Super easy vegan pot pie with a gorgeous golden brown crust. This cheesy, veggie-packed savory pie is perfect for a special occasion.
Oh my! We are so impressed with this vegan pot pie.
Jaye was saying he had no idea it could be so easy to make a pie that looks (and tastes) as good as this.
A pot pie is usually a mix of vegetables and gravy topped with a pie crust. When I went looking around the web, I most often saw a version containing peas and carrots in a gravy. And honestly I just wanted to go with something a little different. And more exciting!
So we decided on a simple vegetable mix sautéed on the stove top and then mixed up with a cashew cheese sauce. This turned out to be the perfect pie filling. And that’s topped with a flaky golden brown pie crust.
It looks really fancy, yet the recipe is super simple. Always a good thing. This pie makes an excellent main for any special occasion and we love this for Christmas. Of course a vegan nut roast, or vegan meatloaf, vegan wellington or vegan lasagna are also wonderful options.
What You Need To Make This Pie
Ingredient Notes
Mushrooms – we used button mushrooms but cremini (portobellini/baby bellas) would also be great!
Zucchinis – we used 8 small zucchinis, which is equivalent to around 3 medium zucchinis or 2 large.
Nutritional yeast – this just adds a cheesiness to the cashew cheese sauce. If you can’t get hold of it then just leave it out.
Puff pastry – we took the easy option in using puff pastry for this pie and it worked so well! It must be puff pastry though and not phyllo pastry.
Vegan butter – this is melted and then brushed onto the crust before baking. Who needs an egg wash? Not us that’s for sure. Melted vegan butter creates the perfect crispy golden top for this pie. We tried it with just brushing on soy milk and it didn’t work nearly so well, so I highly recommend vegan butter. Any brand will do or a dairy-free margarine. Alternatively you can make your own homemade vegan butter.
How To Make Vegan Pot Pie
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Blend the cashew cheese sauce. Add all ingredients for the cashew cheese sauce to the blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Sauté the veggies. Add onion and crushed garlic to the pot along with olive oil and sauté until softened. Add dried basil and soy sauce and stir in. Now add sliced mushrooms, zucchini and peas and sauté together. Cover the pot and let the veggies simmer together for a few minutes. They will become saucy due to the mushrooms releasing their water. Remove the lid and let the water cook off until only a little remains.
- Mix the sautéed veggies and cashew cheese sauce. Stir the cashew cheese sauce in with your veggies. Let it cool a bit and then transfer to a 9-inch round pie dish.
- Roll out the crust. Roll out your puff pastry so that it’s wider than your pie dish, with a little room to spare. Place the puff pastry over the top of your veggie filling and push the pastry into the sides of the dish, folding the pastry along the edges.
- Brush with melted vegan butter. Brush the top of the crust with melted vegan butter and cut a vertical line a couple of inches long, in the center of the pastry.
- Bake. Place the pie into the oven and bake for 25 minutes at 390°F.
Recipe Tips
Let as much water as possible cook off your veggies. It’s ideal for your filling to be nice and thick, so let as much water as possible cook off before you add the cashew cheese. Nobody likes a watery pie filling!
Let your sauce cool off for a few minutes before you put it into the pie dish and top with the pastry. It will be best if it’s not heating the heck out of the pastry from below before that pastry even starts cooking.
Let the pie cool for 10 minutes before serving. When your pie is all nice and cooked, let it cool for 10 minutes before dishing up. You want it nice and hot and flaky but at the same time, the sauce inside is HOT, better to not get third degree burns (it smells so good you’ll want to tuck in right away, but try to hold back).
Pie dish. Your pie dish should be 9-inches round and at least 2-inches deep as this is a fairly thick pie.
Make ahead option: You can definitely make the filling in advance and store it in the fridge for up to 48 hours. When you’re ready you can then assemble the pie. Add the filling to the pie dish, add the pastry on top as usual, brush with the melted butter and bake for 25 minutes. Easy.
Recipe FAQ
Puff pastry is usually vegan (check the labels of course) and comes in sheets.
It’s at its best when fresh and hot from the oven. However, leftovers are still good the next day eaten cold from the fridge, though the pastry doesn’t retain its crispiness overnight. So it’s best to eat as much of it on the day it’s made as you can. Which is usually not an issue at all!
It’s not ideal for freezing.
More Delicious Vegan Dinner Recipes
- Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
- The Best Vegan Lasagna Recipe
- Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Pasta Bake
- Vegan Wellington
- Vegan Meatloaf
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Pot Pie
Ingredients
Cashew Cheese Sauce:
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g)
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast (15g)
- ½ tsp Crushed Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- 7 Tbsp Water
Sautéed Veggies:
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 tsp Crushed Garlic
- 1 tsp Dried Basil
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 5 cups Button Mushrooms (480g) Sliced
- 8 Small Zucchinis (600g, 4 cups) Sliced
- 1 ½ cups Frozen Peas (240g)
Pie Crust:
- 1 Sheet Vegan Puff Pastry
- Melted Vegan Butter for brushing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
- Blend the cashew cheese sauce. Add all ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Sauté the veggies. Add chopped onion and crushed garlic to the pot along with the olive oil and sauté until softened. Add the dried basil and soy sauce and stir in. Now add the sliced mushrooms, zucchini and peas and sauté together for a minute. Cover the pot and let the veggies simmer together for a few minutes. They will become saucy due to the mushrooms releasing their water. Remove the lid and let the water cook off until only a little remains (see notes*).
- Mix the sautéed veggies and cashew cheese sauce. Stir the cashew cheese sauce in with your veggies. Let it cool a bit and then transfer to a 9-inch round pie dish.
