Is there any recipe cozier than a pot pie? Alex and I love the myriad of emotions and vibes you can convey through food. And there’s nothing that says “Let’s make it through the winter!” more than a pot pie. Since we eat a mostly plant based diet, typically our pot pies are full of vegetables. Our Vegan Pot Pie recipe is a fan favorite, so this year we decided to create a vegetarian version. This vegetarian pot pie is Alex’s creation, and he nailed it. It’s got a ton of veggies, pesto and Parmesan in the filling, which makes for a filling that smells (and tastes) incredibly savory and earthy. Top that with a crispy, flaky crust, and it’s crazy delicious. It’s perfect for a winter dinner, romantic evening, fall dinner, or even a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas! Here’s how to make it.
How to make pot pie
A word of warning: this vegetarian pot pie takes a little over 1 hour to put together. So if you’re looking for a quick weeknight meal, this is not it. But if you have a bit of time to make a showstopper recipe, this one’s for you! It’s actually easiest if you make it with someone else: Alex and I made it together, and it’s a lot more fun to make. We’d definitely recommend it as a dinner party recipe or for a cooking date! And it’s romantic enough to work as a Valentine’s Day dinner recipe too. The basic methods are simple: first, make the pot pie crust (more on that below). Set it in the refrigerator to chill, and then work on the filling. For this vegetarian pot pie, we decided on a filling that was evocative of the pot pies of childhood, but with a sophisticated flair. This vegetarian pot pie is filled with some of the usual suspects: potatoes, carrots and peas. But it also has white beans (for protein), that are pan fried together with shallots to bring a super savory, earthy vibe to the filling. (We stole this idea from our Vegan Pot Pie.) To amp it up another level, Alex had the idea to stir in a bit of basil pesto and shredded Parmesan into the vegetables. It really takes it up another notch to the crazy delicious level. Make sure you find a great basil pesto to use here (this one is our favorite).
Vegetarian pot pie crust
So, how to make the perfect flaky pot pie crust for this vegetarian pot pie? Again, we’ve used the same concept from our Vegan Pot Pie with Sage Crust. But since this is a vegetarian pot pie, we used butter instead of coconut oil for the crust. This brings a hearty, down-home feel to the crust, versus the lightly floral element of the coconut oil crust (which is also crazy delicious: you should try it too!). Similar to the vegan pot pie crust, we added dried sage to the dough, which brings in just the right amount of complexity. If you like a really salty pot pie crust, you could use salted butter here. But unsalted butter is what we used and it was perfect too.
How long to cook pot pie
The amount of time to cook pot pie of course depends on your pot pie recipe. For this vegetarian pot pie, it takes 25 minutes to bake the pie. Because the filling is all cooked already, the bake time is just to get the crust crisp and perfectly golden. So, how long to cook a pot pie is actually fairly short for this recipe!
Looking for savory pie recipes?
This vegetarian pot pie recipe is one of our favorite recipes. If you’re looking for some more savory pie recipes, here are a few on our website and around the web:
Vegan Pot Pie with Savory CrustVegetarian Tamale PiesVegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with French LentilsSavory Sweet Potato Galette with FetaThyme and White Bean Pot Pies | Minimalist Baker29 Savory Pies to Eat for Dinner Tonight | Bon Appetit
This recipe is…
This Vegetarian Pot Pie recipe is vegetarian. No reviews
1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons dried sage ½ cup cold unsalted butter 7 tablespoons ice water, more as needed
For the vegetarian pot pie filling
1 large shallot 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 large Yukon gold potato 2 medium carrots 1 medium yellow onion 1 red bell pepper ½ tablespoon dried oregano 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 ¾ cups vegetable broth ½ cup frozen peas ¾ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ cup pesto ½ cup Parmesan cheese, large grated
