*This post may contain affiliate links. Read more »
This vegan pot pie recipe is a comfort food banger that's loaded with hearty soy curls, oodles (yes I use that word, OK?) of veggies, and a golden crust that's flaky AF. It's a hyper-cozy, crowd-pleasing dinner that's wayyyy simpler to pull off than it looks.
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
A good pot pie often fails at one of two points: lack of depth in seasoning or underwhelming crust that goes limp, and Honey, nobody wants either of those disappointments in their lives. I've tweaked this version so the soy curls soak up stock and tamari for real flavor, the filling thickens properly into a creamy built-in country-style gravy, and the pastry busts out all the flakes you can handle.
Round out your Thanksgiving spread with other one-pan mains like vegan shepherd's pie, roasted cauliflower steak, or mushroom bourguignon. Serve them all and watch your relatives fight over the last slice of vegan pumpkin chiffon pie instead of politics.
Absolutely delicious and so much flavor! I have never cooked soy curls before, but I have been so looking forward to do so. This was the perfect dish for those beauties. I served the pot pie with some roasted brussel sprouts and cranberry sauce. Yum!!!! Thanks Adam!
Jump to:
🥰 Why you'll adore this Vegan Pot Pie recipe
✊ Vegan AF: Like all of my vegan recipes, this one is 100% animal-free. The only animals it's been tested on are my border collie rescues, whom I shared a slice with during recipe testing.
🛒 No Grocery Store Safari: Everything here is made with basic pantry staples and common produce. Even frozen vegan puff pastry dough is super-easy to find in most grocery stores, and soy curls can be sent to your kitchen straight from our evil, world-dominating overlords at Amazon.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: After fine-tuning this recipe just like the rest of my vegan Thanksgiving recipes, I shared it with hundreds of recipe testers, and each pulled a golden, flaky pot pie from the oven with the same reliable results.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🥧 Vegan Pot Pie Ingredients
Soy curls
Butler Soy Curls are gluten-free and made from whole, non-GMO soybeans that are cooked, textured, and dried until they're ready to spring back with a meaty texture once rehydrated.
In this recipe they drink up tamari and stock so that they have some nice flavor internally.
If you've got leftovers after making this, they're perfect for vegan tikka masala, my tokwa't baboy, or a quick vegan pancit canton. Seitan works as a stand-in too (check out my vegan chicken seitan recipe if you want that option) or even fried (or air-fried) cubed extra-firm tofu.
Vegetable stock
I call for unsalted vegetable broth because salted ones vary so much that it would be hard to make sure you have consistent results. If that's not handy, just cut back a little on the tamari to taste.
You can make your own vegetable stock by simmering onion, carrot, celery, garlic, a couple bay leaves, and herbs in water until the veggies are pretty limp and lifeless feeling. Then strain and cool before using.
The Seasonings
Ground coriander, thyme, poultry seasoning (nope, don't be misled by the name, no eggs or chickens involved) bring that familiar pot pie vibe. If you want to add fresh herbs, use the classics: sage, rosemary, or thyme.
A sprinkle of nutritional yeast (aka nooch) gives the sauce a little umami boost.
Frozen vegan puff pastry dough
Vegan puff pastry is your golden ticket to a pie crust that flakes in all the right ways. Whole Foods 365 carries a store-bought vegan version, but my ride-or-die is Pepperidge Farm, which just happens to be vegan and has carried me through many baking sessions of cranberry puff pastries, vegan sausage rolls, and even my date pecan stuffed pumpkin puff pastry masterpiece.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
📖 How to make Vegan Pot Pie
Hungry now? Skip to the recipe card. Hungry and nosy? Keep reading for every step that makes this vegan pie work.
Step One
Fallout Soy:
Warm the vegetable stock until hot (but not boiling) and pour it over the soy curls in a heatproof bowl. Stir in tamari and let everything soak for 10 minutes to rehydrate the curls.
Step Two
Colander? Barely Know Her:
Transfer the soy curls to a colander and drain off the liquid completely. Toss the soaking liquid.
