Craving some classic comfort food with simple steps and even simpler ingredients? A mini vegan vegetable pot pie is the perfect treat for your plant-based belly. The light, flaky pastry is stuffed full of flavorful veggies and smothered in a rich, creamy gravy. You’ll wonder, “How can this possibly be vegan?” Even after sinking your teeth into this satisfyingly savory snack, you won’t believe how close this perfect little pot pie is to the original. This recipe can be made for any time of day, any time of year, whenever your craving strikes.
First step: gather your ingredients! Scour your pantry for the essentials: flour, oil, onion, water and vegetable bouillon—and, if you’re lucky, you’ll already have a handy canister of crescent rolls in the refrigerator. Snag a bag of frozen vegetables (your choice!) out of the freezer and you’re good to go.
You’ll start by lining your muffin tin with crescent roll dough, and then you’ll fill each dough pocket with your frozen veggies before adding the glorious gravy. Once that portion of perfection is added, you can fold the edges of the delightful dough towards the center and your beauties are ready to be baked!
Portion out your pies as soon as they’re out of the oven—but be warned, they may not even make it to the table! If you’re willing to wait, you can fill your plate with delicious vegan sides like mountains of mashed potatoes, sizable spoonfuls of gravy, and perhaps a sassy steamed vegetable like broccoli or green beans.
You won’t regret trying this remarkable recipe. Better yet, bake these for non-vegan friends and enjoy their delighted reactions! If you or your friends love cozy comfort food, this will be a repeat hit recipe for everyone.
Did you know that pot pies were originally from Greece? The great Greeks baked theirs with an open pastry shell and called them “Artocreas.” The settlers who migrated to the United States in the early 19th century brought a version of this beloved recipe with them. They are made almost the same exact way now as they were then, including identical ingredients such as flour for thickening, crispy crust, flavorful broth, and vibrant veggies.
The most common additions to the popular pot pie recipe are crunchy carrots and celery, diced onion, sweet peas, and some sort of protein. Options for creating this culinary dish include baking in the oven, in a skillet over a stovetop, or even cooking over a campfire! In the Pennsylvania Dutch region, they omit the crust and add in dumpling style dough, noodles, or perfectly poached potatoes. Clearly, there are endless ways to personalize this savory supper!
Crescent Rolls – The firm and flaky crust we all know and love! Because of their terrific triangular shape, these are very versatile for producing our pretty pot pies. If you like more crust, you could try adding a solid square (instead of a triangle) to the muffin mold and have more dough for the top.
Mixed Veggies -The best part of bags of mixed veggies is convenience and choice. Don’t like corn or peas? No problem! Substitute mushroom and pearl onions. If you prefer to skip frozen, you can easily dice up some fresh from the garden! Prefer adding a plant-based protein instead of veggies? Perfect! Pre-cooked and portioned tempeh, tofu, or even Tofurky would work well.
Flour – The Thickening Master! Without flour, your gorgeous gravy would be very sad indeed. It would be really runny, terribly thin, and missing that particular texture that makes gravy glorious. Another option would be arrowroot powder in identical amounts.
Vegetable Bouillon – If flour is the thickening master, then bouillon is the Flavor Queen! A cube of this concoction (or a scoop of Better Than Bouillon) will elevate your vegan pot pies to an ecstasy of deliciousness. The splendid combination of salt and seasonings truly creates the flavor foundation for this dish. Note: If you’re in a pinch and can’t find a vegan bouillon, you can add a similar amount of salt and a mixed medley of dried turmeric, parsley, pepper, celery salt, Italian and poultry seasoning (which does not contain any animal products), plus a nip of nutritional yeast or “nooch.”
Onion – The mild and aromatic bite of onion adds another dimension to this dish. Easily swap the yellow onion for a sharp and sweet red, a savory scallion, or even a spicy shallot! If this flavor or texture is not for you, just leave it out. You could simply substitute a dash of onion or garlic powder, a little pinch of ginger, or even an herbal mix of rosemary, thyme, and cheerful chives.
These pot pies are really best enjoyed fresh. But any mini vegan pot pies that are not immediately ingested can be stored in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator for a day or two. When ready to be eaten, you can pop the pies in the oven (or toaster oven) at 375 degrees for 5-10 minutes, or until heated all the way through. Be careful to watch them carefully, so that the tops of the crust do not burn.
We want to thank our amazing recipe testers Anne Sparks, J.J Steele & Nicole Benson for helping us perfect this recipe!
Mini Vegan Pot Pies recipe by Toni Okamoto and food photos by vegan food photographer J.J Steele. Copyright of World of Vegan™, all rights reserved. Please note that this article may contain affiliate links that support our work at World of Vegan.
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WOW, they were so simple to make and the ingredients were ones I use all the time anyway. I loved them and will make them again. Sometimes the easy ones taste the best. I love the gravy with mashed potatoes as well.
Thank you!!
Love these mini pot pies! so good! 🙂
These are SO fun to make, I still remember the first time Toni shared this recipe with me! Brilliant. And people love them! Also, you can use any vegan gravy recipe you’d like for these mini vegan pot pies 🙂
My favorite!
This is one of the very first recipes I ever tried once becoming vegan. I couldn’t believe how easy it could be to make a comfy, classic little meal. It’s delicious and super quick. Please give it a try!
I LOVE pot pies and these are so cute and easy to make! Gimme, gimme!