Butternut Squash and Lentil Vegetarian Pot Pie
A hearty vegetarian pot pie filled with sweet and nutty butternut squash and earthy lentils. Perfect for a cool fall evening.
So, I guess it's officially here.
Fall that is.
Not only is today the first official day of fall, but despite my resistance, but we're starting to cool down and the leaves are beginning to turn.
The one consolation?
Fall means apples, squash, and cranberries. Not to mention hearty soups and stews, oatmeal for breakfast, and warming drinks.
If I think about the positives, maybe the colder weather won't get to me as much. Right?
Delicious fall recipes start with squash!
While Tim gets excited about the onset of cooler weather, I am the opposite. Keep me warm as long as possible please!
But, I do love fall foods, and squash is one of our staples.
Typically we stock up on a bunch of different squash just as the season is ending and keep them to eat through the winter. They make great additions to soups and stews or make a great vessel for stuffing.
Butternut Squash Vegetarian Pot Pie
Today, we've combined sweet and nutty butternut squash and earthy lentils in a hearty vegetarian pot pie with a whole wheat crust.
The filling is a bit unconventional if you are used to chicken or turkey pot pies, but even though it's a vegetarian pot pie, the lentils make this an incredibly heartym stick-to-your-ribs kind of dish.
We used two 5" x 2" casserole dishes when we baked this up. If you'd like to use a single dish, a 1 - 1 ½ quart casserole dish should do the trick, and the crust recipe here should have you covered as well.
Butternut Squash and Lentil Vegetarian Pot Pie
Ingredients
Lentil Prep
- ½ c lentils, dry
- 1 c water
For the Crust
- 1 c whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ c unsalted butter, cold
- ¼ c sour cream
- 3 - 4 Tbsp water, ice-cold
For the Filling
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 c butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½” cubes (roughly ½ a medium squash)
- 2 tablespoon whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, whole
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sage
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Dash whole fennel seeds (5-7 seeds)
- 3 tablespoon white wine (Dry or fruity will work here, they will just give a slightly different flavor to the pie.)
- ¾ c vegetable broth (we prefer low sodium)
Instructions
Lentil Prep
- In a small saucepan, combine lentils and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 min, until lentils are just barely tender. Remove from heat.
For the Crust
- While the lentils are cooking mix flour and salt in the bowl of your food processor. Process to mix.
- Add butter and pulse until evenly distributed in small chunks.
- Add sour cream and pulse until combined.
- Add water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, just until the crust dough becomes sticky enough that it will hold together without crumbling or tearing when pressed. (It took 2 tablespoon for us.)
- Remove the dough from the processor and press into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill while continuing on with the filling.
For The Filling
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- In a large, non-stick frying pan, heat onions until they begin to soften (4-5 min). (If they begin to stick add 1 tablespoon water.)
- Add squash to the onions and continue to cook 5-7 min, until the squash begins to soften.
- Add flour and seasonings. Stir until combined.
- Pour in vegetable broth and wine. Mix well, scraping the bottom to deglaze any stuck bits. Bring mixture to a simmer.
- Add warm lentils (along with any extra water) and give the mixture a bit stir.
Finishing off the Vegetarian Pot Pies
- Place your casserole dish(es) on a foil, lined baking sheet.
- Ladle filling into your casserole dishes.
- Take the pie crust ball from the fridge and roll out, on a lightly floured surface, to about a ⅛ inch thick. (It should be approximately a 10-11” round.) Cut out the shape you need for your top crust and cut some vent holes. (This is easier to at least start while the crust is not over top of a soft filling.)
- Spray the top edge of your casserole dish with cooking spray, so your crust doesn’t stick.
- Gently, using a spatula or bench knife, move the crust to top filling. (You can gently make adjustments to your vent holes or decorations now.) Crimp edges if desired.
- Bake pies for 25-30 min, until the crust is golden and you can hear the filling bubbling.
- Let stand 5 minutes to cool and absorb any excess moisture before serving.
Nutrition
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
I am looking for a recipe for Pennsylvania Dutch Pot Pie, made in a dutch oven with flat dumplings, potatoes and ground meat. My mother used to make this and passed away before I was able to get the recipe from her. She was very young. If anyone has heard of this and has the recipe, please send it to my email below. Thank you.
We'll take a look for you Mary and see what we can find!
Hey Mary;
I hope you got your PA Dutch Pot Boi recipe. I tried this and its good. Not a fan of whole wheat crust though, But the filling turned out nice. I'm PA Dutch and as such know what Pot Boi should be. Sure the PA Dutch had Pies. But that's what they were. You had your meat, chicken, Vegetable, oyster, etc. Oh, and don't forget the Fruit Pies. But PA Dutch Pot Pie is a whole different animal that the PA Dutch take seriously. Almost like Texans are with Bar-B- Que. In any case here is a link for traditional Pot Boi.
http://teriskitchen.com/padutch/potpie-a.html
Hi Mary! Thanks for stopping by and for your info on PA Dutch Pot Pies. The whole wheat crust definitely is a bit more dense than your traditional white crust. Glad you enjoyed the pie!
You had me at pot pie! I love dishes like this, and the combination of flavors in here sounds amazing!
Yes! A pot pie I can eat without any guilt! I love that you made it vegetarian (butternut squash and lentils are some of my favourite foods) and with a whole wheat crust. The leaf design on top of the crust is gorgeous. This is a fabulous post!
Love the creativity of combining butternut squash and lentils! I bet it's tasty too. It's certainly looks great! Thanks for sharing!
I stumbled across your blog last night, and I made this for dinner tonight. I have an abundance of butternut squash from my garden. My husband went on and on all during dinner about how great this was. I used fresh rosemary and fresh sage and the flavor just popped. Thanks for sharing this great fall recipe!
Thanks so much Amelia! It's great to hear when someone makes a recipe. I'm so glad you loved it!
Looks good! Love the detail on the crust too!
I love savory pies. And the top is so pretty! Almost too pretty to eat....almost.