Step Three
Curl Jam:
Add olive oil to a skillet and heat over medium-high. After 60 seconds when the oil is hot, add the soy curls and cook for 7 minutes over medium-high heat until golden on all sides. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Step Four
Veggie Watts:
Wipe the skillet clean, then add more olive oil and place back over medium heat. After 90 seconds when the oil is hot, stir in onion, celery, and carrot. Cook for 8 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the vegetables soften.
Step Five
Herb Your Enthusiasm:
Mix in garlic, coriander, thyme, poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, and ground black pepper, and continue cooking for 2 minutes over medium heat until the garlic becomes fragrant.
Step Six
StockBuster Video:
Add the potatoes, then pour in the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork.
Step Seven
Fast and Slurious:
In a small bowl, combine plant milk, flour, and tamari, whisking with a fork until smooth and free of lumps.
Step Eight
The Plot Thickens, Like Charles Dickens:
Return the soy curls, peas, and parsley to the pan, then pour in the slurry. Cook for 4-5 minutes over low heat until the mixture thickens.
Step Nine
Pie Believe I Can Fly:
Set the oven to 375°F (190°C). Place one sheet of puff pastry into a pie pan or cast iron skillet.
Step Ten
License to Fill:
Spoon the pie filling into the pastry-lined pan.
Step Eleven
Bloods and Crimps:
Cover the filling with the second sheet of puff pastry. Crimp the edges gently to seal.
Step Twelve
(Optional) Leave Me Alone:
Use leftover pastry scraps to cut out small shapes like leaves, and stick them on top with a dab of water or plant milk.
Step Thirteen
Glaze Anatomy
Whisk maple syrup with plant milk, then brush evenly over the top crust. Slice small vents so steam can escape as the pie bakes.
Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 45-55 minutes until the crust is deeply golden brown and very flaky looking around the edges.
Step Fourteen
Pie Another Day
Remove the dish from the oven and let the pie rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving with or without vegan brown gravy, onion gravy, or vegan sausage gravy.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
💡What to serve for a vegan Sunday dinner:
Kick things off with roasted carrot lentil soup, or vegan butternut squash soup and some vegan cornbread that's been pan-fried in a small amount of olive oil.
Dang, that combo alone could keep people happy, but toss in maple balsamic Brussels sprouts with carrots, or some roasted garlic parsnip purée and you're really cooking with fire.
A vegan green bean casserole with that crunchy onion top? Fireee. And of course dairy-free mashed potatoes (don't even try skipping them) especially once they're swimming in mushroom gravy.
Vegan cornbread stuffing and maple-bourbon cranberry sauce belong on the table too, and roasted parsnips are the kind of side that makes everything else taste 10X better.
👉Top tips
- Keep That Pastry Chill: Puff pastry needs to stay cold but not frozen, so it's easy to handle and keeps those layers neat instead of turning into nightmarish goo.
- Give Steam an Exit Strategy: A few small slits in the top crust (or a cute antique pie bird) let steam escape to save your crust from soggy sadness.
- Golden Top = Cooked Bottom: A slightly darker top crust means the bottom crust has baked through. If the edges pull away from the pan, you've nailed it, hun.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Nobody wants a pie with a swampy bottom. The trick is to let the pie filling thicken before you tuck it into the pastry. If it's too runny, it'll seep straight down and ruin the pie crusts. Cutting vents in the top or popping in a pie bird gives steam a way out to keep the pastry crisp instead of soggy.
Yep. Straight-from-the-freezer pastry will crack, and if it gets too warm it turns stretchy and messy. Use it fridge-cold so it bends without breaking and stays flaky. Don't treat it like frozen mixed vegetables, if you know what I mean. And what I mean is: I hate frozen mixed vegetables and wouldn't even feed them to my doggos…
Keep leftover vegan pot pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. For longer storage, place it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, transfer the pot pie from the freezer to the refrigerator and let it sit overnight before reheating.
