Mushroom and Lentil Pot Pie

I’ve been working on some meatless recipes and thought how about bringing back the Meatless Monday feature to Budget Smart Girl?

If you are interested in vegetarian meals, be sure to check the site because there are lots of recipes for you to try.

This week I tested a recipe for a pot pie.

When you think pot pie, beef and chicken come to mind so I thought about what I could substitute in order to get that stick to your ribs quality with plenty of flavor.

Two things I rely on a lot when I make meatless recipes are mushrooms and lentils (in fact, I’ll have a whole post about lentils soon).

Combined together they offer an umami taste that makes pot pies so popular.

Here’s the recipe I came up with. It makes enough for two pot pies…make one now and freeze one for later. Use your own short crust pastry recipe. And the filling for the pie could even make a soup or stew so I think this one gives you lots of options.

½ cup of brown lentils cooked in about 2 cups of water for about 20 minutes. You want them softened but not to the point they’re mushy.

4 carrots, peeled and cut into small cubes

2 cups of sliced mushrooms

1 large onion, peeled and cut into small pieces

2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes.

½ teaspoon each of dried thyme and sage…you can also use poultry seasoning

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Salt and pepper

2 cups of water

2 tablespoons of oil

2 tablespoons flour, cornstarch or potato starch

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a large pan, heat the oil and add the mushrooms, onion, carrots and potatoes. Let them cook until slightly softened and then add a good sprinkling of salt and pepper, followed by the sage and thyme. Cook for a few minutes and then add the cooked lentils, the soy sauce and tomato puree. Mix everything together and cook for a few minutes, stirring often. Slowly add the water and bring the mixture to a boil.

Lower the heat, and cover the pan and let the mixture cook for about 15 minutes.

Some of the liquid will have reduced and now it’s time to make it into a gravy. Put the cornstarch or flour in a small dish and add some of liquid and mix well to form a smooth paste.

Add this to the pan and stir well. Cook until everything is well blended and the mixture starts to thicken.

Divide the mixture between two oven safe dishes or pans and let it cool.

While the mixture is cooling roll out your pastry and place on top of each dish.

Make some holes in the pastry for the steam to escape and put them in the oven for around 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is cooked.

Enjoy one now and freeze the second one. Depending on serving size you’ll probably get four or six from one pie. I served mine with green beans.

Let me know if you make this and I’d love to hear your feedback.

More money saving recipes are on their way!