye bread since we’re making this mini Reuben appetizer with pie dough instead of the rye bread you’d find on a traditional Reuben sandwich.
Bake the corned beef hand pies in the pre-heated oven for 13-17 minutes, or until the pies are golden. Cool the mini corned beef pies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before serving. Serve your Reuben bites with the additional thousand island sauce for dipping.
These Reuben hand pies are SO yummy – and such a fun way to use up leftover corned beef after St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s the full mini Reuben pie recipe! Enjoy!
Reuben Hand Pies
These delicious Reuben bites are the hand pie version of my favorite sandwich. They are mini corned beef pies with a homemade thousand island-style sauce, and are easy to make using pre-made pie dough. Reuben hand pies are great as a mini Reuben appetizer, lunch, or snack, and an out-of-the-box recipe to use up leftover corned beef brisket.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
- 1/2 tablespoon minced red onion
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 2 circles of prepared pie crust dough (from a 14.1-ounce package)
- 2 cups shredded cooked corned beef brisket
- 1/2 cup Bavarian-style sauerkraut with caraway seeds, drained
- 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix mayonnaise, ketchup, sour cream, relish, red onion, Dijon mustard, garlic salt, and dill together in a small bowl until well blended to make a thousand island-style sauce. Set aside.
- Unroll the unbaked pie crusts onto a lightly floured surface and roll each into a 13-inch circle. Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter (or a cup with a 4-inch diameter), cut the dough into 16 circles, gathering and re-rolling the excess dough as needed until you have 16 total circles. Place 8 of the dough circles on top of the parchment paper on the prepared baking sheet.
- Place 1/4 cup of the shredded corned beef onto the center of the 8 dough circles on the parchment paper, leaving some dough exposed around the edge. Top the corned beef with 1 tablespoon thousand island sauce, followed by 1 tablespoon sauerkraut, then 1 tablespoon cheese. Save the remaining sauce for dipping later.
- Moisten the edges of the topped dough circles with water using your fingers. Place the non-filled dough circles on top of the circles with the corned beef mixture, and carefully lift each to pinch the edges together around the filling (they will be really full). Crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
- Whisk the egg and water together in a small bowl. Brush the top of the pies with the egg mixture. Sprinkle carraway seeds over the top.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 13-17 minutes, or until the pies are golden. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve with additional sauce.
Notes
Tip: As a shortcut (or to save on ingredients), you can use prepared thousand island dressing instead of the homemade version.
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