⚡️ Oven reheating:
Place a slice on a baking sheet and reheat in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15-20 minutes until warmed through. If you want the top extra crisp, give it a quick blast under the broiler for 2-3 minutes at the end.
🍁You'll love these vegan Thanksgiving recipes too:
Vegan Pot Pie
Equipment
- cast iron skillet
Ingredients
For the Soy Curls:
- 2 cups soy curls
- 1 ¾ cups unsalted vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon tamari or other soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Filling:
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup carrot peeled and diced
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup potato peeled and diced
- 2 cups unsalted vegetable stock
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups unsweetened plant-based milk
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons tamari or other soy sauce
- ½ cup parsley chopped
Crust:
- 1 lb. Frozen vegan puff pastry dough
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons plant-based milk
Instructions
- Place the soy curls in a medium bowl. Heat vegetable stock until hot but not boiling, then pour over the soy curls. Add tamari and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Drain the rehydrated soy curls in a colander, discarding any soaking water.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. After 60 seconds when the oil is hot, add the soy curls, and sauté them for 7 minutes until lightly golden all around. Remove the soy curls and set them aside.
- Wipe out the skillet and return it to the stove over medium heat, adding olive oil for the filling. After 90 seconds when the oil is hot, add the onion, celery, and carrot. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened.
- Add the garlic, coriander, thyme, poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, and black pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the potatoes and pour in vegetable stock. Once the stock is boiling, cover the pan and lower the heat to a simmer.
- In a bowl, whisk together plant-based milk, flour, and tamari with the tines of a fork until lump-free.
- When the potatoes are just fork tender, add the rehydrated soy curls and peas along with the parsley and the mixed slurry and cook for 4-5 minutes over low heat to thicken.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C), and line a pie pan or cast iron skillet with one sheet of puff pastry.
- Pour the filling into the pie crust. Lay the top sheet of puff pastry over the filling, crimping the edges gently to seal.
- Optionally, you can use scraps of the dough to form decorative leaves or other shapes to place onto the pie, sealing them onto the top crust with a little water or plant milk.
- Whisk together maple syrup and plant-based milk, then brush evenly over the pastry. Cut 3 small, decorative slits or holes in the top to allow steam to escape.
- Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 45-55 minutes, until the crust is deeply golden brown and very flaky looking around the edges Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving with or without gravy.
Notes
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cinnamon Snail.
KRB says
I had my doubts when I finished cooking the filling and it looked soupy - but I knew I should have had faith because all the Cinn Snail recipes I've tried have come out perfect. This was no different. This amazing, warm, comforting pot pie held together beautifully and tasted great. I loved the puff pastry crust. I forgot the glazing step before baking but didn't miss it. We fed to omni friends and they loved it. It was my first time cooking with soy curls and the only thing I think I'd do different next time would be to cut the soy curls a little smaller. I felt like they ended up too big compared to all the other diced veggies (or I could chop the veggies bigger to match).
KCarm says
This was delicious!
Jeff B. says
The final product was very tasty. Unfortunately, when sliced, the filling oozed out on each side ruining the pie structure. Next time, I think I'll try prebaking the bottom crust for a few minutes to try and keep it crispy and let the pie rest for longer than 10 minutes, so that the filling will thicken more and not ooze as much when sliced.
I think the prep time of 10 minutes is too low. I can't dice a cup of onions, peel and dice a cup of carrots, dice a cup of celery, peel and dice a cup of potatoes, measure out the spices, measure out 2 cups of soy curls, measure out 1 3/4 cups of plant-based milk for the soy curls, measure out 1/4 cup of flour, chop 1/2 cup of parsley, measure out 2 cups of stock for the filling, measure out 2 tsp of plant-based milk and 2 tsp of maple syrup for the top of the pie, in 10 min.
Dana says
Absolutely delicious and so much flavor! I have never cooked soy curls before, but I have been so looking forward to do so. This was the perfect dish for those beauties. I served the pot pie with some roasted brussel sprouts and cranberry sauce. Yum!!!! Thanks Adam!