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This Vegan Pot Pie combines a flaky pie crust, heart-healthy chickpeas, and a creamy vegetable and potato filling for a mouth-watering main dish everyone will go back for seconds of. Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free option.
Hearty and cozy, this Vegan Pot Pie is simple enough to serve on weeknights, yet impressive enough to replace a meaty main for a special occasion like Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s made with a simple pie crust that’s filled with protein-rich chickpeas, classic veggies, and a homemade cream sauce that’s thick and creamy. Fair warning – your house will smell absolutely amazing while this bakes in the oven. 😉
Table of Contents
A Healthier, Cozy Pot Pie
Is it just me, or is Pot Pie pretty much the ultimate comfort food? It’s pretty hard to beat a buttery, flaky crust filled with a creamy, hearty, and flavorful filling. It’s a perfect cozy day food to snuggle up with or share with your loved ones during the holiday season.Now, most pot pies are not vegan. But with just a few simple swaps, we can make a vegetable pot pie that’s made entirely from plants! Not only that, but it’s just as yummy and cozy as the ones I remember eating in my childhood. I can’t wait for you to indulge for yourself!
What You Need for Vegan Pot Pie
There are just 4 main components when it comes to making a great pot pie:
- Pie crust: I opted to use my Vegan Pie Crust Recipe, but feel free to use another homemade pie crust or your favorite store-bought brand. If making my homemade recipe, make sure to double the recipe – one crust for the bottom, and one for the top.
- Creamy sauce: Traditional pot pies are typically made with heavy cream or canned soups. Instead, we’re making a healthy, homemade sauce from non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, and chickpea flour.
- Fresh veggies: I like to keep things classic and use celery, peas, carrots, and gold potatoes for a nice and hearty bite. If you’re short on time or prefer to make things even easier, use a frozen blend of mixed vegetables with green beans.
- Seasonings: Most of the nostalgic flavor and aroma in a classic pot pie can be attributed to the spices and seasoning. All that’s required for this mouth-watering effect is freshly chopped thyme, smoked paprika, and freshly cracked black pepper.
How to Make Vegan Pot Pie
- Par-bake the bottom crust in a pie dish (or follow the instructions of the store-bought version you are using!)
- Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a small saucepan, then simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened. Set aside.
- Melt the butter or olive oil in a large sauté pan, then sauté the filling ingredients until fragrant and tender.
- Stir in the thickened sauce until evenly distributed.
- Fill the par-baked crust with the pot pie filling, then lay the top crust over the filling. Crimp the two pie edges together and cut an “X” in the center of the pie dough.
- Bake, lightly tented with foil, until the crust is golden brown.
- Cool for 5 minutes, then slice and serve warm, as desired.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Use a rich and creamy plant-based milk. Not all plant-based milks are made equal. As much as I love the convenience of store-bought non-dairy milk, they are often thin and lacking in flavor. For the best creamy filling, use a rich and creamy homemade milk or a store-bought soy milk or canned coconut milk.
- Thaw your pie crust in advance. If you are using a store-bought, frozen pie crust, make sure to thaw it in the refrigerator until soft and easy to roll out. It is easiest to do this the night before, but typically can thaw in 4-6 hours.
- The longer it cools, the easier it is to slice. You can slice after just 5 minutes, but if you wait longer (15-20 minutes), the filling will continue to thicken and make it easier to cut nice slices for serving. This can be ideal when hosting or serving this pot pie for special occasions.
Serving Suggestions
I love serving thick, warm slices of this vegan pot pie as a hearty main dish. It’s the perfect weeknight dish to complete simpler sides such as Kale & Cranberry Salad, Winter Kale Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette, or a Fall Roasted Vegetable Casserole.
Or, when serving this vegan pot pie as a holiday main, browse my 60+ Vegan & Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Guide and make a complete meal the whole family will love.
