Italian Easter Pie A Meat Filled Pizza Ripiena

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Easter is a time of celebration, reflection, and traditions in my household and I know the same can be said for many others too. Of course, being Italian myself, I couldn’t think of a better way to enjoy Easter Saturday than with a slice of my family’s recipe for Italian Easter Meat Pie.

This traditional Italian Easter Pie is also known as “Pizza Rustica” yet despite what it sounds like, it’s certainly not a pizza that I’ll be walking you through below! Instead, you’ll get to make a scrumptious homemade pie from scratch including the pie dough and pie filling consisting of various meats, cheeses and eggs.

Serve this Italian Easter Meat Pie with your favorite side of veggies or salad.

Italian Easter meat pie with a cut slice taken out. — Not only is the meat and cheese studded Pizza rustica slice delicious to eat, it's beautiful to look at.

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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
🛒 Ingredients
🗒 Instructions
🔪 Equipment
🤔 FAQs
👩🏻‍🍳 Tips
📚 Variations
🥫 Storage
📗 Related Recipes
🍽 Serve with
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
📝 Recipe Card
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

It’s a sure way to experience a traditional Easter dinner Italian-style! If you want to impress your guests this Easter then this pizza rustica is the way to go.
Pizza rustica can easily be adapted by simple pie filling variations. I’ve included some great ways that you can adapt this pie to suit your taste preferences.
This Italian Easter Meat Pie recipe makes 2 whole pies that can feed a crowd of 20! This is great if you’re planning on hosting a large holiday celebration over the Easter weekend.

Pizza rustica is one of my all-time favorite recipes to make for Easter and I know you’ll love it too!

🛒 Ingredients

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Note: The full list of this Traditional Italian Easter Meat Pie recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.

🗒 Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the Pizza Rustica recipe card below.

Collage of 1st 4 steps to meat pie recipe.

Gather the pizza dough ingredients
Start combining the pizza dough ingredients into a large bowl.
Mix until a soft, smooth dough is formed.
Let the dough sit in a lightly greased bowl, covered, for 1-2 hours, until it's not quite doubled in bulk.

Second set of step to making Easter meat pie.

In another bowl, stir together the ebbs, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.
Make sure it is well incorporated.
Add in the ham, salami, and pepperoni.
Stir well. Then divide the filling in half and refrigerate.

Third set of four steps to making Pizza rustica.

Gather the dough together with a rolling pin and some flour to sprinkle on the surface.
Gently deflate the dough.
Divide the dough into four pieces, two of them being slightly larger for the bottom crusts.
Place one of the larger pieces of dough on a lightly greased silicone rolling mat, or lightly floured work surface and roll into a circle. Leave it for 5 minutes and then roll it again.

Fourth step collage of pizza rustica recipe.

Drape the dough into the and line the bottom crust with half the prosciutto slices. Spoon half the filling on top.
Halve the pie filling into two separate containers.
Add the pie filling to the one pie.
Cover the pie with the rolled out top crust dough.

Collage of fifth steps for Easter meat pie.

Seal the seams of the pie dough bottom and top together.
Put your first assembled pie aside and assemble the second pie.
Cut a small circle in the center of the top crust of each pie to allow steam to escape.
Place both pies on a parchment lined baking tray and bake.

Two baked PIzzagainas on a cookie sheet. — The pizzagaina dough turns out a beautiful golden brown and the meat-egg-cheese filling is cooked perfectly.

🔪 Equipment

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You’ll need the following items to make this Pizza Rustica recipe successfully.

2 Pie plates
Stand Mixer
Rising Bucket
Kitchen Scale -- not necessary but makes measuring easier and accurate.
Dry Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Liquid Measuring cups

🤔 FAQs

These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making the Pizza Ripiena Recipe.

What is traditional Italian Easter dinner

While this depends on the region and family traditions, a traditional Italian Easter dinner will almost always involve a bowl of soup, a salad, risotto, pasta, and lamb with favorite vegetables.

The dinner is best enjoyed alongside quality wine while you prepare yourself for a decadent dessert, coffee, and a little liqueur as a nightcap.

What is Easter pie made of?

This Italian Easter Meat Pie has many pie filling variations depending on the region of Italy but my homemade pizza rustica includes the classic ingredients of eggs, various cheeses, and meat such as ham, prosciutto, pepperoni, and salami.

