Italian Style Hand Pies with Marinara Dipping Sauce – hand pies made with crescent rolls, filled with meat sauce, and served with marinara for dipping.
Wow, it has been “one of those” weeks for me! Have you ever had a day or a week when it seemed that nothing went quite right? Yeah…that was this week for me. And it was all electronics.
It seemed like everything we own that plugs into an outlet either quit working, worked the wrong way, or just gave up and died. And don’t even get me started on tech support. Ugh.
When I have a frustrating day like that, the last thing I want to do is make a complicated recipe for dinner. Don’t get me wrong, I still love to cook. I just want it to be nice and easy. Something quick to prepare and deliciously satisfying. Something just like these Italian Style Hand Pies with Marinara Dipping Sauce.
A while back, the people at Pillsbury asked me to come up with a way to use their crescent rolls to create an easy family dinner recipe. Well, I accepted that challenge in a second!
Those crescent rolls are a permanent fixture in my refrigerator and part of our dinner many, many evenings. In creating the recipe, I thought about what a family might enjoy, especially the kids, after a long day of work and play. And knowing how kids love anything they can pick up with their hands and dip into a sauce, I just knew these little hand pies would be perfect. They’re loaded with a delicious filling flavored with tomato sauce and Italian seasonings.
Place a little container of warm marinara sauce on the side, add a salad, and dinner’s served! If you have a regular “pizza night” or “spaghetti night” at your house, this would be a great way to change that up a little bit.
Italian Style Hand Pies with Marinara Dipping Sauce - hand pies made with crescent rolls, filled with meat sauce, and served with marinara for dipping. Click To Tweet
How to Make Italian Style Hand Pies with Marinara Dipping Sauce
Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by either lining with parchment paper or spraying lightly with cooking spray. Set the prepared baking sheet aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beef shows no more pink color. Add the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute. Drain well and return to the pan.
Add the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes or until the water has nearly evaporated. You want a nice filling consistency, not a sauce. A sauce would to be too wet and might leak out during baking.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Set the mixture aside to cool a bit while preparing the crescent rolls.
Open the crescent rolls and unroll them on a work surface. Separate each package of rolls into 4 rectangles (each rectangle will contain 2 crescent rolls). Press the perforations in each rectangle together.
Place 1/8 of the beef mixture (about 2 generous tablespoonfuls) on the end of each rectangle leaving about an inch all the way around in order to seal the packages.Fold the unfilled end over the filled end. Using a dinner fork, seal the three open edges.
Place the filled hand pies on the prepared baking sheet. It’s easier to transfer them with a flat spatula.
In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together the egg and water. Brush lightly over the hand pies. Use a small sharp knife to cut a slit in the top of each pie.
Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 and continue cooking for an additional 5-7 minutes or until golden brown all over.
While the hand pies are cooking, warm 2 cups of purchased marinara sauce in a small pan over medium heat.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve with a side of warm marinara sauce for dipping.
Makes 8 pies (2 per serving).
Enjoy!
More Crescent Roll Recipes on Never Enough Thyme:
Crescent Roll Recipes from Other Bloggers:
- Crescent Cinnamon Rolls from How to: Simplify
- Baked Brie from She Wears Many Hats
- Pear Tart with Cream Cheese Icing from Eat at Home
- Cheesesteak Crescent Rolls from Favorite Family Recipes
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Italian Style Hand Pies with Marinara Dipping Sauce
Italian seasoned meat filling in a crescent roll package with marinara sauce on the side.
Ingredients
- 2 pkg. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
- 2 tblsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 heaping tblsp. tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
- 4 tblsp. finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 tblsp. water
- Purchased Marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Prepare a baking sheet by either lining with parchment paper or spraying lightly with cooking spray. Set the prepared baking sheet aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beef shows no more pink color. Add the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute. Drain well and return to the pan.
- Add the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes or until the water has nearly evaporated. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Set the mixture aside to cool a bit while preparing the crescent rolls.
- Open the crescent rolls and unroll them on a work surface. Separate each package of rolls into four rectangles (each rectangle will contain 2 crescent rolls). Press the perforations in each rectangle together.
- Place 1/8 of the beef mixture (about 2 generous tablespoonfuls) on the end of each rectangle leaving about an inch all the way around in order to seal the packages. Fold the unfilled end over the filled end. Using a dinner fork, seal the three open edges.
- Place the filled hand pies on the prepared baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together the egg and water. Brush lightly over the hand pies. Use a small sharp knife to cut a slit in the top of each pie.
- Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 and continue cooking for an additional 5-7 minutes or until golden brown all over.
- While the hand pies are cooking, warm 2 cups of purchased marinara sauce in a small pan over medium-low heat.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve with a side of warm marinara sauce for dipping.
Notes
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 2Amount Per Serving: Calories: 247 Total Fat: 16g Saturated Fat: 6g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 9g Cholesterol: 80mg Sodium: 502mg Carbohydrates: 7g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 3g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 18g
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— This post was originally sponsored by General Mills.
gloria patterson says
when I first looked at the picture I though to much work making the pie crust. But surprise these are so easy I am going shopping to make these today…………….THANKS
Amanda says
I shared these on FB Lana, they look so good! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151833666318070&set=a.174654903069.124188.163690253069&type=1
Lana Stuart says
Thank you so much, Amanda. Your generosity in promoting other bloggers is really commendable.
Kelly says
Oh my yummy goodness! The hand pies are making my mouth water. This looks and sounds amazing. Pinning! xo
jessica @fourgenerationsoneroof says
Looks delicious and your pics are fabulous ;)
Sara | Simply Happenstance says
Yum! Those look delicious! I will have to make those for my children! I think they would love them!
Lana Stuart says
Hope you all enjoy them, Sara!
Miss P says
I have two packages of Pillsbury crescent rolls in my refrigerator right now. I predict zero packages by the end of tomorrow.
Miss P
Lana Stuart says
My permanent grocery list starts out: eggs, milk, crescent rolls…
Neena says
These look great. Crescent rolls are on of my “must have” items. This looks like a new way to prepare them. Will definitely try this.
Lana Stuart says
They’re definitely something that I keep on hand all the time. I hope you will try this. It’s really easy and delicious!
Barbara | Creative Culinary says
I love baking from scratch and I know you do too Lana but there are some things that are prepared that I love to use. Crescent rolls are one of them (puff pastry the other). These have been a mainstay in my kitchen for as long as I can remember…from rolling up hotdogs with cheese for my girls when they were little to more adult applications today. I just wish I had one of these in front of me now!
Lana Stuart says
I can’t remember a time when my fridge didn’t have at least one, and quite often more, packages of crescent rolls. Everyone loves them and they’re one of the most versatile packaged products in the grocery store today. I wish I could share one of these with you, Barb. They’re quite good.
Aimee @ See Aimee Cook says
Those looks delicious!! Pinning :)
Lana Stuart says
Thank you so much for pinning, Aimee!
jane says
looks simple and delish!
Lana Stuart says
It is, Jane. Hope you’ll try it.