Say hello to my vegan pot pie. This is a true crowd-pleaser that simply cannot disappoint.
Why Choose This Pie
- It's super comforting
- Great festive meal
- Packed with veggies
- Contains a secret portion of protein
- Easy to make
- Budget-friendly
It’s one of the recipes that simply just works. This is why I’m convinced you’ll like it and succeed in making it. I’ve made this veggie pot pie dozens of time in the past year and the recipe has now been tweaked to perfection.
The Ingredients
To make your delicious veggie pot pie, you will need the following ingredients
A couple of notes about the ingredients:
- Tofu: I used firm silken tofu which works best. If that's not available to you, feel free to choose another type of tofu like firm tofu.
- Oil: I enjoy using sesame oil in this recipe, but this can be substituted for another vegetable oil such as oil or sunflower.
- Herbs and spices: I used garlic powder, thyme, salt & black pepper.
In terms of equipment you will also use an overproof dish. Any shape will do, but I used a rectangular dish (I used a 22cm wide and 20cm long rectangular Le Creuset dish -).
Step-by-Step Photos
Making a pot pie from scratch can sound scary. But fear not, with a few tricks, you can nail it from the first try. I included step-by-step photos below to help you along the way.
These are the 6 easy steps:
- Gently fry the veggies
- Then add vegetable stock and simmer until just tender
- In the meantime, gently fry the tofu
- Transfer the filling and tofu to an ovenproof dish
- Cover your filling with puff pastry
- Bake at 180°C / 356°F for 25 minutes.
How To Make The Filling
The filling is the heart of every pie. This means it needs to be bursting with flavour. But hey, it doesn’t mean it’s difficult to make.
We’ll stick to veggie staples like celery, potato and carrots to keep it super budget-friendly. Then we’ll throw in plenty of seasoning and a few secret ingredients to make it extra drool-worthy.
I know you like a detailed step-by-step breakdown so here it is:
- 1. Heat up a tablespoon of oil and crush in 5 cloves of garlic. Add celery cubes and carrots and fry gently. P.S. - garlic burns fast, watch out!
- 2. When you’ve been frying for about 7 minutes, add just enough vegetable stock to cover all your ingredients (approx. 900 ml, but might be less depending on the size of your pan). Bring to boil. Then add potato cubes.
- 3. Now it’s time to go herb-wild! Add thyme and soy sauce. Optional: Add more black pepper, garlic powder and salt to taste.
- 4. Simmer for approx. 20 minutes minutes or until carrots and potatoes are tender, but not overcooked. Depending on the size of your pan, there might still be a lot of liquid in the filling. Don't worry about that. You can leave it as it is or let it simmer out if you prefer a drier version.
- 5. That’s it! You’ve made your delicious vegetable filling. Told you it was easy!
Now it’s time to fry our tofu before we pop it all in the oven and wait.
Expert Tips
1. Save Time with Puff Pastry
I’m a big fan of making life easier for myself so, naturally, I stuck to store bought puff pastry.
Whether you’re making this for a large family occasion, a small festive gathering or just as a weekend treat, I strongly recommend choosing pre-made puff pastry.
It will cut down significantly on the prep time and ensure maximum consistency of your bake. PS - You can use the extra time to prepare a quick dessert!
2. Brush Your Pastry
Before popping your dish in the oven, grab a tablespoon of unsweetened almond milk. Use a wooden or plastic brush to gently brush all over the puff pastry.
This will help create a crunchy golden crust that’s simply to die for. Make sure you really spread it throughout the whole pie.
3. Experiment & Customise
Above all, this recipe is destined to become your new holiday special. It allows for a little bit of messiness and a whole lot of cooking inexperience. In other words, literally anyone with basic cooking skills can make it.
- Chopped the veggies too big? No problem, they’ll have plenty of time to cook.
- Added a bit too much water? No worries, it will simmer away.
- Finding it hard to handle a lot of cooking at the same time? No problem,
Moreover, this means you can customise the pot pie in many ways! For instance, you could add any veg of choice or substitute tofu for vegan mince, chicken or seitan.
Looking for more hearty vegan recipes? I recommend my vegan stew and dumplings or my baked mac and cheese.
Last but not least, check out the delicious sister recipes to my vegan pot pie! You won't want to miss out on delicious pesto Christmas rolls from Rebecca Greentree or these FAB cranberry chocolate chip cookies from Short Girl Tall Order. Show them some love!
🍴Recipe
Simple Vegan Pot Pie
Equipment
- Ovenproof dish
Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 carrots (the equivalent of 275g of carrots)
- 450 g celery
- 2 large white potatoes (the equivalent of 485g of potatoes)
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 900 ml vegetable stock
- ⅙ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tablespoon soy sauce
- 4 tablespoon plain white flour
FOR THE TOFU
- 350 g tofu I used firm silken tofu, but any tofu will do
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil or other oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
FOR THE PUFF PASTRY
- 230 g ready rolled puff pastry
Instructions
FOR THE FILLING
- In a large non-stick pan, heat up olive oil, then add crushed garlic, carrot cubes and celery chunks.
- Fry for approx. 7 minutes just until slightly softened.
- Add vegetable stock and let it simmer to a boil.
