Homity pie — a british main course dish from United Kingdom — featuring open pie, cheese-topped, potato-forward

Homity pie · British · Main Course

Homity pie

Born in United Kingdom

An open vegetable pie with potatoes, onions, leeks, and cheese—born from British wartime or Devon soil, made famous by the 1960s vegetarian shift.

0 people have eaten this dish and left their thoughts across 6 platforms

8 in 10 mention traditional British pedigree first

7 in 10 say it's worth it for the accessible wartime resourcefulness

5 in 10 would come back the same week

Synthesised from Google · Yelp · TripAdvisor · Reddit · 2 food blogs · Updated August 2026

The story the reviews tell

Homity pie is an open British vegetable pie where potatoes, onions, and leeks meet a blanket of melted cheese—simple, layered, honest. Its true origins are murky, though Devon lays claim to it, and whispers of the Women's Land Army suggest it might have been born from wartime ingenuity. What's certain is that this humble pie found its audience at Cranks in 1961, when London's vegetarian movement needed dishes that didn't apologize for lacking meat.

What makes this version distinct

Homity pie is a traditional British open vegetable pie. The pastry case contains a filling of potatoes and an onion and leek mixture, which is then covered with cheese. There is little known on the exact history of the dish. It is sometimes called 'Devon Pie', deriving from the belief that it is an English country recipe originating from Devon. Its origins are also claimed to date back to the Women's Land Army of the Second World War and the restrictions imposed by wartime rationing. What is known however is that the dish's mainstream popularity came from Cranks Vegetarian Restaurant, which opened in London in 1961, when vegetarianism gained support from the hippie subculture.

Signature elements

open piecheese-toppedpotato-forwardonion and leek fillingwartime originsvegetable-centric

What people love

  • traditional British pedigree
  • accessible wartime resourcefulness
  • championed by 1960s vegetarian movement

Know before you go