These Pumpkin Pot Pies are a cozy vegetarian meal to prepare for a weeknight supper, but are fancy enough for guests! Butternut squash replaces the standard chicken, and a homemade soup mix takes place of the canned condensed soup! Lightened up comfort food, at its finest.
Lightened Up Comfort
Pure, unadulterated, comfort food. What comes to mind?
Everyone’s idea of comfort is different. Some yearn for their Great-Grandmother’s dumplings, some crave slow-simmered meatballs, and some simply can’t get enough of humble buttered noodles. Whatever it is, one thing is certain: comfort food is that which brings us joy, makes us feel taken care of, and can cure any amount of the blues.
While I’m certainly not suggesting that you dice up your Mom’s lasagna recipe by substituting ingredients, there a a few smart swaps out there in case you’re looking to lighten things up.
Lightening Up Your Recipes
When looking at your tried and true recipes, it seems outrageous to substitute any ingredient, especially when you’re aiming for comfort. However, it can be a good exercise to switch things up and try new a different approach: who knows what deliciousness you can uncover!
A few ways I like to lighten up my recipes:
- Reconsider Protein: My favorite Family Lasagna includes ground pork and ground beef. Sounds….meaty. And full of fat (not the good kind). I like swapping in turkey for the beef, or else omitting meat altogether and doing roasted vegetables! This works well in a number of recipes, as I did here with these pot pies!
- Reduce all that cheese: Do you REALLY need 2 cups of cheese in a recipe? Maybe? Or maybe not. These pot pies were influenced from my Mom’s classic Chicken Pot Pie, which is without a doubt: the best I’ve ever had. However, the recipe randomly calls for 1/2 cup of cheese. Is that necessary? After making this version without it I realized that I didn’t even miss it.
- Toss the condensed soup! Some of your family’s favorite nostalgic recipes will call for a can of cream of chicken/mushroom/celery soup. Sound familiar? Let’s get real: what creepy crawly ingredients are in those soups?! This acts as a thickener in your recipe, so why not just make your one using whole ingredients. Check out my Homemade Condensed Soup Mix recipe!
How to Lighten Up Pumpkin Pot Pie
Following the logic above, here’s what I did for this recipe:
- I’m still using a homemade pate brisee, or a homemade pie crust, which includes butter. I’m not cutting out all the flavor and fat, but rather, making smart substitutions where I can while keeping the integrity of the comforting dish intact.
- Butternut squash gets swapped for the chicken! Squash is dense, making it a toothsome and filling substitution for meat.
- Condensed soup, be gone! I added my Homemade Condensed Soup Mix recipe, which includes a handful of easy ingredients.
Pumpkin Pot Pie
Equipment
- Mini ramekins
Ingredients
For the pâte brisée:
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 7 Tbsp cold water
- 1/2 tsp celery seeds
For the pot pie mixture:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1/4 cup frozen green peas
- 1/2 cup cubed butternut squash
- 1 cup vegeatble broth
- 1 recipe homemade condensed soup mix, see notes for link to recipe
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
For egg wash:
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 Tbsp half and half
Instructions
For the pâte brisée:
- In a food processor, pulse flour and salt in a food processor until combined.
- Add butter and pulse until coarse crumbs are formed. You can use a pastry cutter or two forks if you don't have a food processor.
- Once the dough has a rough crumb (there will be pieces roughly the size of small peas), start adding in the ice water. Start with 7 tablespoons and see how it looks: the dough should hold together when presed between your fingers. Add additional water if needed. Note that you shouldn't over process in this step: you'll be forming and pressing the dough together next, and it should still be crumbly in this stage.
- Turn the dough out on to a clean working surface, and begin to form the dough. Split in half, forming two compact disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Dough can be frozen up to one month, just thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.
For the pot pie mixture:
- In a large stock pot or Duth oven, add olive oil. Mix in onion, mushrooms, carrots, celery, peas, and butternut squash. Saute until vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add vegetable broth, condensed soup mix, parsley, and bay leaf. Stir to combine, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
- In a small container, mix water and cornstarch until smooth. Add mixture to pot, stirring to combine. Turn off heat and allow mixture to rest.
To Assemble:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Roll out dough and cut to size to fit your ramekins. Ensure you have enough dough to roll out and cut tops for the pot pies.
- Press celery seeds in to the bottom of each