This recipe for vegetarian pot pie is rich and hearty and uses Trader Joe’s puff pastry for the crust and a roux of olive oil and flour, Better than Bouillon Mushroom Base, and milk to give richness to the gravy. The mushroom base is fantastic and can be found at Whole Foods. It is definitely mushroomy and oh so umami-ish. I still need to try the vegetarian base. I like making my own stock (like this caramel onion stock recipe and this pressure cooker stock recipe), but the mushroomy-ness of the bouillon really adds depth.

I use Trader Joe’s puff pastry instead of the more common Pepperidge Farm brand because it uses butter and non-hydrogenated oils. I tried to rush to defrost it using the oven and part of it got too soft making it hard to work with. It ended up dipping into the gravy, which is why it looks a little messy in the picture of the whole pan. Try and make sure to keep the dough firm and totally on top of the gravy or it won’t cook right where it has sunk in.

To replace chicken, I used Quorn Chik’n Tenders which can be found at Whole Foods in the freezer section. Any soy or wheat meat would work or you could skip it and just up the mushrooms for meatiness.

I don’t have individual pot pie dishes, so I used a 9 x 9 enameled cast iron baking dish. It made 4 nice size servings. Maybe that makes this dish something else? It still feels like pot pie to me!

So after serving my husband this super flavorful vegetarian pot pie, he asked for ketchup. No, not ketchup, but Maggi Hot & Sweet Chilli Sauce! I’m big on dishes tasting like they were intended and he knows this so he proceeded to look up if ketchup could technically “go” with pot pie :-). Apparently there are a few people out there who do find this an acceptable accompaniment. And really, who am I to judge? I add ketchup to spaghetti sauce, have been known to dazzle up a pizza with it, and think it goes great on eggs…

But anyways, I still don’t think a nice rich pot pie needs ketchup :-). You be the judge.

Not the prettiest picture – see be careful to not let the puff pastry dip into the gravy like I did!

Vegetable Prep
2 baby potatoes cut into little pieces
2 carrots cut into little pieces
8 ounces mushrooms sliced (crimini or button)

Gravy
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups water
1 cup milk
A couple spoons of Better than Bouillon Mushroom Base
Dried herbs such as thyme or rosemary (optional, I forgot this time!)
Fresh ground pepper

Other Ingredients
3/4-1 cup peas
2/3 bag Quorn Tenders (or other soy/wheat meat)
1 sheet of Trader Joe’s puff pastry (defrosted)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Prep the vegetables: boil the carrots and potatoes until soft and saute the mushrooms until tender.
3. Heat a little of the oil in a saute pan and cook the onions until translucent.
4. Make the roux: Add the rest of the oil and flour to the onions and cook stirring constantly until the flour is cooked and just starting to brown.
5. In a small pan mix the water, milk and bouillon and heat until the bouillon dissolves.
6. Using a whisk, slowly add the broth to the roux and whisk until the gravy is nice and smooth.
7. Add the herbs and fresh ground pepper.
8. Add the potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, peas and Quorn, and cook until the peas and Quorn are defrosted.
9. Pour into your baking dish or individual pot pie dishes.
10. Top with puff pastry being carefully to keep the puffy pastry on top and not dip into the gravy. If you’re using individual dishes cut the puff pastry into squares and do the same.
11. Cook for about 25 minutes or until the puff pastry is puffy and golden.