White bean thyme pot pies are a perfect vegan comfort food: warm, hearty, and filling. Now that we have vegan recipes for them, we are big fans of pot pies in my house. This recipe is not complicated at all, even though it seems to have a lot of ingredients. You just simmer the filling, make a simple 4-ingredient crust, then assemble. Easy as pot pie!
When making the filling, I found that the one pound of carrots in the original recipe from Minimalist Baker was a bit too many for me. While the carrots did sweeten the sauce quite a bit, I felt like they dominated the flavor. So, I’ve included potatoes and you can even add peas, if you’d like. To include peas, just add 1/2 cup of the cut potato and 1/2 cup of frozen or canned peas. If using canned peas, add them at the same time as the 2 cups of broth are poured into the pan, so they won’t get too smashed during the flour coating and roux making process.
The recipe calls for fresh thyme or dry thyme. I’ve been on a fresh thyme kick lately. The fresh herb has lasted a surprisingly long time in the fridge, which is helpful. It makes a pretty garnish, too! If you can use fresh thyme, you should. Otherwise, the dried thyme will also add delicious flavor. I have lived a lifetime using dried herbs and they’ve never let me down.
The original recipe also calls for 1/2 cup of white wine added to the filling when first thickening the sauce. I just used 1/2 cup of the veggie broth, since I’m not partial to the flavor added by wine in a sauce. If you want to use wine, add it in after tossing the sauteed vegetables in flour. Let thicken slightly, then add the remaining 3 cups of veggie broth.
When I’ve made pot pies in the past, I’ve turned to a frozen puff pastry for the crust. Puff pastry is fine, but I think you’ll appreciate the crust in this recipe more. I find the puff pastry can be a bit greasy, and this crust isn’t. You get a real crust flavor from this one and it’s easy to make. But, if you need to save time and put these pot pies together quickly, thawing out a puff pastry works great and looks just as fabulous.
Making the crust, I used all 7 tablespoons of cold water. You might find that a dough forms for you after just a few tablespoons. Once the dough forms, stop adding water at that point and roll out the dough. If you aren’t familiar with cutting in butter, it is just what it sounds like. Using a pastry cutter or fork (or in school we were taught to use two butter knives held side by side – a fork is easier) you simply cut through the butter, forcing it down into the flour, coating it. You want all the butter pieces to be cut into small pieces, each smaller than a pea. The tinier bits of butter will combine with the flour and will look grainy. You can’t go wrong with this step, so relax and just do it.
When rolling out the dough, I found the recommended 1/8-inch thickness a bit too thin. Aim for somewhere between 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch. When I added vents in the top of my crust the first time, I used a toothpick, making a pattern with the small holes. The holes, however, did not vent properly, so my pot pie filling boiled over the sides a little bit while baking. The pies looked very rustic, but I lost a few bites in the boiling over! I recommend using a knife to make at least one 1-inch slit in the center of the crust.
I used four 6-inch ramekins. If you have smaller ramekins, you will get more pot pies.
If you make these pies and then have leftovers, you can reheat them in the oven at 350 F. I microwaved mine, but the center took longer to heat and I had to cut the crust and stir the filling. But, hey, if you’re only feeding you or your family, you might not care (we didn’t).
If you’re looking for warm and hearty vegan comfort food, you might also be interested in this Vegan Mushroom Pot Pie recipe or these Vegan Scalloped Potatoes.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 45 minutes |
| Servings |
6-inch ramekins
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- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion white or yellow, finely diced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 pound carrots peeled & chopped, about 6 carrots
- 1 large russet potato peeled & cut into 1/2-inch, or 1/2 cup cut potato and 1/2 cup peas
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth, or dry white wine
- 3 cups vegetable broth, or vegan chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 15 ounce can white beans I use cannellini
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt fine grain, or table salt
- 10 tablespoons cold vegan butter
- 4 - 7 tablespoons cold water I use water with a few cubes of ice in it
Ingredients
For the filling:
For the crust:
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- Preheat your oven to 400 F and arrange four 6-inch ramekins on a baking sheet.
- In a large pot, over medium heat, saute the diced onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, plus a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook 2 to 3 minutes.
- Once the onions are translucent, add the carrots and potato and a pinch more of salt and pepper.
- Add 1/4 cup of flour to the pot and stir to coat the vegetables. Add 1/2 cup of veggie broth (or dry white wine) and thoroughly combine all the ingredients, letting the flour and broth thicken a little bit. Then add the remainder of the broth.
- Add the thyme and beans and bring to a boil, reducing immediately to simmer while stirring for a few minutes. Once the filling thickens some, set the pan of filling aside, off of the heat.
- Add flour and salt to a medium mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Add the cold vegan butter to the bowl and use a pastry cutter or fork to cut the butter into the flour, until all the butter pieces are pea size or smaller and the mixture is somewhat grainy.
- Add the ice cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, gently mixing after each water addition, until a dough forms. You may not need to use all 7 tablespoons of the water. Once you form a dough, stop adding water.
- Use your hands to form a ball of dough in the bowl, getting all scraps from the side and bottom of the bowl. Place your dough on a floured surface and lightly flour a rolling pin and the top of the dough. Roll the dough out to between 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch. Add any flour as needed for rolling.
- Cut into four squares (or your number of smaller ramekins), slightly larger than the tops of your ramekins.
- Ladle the bean filling into the ramekins until they are almost full. Use a floured spatula to place the crusts on the ramekin tops.
- Use a sharp knife to cut a few vents into the center of each crust.
- Bake 30 to 45 minutes, removing the pies from the oven when the crusts have reached desired brownness. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
- The pot pies can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, bake at 350 F until bubbly.
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