‘Chinese’ Pie

  4.6 – 21 reviews  • Vegetable

With a little kick, this venison meatloaf is a delicious and juicy variation on the classic dish. To suit your taste, use more or fewer spices. As is, I enjoy it!

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 55 mins
Servings: 6
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  1. 1 tablespoon canola oil
  2. 1 onion, diced
  3. 1 pound lean ground beef
  4. salt and ground black pepper to taste
  5. 2 (15 ounce) cans cream-style corn
  6. 4 cups mashed potatoes

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole with butter.
  2. Heat canola oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir ground beef into onion, season with salt and black pepper, and cook ground beef mixture until browned and crumbly, about 10 more minutes. Drain excess grease.
  3. Spread cooked ground beef mixture into bottom of the prepared casserole dish; pour cream-style corn over the ground beef in a layer; top with layer of mashed potatoes.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven until potatoes are browned and casserole is bubbling, about 30 minutes.
  5. For a quicker meal, you can use mashed potatoes from the grocer’s refrigerated section; however, instant potatoes do not work well in this recipe.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 412 kcal
Carbohydrate 57 g
Cholesterol 52 mg
Dietary Fiber 5 g
Protein 20 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Sodium 928 mg
Sugars 9 g
Fat 13 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Ryan Jackson Jr.
With all of the corn and mashed potatoes, I think it needs at least another half-pound of ground beef.
Travis Smith
I added one can of creamed and one can of while kernel. Only bc I opened the whole kernel by mistake. Lol
Carol Deleon
I grew up in northern Minnesota and never knew this dish had a name. I grew up eating this as a kid, it’s very versatile and you can swap the cream corn for fresh cooked carrots or regular corn. We always had it with our favorite meatloaf recipe in place of the ground beef. It’s delicious- literally everyone who has ever tried it loves it. I only gave this recipe 4 stars because I prefer it with a more flavorful meatloaf instead of the ground beef.
Robert Rodriguez
Great traditional Chinese pie like my mother made when I was a kid. Great recipe and easy to make. Much simpler than shepherds pie, it has less ingredients. It’s a huge hit with the whole family.
Christopher Jordan
Having grown up with a French Canadian mother and grandmother, this is familiar fare to me. They made it exactly as written. When it was time for me to make my own Pate Chinois (Chinese Pie), the cream corn had to go; whole kernel corn and even mixed vegetables substitute well. The Italian side of me likes more flavor in my hamburger, so I add one clove of minced garlic, 1/2 to 1 tsp. basil, and a little Worcestershire sauce and herb blend called Old World. Perfect! In fact I think my ancestors would approve.
Cole Kramer
My kids love this and ask for it constantly – it’s been a favorite for several years now. Easy and hearty, what more could we ask for?! We used instant mashed potatoes, and put cheddar on top. Thanks for the recipe!
Joan Pacheco
My mother made this weekly, for my 4 siblings and I. We always called it “Chinese Pie”. I never knew that it was also called “Sheperds pie”, until I made it for my husband, his mother made the same dish, but slightly different version. I use whole kernel corn, add a jar of beef gravy to the cooked ground beef, and also add paprika, salt and pepper to the top!
Steven Nelson
The recipe is fine as is, but my suggestion is to add a finely chopped green pepper (sauteed with the onion), and we use ground turkey. My grandmother, too, put butter and paprika on top of the potatoes for a little added color and flavor. I also add a can of regular corn, in addition to the creamed corn. True comfort food.
Michael Gilbert
This is great and my six year old loved it. She ate it for three out of four meals. I used ground turkey. I used green pepper instead of onion and added it at the end of browning the turkey. It’s been 6 years since that original rating. My daughter is now 12 and she loves this still.
Kayla Brennan
I too grew up with my French Canadian grandmother and I ate this a lot and its one of my all time favorite foods! We called it Shepherd’s Pie. I’ve always used one can cream and one can regular corn. My Grandma put pats of butter and sprinkled some paprika on top. It is a plainer version than other Shepherd’s pies but its the only one I make. Enjoy!
Jacob Mejia
2 cans of creamed corn was to much. I would suggest 1 can of creamed and 1 can of corn. Very tasty
Stephanie Ramos
My mother is from Rhode Island & is French. She made this for us when we were growing up. Years ago when I made it for my husband he suggested putting grated cheddar cheese on it. So I have been making it that way ever since! Love it!
William Hernandez
This is how my mother from Vermont made this and I really love it. We too called it Chinese Pie but I have heard it called Shepard’s Pie and most people do not make it with the cream corn but I find the cream corn is what makes it soooo good. I love this dish.
Courtney Jones
I grew up eating Chinese Pie in southern NH. My mom (French-Canadien) made it regularly but she used Campbells vegetable soup instead of corn. (I hated it as I hated most vegetables) Then we got a cafeteria at my grade school in 6th grade and they had it on the lunch menu with CORN! I told my mom I loved it and she made it with corn after that! After I became an adult, I learned that it is very tasty with the Campbell’s soup also.
William Bowen
This is a plain shepherd’s pie which is incredibly easy to put together once your mashed potatoes are made. I wish I had the memories to tie to this dish (I totally understand that), but felt it was plain. A+B = C. In this case – it’s literally ground beef, creamed corn and mashed potatoes (it wasn’t transformed into something else). I did like how the creamed corn added a sauce.
Dr. John Medina
This recipe is comfort food that is easy and basic. I have always called this Shepard’s Pie but I did get the recipe from a Canadian friend many years ago. I do use onion powder instead of onions because my kids can be picky if they see onions.
Katherine Stewart
This recipe sounded weird when I read it, but we tried it and love it!! It has become a staple in our house. As for the Cook’s Note at the bottom of the recipe, I never use real mashed potatoes because I don’t like the consistency of them, I always use instant potatoes and have never had a problem. Yummy!
David Stanley
I make this almost weekly. I too am french canadian. My mom always called it shepards pie, and she would melt butter ontop of it. I someimes put cheddar cheese on top of the potatoes.
Robert Gordon
Having a French Canadian mom that loved mashed potatoes meant we had Pate Chinois weekly in winter! For a really quick meal, I’ll double it, use the frozen mashed potatoes (no peeling required) and make an extra for the freezer.
Ashley Miller
I’ve been eating this dish since I was born-Wonderful stapel. I crush potato chips on the top before I bake it with a little butter-Nice crunch
Jaime Rivera
I have been eating this ever since I can remember. it is a French Canadian staple.. !! When in doubt for dinner… Make Pâté Chenois!!!!! Really is comfort food! Sever with salad and homemade fruit ketchup!

 

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