This vegan pot pie is healthy comfort food at its best! A simple vegan gluten-free crust covers tender and colorful veggies. Sweet potatoes complement the umami-rich mushrooms, seasoned soy curls, and herbs. It's like vegan chicken pot pie meets cozy Thanksgiving flavors! For a more classic pot pie, simply swap out the sweet potatoes for regular potatoes and add celery and peas! This recipe is also gluten-free and easily made WFPB/oil-free.
When you find yourself craving healthy comfort food with cozy fall flavors, this vegan pot pie is perfect! And if you're feeling intimidated by the idea of making pie crust, let me put your mind at ease. This is no ordinary, fussy pie crust.
My vegan pie crust recipe has been one of the most popular on the blog since I shared it back in 2019. And if you decide to try it, I think you'll see why.
It's not only vegan and gluten-free, but made without any butter or extracted oils, and it's seriously SO easy. Most importantly, it's delicious!
Since the crust is made with almond flour, it has a lightly nutty flavor that pairs really well with the sweet potatoes in the pot pie.
Also, the texture of the crust holds up better than pie crusts made with flour, which means your pot pie leftovers are even more enjoyable!
This vegan pot pie is versatile, too. Try it with regular potatoes and different veggies, and swap out the soy curls for seitan, vegan chicken strips, beans or lentils.
Ingredients
- pie crust - I use my vegan gluten-free crust for all of my sweet and savory pies because it's just that good. If you have another pie crust you love feel free to use it. Also, check out this sunflower seed pie crust for a nut-free option.
- potatoes - I used sweet potatoes just to switch things up a bit, but feel free to use gold, russet, or red potatoes if preferred.
- onion - any variety is fine; I usually go with yellow or red onion.
- mushrooms - these add great flavor and texture. If you're not a fan, swap them out for another veggie.
- kale - packed with nutrients, this hearty green works well in pot pie, but of course, you can omit it or replace it with another vegetable.
- soy curls - serving as the "chicken" in our vegan pot pie, the meaty texture of soy curls is perfect in pot pie. And they're great at soaking up flavors. If you're not familiar with soy curls, be sure to check out my FAQ post linked just below.
You can also use seitan or store-bought vegan chicken strips. - herbs - dried thyme, sage, and smoked paprika give the pot pie filling a savory, chicken-style flavor
- broth - any vegetable broth you like
- plain non-dairy milk - I used box soy milk because it's usually the most neutral-tasting; you only need a small amount for the filling, so any unflavored plant-based milk you like is fine.
- starch - a little bit of arrowroot or corn starch thickens the filling
See recipe card below for amounts and full instructions.
RELATED: Check out this post with 19 amazing vegan soy curl recipes + FAQs.
Texture-wise, soy curls are similar to seitan, but they're made from whole soy beans. So for people who can't eat gluten, they're an excellent substitute for recipes that call for seitan.
How to Make Vegan Pot Pie
Prep breaks down to 4 basic steps:
- Prepare the pie dough and set aside.
- Soak the soy curls in broth.
- Saute the veggies for the pot pie filling, and add the soy curls, reserved broth, and non-dairy milk.
- Transfer the filling to the pie dish, cover with the rolled out dough, and bake.
Pretty simple, right?
Equipment
For the pie crust, you'll need a mixing bowl, parchment paper, and rolling pin.
And for the pot pie, you'll need a large saute pan and a 9 ½-inch deep dish pie plate.
Variations
- Puff pastry or biscuits - instead of pie crust, use your favorite vegan biscuits or puff pastry to cover the pot pie filling.
- Classic vegan chicken pot pie - omit the kale and mushrooms, add celery and peas, and swap the sweet potatoes for regular potatoes.
- Double crust - you could add a bottom crust, but since it takes up precious space in the pie plate, the recipe is best with a top crust only.
Top Tips
Color of the pie crust - If you're using my pie crust recipe, keep in mind that the color is affected by the secondary flour you choose. Almond flour is the primary ingredient, and tapioca starch acts as a binder.
