Easy Vegan Pot Pie with Homemade Oil-free Pie Crust

Easy vegan pot pie with homemade oil-free pie crust packed with chickpeas and veggies in a luscious gravy is an irresistible plant-based meal. It’s a comfort food classic!

Table of Contents

• ⭐ Recipe Highlights
• 📋 The Key to a Tasty Veggie Pie
• 🥘 Tips for Making Veggie Pie Filling
• 🔪 Tips for Making Vegan Pie Crust
• 🥧 Pie-baking tips
• 💭 Frequently Asked Questions
• 📖 Variations on the Theme
• 🍴 Other Comforting Recipes

⭐ Recipe Highlights

Make way for frozen veggies! The variety of colors and textures from the vegetables is easy to achieve using a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. This is a definite time-saver.

A filling built for comfort – and speed. The only prep required is the onion, celery, and garlic. After that, it’s just opening a few cans of chickpeas, grabbing the frozen mixed vegetables, and making a quick creamy sauce.

Oil-free vegan pie crust – The whole wheat flour and flax egg make this crust the perfect starter for any home baker looking for a whole food, plant-based (wfpb) pie crust.

📋 The Key to a Tasty Veggie Pie

Remember those frozen pot pies in the little tins you put into the oven? I used to love those. It used to be such a treat when I was a kid. I came about this recipe because I was determined to create a vegan pot pie recipe that recreated the feelings of decadent comfort I cherished as a kid.

And more importantly (probably), I wanted it to be easy.

So, I made 4 individual pies in 4 small ramekins that were oven worthy. You can also make one pie in a baking dish, shallow casserole, or deep pie pan.

In both versions, the amount of crust is enough for a top crust. If you want a bottom crust, make twice the crust to accommodate all the creamy filling.

🥘 Tips for Making Veggie Pie Filling

Whole wheat flour thickens the filling and gives it a subtly sweet and wholesome flavor. If you use another type of flour, thickeners, cornstarch, or arrowroot. You may want to experiment with the amount. Begin with 4 tablespoons of any substitute, and add more once it simmers.

Another thickening trick is to use ½ a cup of aquafaba (the juice from the chickpeas) to replace ½ a cup of veggie broth. This will reduce the amount of four or whichever thickening again you use.

Frozen mixed vegetables give this dish a convenient variety of vegetables. Any mix will do. Avoid anything with added salt or sauce.

If you use your mix of fresh vegetables, they are diced small. You can add them before you sauté the garlic and spices to start them softening. Alternatively, you can cook them will the vegetable broth before adding the chickpeas. This might be a better method if you use potatoes or denser vegetables.

🔪 Tips for Making Vegan Pie Crust

This pie crust recipe is a great place to start if you are not a confident crust-maker. Whole wheat binds (creates more gluten), making it more elastic. Keep a small amount of flour handy so you can sprinkle four on your work surface and your rolling pin.  

Yes, this pie crust is that easy! You only need to set aside a few minutes to make the flax egg in a small bowl before you start the filling. Then you’ll be ready to roll (literally).

The trick with this crust is to add water, a tablespoon at-a-time. If you overestimate and your crust is too moist, you can add a little flour. Use the same process - a tablespoon at-a-time.

Whole wheat has a heavy texture. For this reason, the result will not be a thin and flaky crust, as you might get if you use pre-made pie crust or lighter-weight flour.

And yes, you don't have to use whole wheat flour. We're doing that because whole wheat is a fiber-filled, healthy whole food option. You can use any purpose flour, including your favorite gluten-free mixes.

Don't worry about rolling perfect circles. You want a crust even in thickness that will fit over the pie dishes. Keep the intended baking dishes handy, so you have something to judge the size by. You can trim away extra on the sides or just make the edges bigger if you like.

This is a very forgiving crust. If you mess up your first attempt, you can always reform a crust ball and start over. I speak of this from experience 😊.

🥧 Pie-baking tips

Once you cover the pie, use a sharp knife to cut a few small slits in the crust. This provides air ventilation between the crust and filling, so when the top is golden brown, the bottom of the crust is also done.

Allow 30 minutes to heat the pies and bake the crust. As the filling starts to heat, it may bubble up and spill over a bit. Putting individual dishes on a baking tray is a good practice. It will save a messy oven. And none of us like dealing with that.

Tips for Making 1 Big Pot Pie

If you want to make one ‘big’ vegan pie, go for it. This recipe is designed to make 4 individual pies that fit into 4 – 16 oz. (473 ml.) baking dishes (ramekins). For 1 pie, aim for something suitable for 2 ½ quarts (2.3 L.) of filling. In all cases, be sure that your dishes are oven-proof.

💭 Frequently Asked Questions

📖 Variations on the Theme

You can own the filling by making small additions as you please. Although we shy away from processed vegan meat, vegan chicken pieces could easily be stirred in. Or replace the chickpeas and call it vegan chicken pot pie.

If you don’t have frozen veggies, then use what you have on hand. Finely chop up some green beans and carrots. Add small diced sweet potatoes or a few fresh herbs you have hanging around. Anything goes.

For an even creamier filling without a flour mixture, use cornstarch to thicken or add plant-based milk such as almond milk. Cashew milk will also make it thicker.

What to explore different flavors? Toss in some nutritional yeast or a tablespoon of soy sauce. You can also add a little white wine to replace the veggie broth.

🍴 Other Comforting Recipes

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