Why Do We Eat Mince Pies at Christmas? Here’s why we LOVE them so much!

Plate of golden baked mince pies dusted with icing sugar on rustic table with holly and cinnamon - grok imagine

Why do we eat mince pies at Christmas? Good question. Especially when you remember they used to be full of actual meat.

That’s right, the festive favourite sitting on your plate today started life as something far less sweet.

Stick with us. It gets weirder.

The Surprisingly Savoury Origins Of Mince Pies

Mince pies date back to the 13th century, when crusaders returned home with spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Naturally, they wanted to show off.

So they mixed those spices with minced meat, usually mutton or beef, and dried fruit, then baked the whole lot into a pie. It was partly about flavour. Mostly, it was about preserving meat through a long, cold winter.

Some were even shaped oval, to represent the manger. A few had a little pastry “baby” tucked on top.

Shop Mincemeat here from Tesco to make your own!

Why Did Oliver Cromwell Ban Mince Pies?

Medieval cook preparing oval meat and spice pie in wooden kitchen with fire and dried fruit nearby - grok imagine

Just when mince pies were getting comfortable, along came Oliver Cromwell. In the 1640s and 50s, his Puritan government decided Christmas itself was a bit too much fun, and mince pies got swept up in the crackdown.

They were branded sinful, indulgent, and frankly suspicious. For a while, eating one was basically an act of rebellion. Honestly, that makes them taste even better now.

How Mince Pies Became Sweet

Stern 17th century Puritan official inspecting Christmas table with disapproving expression - grok imagine

Once the ban was lifted, mince pies slowly changed direction.

Over the 18th and 19th centuries, the meat quietly disappeared, while the dried fruit, spices and sugar stuck around and took over.

The one meaty hangover? Suet. Lots of recipes still use it today!

Try Our Favourite Mince Pies This Christmas

Now you know the history, fancy putting it to good use? We have taste-tested the supermarket mince pies so you don’t have to suffer through the bad ones.

👉COMING SOON! Head to our Christmas Tried and Tested Mince Pies for our honest verdict on which ones are actually worth your money.

So next time you bite into a mince pie, raise it to the crusaders, ignore Cromwell, and enjoy six centuries of Christmas tradition in one mouthful.

👉 Love uncovering festive traditions? Head to our Why Are Christmas Cracker Hats Shaped Like Crowns for another fun explainer.