Vegan mushroom pie with a potato crust is a comforting dish made with browned mushrooms, caramelized onions, garlic, peas, herbs, and a creamy plant-based filling.
The mushrooms are first seared in olive oil until they become nicely browned. Thyme is added to the oil to give the mushrooms extra flavor.
The mushrooms are then removed from the pan while onions and garlic cook until caramelized. The filling comes together with peas, soy sauce, cumin, optional cayenne, vegan cream cheese, soy milk, and a little flour.
Instead of using a traditional pastry crust, this mushroom pie uses thinly sliced potatoes. The potato slices form a simple crust that becomes golden and tender as the pie bakes.
Ingredients
For the Mushroom Filling
- Mixed mushrooms, such as maitake and shiitake
- Olive oil
- Thyme
- Onions, thinly sliced
- Garlic, chopped
- Salt, to taste
- About 1/2 cup petite green peas
- About 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne, optional
- Vegan cream cheese, about 1/2 pack
- Soy milk
- Flour, for thickening
- Rosemary
- Black pepper, to taste
- White wine, optional
For the Potato Crust
- Potatoes
- Olive oil, as needed
- Salt, to taste
Prepare the Mushrooms
Start by cleaning and chopping your mushrooms.
You can use whatever variety of mushrooms you like. The recipe uses a mixture including maitake and shiitake, but there is no need to use exactly the same mushrooms.
Cut the mushrooms into edible pieces. They do not need to be a particular shape or size.
Keep in mind that mushrooms shrink quite a bit as they cook.
If you are using shiitake mushrooms, remove the hard stems. You can save the stems and use them later for making stock.
Sear the Mushrooms
Heat a good amount of olive oil in a large pan.
Mushrooms do not contain much fat, so the oil helps them cook properly and develop a deep, browned flavor.
Add a little thyme to the oil.
Once the oil is hot and the thyme begins to sizzle, add the chopped mushrooms.
Try to spread the mushrooms into as thin a layer as possible.
This gives the mushrooms more contact with the hot pan and helps them brown rather than simply steam.
Let the mushrooms cook until they become nicely browned and toasted.
Once they are ready, scoop the mushrooms out of the pan and set them aside.
Caramelize the Onions and Garlic
While the mushrooms are cooking, slice the onions into thin pieces.
They do not need to be finely diced. Thin slices give you plenty of surface area while keeping the preparation simple.
Chop the garlic.
Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan.
Add the onions and garlic.
Then add salt.
The salt helps draw moisture from the onions as they cook.
Let the onions cook until they become soft and caramelized.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
Prepare the Potatoes
The potatoes will form the crust for the mushroom pie.
Slice the potatoes very thinly.
A mandoline works well for this because it gives you evenly thin slices.
You can peel the potatoes if you want, but peeling is not necessary.
Keep the slices thin so they can cook properly while the pie bakes.
Add the Herbs and Peas
Once the onions have started to caramelize, add a little more thyme.
Add some rosemary as well.
Fresh herbs work nicely here, but dried herbs can also be used.
The recipe uses herbs from the garden, but you can use whatever combination of thyme and rosemary you have available.
Next, add about 1/2 cup of petite green peas.
The peas add a little color and sweetness to the mushroom filling.
Add the Mushrooms
Return the browned mushrooms to the pan with the caramelized onions and garlic.
Mix everything together.
At this point, you should have a mixture of browned mushrooms, soft onions, garlic, herbs, and green peas.
Season the Filling
Add about 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.
Then add 1 teaspoon of cumin.
For some extra heat, you can add 1 teaspoon of cayenne.
The cayenne is completely optional, so leave it out if you prefer a milder pie.
Mix everything together and allow the ingredients to cook for another moment so the flavors come together.
Make the Filling Creamy
Now add about half a pack of vegan cream cheese.
The cream cheese gives the mushroom filling a rich and creamy texture.
You do not have to use cream cheese if you do not have it. Plant milk can also be used instead.
Add some soy milk to the pan.
Then add a little flour to thicken the mixture.
Stir everything together until the filling becomes creamy.
You should end up with a rich mushroom mixture that is thick enough to sit inside the potato crust.
Add White Wine and Black Pepper
If you want to add another layer of flavor, pour in a little white wine.
The white wine is completely optional.
It adds acidity to the filling and helps balance the richness of the olive oil and cream cheese.
Good cooking is often about balancing different flavors. The richness, sweetness, saltiness, and acidity should work together rather than allowing one flavor to dominate.
Finally, add some black pepper.
Taste the filling and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Assemble the Potato Crust
Once the mushroom filling is ready, prepare your baking dish.
Arrange the thin potato slices around the dish to create the crust.
Try to overlap the slices slightly so there are no large gaps.
The potatoes will cook in the oven and become tender and browned, creating a simple crust around the creamy mushroom filling.
Spoon the mushroom mixture into the potato-lined dish.
Spread the filling evenly.
Bake the Mushroom Pie
Place the mushroom pie into the preheated oven.
Bake at 180°C / 350°F until the potatoes are cooked and the top becomes nicely browned.
The exact baking time can vary depending on the thickness of your potato slices and the size of your baking dish, so keep an eye on the potatoes as they cook.
You want the potato crust to become tender and golden while the mushroom filling stays creamy.
Once the pie is ready, remove it from the oven and allow it to rest briefly before serving.
How to Serve Vegan Mushroom Pie
Serve the mushroom pie warm.
The potato crust gives the dish a different texture from a traditional pastry crust, while the mushroom filling remains creamy and rich.
The combination of browned mushrooms, caramelized onions, peas, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and creamy vegan cheese makes this a comforting plant-based meal.
Vegan Mushroom Pie with Crispy Potato Crust
This vegan mushroom pie is a simple way to make a comforting pie without using a traditional pastry crust.
The mushrooms are first browned in olive oil with thyme. After that, the mushrooms are removed from the pan while onions and garlic caramelize.
The filling then comes together with peas, rosemary, soy sauce, cumin, optional cayenne, vegan cream cheese, soy milk, flour, and black pepper.
Thinly sliced potatoes form the crust. You can leave the potato skins on, and a mandoline makes it easy to create thin, even slices.
A little white wine is optional, but it adds acidity and helps balance the richness of the creamy mushroom filling.
Bake the pie at 180°C / 350°F until the potatoes become tender and browned.
The finished pie has a creamy mushroom and vegetable filling surrounded by a simple potato crust.
Watch the Full Recipe Video
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📺 The full step-by-step video is available below. Simply press play and cook along with us!
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