Vegan Chicken Pot Pie

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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 pie 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!

Table of Contents

• Ingredients for Vegan Chicken Pot Pie
• How to Make Vegan Chicken Pot Pie
• Vegan Chicken Options for Pot Pie
  • The Best Vegan Chicken
  • Easiest to Find Options
  • Budget-Friendly Option
• How to Top Your Vegan Chicken Pot Pie
• More Vegan Comfort Food

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.
• 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 option, feel free to substitute in a can of beans (I like white beans 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.
• Unsweetened plant milk OR vegan cream. This makes the pot pie filling even more 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 plant milk.
• 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.

How to Make Vegan Chicken Pot Pie

1. Sauté veggies. You’re going to start out by sautéing all of your veggies. I give the onion and celery a head start. If you want to add in mushrooms, you can add those at the beginning as well to cook off their extra moisture.
2. Coat with flour and thicken. Sprinkle your flour over your filling, stirring to make sure everything gets coated. Pour in your broth and plant milk, cooking until mixture becomes thick.

3. Add the vegan chicken and peas. Once the “gravy” is thickened, stir in the vegan chicken pieces and frozen peas. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 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. 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.

More Vegan Comfort Food

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

Print

Vegan Chicken Pot Pie

This vegan chicken pot pie has flaky puff pastry with fresh vegetables and vegan chicken in a savory cream sauce. Hearty and comforting!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Vegan

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Author Sarah Sullivan

Equipment

• 9" deep dish pie pan, 2qt casserole pan, or 10" cast iron skillet
• sauté pan
• pastry brush for brushing crust

Ingredients

• 1 sheet vegan-friendly puff pastry such as Pepperidge Farm, defrosted
• 1 medium white or yellow onion diced
• 1 cup diced celery (2-3 stalks)
• 1 cup diced carrots (2-3 carrots)
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 4-6 cloves garlic minced
• 12 oz vegan chicken-style strips coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup vegan butter or olive oil
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup vegetable broth preferably chicken-style, such as No Chicken Better than Bouillon
• 1 cup unsweetened plain plant milk (I use homemade cashew cream; see notes for recipe)
• 1 teaspoon poultry spice or any fresh herbs you like
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Melt vegan butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. (I like to cook everything in a 10" cast iron skillet so that I can transfer it straight to the oven to bake.) Sauté onions and celery for 3-5 minutes, until onions are translucent.
• Add carrots and garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
• Sprinkle vegetables with all-purpose flour and stir to coat. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. We simply want to cook out the raw flavor of the flour; we aren't trying to develop any color.
• Add the vegetable broth and stir to dissolve the flour. Scrape up anything that might be sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Add in the plant milk and poultry seasoning (or fresh herbs). Stir to combine. The mixture should be quite thick at this point. This is a good time to taste the filling and add salt and pepper to preference. How much salt is needed will depend on the brand of vegetable broth you're using.
• Fold in the chopped vegan chicken and peas.
• If needed, transfer pot pie filling into a deep dish pie pan or casserole dish. If you sautéed everything in a cast iron or other ovenproof skillet, you can bake it directly in this.
• Cover with defrosted puff pastry sheet and tuck in along the edges of the pan. Cut a few vents in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Optionally, you can brush it with a little plant milk to encourage browning.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes, until pastry is puffed up and evenly golden brown.

Video

Notes

Ingredients Notes

• Chicken-style veggie broth: Edward & Sons and Better Than Bouillon make my favorite options. You can use regular veggie broth but it will taste less savory.
• Vegan chicken: Daring makes our favorite. Check the blog post for more recommendations.
• Homemade cashew cream: Soak 1/2 cup raw cashews in water for 4+ hours. Drain and blend with 3/4 cup fresh water until completely smooth.

Substitutions

• Veggies: Feel free to substitute in different veggies of choice, such as leeks, sliced mushrooms, broccoli, green beans, cubed potatoes, corn, etc. If adding mushrooms, you’ll want to add them with the onions and cook off as much excess liquid as you can.
• Frozen veggies: I prefer to use fresh veggies, but you can substitute in a 16 oz bag of mixed frozen veggies for the celery, carrots and peas to save some time.

Did you make this recipe?We’d love for you to leave a review on the website! You can also share a photo on IG and tag @SarahsVeganKitchen_ or #sarahsvegankitchen.