Table of Contents
  1. These are a unique savory hand pie perfect for fall.
  2. Everything you’ll need to make this recipe.
  3. Here’s how to make this recipe.
  4. These pro tips will make this recipe a success.
  5. Frequently asked questions about this recipe.
  6. You'll love these other fall-inspired recipes.
  7. Watch how to make this recipe.
  8. Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
  9. Savory Squash Hand Pies Recipe

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Filled with squash, apples, sausage, herbs, and spice, these hand pies are great to serve at any time of the year. But they’re especially perfect during the fall and winter seasons when squash is in season. A perfect filling paired with a flaky crust creates a great main, side, or snack!

These are a unique savory hand pie perfect for fall.

Let’s be honest, we will not make a hand pie daily. They take some work, a little time, and are not a weeknight meal. When you do choose to make this recipe, it will be worth it. These are special treats and are something that you won’t be able to pick up ready to go at a store. They’re not frozen goods from a grocery store but are full of flavor.

This all starts with a good crust. The filling is full of hearty seasonal produce. They are rounded out with sausage to make them more of a meal. The sweet, salty, and slightly spicy sausage compliments the sweet butternut squash with apples and onion. These are fully a joy to eat and perfect with a bowl of soup.

Marble surface filled with lots of baked hand pies that are golden in color with fresh thyme to the side.

Everything you’ll need to make this recipe.

  • Pie dough is what makes or breaks these hand pies. I find homemade dough will be flakier and more flavorful. A store-purchased dough will work in a pinch.
  • Butternut squash is easy to find in the fall. The flesh is dense and sweet to balance the sausage.
  • Frozen kale is a great way to add some greens without noticing. The kale easily blends with the ingredients and adds a nice savory flavor.
  • Apples are a good mix of tart and sweet and keep their texture during sauteing. The crisp apple is a nice surprise flavor.
  • Flour will tighten up any residual liquid in the filling. The key is to cook the flour and eliminate any raw flavor.
  • Chicken stock ensures the filling is not pasty but has just enough moisture.
Marble surface filled with all of the ingredients needed to make savory squash hand pies including butternut squash, sausage, kale, pie dough, spices, and more.

Here’s how to make this recipe.

  1. Prepare the sausage. Slice the sausage into small, 1/2-inch bite-size pieces. In a skillet with a neutral oil, add the sliced squash. Brown the sausage to achieve a bit of a crust on the exterior. Once the sausage has browned, remove it from the skillet, transfer it to a plate, and set aside. Leave the residual oil in the skillet unless it is more than 2 tbsp.
  1. Add the squash, apples, and onion. Peel and seed the butternut squash and chop it into a small dice. Additionally, chop the onion and apple into small bite-size dice. For the apple, the skin can be left on or removed. Add the squash, apple, and onion to the skillet with the reserved oil and let them cook to soften. 
  1. Add the kale and flavorings. After the squash has softened, add the kale and mix it into the squash, apple, and onion mixture. Add the salt, black pepper, fresh thyme leaves, and garlic granules. Stir the flavorings into the squash mixture for about a minute to let the flavors marry. 
  1. Add the flour and stock. To the squash mixture, sprinkle in the flour, and mix it in to begin its activation. Then add in the chicken stock and stir it to ensure it’s mixed in well. Let the mixture come to a simmer so it thickens. Once thickened, remove it from the heat, add the sausage back in, and let it cool.
  1. Prepare the dough. Using a double batch of pie dough, work with one half at a time. Roll out the dough into a circle and use a circular object to slice out 5-inch round circles. Each half of the pie dough should yield six rounds, which may mean that after slicing out five, the dough can be pushed back together and rolled back out for the final one. Take the other half of the pie dough and repeat the same process.
  1. Fill the dough. Using a cookie scoop, fill each pie dough round with the sausage and squash filling. Top the filling with Parmesan cheese. Beat an egg in a bowl to create an egg wash, then brush half of each dough circle with the wash. Take the unwashed half of the dough and fold it onto the other half, matching up the edges and using it as glue. Press the edges together and then crimp with the tines of a fork. Once crimped, place each hand pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet. When all of the hand pies are on the baking sheet, brush each hand pie with egg wash, cut a vent hole on the top of each hand pie, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
  1. Bake the hand pies. Once ready, place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake at 375°F for 20 to 24 minutes. Once golden brown, remove them from the oven and let them cool slightly before eating.

These pro tips will make this recipe a success.

  • The squash mixture is done cooking when thickened and holds together. It will look like a thick gravy that contains the pieces of squash and apples together slightly.
  • Make sure to let the squash and sausage mixture cool completely before filling the hand pies. If the mixture is still hot or even warm, it will cause the dough to melt, which could affect the flakiness of each hand pie.
  • Pie dough is used for hand pies because of its flaky texture. The pockets of butter within the pie dough will create pockets of steam, creating the flaky layers of dough that are desired.
  • When cutting out the rounds of pie dough, I use a cereal bowl, which is coincidentally 5-inches around. You can use any circular object that is approximately 5-inches in diameter.
  • If the pie crust is getting too warm while working with it, simply place it back in the freezer for a few minutes to chill it. This will ensure that the hand pies have the best texture once baked.
Marble surface with baked hand pie cut in half with one half sitting on top of the other showing the inside filled with butternut squash and sausage mixture with more hand pies in background.

Frequently asked questions about this recipe.

Can this recipe be made vegetarian?

Yes! The sausage can be omitted, and the chicken stock can be changed to vegetable stock.

Can fresh kale be used instead of frozen?