If you’re looking for more cozy vegan recipes, you’ll also love this One Pot Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff, this Easy Vegan Chili, and this Marvelous Mushroom Pot Pie.
How to Store Vegan Pot Pie
Leftover pot pie will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. When storing, tightly cover the pot pie with a layer of plastic wrap or aluminum foil, or transfer slices to an airtight container. Leftovers reheat best in the toaster oven or oven, covered with foil, but can be reheated in a pinch.
Freezing vegetarian pot pie is also possible, but is difficult to do without the crust becoming soggy and/or taking forever to bake from frozen. Instead, I would recommend freezing the pot pie filling and crust separately for up to 3 months. Then, thaw the two components separately in the refrigerator, assemble, and bake.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten-free option: Make this vegetable pot pie using my 3 Ingredient Pie Crust recipe. It’s naturally vegan, gluten-free, and grain-free.
- Oil-free option: Replace the melted butter with water or vegetable broth and use an oil-free pie crust. Again, 3-Ingredient Pie Crust would work well!
- Chickpea flour substitution: Replace the chickpea flour with all-purpose flour or brown rice flour, if gluten-free.
Yoast FAQs
It can be tricky to know which store-bought pie crusts are made without animal products, but thankfully, most of the widely available options are vegan friendly. Marie Callender’s pie crusts are one of the most popular, widely available options.
While pot pie is traditionally baked in a flaky pie crust, it can be enjoyed without crust with a side of vegan mashed potatoes (very similar to Vegan Shepherd’s Pie), flaky biscuits, or a store-bought puff pastry crust (use my Marvelous Mushroom Pot Pie for Inspiration!). Or, make my quick and easy No-Boil Chickpea Noodle Casserole for a fun twist on the classic recipe.
In this particular recipe, the classic chicken is replaced with wholesome, plant-based chickpeas. They’re a great source of protein and have just the right hearty texture. Some readers have also shared success making this pot pie using hydrated soy curls. If you’re an experienced home-cook, feel free to experiment and find your favorite vegan protein alternative.
Both the pie crust and chickpea pot pie filling can be prepared up to one day in advance, but should be refrigerated separately until ready to assemble. Then, when ready to serve, fill the pie crust with the easy pot pie filling, top with the top layer of pie crust, and bake as
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Vegan Pot Pie with Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 2 layers pie crust homemade or store-bought; see notes
For the Sauce:
- 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup chickpea flour*
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
For the Chickpea Filling:
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter or oil
- 1/2 yellow onion fine dice
- 2 sticks celery fine dice
- 1/2 cup carrots fine dice
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
- 2/3 cup gold potatoes peeled and diced
- 2/3 cup frozen peas thawed
- 1 1/2 cup chickpeas drain and rinse if using canned
Instructions
- Prep: Prepare your pie crust according to recipe or package instructions. Grease or line a 9” pie pan and par-bake the bottom crust. Keep the top crust chilled until just before baking in step 6. Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Make the Sauce: Whisk the flour, nutritional yeast, salt, and milk together in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickened. Set aside; the sauce will thicken further.
- Aromatics: Melt the butter in a large sauté pan with a lid over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and sauté for 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the thyme, smoked paprika, and black pepper; sauté for an additional 2 minutes, to toast the spices.
- Cook the Potatoes: Add the potatoes to the pan and mix well, then add 1/4 cup (60 ml) water to the pan and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, to steam the potatoes.
- Make it Saucy: Uncover the pan and add the chickpeas and peas. Mix well, then turn off the heat. Add in the prepared sauce and mix until evenly distributed to complete the pie filling.
- Assemble: Roll out the top pie crust according to recipe instructions. Transfer the chickpea filling to the par-baked crust, then top with the remaining crust. Use a fork to crimp the two pie edges together, then use a knife to cut a “X” in the center of the pie dough to allow for ventilation. Lightly tent the pie crust in foil.
