Vegan Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie is an absolute classic when it comes to comfort food, and this Vegan Chicken Pot Pie tastes every bit as delicious as I remember. It’s packed with fresh veggies and plant-based chicken, all swimming in a delicious creamy gravy and topped with flaky, buttery puff pastry.

Whether you’re searching for the perfect entrée for your holiday dinner spread, or are just craving something hearty and cozy on a regular weeknight, Vegan Chicken Pot Pie is sure to hit the spot! Because I didn’t grow up eating pot pies that often, I always thought it was difficult to make and only for “special occasions.” But it’s actually a fairly simple recipe, and it can be a one-pan meal if you use a cast iron skillet!

Ingredients for Vegan Chicken Pot Pie

• Onion, garlic, celery + carrot. Also known as mirepoix, this mixture creates a flavorful aromatic base.
• Frozen peas. If you’re not a fan of peas, feel free to omit them and bump up the quantity of the mirepoix instead. You could also add another kind of vegetable, such as mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, frozen corn, etc.
• Butter + flour. Together, these form a roux which will thicken your vegan chicken pot pie filling. You can technically use olive oil (or another kind of oil), but I think vegan butter contributes the most delicious, nostalgic flavor to this dish. Miyoko’s Creamery makes my favorite nondairy butter (it’s a little pricey but I will splurge for special occasions like the holidays). But there are plenty of options on the market these days!
• Vegan chicken-style strips. See the section below for more info about vegan chicken substitutes on the market. If you want a more whole-foods based protein option, feel free to substitute in a two cans of beans (I like white beans or chickpeas in this recipe), drained and well-rinsed.
• Vegetable broth. If you can, I highly recommend using a chicken-style veggie broth. Edward & Sons make my go-to chicken-style bouillon cubes (1 cube per 2 cups liquid). Better Than Bouillon also makes a Not Chicken style veggie broth. It will make your recipe more savory.

• Cashew cream OR unsweetened, plain plant milk. This makes the pot pie filling extra creamy and luscious. I love to use homemade cashew cream (1/2 cup soaked raw cashews blended with 3/4 cup water), but you can use a store bought vegan heavy cream substitute, or your favorite plain, unsweetened dairy-free milk. Just make sure it’s something you think would taste good in a savory dish. Oat milk would be my choice if I wanted to go the store-bought route.
• Poultry seasoning. I use this as a shortcut when I don’t want to shell out for several different kinds of fresh herbs. You’re welcome to substitute in a few tablespoons of your favorite fresh chopped herbs, such as thyme, rosemary and sage!
• Puff pastry. There are many options to top your vegan chicken pot pie! I usually use a sheet of puff pastry. However, you can whip up a homemade pie crust, or even top it with biscuit dough. More details on this below.
• Salt and black pepper. To taste, as always.

How to Make Vegan Chicken Pot Pie

1. Sauté veggies. You’re going to start out by sautéing all of your veggies in a generous amount of vegan butter. (If you want to add in mushrooms as well, add those now, so they have a chance to shed the excess moisture.)
2. Coat with flour and thicken. Sprinkle your flour over your filling, stirring to make sure everything gets coated. Optionally, deglaze with a splash of dry white wine. Then pour in your broth and plant milk. Stir in the poultry seasoning.

3. Add the vegan chicken and peas. Stir in the vegan chicken pieces and frozen peas. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook over low heat until thickened to your preference. Give it a taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Different brands of veggie broth have different sodium contents, so the exact amount of salt will depend.

4. Transfer into baking pan. Pour your filling mixture into your preferred baking pan, whether it’s a pie pan or a casserole pan. If you prepared the filling in a cast iron pan or other ovenproof skillet, you can leave it in there for baking.

5. Cover with puff pastry. Lay your defrosted puff pastry over top and tuck along the sides of the dish. Cut a few slits in the top for ventilation and brush with a touch of plant milk to get that nice browning on top (like a vegan egg wash). Alternatively, you can top it with a regular pie crust or with biscuit dough.
6. Bake until puff pastry is puffed up and golden brown. This usually takes around 40-45 minutes if you’re using puff pastry. It’ll take less time if you’re topping it with biscuit dough — usually only around 25 minutes. The filling should be nice and bubbly.