Yes, technically. Fresh kale needs to be cooked longer and ensure the excess moisture is cooked off.

Is there a different type of green that will work in place of the kale?

Yes, any frozen green will work. Frozen spinach, swiss chard, or collard greens all work well.

How long do these hand pies last once baked? Can they be frozen?

These are best served fresh as the crust is flaky. These can be frozen but will loose some of the texture.

Baked hand pies sitting on top of each other in copper pot sitting on marble surface.

Watch how to make this recipe.

More fall recipes to try

Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?

I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you can let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they, too, can make, enjoy, and love!

Savory squash hand pie sitting on marble surface after being browned in the oven while baking with more hand pies to the side and in background.

Savory Squash Hand Pies

5 from 4 votes
Filled with squash, apples, sausage, herbs, and spice, these hand pies are great to serve at any time of the year. But they're especially perfect during the fall and winter seasons when squash is in season. A perfect filling paired with a flaky crust creates a great main, side, or snack!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 12 oz sausage (about 4 links)
  • ½ lb butternut squash peeled and diced
  • ½ small onion diced
  • 1 apple diced
  • 1 cup frozen kale
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • ¾ tsp garlic granules
  • 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • 2 recipes for 9-inch pie crust
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of neutral oil. Dice the sausage links into small pieces and add to the skillet. Cook the sausage until browned, 6-8 minutes. Once browned, remove the sausage from the skillet and set it aside.
    12 oz sausage (about 4 links)
  • Use the remaining oil and grease from the sausage, return the skillet to medium heat. Add the onion, squash, and apple. Sauté until the squash is softened and beginning to brown, 12-15 minutes. Once the squash is cooked, add the kale (or spinach) and stir to combine. Add the salt, black pepper, thyme leaves, and dried garlic. Stir to combine and sprinkle with the flour. Cook the flour into the mixture for one minute and pour in the stock. Stir everything together until the stock comes to a simmer. Cook until the stock has mostly dissipated and is thickened, 4-6 minutes.
    ½ lb butternut squash, ½ small onion, 1 apple, 1 cup frozen kale, 1 tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, ¾ tsp garlic granules, 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, ½ cup chicken stock
  • Once the stock is cooked, remove the mixture from the heat and add the sausage to the filling. Allow the filling to cool to room temperature.
  • While the filling is cooling, roll the pie dough out to a rough 12-inch by 14-inch rectangle and ¼-inch thick. Use a bowl or large cutter to cut six 5-inch circles, pushing the dough together and rolling out as needed.
    2 recipes for 9-inch pie crust
  • Once the circles are cut and the filling is cooled, preheat the oven to 375°F. Beat 1 egg with 2 tsp water and set aside.
  • Add roughly 2 tbsp of filling to each dough circle and brush the edge of the circle of dough with the beaten egg. Fold one side of the dough onto the other, pressing firmly to seal. Press the tines of a fork around the now half circle to fully seal the hand pie. Place the hand pies on two parchment-lined baking sheets. The hand pies can be frozen at this point and baked in smaller quantities when needed.
  • Once all the hand pies are formed, brush the tops with the egg water and cut a 1-inch vent into the hand pies. Sprinkle the hand pies with Parmesan cheese and bake in the preheated oven until they are golden on the bottom and top, 20-24 minutes.
    ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Once baked, remove the hand pies from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • The squash mixture is done cooking when thickened and holds together. It will look like a thick gravy that contains the pieces of squash and apples together slightly.
  • Make sure to let the squash and sausage mixture cool completely before filling the hand pies. If the mixture is still hot or even warm, it will cause the dough to melt, which could affect the flakiness of each hand pie.
  • Pie dough is used for hand pies because of its flaky texture. The pockets of butter within the pie dough will create pockets of steam, creating the flaky layers of dough that are desired.
  • When cutting out the rounds of pie dough, I use a cereal bowl, which is coincidentally 5-inches around. You can use any circular object that is approximately 5-inches in diameter.
  • If the pie crust is getting too warm while working with it, simply place it back in the freezer for a few minutes to chill it. This will ensure that the hand pies have the best texture once baked.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 426kcal
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Difficulty Intermediate
Method Baking

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Avatar for Kaleb Wyse

Kaleb

Kaleb Wyse is a New York Times bestselling author behind the popular Wyse Guide website. Living on his fourth-generation Iowa farm, he loves sharing recipes and gardening tips that come from traditions that feel comfortably familiar. His down-to-earth style makes sustainable living and farm life feel like home!

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5 from 4 votes (1 rating without comment)

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6 Comments

  1. Hi Caleb,
    Thank you for sharing another one of your fabulous recipes. Quick question, what type or flavor sausage did you use in your recipe?
    Thank you in advance.
    Carol

  2. 5 stars
    The taste in this dish is Amazing!!! I used empanada shells to save time and will likely be incorporating the mixture into my Thanksgiving menu, maybe in mini muffin cups as an appetizer.

  3. 5 stars
    Enjoy your Instagram and all your advice on gardening and tips in the kitchen. You have a wonderful spirit that shines through with love and joy. You always put a smile on my face and uplift me.

  4. 5 stars
    This recipe is very good and I will definitely be adding it to our dinner rotation. The recipe was easy to follow and I appreciated the Spinach substitution suggestion for the Kale. Due to my families busy schedule, I opted to make this in a 9” pie form and it still worked out perfectly. Thank you, Kaleb!!

  5. Looks great and I will try it soon! By the way have you posted a video on how to make Nebraska buns, aka Runzas? I would love to see your version! Enjoy your posts so much!