This hearty vegan mushroom pie is a crowd-pleaser - a rich beery gravy with thickly cut chestnut mushrooms and nutty puy lentils.
🍴Why you will love this recipe
This pie is always a crowd-pleaser - beer and puff pastry is surely a winning combination in anyone's book. It is just as good with chips and mushy peas as it is with roast potatoes and all the trimmings.
I often make little individual vegan mushroom pies in ramekin dishes, instead of one big one. The recipe below will make 4 individual pies or one big one as pictured.
If you're in a hurry, you can speed this recipe up by using tinned green lentils instead, though I tend to find them a bit mushy so prefer to use dried puy lentils whenever I have time.
This is the dish that launched the blog - my entry into the Linda McCartney competition in 2011 to find 'the Nation's Tastiest Meat-Free Dish'. I won, and this vegan mushroom pie became part of their ready-meal range! It was a surreal but brilliant experience, watching my pie recipe go into production in their factory in Norfolk.
📝 What you need
Ingredients
Shallots Go for the small, round ones (pickled onion size), or if you can only get hold of the big 'banana' shallots, just use 3 of them and slice into rounds.
Chestnut Mushrooms work really well here as they tend to hold their shape much better than other mushrooms when cooked, and retain their 'meaty' bite.
Ready-rolled puff pastry Many of the big brands of puff pastry are in fact vegan, just avoid any that are marked 'all butter' and do check the label before buying.
Puy lentils give such a brilliant texture to this pie - they are dark green and very nutty. If you can't get hold of any then any other dried lentil will be fine.
Dried porcini mushrooms These give the 'gravy' all of its intense, mushroom flavour. They aren't cheap but they do go a long way so do splash out if you can.
Brown ale There are a lot of vegan ales out there these days - many are clearly marked on the label, but if you're not sure there's a really handy app called Barnivore which is very good for checking whether alcoholic drinks are vegan.
If you're cooking for kids or someone who doesn't like beer, just swap it for more vegetable stock. Or for a bit of variation you can use red wine instead, to turn this into a bourguignon-style pie. Lovely!
👩🏽🍳 How to make your vegan mushroom pie
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼.
Peel and halve the shallots, then fry gently. Clean and cut the mushrooms in half or into large chunks. Stir the garlic, tomato purée and mushrooms into the pan.
Add the cornflour and stir, then the lentils, ale and vegetable stock. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Soak the porcini mushrooms in boiling water.
Add the porcini and their soaking juice to the pie filling, then tip into the pie dish. Unroll the puff pastry and use a knife to decorate if you wish.
Wet the edges of the pie dish, press down the pastry and trim to size. Use a fork to crimp the edges then glaze with plant milk with a drop of soy sauce. Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.
👩🏽🍳 Top Tips and FAQs
Make sure the consistency of the filling is right before putting it into the pie dish - you can't adjust it once it is baked. If it is too thick just add a splash of water to thin it down. If it is too runny, simmer for a few more minutes.
You can use shortcrust pastry instead of puff if you prefer.
To make an alcohol-free pie just use non-alcoholic beer or the same quantity of vegetable stock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This pie freezes really well - in fact I sometimes make up quite a big batch in individual foil pie trays ready to defrost and pop in the oven when I need a speedy comfort-food dinner.
Make up the pie filling as per the instructions, then leave it to cool, cover with the puff pastry and brush with milk, then freeze before baking. You will need to fully defrost the pie before baking it, or the pastry will end up burnt before the filling is properly cooked, and it could damage your serving dish.
Yes, this is ideal to prep-ahead. You can make the filling and cover with pastry then chill in the fridge for up to 24 hours until baking.
⭐️ Reader Testimonials
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "I made this pie and oh my gosh it tastes absolutely delicious! My partner had 2 portions he liked it that much, you wouldn’t think it was meat free." Victoria
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Have just made this and it was absolutely delicious! Don’t normally remake much, but this will be something I can see us making again and again!" N.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "This recipe went down a treat in our house, will be making this again!" Danielle
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "These are the nicest pies I have ever eaten. Gorgeous!" Emily
🍽 If you liked that...
