Food is linked to many memories in my life. While I didn’t always eat homemade food when I was young, the link is still there.
I’ve said this before but I was (and am) extremely fortunate. I didn’t grow up going to a “babysitter” in the traditional sense but instead I always hung out with my grandparents.
While my grandparents fed me what I wanted (McDonald’s- a sad byproduct of being a misinformed child of the nineties) there would be the rare time they would put their foot down and cook something.
Sure, the pot pies they cooked were frozen and sure, the pot pie probably had the same about of crap as the McDonald’s meal had; however, the experience was not the same. I, being the impatient person I am, would stake out in front of the oven. The smells wafting from the oven always caught me by surprise and the anticipation made the first bite that much better.
When I started eating vegetarian, I pretty much ruled out pot pies. I mean, the pot pies I always ate were chicken based and without the chicken I’d be eating peas, carrots, and potatoes. I attempted to make vegetarian pot pie which was good but not drool worthy.
What I missed was the creamy texture and the intoxicating aroma coming from my oven.
This pot pie has everything I was searching for and more. I get the creamy texture, the chunks of veggies, the intoxicating aroma, and more over: it’s healthy. The filling is actually vegan and made creamy by the lentils.
I think I found my new winter comfort food!
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PinIngredients
- 1/2 cup red lentils
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and 1/2″ cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup onions
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 3/4 cup veggie broth
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Pie Crust:
- 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, chilled
- 1 oz cream cheese, chilled
- 2-4 tablespoons of ice water
Instructions
- In a food processor (or a medium bowl) combine flour and salt for crust. Pulse (or cut) in butter. Once butter is mostly into small chunks, pulse (or cut) in cream cheese. Once butter and cream cheese are in pea size pieces, pulse in 1/4 cup of water until dough begins to come together (adding a 1 tablespoon of water extra as needed.) Remove from food processor and shape into a disc (without handling the dough too much.) Wrap in plastic and place in refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 400˚.
- Combine lentils and 2 cups of water together in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let cook until lentils have softened and most of the water has been soaked up. Set aside.
- In another pot, heat olive oil of medium-low. Cook onions until they become fragrant and translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in butternut squash and continue to cook for five more minutes or until butternut squash begins to soften. Next, add in rosemary and flour, stirring so that the flour covers the butternut squash and onion mixture.
- Pour in white wine and loosen anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Finally, stir in cooked lentils and veggie broth. Bring to a boil and stir for one minute then remove from heat and pour into a small casserole dish (mine was about 4″.)
- On a floured surface, roll out dough and you can use the dough as is and crimp it over the entire pot pie. The dough can also be cut with cookie cutters and places on top of the pot pie.
- Brush pie crust with olive oil and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
Kelsey says
Pretty leaves!
erin says
Thanks! I like to find uses for cookie cutters outside of sugar cookies 🙂
Fresh and Foodie says
This looks heartwarmingly yummy. I love the idea of pairing butternut squash and lentils.
erin says
I think it is a combo I am going to try more often. I’m just starting to use lentils and I already love them!
Lauren @ hey, who cut the cheese? says
This looks really amazing. I have some lentils hanging out in the cupboard that I’d like to use up sometime soon, too. Love the leaves! =) Thanks for this one.
Heidi says
Oooh, I’ve been craving something like a pot pie, without the meat and this looks delicious. I love squash, and the texture of red lentils sounds perfect in this. I can’t wait to try this at some point, I’m going to save the recipe for when I can find a nice squash, too bad I just used one up 🙁
Connie says
This was fantastic! I added about a 1/2 tsp more of rosemary and made the crust with vegan butter and cream cheese. I would even experiment with adding cinnamon or other spices to the crust. Also, we found it could serve four people easily if a salad or other side is included in the meal. Thank you for the wonderful recipe; I can’t wait to make it again!