For the third flour in that recipe you have some options: white or brown rice flour or any variety of wheat flour. For the pot pie pictured directly above and below, I used spelt flour instead of rice, which gave it a lovely, golden color. The other photos on the page show the crust made with brown rice flour.
Recipe yield - This recipe makes enough filling and crust for a 1.5 quart dish. I used a 9.5-inch deep dish pie plate. To make a slightly smaller pot pie with a 9-inch deep dish plate, you can decrease the filling ingredients by about one quarter, but keep the pie crust as is.
I hope you enjoy this vegan pot pie as much as we do. If you try the recipe be sure to comment below and let us know!
More Healthy Comfort Food Recipes
- Potato Stew
- Harvest Chickpea Loaf
- Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Creamy Vegetable Noodle Soup
- 45-Minute Lentil Chili
- Sweet Potato Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Baked Ziti with Vegetables
- Healthy Vegan Alfredo
📖 Recipe
Healthy Vegan Pot Pie (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked Vegan Gluten-free Pie Crust (tap for recipe) - see Note 1
- 4 ounces Butler soy curls, dry
- 2 ¼ cups vegetable broth, divided
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ⅝-inch cubes - about 1 ½ pounds; or gold/russet potatoes
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon oil, optional - sub broth for oil-free
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme - or 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground sage
- 1 bunch kale, thick stems removed, chopped
- 1 rounded teaspoon fine sea salt
- black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, optional
- 1 tablespoon tamari (for GF) or soy sauce
- ⅔ cup plain non-dairy milk, such as almond or soy - see Note 2
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot or corn starch
Instructions
- Prepare the pie dough, but don't roll it out yet. Wrap the ball of dough with plastic and set aside.
- Place dry soy curls in a large bowl, and cover with 2 cups of broth. Set aside to soak.
- Locate a large saute pan with a lid. Preheat over medium heat. Dry saute the onion, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ¼ cup broth and cover the pan. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for another 5 minutes or until you can barely pierce the potatoes with a fork.
- Slide the veggies to one side of the pan. Add the oil to the other side. Once hot add the garlic, thyme, and sage to the oil. (For oil-free, use a splash of broth.) Stirring, cook for about 30 seconds, then mix with the veggies. Add the kale, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the kale is dark green and wilted.
- Pick up handfuls of soy curls and squeeze excess broth back into the bowl. Don't discard the broth. Add the soy curls to the pan, and season with smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, and tamari.
- Add the starch and milk to the broth and whisk to combine. Pour into the pan, and bring to a simmer. Cook just until the sauce looks creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and remove from heat.
- Preheat the oven to 410 degrees F (210°C).
- Spoon the filling into the pie plate and lightly pack it down. Roll out the pie dough on a piece of parchment paper (refer to pie crust recipe). Flip it onto the pie plate, and trim any excess. Press down to seal/crimp the edges. Use a sharp knife to cut several slits in the top of the crust for ventilation.
- Place a baking sheet or piece of foil on the bottom rack (to catch drips in case the pie bubbles over). Place the pot pie on the center rack and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the crust is crisp and golden. NOTE: if using rice flour in the crust (as opposed to whole wheat, for example), the crust will still look pale even when done. It doesn't brown like traditional pastry.
- Let the pot pie rest for 10 minutes and serve.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Kay
Hi Lori, I love all of your recipes and can’t wait to try this one. Question, if using a double crust (your healthy pie crust recipe) would I prebake the bottom crust before adding the filling?
Lori
Hi Kay,
I would do a 10 minute pre-bake just to help it dry out a bit. I haven't tried the pot pie yet with the crust underneath so I hope it turns out well for you! Since it will take up room in the pie plate you won't have quite as much room for filling.
Paula
Could I use chickpeas instead of the soy curls? Also, I don’t love mushrooms, but I will include them if necessary. Would there possibly be a sub for them? Thanks!!
Lori
Hi Paula,
Absolutely, you can use 1.5 to 2 cups cooked chickpeas in the filling. And since you don’t love mushrooms, feel free to replace them with something like zucchini or eggplant. There really aren’t any hard rules with this pot pie! You can fill it with any vegetables you like. Hope that helps!