Vegan Chicken Options for Pot Pie

The Best Vegan Chicken

• Daring Original Plant Chicken Pieces are my favorite vegan chicken substitute, but they are a bit pricier. They have a convincing, shreddable texture and they don’t get soggy or rubbery. I would totally splurge on these if I wanted to make this vegan pot pie for guests or a holiday dinner. You would probably need two bags of these to make this pot pie nice and meaty. (They’re also gluten-free.)

Easiest to Find Options

• Gardein Chick’n Strips are usually easy to find at regular chain grocers in the frozen section. The texture of these is not my favorite for dishes with a lot of moisture because they tend to get a little soggy. To help with that, you could consider searing them in a separate pan before adding to the dish.
• Morningstar Farms Veggie Chik’n Strips are another widely available option. The flavor is not my favorite on its own, but I think there are enough other flavors in this pot pie to make this a good option. It has a nice firm texture.
• Alpha Plant-Based Grilled Chik’n Strips are available at many Sprouts stores and certain other chains. I haven’t tried this exact product but I have enjoyed other products by this brand.

Budget-Friendly Option

• Butler Soy Curls are a staple for me. Typically I’ll spend extra for a more convincing chicken substitute for a special occasion or when serving guests, but I love soy curls for regular weeknight dinners. You can order them online or find them at select health food stores (for example, Natural Grocers). They come dehydrated and you simply need to reconstitute them with boiling water. Then drain them and squeeze out the extra moisture and roughly chop them before adding to your vegan pot pie.

How to Top Your Vegan Chicken Pot Pie

• Puff Pastry. This is my personal favorite way to top my chickenless pot pie because it’s super easy and delicious. Not all brands of puff pastry are vegan-friendly, but Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets are “accidentally” vegan. Just make sure you leave them in the fridge the night before, or set them out on the counter a few hours before, so they are defrosted enough to roll out.
• Pie Crust. This is a more classic option, and is great if you want a more classic pie configuration (with a top and bottom crust). For a store-bought option, Marie Callender’s Deep Dish Pastry Pie Shells are accidentally vegan. You can also make your own using your favorite pie crust recipe and vegan butter.
• Biscuit Dough. Another fun and easy way to top a chickenless pot pie is with store-bought biscuit dough! Lots of brands are accidentally vegan, including the Pillsbury Grands! Southern Homestyle Biscuits or Annie’s Organic Flaky Biscuits. Just make sure to double-check the ingredients since Pillsbury has so many different varieties of biscuits with similar names. You can consult this helpful blog post by IAmGoingVegan.com to double-check.

Substitutions

I don’t have poultry spice. Help!

If you don’t have poultry seasoning on hand, you can substitute in 1/2 teaspoon each of dried sage, dried thyme, and dried rosemary.

Can I use fresh herbs instead?

Sure thing! Chop up about 1/2 tablespoon each of fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary. (Or add as much as you like.)

Can I make this without faux meat?

Of course! For an all-veggie pot pie, 16 ounces of mushrooms is a great substitution. Regular button or cremini mushrooms would work fine, or get a little fancy and use a gourmet blend with oyster, shiitake, and dry porcini mushrooms. Simply slice them up and and add them in with the aromatic veggies. Adjust the sauté time to allow the mushrooms to shed their extra moisture before adding the flour.

You can also sub in your favorite beans! (White beans are my favorite in this recipe because they’re so creamy, but chickpeas or butter beans would be tasty too.) Drain and rinse 2 cans of beans and add them in when the recipe directs you to add in the chicken.

Storage & Reheating

Leftovers should ideally be stored in the baking dish that you used to make the pot pie. Just cover it tightly with a reusable cover or plastic wrap. This way, when it’s time to reheat your leftovers, you can just pop the entire dish back into a 350°F oven, loosely tented with foil, for 15-20 minutes, or until warmed all the way through.

If not storing in the baking dish, put your leftovers in an airtight container and stick in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can microwave any leftovers as you normally would. When you microwave your leftover pot pie, the puff pastry won’t be crispy anymore, but it’ll still be delicious!

More Vegan Comfort Food

• Vegan Alfredo Sauce
• Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
• Vegan Beef Stew