The filling sits on a simple flour pie crust made from scratch, sealed in with a crust topping that becomes golden brown once baked.

What can I use instead of basket cheese?

If you can’t find basket cheese then a great alternative is either Greek feta or salted ricotta cheese (known as “feta Salata”).

How do you reheat pizza rustica?

Reheat any leftovers by placing it uncovered in the oven at 350F until heated through.

👩🏻‍🍳 Tips

It’s important to let your freshly baked pies rest for at least 1 hour (preferable 2 hours) before cutting.
I like making use of a baking sheet as it’s then much easier to transport the pies in and out of the oven. The parchment paper is also very handy for catching any spills while the pies bake. If you don’t have a large enough sheet, simply use 2 smaller sheets of paper that you can overlap.
I make these Italian Easter meat pies specifically for Easter Saturday but you could certainly use this recipe as a way to use up any leftover holiday ham for a hearty family meal in the days that follow.
Making the crust and filling a day in advance is a great way to save on recipe preparation time. Make sure that you store both the dough and the filling in the refrigerator, rolling the dough out and baking just prior to serving.
Since this pizza rustica needs to sit for at least 1-2 hours after baking, it’s ideal to make the day before and reheat just prior to serving.

Pizza ripiena sliced into portions. — It's best to make the pizza rustica ahead of time so that the filling settles and you can cut it perfectly.

📚 Variations

Some recipes for pizza rustica add a squeeze of lemon juice into the buttery pie dough as a way to balance out the rich ingredients in the dough and the filling. While I haven’t done so in my version of this Italian Easter Meat Pie, you are more than welcome to try it.
You can omit the eggs and simply make a meat and cheese Easter pie. This variation is referred to as Pizza Giana (Giana meaning “God is gracious”).
Another well known variation to this Italian Easter pie is the inclusion of greens in addition to the eggs, cheese, and meat. This pie is known as Torte Pasqualina.
You can easily halve the ingredients in this recipe if you only intend to make one pie or freeze the second pie (unbaked) for a delicious family meal later on.

🥫 Storage

Store leftover Italian Easter Meat Pie wrapped tightly with plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Reheat in the oven until heated through.

You also have the option of freezing your pizza rustica (baked or unbaked) by wrapping it tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, for up to 6 months.

If you’re on the hunt for more recipes to make this Easter extra special, be sure to check out my fork-tender Roast Boneless Leg Of Lamb, Balsamic Glazed Lamb Chops, Spicy Bacon-Wrapped Grilled Pork Roast, And Lamb Ravioli With Brown Butter Sauce. All of these are excellent options for hosting an Easter dinner to remember!

A forkful of Pizzagaina with the serving in the background. — Every bite of the pizzagaina is meat filled. We hope for leftovers so that we can enjoy the pie on Pasqualina (Monday after Easter).

🍽 Serve with

This Italian Easter Meat Pie can be served with a variety of your favorite vegetable dishes such as Potatoes Au Gratin or Italian Balsamic Roasted Sugar Snap Peas.

In addition to that, you can’t go wrong by adding this very festive Italian Easter Bread With Colored Eggs to the menu!

📞 Chiacchierata (chat)

Like many households, traditional meals during specific holidays create unique and cherished memories that last a lifetime with recipe notes and tips passed on from generation to generation.

In my home, this Italian Easter Meat Pie, otherwise fondly known as pizza rustica, is always part of our Easter celebrations - prepared in time to be enjoyed on Easter saturday for dinner.

While the term “pizza rustica” may lead you to believe that you’re about to see a recipe for traditional pizza, it’s anything but that. Instead, you’ll learn how to make a traditional Italian Easter Meat Pie, loaded with various cheeses and meats, with a melt-in-your-mouth dough crust and pie topping.

Close up slice of Pizza Rustica. — Pizzagaina, pizza rustica, pizza ripiena, no matter what you want to call it, it's delicious!

What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.

📝 Recipe Card

Italian Easter Meat Pie, aka pizza rustica, pizza ripiena or pizzagaina is a traditional Italian pie recipe specifically enjoyed during the Easter weekend for dinner. It’s loaded with a meaty cheese and egg filling and a delicious pizza dough crust bottom and top. We always hope for leftovers so we can enjoy it as a Torta Pasqualina which Pasqualina is Easter Monday.

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

📖 Recipe

Casatiello, an Italian Easter Bread slice on a plate.

