Vegetarian pot pies are the perfect way to impress your guests at your next dinner party!
Zach and I have been experimenting with more vegetarian dishes here lately. We wanted to cut back on meat for a variety of reasons; one of which being that the good, humanely raised meat out there is incredibly expensive. Instead of just settling for the not so good stuff, we decided to splurge every once in a while on the good stuff. As a result, we bring you our attempt at veggie pot pies! They actually came out pretty fantastic, extremely flavorful, and insanely addicting! We paired it with Odell Brewing’s delicious 90 Shilling, and we were more than pleased with our Sunday dinner. It was hearty and filling, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were suffering from a serious food coma here in a couple of hours. Oh and I may or may not have made enough to feed a small army, so if you are in the need of some veggie pot pies, let me know because, if not, Zach and I may be eating it for 5 days.What makes this recipe so delicious is the multitude of veggies we decided to incorporate. I did not skimp on this recipe and I’m pretty happy that I decided to make this choice. Despite it just being the end of Winter, the grocery store’s selection of produce looked pretty good today. With onions, leeks, fennel and more, the flavors from this pot pie literally explode in your mouth. You wouldn’t even know that you are missing the chicken (that often comes with eating a pot pie).
One thing that I DID decide to skimp on today was the crust. I wasn’t fond of the idea of going ahead and making a homemade dough for the crust. It just didn’t seem necessary for this recipe. If you are inclined to do this, then sure be my guest! There are a lot of great recipes out there for homemade pot pie crust! There are, however, some great pre-made doughs out there for crusts for these sorts of recipes. Puff pastry and refrigerated pie dough are just two of these doughs. I may have mentioned before that I am not a huge fan of pre-made food items, but puff pastry and pie dough are just two exceptions to my rule (oh and Annie’s Mac and Cheese tends to make it into this house…but shhhhh don’t tell anyone (=). Zach didn’t seem to care in the end and neither did I.
We may have paired recipes with Odell Brewing’s 90 Shilling Ale before, but we just couldn’t go any other way. It’s not your typical Amber Ale. It’s extremely full-bodied (even though it’s not super high in alcohol content), and pot pies tend to be “full-bodied” as well. The two just go hand in hand, and any day we can open a 90 Shilling is a good day in our lives =).
We hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. Please enjoy the rest of it!
Vegetarian Pot Pies
Servings:
8 servingsNutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 large red potatoes diced
- salt and pepper
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 leek white and green only, cut into half moons
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 1 large fennel bulb white only, chopped
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme minced
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano minced
- 4 oz white button mushrooms cleaned and sliced thin
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley minced
- 5 medium-sized carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk
- 1-2 sheets puff pastry refrigerated pie dough may be substituted
- flour for dusting
- 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and situate an oven rack to the middle of the oven.
- In a large saucepan, place the potatoes. Fill the pot with water until it just covers the potatoes then season with salt. Place on the stove and heat on high. Bring to a boil and boil for 7-8 minutes. Drain and set aside until you are ready to use.
- Meanwhile, in a large dutch oven, melt the butter and add the leek, onion, fennel and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until the veggies are soft., about 8 minutes. Whisk in the flour until all has combined, and cook or 3-4 minutes. Gently whisk in the vegetable broth and add the thyme, oregano, mushrooms, parsley, carrots, peas and cooked potatoes. Stir to combine then season again with salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream or milk and stir again to combine. Let simmer, covered, for about 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, flour a surface lightly, and lay out your puff pastry or pie crust. With a lightly dusted rolling pin, roll out your dough until it is very thin. Prepare your individual ramekins by ladling in your filling until it reaches 3/4 of the way up the dish. Now cut out your dough into circles with a pair of kitchen shears so that it covers the entire top of the ramekin. Press down the edges with the back side of a fork and poke a few holes on the top. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay your ramekins on a large baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes and then serve!
8 Responses
This looks incredibly delicious and I plan to make it this week for dinner! Thanks so much for the recipe. Quick question: I am a mother of a brand new baby and would love to have some yummy, soul soothing meals in the freezer for winter. Do you think the veggie mixture would hold up to being frozen, reheated, topped with crust, and baked? Thanks for your thoughts/input.
Congratulations on the new baby! I understand that freezer meals are a definite must for a new mommy (and the winter). The veggie mixture would freeze very well, and is a great idea if you are super busy. My suggestion would be to assemble the pot pie when you decide to bake it, BUT assembling it before you freeze is an option too. I just don’t think the result will be AS delicious. If you decide to freeze the entire thing (crust included), be sure to bake it right out of the freezer (no thawing) otherwise the crust could get soggy. This option is totally up to you. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions along the way! – Justine
This is so good! I’ve been making this for a few months and thought I’d come back to let you know how much we love it! I don’t do the individual ramekins, just throw it all in a 9×13 and it comes out perfect. Thanks for the great recipe! Looking forward to trying more dishes from your site!
Amy, I’m so happy that you enjoy this recipe! I like your idea of just throwing it all in a 9×13 inch. I just might have to try this sometime this week. Thanks for trying it out! – Justine
I love the fennel with mushroom and potato!
I love this recipe! I’ve made it multiple times, but the page seems to be broken now and I can’t see the recipe on here FYI! I forgot to save the specifics so hopefully I remember how to make it