Pies are defined by their crusts. A filled pie (also single-crust or bottom-crust or tart), has pastry lining the baking dish, and the filling is placed on top of the pastry but left open. A top-crust pie has the filling in the bottom of the dish and is covered with a pastry or other covering before baking. A two-crust pie has the filling completely enclosed in the pastry shell. Shortcrust pastry is a typical kind of pastry used for pie crusts, but many things can be used, including baking powder biscuits, mashed potatoes, and crumbs. Pies can be a variety of sizes, ranging from bite-size to those designed for multiple servings.

The origin of the English word 'pie' is actually rather mysterious. The first known use of the word 'pie' appears in 1303 in the expense accounts of the Bolton Priory in Yorkshire. However, the Oxford English Dictionary is uncertain to its origin and says 'no further related word is known outside English'. A possible origin is that the word 'pie' is connected with a word used in farming to indicate 'a collection of things made into a heap', for example a heap of potatoes covered with earth. One source of the word "pie" may be the magpie, a "bird known for collecting odds and ends in its nest"; the connection could be that Medieval pies also contained many different animal meats, including chickens, crows, pigeons and rabbits. One 1450 recipe for “grete pyes” that might support the "magpie" etymology contained what Charles Perry called "odds and ends", including: "...beef, beef suet, capons, hens, both mallard and teal ducks, rabbits, woodcocks and large birds such as herons and storks, plus beef marrow, hard-cooked egg yolks, dates, raisins and prunes".

Historically, early pies were in the form of flat, round or freeform crusty cakes (represented by modern galettes) consisting of a crust of ground oats, wheat, rye, or barley containing honey inside. These galettes developed into a form of early sweet pastry or desserts, evidence of which can be found on the tomb walls of the Pharaoh Ramesses II, who ruled from 1304 to 1237 BC, located in the Valley of the Kings. Sometime before 2000 BC, a recipe for chicken pie was written on a tablet in Sumer.

The Romans made a plain pastry of flour, oil, and water to cover meats and fowls which were baked, thus keeping in the juices. However, these were more like the practice of clay baking, where the covering was meant to protect the goods baked inside from the direct heat or the fire and the pastry cover was intended to be discarded and not eaten. This was also the common practice in the early modern period and persists for the cooking of fish even today. It should be noted, however that the 1st-century Roman cookbook Apicius (De Re Coquinaria) makes various mentions of recipes which involve a pie case. By 160 BC, Roman statesman Marcus Porcius Cato (234–149 BC), who wrote De Agri Cultura, notes the recipe for the most popular pie/cake called placenta.

In the early Medieval period the earliest pie doughs were probably an inedible, stiff mixture of rye flour and water. The earliest pie recipes refer to coffyns (the word actually used for a basket or box), with straight sealed sides and a top; open-top pies were called traps. Until the mid-16th century this British pie dough known as "coffyn" was used as a baking dish. These pies were meant to be eaten with the hands. The hardened coffyn pastry was not necessarily eaten, its function being to contain the filling for baking, and to extend its shelf-life. Indeed, the thick crust was so sturdy it had to be cracked open to get to the filling.

The first unequivocal reference to pie in a written source is in the 14th century (Oxford English Dictionary sb pie). The eating of mince pies during festive periods is a tradition that dates back to the 13th century, as the returning Crusaders brought pie recipes containing "meats, fruits and spices". Some pies contained cooked rabbits, frogs, crows, and pigeons. In 1390, the English cookbook A Forme of Cury had a recipe for “tartes of flesh”, which included a ground-up mixture of "pork, hard-boiled eggs, and cheese" blended with "spices, saffron, and sugar". The "coffyn" dough for the 14th-century apple pie recipe from the The Forme of Cury was probably a simple mix of water and whatever flour was available in late middle ages. The recipe included spices, apples, raisins pears and figs. The 14th-century French chef Taillevent instructed bakers to "crenelate" pie shells and "reinforce them so that they can support the meat"; one of his pies was high enough that it resembled a model of a castle, an illusion enhanced by miniature banners for the nobles at the event.