Traditional Italian Easter Meat Pie A Meat Filled Pizza Rustica

Enjoy a slice of this Italian Easter Meat Pie for your Easter celebrations. It’s loaded with a meaty cheese and egg filling with a homemade pie dough crust bottom and top. A traditional Easter meal that won’t disappoint!

Yields 2 9" pies

5 from 16 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: artisan bread, Breakfast, holiday main dish, Lunch Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 40

Cook Time: 1 20

Rising Time: 1

Total Time: 3

Servings: servings

Calories: 408kcal

Author: Marisa Franca @ All Our Way

As An Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Equipment Needed

Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer
See-through rising bucket
Digital Kitchen Scale optional but very helpful for accuracy.
Dry measuring cups
Measuring Spoons
Liquid measuring cup
2 Pie pans - 9-inch

Ingredients

Crust

4 ¾ cups Unbleached all-purpose flour 567 grams
2 teaspoons Kosher salt 12 grams
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 Tablespoons Granulaed sugar 25 grams
¼ cup Olive oil 50 grams
1 ½ cups Water, warm 340 grams

Filling

6 Eggs, large
4 cups Ricotta cheese, part-skim 907 grams
2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded 227 grams
1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated 99 grams
½ teaspoon Black pepper, coarsely ground
2 cups Ham, diced into ½-inch cubes 227 grams
2 cups Genoa salami, diced into ½-inch cubes 227 grams
2 cups Pepperoni, diced into ½-inch cubes 227 grams
8-10 slices Prosciutto, very thinly sliced 113 grams
Olive oil for brushing on the crust

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Instructions

Pizza dough

Mix all of the dough ingredients until you've made a soft, smooth dough. You can do this my hand, mixer, or in a bread machine.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow it to rise for 1 to 2 hours, until it's not quite doubled in bulk.

The filling

While the dough is rising, stir together the ebbs, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, slat, and pepper.
Stir in the ham, salami, and pepperoni.
Divide the filling in half (each about 4 ½ cups, (36 ounces, 1020grams), and refrigerate.
Preheat the oven to 325℉ (162.778℃). Have ready two 9"pie pans.
Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into four pieces. Two of the pieces will be bottom crusts, and should be just slightly larger than the other two pieces.
Place one of the larger pieces of dough on a lightly greased silicone rolling mat, or lightly greased work surface. Roll itinto a circle that's about 16" in diameter; go away for 5 minutes, then come back; the circle will probably have shrunk.
Roll it out again, and drape it into the pie plate, anchoring the edges to the pan by folding them underneath the rim; you don't want it shrinking down the sides of the pan while you're rolling the other crust.
Roll one of the smaller pieces of dough the same way you did the larger, giving it time to shrink and then rolling again, if necessary.
Line the bottom crust with half the prosciutto slices. Spoon half the filling on top.
Drape the top crust over the filling, and bring the edge of the bottom crust up over the edge of the top crust, sealing the two together and smoothing them as best you can.
Cut a 1"inch circle in the center of the top crust, to allow steam to escape. Make another pie with the remaining dough and filling.
Place both pies on a large, parchment-lined baking sheet; if you don't have a bit enough sheet, use two. The baking sheet makes it easier to transport pies in and out of the oven, and parchment will catch and spills.
Bake the pies for 80 minutes, until they're a light golden brown.
Five minutes before the end of the baking time, remove them fro the oven, brush or spray with olive oil, and return to the oven; this will give the crust a nice glow.
Remove the pies from the oven, and let them rest for at least 1 hour (preferable 2 hours) before cutting. Serve warm, or at room temperature.
Don't serve until Easter Saturday!
Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 4 days.

Notes

Some recipes for pizza rustica add a squeeze of lemon juice into the buttery pie dough as a way to balance out the rich ingredients in the dough and the filling. While I haven’t done so in my version of this Italian Easter Meat Pie, you are more than welcome to try it.
You can omit the eggs and simply make a meat and cheese Easter pie. This variation is referred to as Pizza Giana (Giana meaning “God is gracious”).
Another well known variation to this Italian Easter pie is the inclusion of greens in addition to the eggs, cheese, and meat. This pie is known as Torte Pasqualina.
You can easily halve the ingredients in this recipe if you only intend to make one pie or freeze the second pie (unbaked) for a delicious family meal later on.

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