.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Mushroom Pie with ale & lentils
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon rapeseed or sunflower oil
- 10 small shallots
- 2 garlic cloves or 1 teaspoon garlic purée / ready-chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoon tomato purée
- 75 g dried puy lentils
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- 300 g chestnut or flat mushrooms
- 20 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 275 ml brown ale check it is vegan
- 200 ml vegetable stock
- 180 g ready-rolled puff pastry check it is vegan
- dairy-free milk to glaze
- a few drops soy sauce to glaze - optional
Instructions
- Peel and halve the shallots. Heat a little oil in a pan and cook gently until starting to soften. Reduce heat, add the garlic and cook for two more minutes.
- Clean the mushrooms and cut into halves, quarters or large chunks.
- Add the tomato purée and mushrooms to the pan and stir. Turn up heat and cook until the mushrooms start to release their juices.
- Rinse the lentils in a sieve until the water runs clear. Add to the pan along with the cornflour and stir.
- Add the ale and vegetable stock. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, cover the porcini mushrooms in boiling water and soak for 20 minutes. Drain, (reserving the soaking liquid), and chop roughly. Add both the porcini and the soaking liquid to the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4.
- Remove the lid of the pan and continue to cook until the lentils are just cooked through (they should still have quite a bit of 'bite'), and the sauce is thick and glossy. If it becomes too thick, add a splash of water.
- Spoon the mixture into the pie dish. Unroll the puff pastry and use a knife to decorate it if you wish (see photos above).
- Brush the edges of the pie dish with water and cover with pastry. Trim with a sharp knife and use a fork to crimp the pastry down onto the edges.
- Make a glaze from a little dairy-free milk with a few drops of soy sauce (optional), and brush over the pie. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Free 4-Week Vegan Meal Plan
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Heather Doyle says
I was hoping the brown ale would push this over the top flavor-wise, but was disappointed. The texture was very one note, and although the mushroom mixture was tasty it suffered from not having something else to off set, or play well with, the mushrooms.
Kate Ford says
Sorry to hear this wasn't your cup of tea Heather!
Lynne B. says
I made this for supper tonight. This is the third recipe of yours that I have made. They were all delicious and easy to prepare. Thank you from across the pond for these delicious recipes.
Kate Ford says
That's great to hear, thanks Lynne!
Gina Abernathy says
This dish was so tasty, delicious, and comforting.
Dannii says
Such a comforting and veggie packed meal. So delicious.
Jen says
This is such a satisfying meal! It quickly became a favorite at my house! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Toni says
I love comforting this recipe is!! My whole family really enjoyed it!
Janessa says
This was so delicious and comforting! I love how quick it is to pull together.
Fran Clark says
Really tasty recipe, I made the red wine version, so good. I will make this again, thank you.
Kate Ford says
That's great to hear, thanks Fran - I do like it with red wine! Kate x
Danielle says
This was so tasty!
Had run out of veg stock so after a last minute panic used gravy - worked just as well. Also added a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard for extra flavour.
This recipe went down a treat in our house, will be making this again!
Fay Attridge says
Yes it's a hit from us too!
Victoria Rae says
My partner and I have recently gone vegetarian & eventually vegan, once we are confident that we understand all the nutritional needs that we require. I made this pie and oh my gosh it tastes absolutely delicious! My partner had 2 portions he liked it that much, you wouldn’t think it was meat free.
Julia says
I Had a go at making this tonight as I have found myself making the same vegan meals from week to week. This was an excellent new addition and will definitely make again. It was delicious.
Kate Ford says
That's great to hear, thanks so much Julia! There's another puff pastry pie recipe coming up on the blog hopefully later today, look out for it if you enjoyed this one!
GAea says
Hi
Pre Cooked or dry lentils ?
G
N Lewis says
Have just made this and it was absolutely delicious! Don’t normally remake much, but this will be something I can see is making again and again! I assume if ambled it would freeze well to the pop in the oven on a weeknight?
Emily says
These are the nicest pies I have ever eaten. Gorgeous!
thevegspace says
That's so lovely to hear, thanks Emily - you've made my day!!
Paul Walters says
By far the nicest piece I’ve ever eaten... my wife and I have these .... often!
All the best from Canada
Kate Ford says
That's great to hear! Thanks Paul.
thevegspace says
Thanks chutneyandspice, I think the pies would go down very well with little 'uns! If you try both homemade and supermarket versions let me know what you think... (o:
chutneyandspice says
These look delicious, I'm always looking for new ways to get vegetables into my children and these could be just the ticket. Are the pies stocked in most supermarkets? I am going to have a bash at making them too.