Mini Vegetable Pot Pies
By Megan Kowalczyk of Blog Appétit
It’s officially a new year and one where you can leave the weeknight cooking or dinner party meal ideas up to us because we have you covered with these mini vegetable pot pies that can be made in an hour or less! The best part about this recipe is how versatile it is and how we cheat to save a little time (sshh - don’t tell).
These mini vegetable pot pies are the perfect vegan friendly version of the beloved classic, Chicken Pot Pie. Using simple ingredients, this warm and cozy dish is sure to be a crowd pleaser at your next dinner party or with the family for a weeknight dinner.
This dish requires little to none prep work and can be done ahead of time if needed. You’ll want to start off with chopping your onion, celery and potatoes.
Next, heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat and add your olive oil, onion, thyme, celery and garlic. Cook until celery is slightly softened, about 3-4 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium and add your potatoes.
Cook until you can easily pierce through them with a fork. Sprinkle your flour over the mixture and stir to evenly coat everything. Add the broth, almond milk and bay leaves and stir to combine. Simmer until the mixture is thickened and then add frozen vegetables. You can also use fresh here instead if preferred. I like frozen as it’s a big time saver! Cook for a few more minutes and then discard your bay leaves, cover and set aside.
Roll out your pie dough (you can cheat here too with thawed pre-made vegan pie crust from the frozen section) to about ⅛ inch thickness and cut to create 12 even rectangles large enough to cover the edges of your ramekins.
Fill your ramekins with the vegetable/potato mixture and top with your pie crust. Push down slightly on the edges to seal the mixture in and cut three slits on top of the crust to prevent bubbling. Brush melted butter over top, sprinkle with a little thyme and bake in the oven on a baking sheet (you can do them in batches of 4 or 6 at a time) for 14-15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
This recipe makes about 12 ramekins - great for a dinner party entree or large family meal. You can also cut the pie crust in half and do 6 ramekins and serve the rest as soup or freeze it to make the other half at a later time. Enjoy!
Mini Vegetable Pot Pies
Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion - chopped
1 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves (minced)
5 russet potatoes - peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup + 1 tbs all purpose flour
4-5 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
3 bay leaves
2 10oz bags of frozen mixed vegetables (corn, green beans and carrots)
½ tsp sea salt
⅛ tsp pepper
2 store bought vegan pie crusts or your favorite vegan pie crust recipe
2 tbsp vegan butter (melted)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add olive oil then onion, celery, garlic and thyme. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add potatoes and cook on medium heat for 7 more minutes. Stir continuously to avoid potatoes getting stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Once potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork, add the flour and stir to evenly coat the potato mixture. While stirring add in vegetable broth.
Add almond milk and bay leaves and stir. Bring mixture to a low simmer and cover for about 13-14 minutes until thickened.
Once the mixture is thickened, add the frozen vegetables and salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 more minutes.
Remove and discard the bay leaves. Cover mixture and set aside while you prepare the pie crust topping.
Defrost or mix up your pie crust dough and using a well floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about ⅛ inch thickness onto a floured surface creating a large rectangle shape. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut rectangles large enough to cover the edge of your ramekins.
Divide the potato/vegetable mixture evenly into your ramekins (will make about 12 ramekins). Place the pie crust on top and gently push down around the edges to seal the mixture in. Using a sharp knife make three slits in your pie crust to prevent crust from bubbling when baking.
Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each pie crust with the melted butter. Top with thyme (optional) and bake in the pre-heated oven for 14-15 minutes. Bake until edges are slightly golden brown and the middle of the dough no longer looks raw.
Let cool and serve!
