Creamy Vegetable Pot Pie

Give chicken pot pie a break and try this delicious spring vegetable version.

By Marianne Williams

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Credit: Johnny Autry; Food and Prop Styling: Charlotte L. Autry

Recipe Summary

cool:
15 mins
bake:
30 mins
total:
1 hr 20 mins
active:
35 mins
Servings:
6
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Imagine the pot pie of your childhood. Supremely flaky and buttery with a creamy, warm interior, this dish was the underrated star of the weeknight dinner table. Our Test Kitchen professionals sought to develop a pot pie recipe that channeled that comforting, nostalgic feeling, with a fresh, springy twist. The final product? A rich, but still light pot pie that makes the most of fresh spring vegetables. That's right: You won't find any chicken in our Creamy Vegetable Pot Pie. Trust us when we say that you won't even miss the meat.

Enriched with heavy whipping cream and crème fraîche, then bolstered with whole-grain mustard and fresh thyme, this recipe takes the typical flavor profile of a pot pie to a whole new level. This dish is impressive enough to grace the table at any spring dinner party, but simple enough to execute on a busy weeknight. Be sure to cook your pot pie in a cast-iron pan—this vegetable pot pie recipe is a one-pan wonder. If you're really missing the meat, feel free to add rotisserie chicken to your pot pie.

This pie is weeknight-easy thanks to frozen puff pastry. To up the elegance, we cut the pastry into triangles and arrange it like a flower on top of the pie. Talk about a gorgeous all-in-one meal.

Ingredients

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third position. Heat butter and oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high until butter is melted and foamy. Add mushrooms in a single layer. Cook, undisturbed, until golden brown and crispy on bottoms, about 5 minutes. Toss mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid releases and evaporates, about 4 minutes. Add carrots, leeks, and ½ teaspoon of the kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are just beginning to soften and leeks are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables are fully coated and flour smells nutty and turns golden brown, about 1 minute. Add stock; bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid starts to thicken, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in whipping cream, crème fraîche, mustard, 2 teaspoons of the thyme, and remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

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  • Meanwhile, roll pastry sheet out onto a lightly floured work surface into a 12-inch square. Cut evenly into 3 (4-inch-wide) strips. Cut each strip evenly into 6 triangles. Stir together egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. 

  • Stir peas into warm vegetable mixture in skillet. Arrange pastry triangles in a concentric-circle pattern over mixture, leaving a slight (about ½-inch) overhang around skillet edges and slightly overlapping triangles (some vegetable mixture will still be exposed around edges). Brush pastry with egg mixture; sprinkle with flaky sea salt. 

  • Place a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil on oven rack; place skillet on sheet. Bake in preheated oven until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly around edges, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon thyme.

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