Walnut-Citrus Tuna Hand Pies

Name: Walnut-Citrus Tuna Hand Pies
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature); ¼ cup finely chopped red onion; 3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts; 3 tablespoons finely chopped celery; 2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper; 1½ teaspoons butter; 2 tablespoons orange juice; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (or ½ teaspoon dried dill); 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest (or lemon zest); ½ teaspoon garlic salt; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon white pepper (or pepper); 5½ - 6 ounces albacore tuna (well drained ); 1 large egg white; 1 tablespoon cold water; Store-bought refrigerated pie crust (like Pillsbury); Your favorite pie crust recipe; ½ batch Herbed Pie Crust (omit the sage and thyme and substitute in a little dill and lemon zest! )

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These savory Walnut-Citrus Tuna Hand Pies are easy to make, super-tasty, and can be enjoyed warm or cold. Naturally portable, they're perfect for a school lunch, quick meal, or afternoon picnic.

Two tuna hand pies on plate, garnished with orange slices.

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Why You Will Love this Recipe
What Goes into this Recipe
How to Make this Recipe
Serving Suggestions
FAQs & Expert Tips
Related Recipes
Walnut-Citrus Tuna Hand Pies

Why You Will Love this Recipe

These savory tuna turnovers are just the thing when you want something special for your next sack lunch. Citrusy notes from orange and lemon complement and enhance the tuna flavor, and walnuts add both texture and rich flavor.

These little pillows of deliciousness are fast, easy to make, just the right size, and easily portable. Once baked and refrigerated, tuna hand pies have the same "out of fridge" sack-lunch life as a standard tuna sandwich (about 2 hours). Not only are they tasty and filling, but they also provide a healthy, solid source of protein and energy to get you through the day.

What Goes into this Recipe

One of the great things about this hand pie recipe is how flexible the ingredient list is.

Tuna hand pie ingredients: cream cheese, red pepper, walnuts, tuna, lemon zest, onion, celery, dill, and butter. (Not pictured: Orange juice)

OOPS! You may notice that the orange juice in the recipe ingredient list is missing from this picture. I forgot to put it on the tray.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Cream Cheese: We like to use flavored cream cheese sometimes. An herb and chive cream cheese blend is particularly good.

Fresh Dill: Dried dill weed works just fine.

Red Pepper: Use any sweet pepper; orange, yellow, red, or even green.

Red Onion: Just about any onion will work, including scallions.

Lemon Zest: Orange zest adds a sweeter undertone that really brightens the tuna flavors.

Walnuts: Sub in your favorite nuts.

How to Make this Recipe

Mix Pie Filling

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat.

Add the chopped vegetables - onion, celery, and peppers - and the chopped walnuts and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Vegetables and walnuts sautéing in small skillet.

In a medium bowl, combine sautéed vegetable mixture, fresh dill, zest, orange juice, salt, garlic powder, and white pepper.

The warm vegetable mix will melt the cream cheese, making it easy to incorporate into the mix. Stir until mixture is fully combined.

Cream cheese and sauteed vegetables, unmixed in glass bowl.

Add tuna to the vegetable-cream cheese mixture and stir just enough to combine. You could add the tuna in the previous step with everything else, but if you add it at this point, it will maintain its "tuna texture" better.

Now - taste the filling! (Do not skip this step!)

Does it need a little more salt or pepper? How about a shake of lemon pepper? This is where you can tune the seasonings to your own tastes.

Form & Bake Pies

Once you have the filling mixed up to your satisfaction, it's time to roll out the pastry dough and make hand pies!

Roll out pastry dough about one-eight of an inch thick (about as thick as two quarters). It is important to not roll the dough too thin, or the the tuna filling will bleed through.

Cut four 6-inch or 7-inch pastry circles, and put a heaping ¼ cup of filling in the center of each circle.

Hand pies formed, ready to bake, on parchment on old baking pan.

Use your finger to lightly wet one side of each circle, and then fold the pastry in half, sealing and crimping edges with your fingers or the tines of a fork.

Cut a couple of vent holes in the top of each hand pie. If you are feeling extra creative, you can decorate the tops of the pies with some of the leftover pastry dough. (FYI: I cut the fish "bubbles" with the end of a drinking straw.)

In a small bowl, whisk the egg white together with 1 tablespoon cold water. Brush the tops of the prepared hand pies with the egg white mixture right before you put them into the oven.

Bake prepared hand pies in a preheated 425°F | 218°C oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Tuna hand pies may be eaten immediately (let them cool first!) or refrigerated for up to one week.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with orange slices on the side. We like to drizzle the hand pies with a little fresh OJ when we eat them!

Pair these Citrus-Walnut Tuna Hand Pies with our Armenian-style Eggplant & Carrot Salad or Moroccan Carrot Salad with Harissa, Feta & Fresh Herbs for a healthy, delicious, satisfying meal!

Close-up of tuna pie on plate with salad greens.

FAQs & Expert Tips

Is there an easy way to cut hand pies?

You can use a good old pastry cutter, but I like to use a nifty little pocket pie maker for cutting and sealing my hand pies. The bottom of cuts the pastry into perfect circles, and then the crimper folds and seals them!

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5 from 8 votes

These tasty, easy-to-make Walnut-Citrus Tuna Hand Pies are filled with a creamy, delicious tuna filling; perfectly portable for an on-the-go snack or light meal.

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Course: Lunch, Main, Snacks

Cuisine: American

Prep Time:25 minutes

Cook Time:30 minutes

Total Time:55 minutes

Servings: pocket pies

Calories: 274kcal

Author: Renee

Equipment

1 Pocket Pie Crimper

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
1½ teaspoons butter
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or ½ teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest or lemon zest
½ teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon white pepper or pepper
5½ - 6 ounces albacore tuna well drained
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon cold water

Pastry (enough for 9” pie) - Choose 1 Option:

Store-bought refrigerated pie crust like Pillsbury
Your favorite pie crust recipe
½ batch Herbed Pie Crust omit the sage and thyme and substitute in a little dill and lemon zest!

Instructions

Gather and prep ingredients.
Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat.
Add the chopped pepper, celery, onion and walnuts.
Sauté mixture for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, combine sautéed vegetable mixture, fresh dill, lemon or orange zest, orange juice, salt, garlic powder, and white pepper.
Stir until mixture is fully combined.
Add tuna to the vegetable-cream cheese mixture and stir just enough to combine.
Season filling to taste. (Everything in filling is fully cooked.)
Roll out pastry dough about one-eight of an inch thick (about as thick as two quarters). It is important to not roll the dough too thin, or the the tuna filling will bleed through.
Cut four 6-inch or 7-inch pastry circles, and put a heaping ¼ cup of filling in the center of each circle.
Use your finger to lightly wet one side of each circle, and then fold the pastry in half, sealing and crimping edges with your fingers or the tines of a fork.
Cut a couple of vent holes in the top of each hand pie.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg white together with 1 tablespoon cold water.
Brush the tops of the prepared hand pies with the egg white mixture right before you put them into the oven.
Bake prepared hand pies in a preheated 425°F [218°C] oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Notes

Tuna hand pies may be eaten immediately (let them cool first!) or refrigerated for up to one week.

Nutrition

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.

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Originally published September 4, 2014