If you’ve never heard the word levylihapiirakka before, don’t worry – most people outside Finland haven’t. But the idea itself is very familiar: a soft, golden slab of yeast dough baked on a tray, filled with a cosy mixture of ground beef, rice, onion and gentle spices, then cut into chunky squares that feed a crowd.
Think of it as a Nordic slab meat pie – practical, hearty and very, very comforting.
In Finnish, lihapiirakka literally means “meat pie,” and most people first meet it as deep-fried street food sold at kiosks and gas stations, stuffed with minced meat and rice. But there’s also this oven-baked, tray version – levylihapiirakka or peltilihapiirakka – that belongs firmly in the world of home cooking, family gatherings and retro 70s casserole vibes.
This is that one.
What Is Levylihapiirakka?
Short answer for non-Finns:
Levylihapiirakka = Finnish oven-baked slab meat pie with beef and rice.
Longer answer:
- Levy = slab or sheet
- Liha = meat
- Piirakka = pie / pastry
So you roll out a soft yeast dough, spread over a savoury filling made from ground beef, rice, onion, leek and warm spices like allspice and black pepper, cover it with another layer of dough and bake the whole thing as a big sheet pie.
Traditionally, the filling is very humble: minced meat, cooked rice and onion. Over the decades you see small twists – leeks, boiled egg, stock, a bit of cream or sour cream, sometimes cheese on top – but the core idea stays the same.
You then cut the baked pie into squares or slices, which makes it:
- easy to portion
- easy to pack into lunch boxes
- easy to disappear mysteriously from the fridge
Origins & Traditions: Retro Tray Bake Energy
Levylihapiirakka sits right in the middle of Finnish everyday cooking and party food. Recipes for large, tray-baked meat pies have been around since at least the late 1800s, evolving alongside the more famous deep-fried meat pies sold as street food.
The logic behind it is pure Finnish practicality:
- Use affordable ingredients: flour, milk, yeast, rice, minced meat, onion.
- Turn them into something that feeds a lot of people.
- Make it in a single tray so you don’t have to shape a hundred individual pies.
As ovens, sheet pans and electric stoves became standard in Finnish homes, the tray-baked version was a natural step: instead of frying individual pastries in fat (like kiosk lihapiirakka), home cooks could press the dough into a baking tray, spread over the filling, cover it and bake. One bake, many portions.
Because it’s so easy to cut and carry, levylihapiirakka quickly became classic crowd food:
- family gatherings and birthdays
- school, church and sports club coffee tables
- casual Friday evenings with a big salad on the side
- picnic baskets and lunch boxes
It’s one of those dishes that feels slightly retro in the best possible way – the kind of thing your friend’s mum would pull out of the oven in the 80s – yet it still fits modern life perfectly: cheap, filling, freezer-friendly and meal-prep-friendly.
Ingredients & Key Flavours
What makes levylihapiirakka so comforting isn’t anything fancy – it’s the balance of soft bread and savoury, mildly spiced filling.
The dough
- milk
- butter
- fresh yeast (or instant yeast)
- flour
- a little honey or sugar
- salt
This gives you a soft, slightly enriched bread dough that bakes up tender, not flaky like puff pastry.
The filling
- short-grain or medium-grain rice, cooked in beef stock for extra flavour
- ground beef
- onion and leek (or just onion if you prefer)
- egg, to bind
- salt, black pepper and allspice
Allspice and black pepper are key to that recognisably Finnish flavour – they show up in meatloaf, cabbage casseroles and many other classic dishes too.
Slab Meat Pie
Ingredients
Method
- Prepare the dough. Warm the milk to about 37 °C/98 °F, crumble in the fresh yeast and stir until dissolved. Add salt, honey and flour, then knead in the softened butter until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise in a warm place for roughly 40 minutes.
- Cook the rice. Rinse the rice and simmer it in beef broth until tender. Drain any excess liquid and let the rice cool to room temperature.
- Make the filling. Finely chop the leek and onion and sauté them in oil until softened. Brown the ground beef until nicely caramelised, then stir the sautéed vegetables back in and combine with the cooked rice. Season with salt, pepper and allspice and mix in one egg to bind the filling. Allow the filling to cool completely.
- Roll out and assemble. Divide the risen dough in half. Roll one half on parchment to the size of your baking tray (about 28×38 cm) and transfer it to the tray. Spread the cooled filling evenly over the base, leaving a 1.5 cm border around the edges. Roll the second half of the dough to the same size and carefully drape it over the filling. Brush the edges with water, then press to seal and crimp with a fork
- Bake. Beat the second egg and brush it over the top crust. Pierce several small holes to allow steam to escape, then bake at 225 °C (437 °F) for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Let the pie cool slightly before cutting into squares.
- Cool the filling: A hot filling melts the butter in the dough and makes the crust greasy. Allowing the rice–meat mixture to cool to room temperature prevents a soggy bottom.
- Make ahead: You can prepare both the filling and the dough a day in advance and refrigerate them separately. Assemble and bake when needed.
- Use what you have: Many Finnish families add hard‑boiled eggs or mascarpone to the filling. You can replace part of the beef with sautéed mushrooms or grated root vegetables for a lighter version, or swap in salmon chunks to make a fish pie.
- Ready‑made pastry: When time is short, ready‑rolled puff pastry can replace the yeast dough—just be sure to seal the edges well to prevent leakage.
- Other Finnish meat pies: Don’t confuse levylihapiirakka with the deep‑fried lihapiirakka sold at kiosks, which are made from doughnut dough and filled with minced meat and rice. Those smaller pies have regional variations such as atomi and vety, which include ham or egg.
Variations & Modern Twists
Once you’ve made the classic version, it’s very tempting to start playing around:
- Cheesy top
Sprinkle grated cheese (like mild cheddar or swiss) and sesame seeds over the egg wash before baking for a slightly more modern, gratinéed surface. - Boiled eggs in the filling
Some older recipes add finely chopped hard-boiled eggs to the beef–rice mixture for extra richness and texture. - More veg
Add finely grated carrot or celery, or swap part of the beef for sautéed mushrooms to make it a bit lighter (or to stretch the meat further). - Shortcut dough
In a hurry? You can use store-bought puff pastry or ready-rolled yeast dough. The texture will be different (flakier and richer), but still delicious. - Different meats
Try mixing in pork, game or even leftover roast meat – the rice and spice mix is very forgiving.
How to Serve Levylihapiirakka
Traditionally, deep-fried lihapiirakka is often eaten with ketchup, mustard and pickled cucumber, sometimes sliced open and stuffed with a sausage or kebab meat.
The oven-baked slab version, however, usually behaves more like a tray bake or casserole:
- Serve warm or at room temperature with a crisp green salad and maybe some pickled cucumber on the side.
- Pack cold slices into lunch boxes with raw veggies and a little dipping sauce.
- Take it along on road trips or picnics – it travels well and doesn’t mind being eaten without cutlery.
Storage & Meal Prep
Levylihapiirakka is absolutely made for planning ahead:
- Fridge
Store cooled slices in an airtight container for up to 3–4 days. Reheat in the oven at 175°C (350°F) for 10–15 minutes, or in an air fryer until warmed through. - Freezer
Freeze in portions. Wrap slices well (or place parchment between pieces) and freeze for up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as above. - Meal-prep idea
Bake one tray on Sunday, cut into 12–15 squares and you’ve suddenly sorted several days of lunches or easy dinners with just a side salad to throw together.