Cheese and Onion Pasty (Greggs Copycat)

Name: Cheese and Onion Pasty (Greggs Copycat)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 375 g puff pastry; 200 g potato (peeled and finely diced); 0.5 onion (diced); 100 g cheddar cheese (grated); 1 egg; 1 tbsp English mustard; 1 pinch sea salt and black pepper

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Who doesn't love a Greggs pasty? These Cheese and Onion Pasties are total comfort food on the go, and they taste just like the ones you get in Greggs, but BETTER! A delicious combination of mature cheddar, potato and onion, all pouring out of crisp and flakey puff pastry.

A wooden serving board with four cheese and onion pasties on it.

This isn't like the traditional pasties that you would get in Cornwall (with beef and swede), but instead it is a cheese pasty with potato and onion added, just like the Greggs pasty (which they changed to be called a bake/slice). Making them at home is much cheaper and they seriously taste next level. We added a little bit of mustard and it makes them even more delicious! A cheese and onion pasty makes a delicious addition to a picnic too.

This is a puff pastry pasty (using store bought for ease). If you are looking for more recipes that use puff pastry, then why not try our Easy Mushroom Tartlets, Apple Hand Pie or Cheese Straws?

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Why should you try it?
Ingredients needed
How to make a cheese and onion pasty - Step by step
Tips and tricks
Frequently Asked Questions
More cheese recipes
Recipe
Feedback

Why should you try it?

Comforting - A homemade pasty is super comforting and just proves that comfort food doesn't have to be complicated.
Cheaper - I think I practically survived on a trip to Greggs for a cheese and onion pasty when I was at university! There was one right next to campus, so it was easy to just grab on the way into class. Now, if I had been making my own back then, I would have saved myself a lot of money. It's much cheaper to make yourself, as they are all fairly budget friendly ingredients.
Adaptable - Use this cheese and onion pasty recipe as a base and then adapt with extra additions like we have suggested below.
Healthier - Now, I am not going to convince you that these are healthy at all. Pastry and cheese is never going to be the most nutrient dense ingredients. However, you only have to look at the ingredients of the Greggs cheese and onion pasty to see that the ingredients list is HUGE! These are homemade, with no weird ingredients or fillers and additives.

Ingredients needed

Puff pastry - Not sure what pastry is used for a pasty? Well, it's puff pastry in this case! Golden and flakey, it literally melts in your mouth.
Potato - Now, Greggs cheese and onion pasty doesn't have chunks of potato in it like ours does (just some potato flakes for binding), but that is what makes ours better in my opinion. It makes it more filling and comforting. Make sure to dice the potato really small, so that they are cooked all the way through.
Onion - Loads of flavour in the pasty comes from the onion. You could use shallots instead, which would have a sweeter flavour.
Cheese - Cheese makes the best pasty filling in my opinion. Pastry and cheese - what is more comforting than that? We have used a matured cheddar, because it has such a strong flavour, and a little goes a long way.
Egg - This helps to bind all the mixture together.
Mustard - This is our (not so) secret ingredient. Some Dijon mustard just makes this cheese and onion pasty even better. You could use wholegrain or English mustard if you prefer. If you want a different flavour addition that also goes really well with cheese, then add some marmite. Don't hate on marmite, it's delicious!

A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.

How to make a cheese and onion pasty - Step by step

One: Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°/Gas 6. Put the potato, onion, egg, cheese and mustard into a bowl and mix well.

Potato, onion, cheese, egg and mustard in a bowl, then mixed together.

Two: Cut the pastry into 8 equal sized squares/rectangles. Put 4 of the pastry squares onto a lined baking tray. Divide the cheese and onion mixture between the 4 pastry squares.

Two shot collage of four rectangles of pastry, then with them all topped with filling.

Three: Place the remaining pastry squares over the cheese and onion mixture and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Brush with egg wash and make a small incision in the top of the pastry.

Pastry rectangles placed on top of the first ones, then crimped and egg washed.

Four: Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Four golden brown cheese and onion pasties on a baking tray.

Tips and tricks

Don't take the pastry out of the fridge too soon, as depending on how hot your kitchen is, the pastry might get too warm and it's difficult to work with. Take it out only about 10 minutes before you need to, so it isn't too cold either, as that will cause it to crack.
The key to making these is not over stuffing the pastry, as they won't seal very well.
You can make mini cheese and onion pasties by halving the rectangles of pastry and just making more. They are quite high in calories, so this is a good way to go if you want to make them lower in calories. These are great for party food too.
Bacon makes everything better, so why not add some chopped bacon into the mixture? You could also add chopped ham for added protein.
If you want to make a cheese and onion pasty without potato, then you can definitely do that. You might need to add a bit more filling into each pastry parcel though.
You can add some fresh parsley to lighten it up a little bit.
Make sure to generously season the mixture with salt and pepper.
Don't forget to make the little incision at the top of the pastry before putting them in the oven. These are steam holes and they stop the pastry from getting soggy inside. If you want to make them look more like a Greggs pasty, then add 3 small arrow shapes for the steam holes. But you don't need to be that "fancy".
To make a vegan cheese and onion pasty, make sure you use vegan pastry and cheese and skip the egg wash.
Be careful when eating, as the filling will be piping hot!

Two hands pulling apart a cheese and onion pasty showing the filling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to cook the potatoes first?

No, there is no need to cook the potatoes first, as the cook time in the oven is enough to make sure that the potato is cooked all the way through. Just make sure that the potato is diced very small. If the chunks are too big, then they will still be hard. If you wanted to add more flavour to the potato, then you could fry it in a little butter before adding to the cheese and onion mix, but that just adds to the prep time. It does give the potato a nice crunch though.

Can you make cheese and onion pasty with shortcrust pastry?

Yes, you technically could but we much prefer the results of using puff pastry, which is what you will get with a Greggs cheese and onion pasty. Shortcrust pastry makes it a bit too heavy, whereas puff pastry it light and flakey.

How to store cheese and onion pasty.

Allow them to completely cool and then you can store them in an air tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. You can also freeze them by putting a bit of parchment paper between each one and then storing in a freezer bag. They will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. If you do plan to freeze some, then freeze them before cooking and then defrost, egg wash and bake.

How to reheat a cheese and onion pasty?

Make sure that they are fully defrosted (in the fridge overnight) and then you can put them in the oven at 180°C/350°/F/Gas 4 until they get crispy again and are hot all the way through. You could also reheat them in an air fryer at 180°C for 3-4 minutes. You can also eat these cold, which is what we do when we make mini versions to take on picnics. Our kids LOVE them.

Can I make them in advance?

These are best baked and eaten straight away, however you could make them in advance to save some time. Make them and put them on a baking tray, but don't add the egg wash. Put them in the fridge and then take them out about 30 minutes before you want to cook them to make sure they are not really cold in the middle and so they cook evenly. You can then egg wash and put in the oven.

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If you’ve tried this cheese and onion pasty recipe, or any other recipe on the blog, then let us know how you got on in the comments below - we love hearing from you!
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