Until the start of the 15th century, most pies were expected to contain meat or fish. In the 15th century, more custard and fruit pie recipes began appearing, often with apples and figs and dried fruit like dates and raisins. Fresh fruit did not become widely used until sugar dropped in price during the 16th century. The first cherry pie is recorded in the late 16th century, when Queen Elizabeth I was served cherry pie. Elizabeth was often given gifts of quince or pear pies for New Year.

It was in the 16th century that a puff paste began to be used to make flakier pie crusts. In Gervase Markham's 1615 book The English Huswife, there is a recipe for puff paste where the paste is kneaded, rolled thinly many times while layering with butter. This made a flaky butter pastry to cover meat for pies or for tarts. There is also a pie recipe that calls for "an entire leg of mutton and three pounds of suet..., along with salt, cloves, mace, currants, raisins, prunes, dates, and orange peel", which made a huge pie that could serve a large group. According to Markham, crusts made with fine wheat flour required the addition of eggs to be sturdy enough for raised pies.

In the Georgian era, sweetened pies of meat and dried fruits began to become less popular. In recipe books of the period sweet veal, sweet lamb or sweet chicken pies are given alongside recipes for unsweetened alternatives with the same ingredients made for those who could "no longer stomach the sweetened flesh meats enjoyed by earlier generations". Pumpkin pie was fashionable in England from the 1650s onward, then fell out of favour during the 18th century. Pumpkin was sliced, fried with sweet herbs sweetened with sugar and eggs were added. This was put into a pastry case with currants and apples. Pumpkin pie was introduced to America by early colonists where it became a national dish.

In 1806 Mrs Rundell in her Observations on Savoury Pies in A New System of Domestic Cookery stated that 'There are few articles of cookery more generally liked than relishing pies, if properly made'. Alexis Soyer, a celebrity cook of the 19th century said in his book Shilling Cookery for the People (1860) "From childhood we eat pies - from girlhood to boyhood we eat pies - in fact, pies in England may be considered as one of our best companions du voyage through life. It is we who leave them behind, not they who leave us; for our children and grandchildren will be as fond of pies as we have been; therefore it is needful that we should learn how to make them, and make them well! Believe me, I am not jesting, but if all the spoilt pies made in London on one single Sunday were to be exhibited in a row beside a railway line, it would take above an hour by special train to pass in review these culinary victims".

The alphabetical list of all the pie recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 574 recipes in total:

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Conger Pie      Origin: Britain	Dulse Quiche      Origin: Britain	Fruit Risshews      Origin: England
Corn Flakes Pie or Cheesecake Crust      Origin: Britain	Dundee Mince Pie      Origin: Scotland	Fruit Risshews      Origin: England
Cornish Charter Pie      Origin: England	Dwmplinau Afal (Apple Dumplings)      Origin: Welsh	Galette joinville (Joinville Pie)      Origin: France
Cornish Crab Sandwich      Origin: Britain	Ecclefechan Butter Tart      Origin: Scotland	Gambian Meat Pie      Origin: Gambia
Cornish Cutting Pie      Origin: England	Egg Roll Wrappers      Origin: Mauritius	Gebackene Quarktorte (Baked Quark cake)      Origin: Switzerland
Cornish Fish Pie      Origin: England	Elderflower Tart      Origin: British	Ghagina tal-Isfoll (Pastizzi Dough)      Origin: Malta
Cornish King Scallops and Black Pudding      Origin: Canada	Empadãi de Queijo (Cheese Pie)      Origin: Brazil	Ghrayba      Origin: Libya
Cornish Squab Pie      Origin: Britain	Empanada Gallega (Spicy Galician Chicken Empanada)      Origin: Spain	Gluten-free Damson Plum Torte      Origin: Germany
Cornulete Vanilate (Romanian Walnut Crescents)      Origin: Romania	Empanadas      Origin: Chile	Gluten-free Rhubarb Crumble      Origin: Britain
Cottage Pie      Origin: Britain	Empanadas Dulces (Sweet Pies)      Origin: Colombia	Gode Paest      Origin: England
Crab and Watercress Quiche      Origin: Britain	Empanadas Method II      Origin: Chile	Golden Apple Pie with Rum Sauce      Origin: American
Cream-less Quiche      Origin: Fusion	English Cottage Pie      Origin: England	Good Friday Fish Pie      Origin: Britain
Creamy Monkfish and Shellfish Potpie      Origin: British	Esfiha (Savory Stuffed Pastries)      Origin: Brazil	Gooseberry and Almond Tart      Origin: British
Creamy Potato and Vegetable Pie      Origin: Ireland	Fari Masa      Origin: Niger	Gooseberry and Strawberry Tart      Origin: Britain
Croissants      Origin: France	Fat Hen Quiche      Origin: British	Ground Elder Quiche      Origin: Britain
Crostata di Marmellata (Italian Jam Tart)      Origin: Italy	Fatayas Sénégalais (Senegalese Fatayas)      Origin: Senegal	Gruzinchiki (Siberian Fish Rolls)      Origin: Siberia
Crostata di Marmellata (Italian Jam Tart)      Origin: Italy	Fflan Cenin a Phys (Leek and Pea Flan)      Origin: Welsh	Gyoza Wrappers      Origin: Japan
Crulla      Origin: Scotland	Figgy 'Obbin      Origin: England	Ham and Haddie Pie      Origin: Scotland
Crustardes of Flessh      Origin: England	Figolli (Maltese Easter Biscuits)      Origin: Malta	Hapai Hantue (Filled Buckwheat Dumplings)      Origin: Bhutan
Crustless Pumpkin Pie      Origin: American	Filo/Phyllo Pastry      Origin: Britain	Hareless Potpies      Origin: British
Crwst Persli (Parsley Pastry)      Origin: Welsh	Fish Pie with Dulse      Origin: Scotland	Hart rows      Origin: England
Crwst Sawrus Cyfoethog (Rich Savoury Pastry)      Origin: Welsh	Fish Slice      Origin: Britain	Hearty Hogmanay Tart      Origin: Scotland
Curd Cake      Origin: Britain	Flaky Pastry      Origin: Britain	Herby Pasty      Origin: England
Curds and Cream      Origin: Britain	Flaky Pastry II      Origin: Britain	Herring Pasty      Origin: England
Curranty 'Obbin      Origin: England	Flampoyntes (Flan Points)      Origin: England	Herring Pie      Origin: Britain
Daryols      Origin: England	Flan Amande et d'abricot (Almond and Apricot Flan)      Origin: France	Hertzoggies      Origin: South Africa
Date and Banana Mix      Origin: Burundi	Flaón      Origin: Spain	Hevva Cake (Heavy Cake)      Origin: England
Date Pasty      Origin: England	Flaumpens      Origin: England	Hoender Pasteie (Boer Chicken Pie)      Origin: South Africa
Dim Sum Dumplings      Origin: China	Foolproof Pie Crust      Origin: American	Hojuelas (Fried Puff Squares)      Origin: Colombia
Djibouti Sambusas      Origin: Djibouti	For to make flampens (To Make Pasta Pies)      Origin: England	Homentashn (Poppy Pockets)      Origin: Jewish
Dornoch Dreams      Origin: Scotland	Forfar Bridies      Origin: Scotland	Honey Tart      Origin: Britain
Dorset Sausage Pasties      Origin: Britain	Franjki (Dalmatian Fried Pastry)      Origin: Croatia	Hortapita      Origin: Greece
Dried Rose Hip Custard Crumble Pie      Origin: American	Fresh Pumpkin Pie      Origin: American
Dulce de Tres Leches (Cream of Three Milks)      Origin: Peru	Frosted Family Mince Pie      Origin: British

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