- Bake: Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes. Check on the pie; if if the crust is already golden, loosely tent with foil to prevent burning. Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, checking for doneness every 5 minutes or so, until the crust is golden brown.
- Serve: Let the pie sit for 5 minutes, then slice and serve warm. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- Pie Crust: I like to make this all-butter pie crust (just use vegan butter!), or you can make my 3-Ingredient Pie Crust if you are gluten-free. The GF pie crust burns more easily, so you may need to tent the top of the pie with foil if it starts to get too brown. You can also use your preferred store-bought crust!
- Chickpea Flour: Chickpea flour can be replaced with all-purpose flour or brown rice flour.
- Make-Ahead: Both the pie crust and chickpea filling can be prepared up to one day in advance; store in the fridge until ready to use.
This was absolutely incredible! I made two for my extended family and everyone said it was so delicious! We had it on a freezing rainy evening and it was so perfect and cozy. Creamy and flavorful! Definitely a keeper recipe for us!
Yay! So happy you and your family loved it, Mace.
I made this a few nights ago on a whim and it was a HIT!! We have a large family so I doubled the recipe and made it in two rectangular pans. There was nothing left over. They are already asking when I am going to make it again. It was easy and delicious. Honestly Caitlin…I have not made one of your recipes that wasn’t a hit with the whole family. Thank you!!
That means a lot. Thank you so much, Amy! ♥
Incredibly warm, flavorful, and comforting – completely fulfilled my craving for pot pie. I will be making this recipe a lot this winter!
That will be perfect! Thank you, Jen!
This pot pie reminds me so much of home and my mother’s chicken pot pie. It’s creamy, warm and jam packed with veggies! I couldn’t help but add some sweet corn and tofu for an added punch of protein. Caitlin never fails to create simple and affordable recipes. 🥧
We’re so happy to hear that, Melanie! Thank you for the review.
Have been making this recipe for past 4 years. My husband whos not vegan and picky eater toddler love it! Delicious and quick and easy to make it!
So happy you all love it, Selina! Thank you for the 5-star review. ♥
This was delicious! I used frozen corn instead of celery, and added a little No Chicken bouillon. I also used regular flour instead of the chickpea flour. This recipe is very versatile and customizable. I think this will be a staple for me now!
So happy you loved it, Caitlynn!
Love this recipe! Such a great fall meal. It really shakes up the monotony of the usual dinner meals. I didn’t have any celery so added chanterelle mushroom instead. I also added a bit more salt than recommended.
So happy you loved it, Katie!
Any ideas on how to freeze ? I am about to deliver my baby and would love to have this as a postpartum meal!
Congratulations on your upcoming delivery! Preparing a vegan pot pie as a postpartum meal is a great idea.
Assemble the pot pie following the recipe, but don’t bake it.
Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or foil, then place it in the freezer.
When ready to eat, preheat your oven to 425°F.
Take the frozen pot pie out of the freezer, unwrap it, and place it in the oven.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is hot.
Let it cool a bit, slice, and serve.
This will help you have a comforting meal with minimal effort after your baby’s arrival. Enjoy!
This was really good. I used a diffrent home made pie crust, and it turned out excellent. I never liked pot pies….but as soon as I saw this recipe I wanted to try it. Glad I did….. the favor was great. Would defo make it again. We all enjoyed it. Thank you 🙂
So glad you enjoyed, Christine! Thank you for the review 🙂
This recipe was a crowd pleaser and beats out other chickpea pot pie recipes I’ve made. I used storebought pie crusts this time as I was short on time, but next time I’d like to try Caitlin’s recipe for crust. I filled the recipe, ingredient wise, but I changed up the methodology slightly. Rather than making the sauce first and separately, I made the chickpea filling and once all the veggies were nicely sauteed then I added all the sauce ingredients to the filling ingredients and it thickened up all in the one pot. This recipe sliced really nicely and held it’s shape when served. Will make again.
