Pies, both savoury and sweet, are a popular comfort food. With some clever toppings to reduce the calories, there's no need to cut them out of your diet. Here are 5 lighter options that we love.
Lighter chicken and mushroom pie
Serves 4 - 388 kcals per serving
Kcals |
388 |
Fat |
3.8g |
Sat fat |
1.1g |
Carbs |
48.9g |
Sugar |
11.4g |
Fibre |
6.0g |
Protein |
39.1g |
Salt |
0.70g |
Ingredients
- Frylight
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 500g chicken breast, diced
- 200g mushrooms, chopped
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 100g frozen peas, thawed
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 tbsp cornflour, sieved
- 250ml reduced salt chicken stock
- 100ml semi-skimmed milk
- Black pepper to taste
- 6 filo pastry sheets
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas mark 5. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and spray with Frylight.
- Cook the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften.
- Add the chicken pieces and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms, carrot, peas and thyme, cook for 2 minutes. Then add the cornflour and mix together well.
- Pour over the chicken stock and milk, season with black pepper, turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. (The sauce should now have thickened – if it needs to be thicker, adjust with a little more cornflour)
- Tip the chicken and mushroom mixture into a medium sized pie dish – there should be a decent layer of filling covering the dish.
- Take each sheet of filo pastry and crinkle it up into a messy ball, then place on top of the chicken mixture. Repeat this with all the pastry until the pie is covered.
- Spray the pastry with Frylight, then bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the pastry starts to crisp and turn golden.
Individual fish pies
Serves 2 - 465 kcals per serving
Kcals |
465 |
Fat |
7.1g |
Sat fat |
2.4g |
Carbs |
59.4g |
Sugar |
16.8g |
Fibre |
10.2g |
Protein |
44.5g |
Salt |
1.80g |
Ingredients
- 300g potatoes, peeled and chopped into medium chunks
- Frylight
- 1 onion, diced
- 250ml semi-skimmed milk
- 1 tbsp cornflour, sieved
- 2 tsp lemon zest, grated
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- Black pepper to taste
- 260g fresh haddock fillet, cut into chunks
- 150g cooked king prawns
- 10g low fat spread
- 100g frozen peas, thawed
- 100g frozen sweetcorn, thawed
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas mark 6. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the potatoes, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and spray with Frylight. Cook the onion for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften.
- Add the milk and cornflour to the pan, mix together well using a whisk to ensure there's no lumps. Bring to the boil.
- Add the lemon zest, parsley and season with black pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes until starting to thicken.
- Add all the fish to the pan and stir well to coat with the sauce. Simmer for 4-5 minutes.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, drain, return to the pan with the spread and a splash of milk, season with black pepper and mash well using a masher.
- Spoon the fish mixture into individual pie dishes, then using a piping bag, pipe a small layer of mash over the top of each pie.
- Cook in the oven for 20 minutes until the mash is starting to turn golden on top.
- Serve with steamed mixed peas and sweetcorn.
Veg topped cottage pie
Serves 4 - 305 kcals per serving
Kcals |
305 |
Fat |
8.4g |
Sat fat |
3.3g |
Carbs |
27.8g |
Sugar |
25.2g |
Fibre |
11.2g |
Protein |
31.2g |
Salt |
1.30g |
Ingredients
- Frylight
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 large carrot, peeled and sliced
- 2 celery sticks, sliced
- 600g swede, peeled and cut into chunks
- 500g extra lean beef mince
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 300ml reduced salt beef stock
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 tbsp parmesan, finely grated
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas mark 5. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and spray with Frylight.
- Cook the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften. Add 1 carrot and the celery and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the rest of the carrot and swede. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the veg is cooked through.
- Add the mince to the pan with the garlic and veg, break up and cook for 2-3 minutes to brown the meat.
- Add the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, stock, Worcestershire sauce and thyme and mix well. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Once cooked, drain the carrot and swede then mash using a masher, until well combined and smooth.
- Place the mince mixture into a casserole dish, top with the carrot and swede mash. Sprinkle over the parmesan, then bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Mixed berry & apple lattice pie
Serves 6 - 180 kcals per serving
Kcals |
180 |
Fat |
7.8g |
Sat fat |
2.8g |
Carbs |
23.8g |
Sugar |
10.4g |
Fibre |
4.7g |
Protein |
3.9g |
Salt |
0.21g |
Ingredients
- 4 cooking apples, peeled and sliced
- 200g fresh blackberries
- 200g fresh strawberries, halved
- 1 heaped tbsp granulated stevia
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 200g ready to roll lighter shortcrust pastry
- Flour for dusting
- 1 egg beaten
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas mark 4.
- Put all the fruit in a pie dish, sprinkle over the stevia and lemon juice and mix well.
- Press the fruit down into the dish until it is as tightly packed as it can be.
- Lightly dust a surface with flour, then roll the pastry to the size of the serving dish, around 0.5cm in thickness. Cut eight 1cm thick strips, long enough to extend the length of the pie dish.
- Lay the pastry strips over the fruit in a lattice style, leaving a gap between each strip.
- Use the remaining pastry to create a seal around the edge of the pie, laying a 2cm thick strip around the edge and pinching it together with the strips. Slice away any overhanging pastry from the dish.
- Brush the top of the pastry with beaten egg, then bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Alternative banoffee pies
Serves 2 - 266 kcals per serving
Kcals |
266 |
Fat |
8.5g |
Sat fat |
4.1g |
Carbs |
41.0g |
Sugar |
28.8g |
Fibre |
2.1g |
Protein |
6.9g |
Salt |
0.40g |
Ingredients
- 3 lighter digestive biscuits
- 1 large banana, sliced
- 175g low fat toffee yogurt
- 50g light squirty cream
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
Method
- Crush the digestive biscuits to resemble fine breadcrumbs. Pack down into the base of two individual serving cups.
- Mix the chopped banana with the toffee yogurt, then spoon the mixture over the biscuit bases.
- Finish each dessert with two squirts of cream, until the top is covered.
- Dust with cocoa and serve immediately.
Nutritionist Emma White (ANutr), MSc Human Nutrition is passionate about how food science applies to the human body, and how the nutrients in what we eat affect us and ultimately have an impact on our health.