- Roll out the crust. Roll out your puff pastry so that it's wider than your pie dish, with a little room to spare. Place the puff pastry over the top of your veggie filling and push the pastry into the sides of the dish, folding the pastry along the edges.
- Brush with melted vegan butter. Brush the top of the crust with melted vegan butter and cut a vertical line a couple of inches long, in the center of the pastry.
- Bake. Place the pie into the oven and bake for 25 minutes until golden on top.
Video
Notes
- Cashews: We don’t usually soak the cashews first and if you have a high powered blender then there is no need to. If you don’t have a high powered blender, then add the cashews to a bowl, pour over boiling water from the kettle and let them soak for 15 minutes to soften before blending.
- Mushrooms: We used white button mushrooms but cremini (portobellini/baby bellas) would also be great!
- Zucchinis: We used 8 small zucchinis (see our ingredients photo for an idea of the size). An equivalent would be around 3 medium or 2 large.
- Nutritional yeast: This just adds a cheesiness to the cashew cheese sauce. If you can’t get hold of it then just leave it out.
- Puff pastry: We took the easy option in using puff pastry for this pie and it worked so well! It must be puff pastry though and not phyllo pastry.
- Vegan butter: This is melted and then brushed onto the crust before baking. We tried it with just brushing on soy milk and it didn’t work nearly so well so I highly recommend vegan butter. Any brand will do or a dairy-free margarine. Alternatively you can make your own homemade vegan butter.
- Pie dish. Your pie dish should be 9-inches round and at least 2-inches deep.
- Let as much water as possible cook off your veggies. It’s ideal for your filling to be nice and thick, so let as much water as possible cook off before you add the cashew cheese.
- Make ahead option: You can make the filling in advance and store it in the fridge for up to 48 hours. When you’re ready you can then assemble and bake the pie as usual.
- Storing: It’s at its best when fresh and hot from the oven. Leftovers are still good the next day though the pastry doesn’t retain its crispiness overnight. So it’s best to eat as much of it on the day it’s made as you can. It’s not ideal for freezing.
- This recipe was first published in December 2017. It has been updated with extra tips but the recipe itself is unchanged.
The absolute best vegan pot pie recipe I have encountered to date. It was a huge hit in my household. I added Yukon gold potatoes and broccoli to mine in place of the zucchini, but kept everything else the same (especially those delicious mushrooms). It was hearty and filling with the most superb flavor. Perfect for a cozy fall day. This is totally going in my rotation.
That’s so awesome Adrienne, thanks so much for sharing and the great review.
This recipe easily became one of my favorite vegan dishes after the first bite. THANK YOU for this incredible addition to my meal rotation!
Awesome Isabel! Thanks so much for the wonderful review.
This recipe tastes too good and every time I intend on making something different I end up making this one again.😋
Hahaha! I love that! 🙂
Thank you yet again for another most excellent dish. Keep them coming, I am so appreciative of your recipes.
Thanks so much Patt! 🙂
Delicious! Although my baking time was MUCH longer than 25 minutes. The pastry wasn’t puffing, so I increased the oven temp to 450F and baked it for about 20 more minutes. It puffed up and browned beautifully, but did dry the filling a bit. Still delicious, though! Now I know to try a higher oven temp next time.
Baby zucchini are not widely available in the US, at least in places I’ve lived. It would be helpful to have some indication of the size or weight of the ones you are suggesting, for substitution purposes. I made a guess and used 1 medium zucchini, but suspect it may have been better with more. That aside, the pie was a great hit with my vegan friend, and I would make it again.
Hi Chris, we do have a photo of the zucchini, which does give an indication. But thank you for the feedback, we have updated the recipe with more info. In fact the word ‘baby’ was used in error. They are just small zucchinis, we accidentally used the word ‘baby’ since they are called ‘baby marrows’ in our part of the world! Glad you still enjoyed the pot pie even if it was a little short in zucchinis! 🙂
Fantastic easy to make pie
Loved it
Thank you ❤️
Awesome! Thanks so much Lisa!
Really simple and great tasting even for the non-vegans in the family. We had leftovers the next day reheated in the oven with foil to stop the pastry burning. Just as good second time round
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the great review David. 🙂
Wonderful dish! Delicious and homely. Thanks again for being a culinary genius!
Thanks so much Yalini!
I love the idea of this! This pie was flavorful! It tastes very similar to a non-vegan pot pie from what I can remember. I would love to share this with my vegan brother!
So glad you enjoyed it Lucy!
WOW!!!!! After a hard day’s work my son went ape over this recipe. After going vegan he said he missed pies so I cooked this. He will now do anything for me if I cook the pie. Even my picky daughter thought it was pretty delicious. My wife thought it was special also. Another new favourite.
Yay! So happy to hear that! 🙂
I made this recipe for my picky vegetarian teenager and success! It’s a keeper! I also thought it turned out great. I followed the recipe with one substitution, since I had no peas on hand and I didn’t have quite enough zucchini as called for, I added small cubes of sweet potato to the veggie mix, adding to the pot after the onions and before the mushrooms/zucchini to soften them a bit. Will make this again. Thanks for the recipe!
Sweet potato sounds like a great addition! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks Julie!
I loved this recipe. I ommited the nooch and added lots of pepper and substituted the green veggies with spinach. Had a lemony and pepper taste. Was perfect. My non-vegan boyfriend loved it aswell. Definitely a winner. Keeping this recipe in rotation
This was my first ever attempt at making a pie and much to my surprise it was a raging success. Great recipe, thank you!
That is wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing Haidee!