Thank you, Diana! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe
This came out really tasty! Used store-bought pie crust and it worked great. It reminds me so much of the chicken pot pie I grew up eating.
Happy you liked it, Rachel!
Hello! I would love to know the specifics about par baking the crust (temperature and time) before I attempt to make this! It looks incredible!
Hi Lindsey! If you are using store-bought pie crust it should will have par-bake instructions on the package. If you are following a recipe, it should have par-bake instructions as well. Both my gluten-free crust and this all-butter crust have par-bake instructions 🙂
This recipe is so good and pretty simple! I’ve made it quite a few times and even have used premade pie dough to make it even easier. It’s even better as leftovers once the flavors really meld together!
Totally with you on the leftovers. This is so good. Glad you enjoy it, Madison!
This recipe was DELICIOUS!! More importantly it was super easy and quick to make! Also had great ingredients. I will certainly be making this again and again.
So happy you loved it!
This recipe produced an excellent October comfort food meal for me and my son, and it couldn’t have been easier! Thank you for all of your hard work in providing us all with such scrumptious vegan alternatives, I love them all!
So happy to hear that, Laura!
If I wanted to just make the filling and serve it with rice, instead of making a pie, would I still bake it in the oven? If so for how long/ can I just leave it in a small baking dish?
Great question! You’d basically just need to combine the sauce w/ veggies and cook until the potatoes are tender. You could add a little extra liquid and continue to cook it on the stovetop, or add to a pie dish, cover with foil, and cook for 15-20 min!
Thank you for this excellent recipe! I have been craving pot pie lately and made it for dinner last night. I used a frozen vegan pie crust, substituted baked tofu cubes for the chickpeas, and used frozen vegetable blend, because I had those things on hand. The recipe was super easy to put together and so delicious. My family loved it. I will definitely be making this over and over again.
You are so welcome, Michele! Glad you all loved it.
I have made several times. Both my boyfriend and I love it. He is not vegan. I use soy curls. Thank You for all of your lovely recipes!
We’re so happy you and your boyfriend love the recipes, Christine!
This is a staple recipe. I often add extra water and turn it into a nice stew! Here are my recipe notes from over the years:
– Use any veggies you want, frozen works great
– Parm can be subbed in for nutritional yeast if your non-veg friends are curious and regular flour is also fine
– Add a bouillon cube to the sauce
– Add 2 cups broth when you add the sauce to the pot to make it a soup
– Spice blend: 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp paprika
– Add more salt 🙂
I REALLY love this site and every recipe on here is incredible! Thank you so much for making such simple and delicious vegan recipes!!
You’re always welcome and we’re happy you enjoy the recipes!
Made this for thanksgiving (Canada) & absolutely loved it! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes with the world 🙂
Glad you loved it, Vanessa!
I made this last week and it was a huge hit! I was thinking of maybe making it as an appetizer for Christmas but doing it in muffin pans. Do you think this can be done? Would I still need to pre bake the pie crust?
That’s a great idea and should work, although you’ll likely need to lower the baking time. I’d start with baking covered for about 10 minutes and removing the foil and checking every 5 minutes until baked through. And yes, I’d still pre-bake the pie crust as the 3 Ingredient Pie Crust recipe says, but I’d cut the baking time in half for the muffin tins and check on it every 5 minutes if it’s still uncooked.
I have made this several times and it is the best pot pie recipe ever! I do sub the chickpeas for canned lentils and take out the Nutritional Yeast (I am allergic) and it is PERFECTION. My non-vegan family and friends go crazy over this dish. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!!!
So happy everyone loved it, Shannon! Thank you!
I used all purpose flour and it was still amazing. Whole family loved it. Will be a go to for sure! Also very easy! I love your recipes! 💚
So glad you and your family loved it, Tabitha! Thank you so much. ♥
I make this for every holiday. I do skip the crust and put mashed potatoes on instead. My vegan and non vegan family all love it.
That’s awesome, Noelle!