★★★★★
Erin says
I made this tonight- how lovely! I followed the recipe pretty closely- something I rarely do. The crust was great- a perfect pairing to the savory center. I do think that you could easily take a lot of liberties and have this turn out phenomenally, I’ve already got some ideas hatching. I can guarantee that I will be experimenting more with pot pies in the near future. I also made extras to freeze for another day. I covered and froze them uncooked (but assembled). Thanks for this recipe!
sarah says
mine never boiled, but it was good.
Devon says
i just made this last night for my and my boyfriend and it was SO GOOD! it really does taste like a comfort food pot pie, somehow not totally like either squash or lentils. i didn’t have rosemary so i used thyme and it tasted great.
Tracy says
This is a little misleading as the filling is vegan, but the pot pie is not. Are there any recommendations on how to make the pot pie vegan?
erin says
I don’t think I stated that the whole thing was vegan but you substitute olive oil or canola oil for the butter- it just may not be as flaky. (or you could use the earth balance as well.)
Devon Clough says
What a fabulous recipe! I’m writing it down for safekeeping as we speak. I was avoiding a run to the store, so I substituted the squash for one sweet potato and three large carrots. I also used green lentils instead of red, so I didn’t end up with the same appetizing color, but it was delicious nonetheless! Even my meat-eating boyfriend has already requested I make this again. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Cookingcollegechick says
This looks so delicious. I haven’t seen many veggie pot pies around and I love that you’re using such healthful, filling ingredients. I’m definitely going to save this recipe!
sarah dobens says
Made this tonight. It was amazing. I added some diced celery and frozen peas.
Sonja says
Ooo this looks amazing! I love everything about this — especially the cute leaves! 🙂
Cindy says
Can you make this ahead of time and then bake it off when you are ready to eat?
Nina Dierick says
Hi ! Do you think this could be frozen ? thanks for the recipe. I’m pinning it to try it out soon
elalderson says
Yes- I think this would be a great meal to make ahead, freeze, and then bake when needed!
Kat B. says
Do you think this could be made with regular white flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour?
erin says
Yes- it subs the same!
susan says
I veganized this using earth balance and toffutti cream cheese. It was so yummy, I added a little earth balance to the broth and used 1/2 c white wheat flour, 1.4 cup white bread flour. It was the flakiest crust I’ve ever made. It made three crockpots servings.
Lindy says
This looks so yummy!
Christy says
I make this for my family every year for thanksgiving. It is so good!
Elizabeth says
Made this tonight (added peas) and it was DELICIOUS!
Celeste says
I’ve made this twice now, and I really like it! Very wholesome, savory dinner for a chilly night. The biggest flavor character is the rosemary. I may use less than a teaspoon, next time. It overwhelmed the other flavors, a bit, in my pie. Adding a dab more wine did not change the consistency, and I LOVED using all butter in the crust (I was out of cream cheese). It’s an amazing crust…even my non-whole wheat friends enjoyed it. Thanks for the delicious recipe. It’s been a staple this winter, in our house!
Elizabeth says
Just made this tonight, it was great! Very filling. I used homemade chicken stock instead of veggie, but otherwise followed the recipe. Yum!
★★★★★
Jo says
I’m going to try to make this. It looks great. Do you have a recipe for a gluten free pie dough that this pot pie recipe could work with. Could I just substitute gluten free flour mixture and follow your dough recipe? Thanks
erin says
Try this recipe for pie dough! http://heartbeetkitchen.com/2014/recipes/type/dessert/homemade-gluten-free-apple-pie/
Sunny says
This is a family favorite and we have been making it for birthdays and holidays ever since I found your recipe! Will be making it again today- Thanks!!!
★★★★★
Nirosha says
Made this tonight and it was scrumptious! I didn’t have enough BNS so supplemented with sweet potato. I also added a spoonful of cashew nut butter for extra creamy/comfort factor. The pastry was beautiful. This recipe is going to be a regular feature at mealtimes this winter. Thank you, Erin!