- Add potato (cut into cubes), thyme, black pepper and soy sauce.
- Slowly sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of flour at a time. Stir it in straight away to prevent it from forming large clumps. Do not worry about small clumps as these will dissolve during cooking.
- Let simmer for approx. 20 minutes with the lid slighly open, stirring occassionaly.
- When potatoes and carrots are tender, but not overcooked, remove from heat.
FOR THE TOFU
- Heat up sesame oil in a non-stick pan.
- Open and drain your tofu, then crumble it up and add to the hot pan. Stir.
- Add soy sauce, salt, pepper, ¼ teaspoon of thyme, garlic powder.
- Lightly fry for approx. 10 minutes until all the water has evaporated and you're left with egg-like tofu.
- Add tofu to your vegetable filling.
FOR THE PUFF PASTRY
- Transform your vegetable filling (including tofu) to an ovenproof dish.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 356°F.
- Even out the surface using a flat spatula.
- Fold out your ready-made puff pastry and use it to cover the entire pie dish.
- Use a fork to press down the puff pastry onto the sides.
- Use any leftover puff pastry for decoration e.g. cut out small leaves using a knife.
- Brush with almond milk.
- Bake at 180°C / 356°F for approx. 25 minutes.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: The nutritional information above is calculated automatically. The author of this post cannot guarantee 100% accuracy of this data.
Thank you for sticking with me to the end! I can’t wait to hear all about your vegetable pie creations!
Anne
Exactly what I've been looking for this Christmas eeeekkk! Gonna become a family classic, I already know it!! xx
My Vegan Minimalist
Thank you so much Anne! Please let me know how it went - so excited to hear about the results xx
Karie
Anyone have any ideas on an easy alternative for a GF crust on top?
My Vegan Minimalist
Hiya Karie! The easiest option would be to grab a ready made GF crust from a shop, but if that's not easily available in your area, I can definitely recommend the Gluten-free Pie Crust recipe from Mama Knows Gluten Free. It's also suitable for a savoury pie like this one 🙂 Let me know how it turns out if you do make it 😉 xx
Adrienne
This was absolutely delicious. I used a frozen pie crust, added an extra potato and half of an onion in lieu of the tofu (we like it but with the pandemic I have limited supply...) Amazing. Thank you for the recipe. I've already shared it!
My Vegan Minimalist
Ahh thank you so much Adrienne, your comment made my day! So happy you enjoyed it and great substitution idea with the extra potato and onion xx
Jamie
Has anyone tried putting a layer of puff pastry on the bottom as well as the top? My family loves the pastry, so I'd like to incorporate a second layer. Idk if I should prebake the bottom layer before putting the filling in? Thanks for any insight.
Tajda Ferko
Hi Jamie! I haven't tried doing this myself yet, but I think the best thing to do would be to pre-bake the bottom layer and then definitely let the filling thicken a lot in comparison to the original recipe (otherwise there might be too much liquid which will make the bottom layer soggy). Hope this helps a little! Let me know how it goes, I'm super intrigued! 🙂
Rachel
I always thought making a pot pie from scratch would be an impossible amount of work, clearly I was wrong! I’m not much of a cook and typically avoid contributing homemade food at any events, but Tajda’s recipe was so easy and came out so well, I would be happy to serve it at a family dinner! Even my husband (a meat eater) was impressed and suggested we make it again the following week!
Tajda Ferko
Thank you so much for such a lovely review Rachel! I really appreciate it. Glad to hear everybody enjoyed the pie. I might just make it this weekend myself! Have a lovely evening x
Abigail @ OhMyVegan
So, so good!
I’ve made this multiple times now and it always turns out amazing.
I use my own pie crust recipe on top and usually free the tofu before hand to give it a meatier texture.
Delicious!
Tajda Ferko
Thank you so much, Abigail, that means a lot! Glad to hear that you've enjoyed it so much! xx
Tracy
Made this today as a trial run for Christmas. We really enjoyed it! I subbed the celery for leeks as can’t stand celery unfortunately. Also added shredded sprouts. Really like the tofu idea and it was a really nice dinner. Could be good for Christmas lunch as my daughter doesn’t like mushrooms and a good number of festive dishes include them. Thank you 😊
Tajda Ferko
So happy to hear this Tracy, thank you for sharing! Adding shredded sprouts is such a good idea! Definitely trying that the next time. xx
Sheila Trunzo
Have been looking for a good vegan pot pie recipe. Thank you!
Ali
Hello,
I want to make the vegan potpie. The only way i will eat tofu is if it is puréed.
Can you tell me if that would be possible somehow?
Thank you
Tajda Ferko
Hi Ali, this would still work! If you are using puréed tofu I would recommend following the same recipe but adding a little bit less vegetable stock overall. In addition to that, perhaps I'd say chop the veggies a little bit larger to ensure the pie still has a lovely bite too it and isn't too mushy (although this is all down to personal preference and I know some people who prefer a smoother, softer filling). Any other questions just let me know and I'd be more than happy to help out! Have a lovely Sunday x
Sue
I'm looking forward to trying this! What size pan do you recommend? 8x8? 7x11"? 9x13"? It looks like 8x8 in the picture.