This Easy Chickpea Pot Pie recipe has all the savory goodness of the old-fashioned chicken version, minus the meat—a healthy, cozy meal.
Childhood Comfort Food
It is ridiculously embarrassing for me to admit this, but one of my favorite childhood meals was chicken pot pie. From a box.
In my defense, I think I was more into the idea of the pot pie rather than the pot pie itself. I loved that I got a whole pie (!!) to myself, I loved that it was super creamy in a so-bad-it's-good kind of way, and I loved how all that sauce soaked itself into the buttery crust so that it was both crisp and soggy all at the same time.
It was a fairly short-lived love affair, however, as my mom eventually realized that one pie contained five days' worth of sodium and enough calories to fuel us through three marathons, and immediately removed all traces of them from our freezer. I haven't had one of those in years, and while I can't say that I really miss them, pot pie will always have a special place in my heart.
About the Recipe
One of my favorite challenges as a vegetarian is figuring out how to remake some of my favorite childhood comfort foods without the meat and with a major veggie overhaul. An added bonus is that I often feel better about eating them since they are usually not as heavy as their meat-filled counterparts. As it turns out, the thing I loved most about chicken pot pie as a child was not the chicken itself, but rather the cream sauce and the buttery crust, so it was pretty easy to transform the pot pie into a meatless main dish that satisfied my comfort food cravings.
In this rendition of it, I've replaced the chicken with chickpeas and added in a rainbow of seasonal veggies, including sweet potatoes, carrots, Swiss chard and peas. A hint of smokiness is added into the mix with a dash of smoked paprika and the whole thing is topped off with a layer of puff pastry, which gives you the buttery crispy crust without actually requiring you to take the time to make pie dough from scratch. As an added bonus, this is a one-pot meal that can go from stove to oven to table in around an hour, half of which is hands-off time while you wait for the puff pastry to bake. Use ramekins to make single-serve chickpea pot pies if you prefer—just make the filling in one big pot and then distribute it among the smaller containers and top each with a piece of puff pastry before baking.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 medium onion diced
- 5 medium carrots cut into ½-inch dice
- 3 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 cups vegetable broth divided
- 1 bunch Swiss chard stems discarded and leaves thinly sliced
- 1 10 oz bag frozen peas
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 14.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 12 oz frozen puff pastry thawed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Add the olive oil to a large dutch oven or another large oven-safe pot over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the onions along with a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until translucent, 3–4 minutes.
- Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, smoked paprika, and another pinch of salt to the pot. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the veggies start to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of the vegetable broth to the pot and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender, 5–6 minutes.
- Stir the Swiss chard, frozen peas, and chickpeas into the pot, cooking until peas are warmed through and Swiss chard has wilted, 2–3 minutes.
- Add the flour to the pot and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in the remaining vegetable broth. Increase the heat to medium and return to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the filling has thickened. Season to taste with additional salt and black pepper. Remove from the heat.
- Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is big enough to cover the pot. Drape the puff pastry over the pot and cut a few slits in the center so that the steam can escape as it cooks.
- Bake until the puff pastry is lightly golden and the filling is bubbling, 30–35 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.
I LOVE a good pot pie, but I love it even more when it has chickpeas in it!
Same here! They make it feel virtuous somehow. 🙂
Looks super delicious - I've got lots of chickpeas at home so this looks amazing!
They're a staple around here also! Hope you enjoy it!
Oh my goodness, I am making his ASAP! I love how easy it sounds 🙂
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy it!
i love the idea of this pot pie..although i have never really liked pot pies before..
It's definitely not your typical pot pie...I think you would love it!
Is there a gluten free version? Looks delicious!
I'm not aware of any gluten free puff pastry (though it might exist!), but you could always top it with gluten-free pie crust or gluten-free cornbread. In place of the flour in the filling, you could use cornstarch or cornmeal.
I can't tell you how desperately happy this recipe makes me! And thank you so much for this fabulous website! One question about the pot pie...cooking for one is difficult sometimes, as many people know. I'm wondering if I could make them in single-servings and freeze them. Anyone tried subjecting them to the freezer? Thanks! 😀
I'm so glad you're excited about it! I haven't tried it myself, but I see no reason why you couldn't make them in single servings and refreeze!
Thanks! I'll give it a shot!
That looks delicious! Do you have any recommendations for a chard substitute? I'm not a big fan of the flavor.
Hi Dawn! You could substitute it with pretty much any leafy green that you like - kale, spinach, or collards would work!
Thanks! Spinach it is, lol.
Hai..
Thanks for the recipe..I loved it !!
We're not big fans of chickpeas. Do you think this would work with pinto beans? It looks delicious!
I think pinto beans would work just fine! Enjoy!
We loved this. Prepared as described, wouldn't change a thing. Like you, I've been wanting a good pot pie since we went vegetarian. This is it!