Fork and Beans

Making food fun for the family

Veggie Pot Pie Cupcakes

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Veggie Pot Pie Cupcakes

Everything is fodder for the soul. This was the meditation of one of my professors in grad school that, whether I wanted it to or not, has been forever etched into my internal audio tape. The basic meaning behind it is that everything that happens in your life is always an invitation to grow, become more aware, or even find an extra inch of loving-kindness within yourself, regardless of how trivial the circumstances seem.

GF Vegan Pot Pie Cupcakes

You could open up to the opportunity to practice this meditation even while you are shredding tax papers into 7 full trash bags for 3 hours straight (hypothetical, of course). Shredding papers can bring you the realization that you like to think about future circumstances in order to escape from the reality of now (hypothetically, again). The point is that nothing is ever too small or menial to open up to learning more about your authentic self. Even tossing a paper into a shredder is an invitation.

Pot Pie Cupcakes (gluten free vegan)

It’s a chance to become a passive outsider; a non-judgmental observer to the reactions and recordings in your mind. You become more in tune with what bothers you, what makes you happy, and what triggers certain emotions. The main focus is to do all of this without judgment.  And somehow in all of it, after a while, you start to find freedom. Freedom from the emotions that hook you, freedom from the need to tear yourself apart with those nasty voices in your head, and freedom from those habits that keep you in unhealthy patterns.

Pot Pie Cupcakes Tutorial

It’s a slow change yes, but change none-the-less because as said by Dr. Coe, everything is  fodder for the soul. Your life–just as it is right in this moment–contains everything you need to find freedom, find change, find happiness, and find the lessons you need to learn. You have all the tools you need, which is sometimes difficult to believe, but it is the truth. It’s simply your choice to open up to it right in this moment.

GFVegan Pot Pie Cupcakes Tutorial

How to make veggie Pot Pie Cupcakes (gluten free too!):

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Pot Pie Cupcakes

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Fork & Beans
  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 55 mins
  • Yield: 12 Pot Pie Cupcakes 1x
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

For the Crust:

  • 3 c. Cara’s All-Purpose Blend
  • 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. xanthan gum
  • 2/3 c. shortening
  • 2/3 c. ice water
  • 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

For the Pot Pie Filling:

  • 1/4 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1/4 c. gluten free flour
  • 2 c. vegetable broth
  • 1/4 c. nondairy milk
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 1/2 c. frozen peas
  • 1/2 c. frozen corn
  • 1 can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

Instructions

For the crust:

  1. Whisk together the flour, salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder in a large bowl until mixed thoroughly. Add shortening and stir until it is mixed into flour. You might need to get those fingers dirty and mix with your hands. Add the ice water in 1/3 c. at a time. You want just enough to get the dough to stick together but not too much to make it wet.
  2. Knead with your hands until you have smooth dough formed. Cover and chill while you prepare the filling.
  3. Saute your onions in olive oil for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
  4. Add paprika, thyme and flour and mix well. Add nondairy milk and vegetable broth.
  5. Add the carrots, peas and beans and bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
  6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  7. Take a small chunk of dough and roll out between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll out to 1/4″ thickness and slightly bigger than your palm (see recipe tutorial). Gently place into a greased muffin tin. If the dough rips, do not freak out. Using your fingers, gently push it back together.
  8. Repeat with another same sized dough, trim and place on top. Gently seal the edges together by pinching it with your fingers.
  9. Take a knife and place a few slits through the top. Brush with olive oil and bake for 25 minutes or until top has browned.

Gluten Free Vegan Pot Pie Cupcakes

Mmmmmmm, good!

About Cara

Based in Chicago with her husband and son, Cara is the creator behind the site Fork and Beans: A place where kids can have fun with their food.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brooklyn

    I added double the salt, some garlic, and some pepper and it was perfect that way. Without it, it pretty bland in my opinion.

  2. larry

    is there any chicken in these vegetarian pies? didnt see it in the ingredients list but i just wanted to make sure

    ★★★★★

  3. The Amazing Vicki

    Cara, So excited to find your site! Transitioning to gf/vegan with boys ages 8, 11, 16 & 17 . . . not to mention their big boy dad:) Trying to gauge how to increase this recipe for my tribe. When you say it makes 12 “mini” cupcakes, do you mean those itty bitty muffin tins or just regular cupcake size? If I got lazy and just did a big pit, would it make one and have enough crust for the top? Thanks! Vicki

    • Cara

      Yes, do exactly that Vicki! Coming from one lazy girl to another, I totally get it 🙂 These can be labor intensive with the cupcake tin.

  5. Joyce

    Hi All, Just found this site and very happy. My husband is gluten intolerant and I have been scrambling to find recipes to cook for him. Pot pies are one of his favorites and also what he’s been missing most. I do have some questions: can they be frozen and if so do I freeze before or after baking. Thank you Joyce

    • Cara

      Hi Joyce! I usually make this recipe once a month–I love it! I don’t do it in cupcake form anymore though rather the regular ol’ way and I make more because I freeze them and reheat them for future meals. Works great for me! Good luck, xo

  6. Sherry

    Ok, I just finished the pot pies and I have to say that they were really really good. I did make a few adjustments, the vegetable broth I used was very strong, I don’t know maybe they all are strong, but I’m new to this type of cooking so I’m making a mental note to cut it with water next time. We like lots of spices and so I added some garlic and tumeric then I called my “Spice Man” hubby to do his magic. He added some dried onions and mustard to it as well as a few other spices. Really helped tone down the broth. The crust was a challenge but I prevailed! It almost kicked my butt, but I won with the wine bottle I used to roll with. I could not for the life of me find my husbands grandmas wooden rolling pin, but the wine bottle worked beautifully filled with water. I ended up making six large muffin sized pies and a small baking dish for us for supper. My husband really liked them too. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes I think I finally found the right blog to follow. I am gluten intolerant or possible celiac (haven’t been tested)and have recently discovered that I also cannot tolerate eggs and dairy products. I am allergic to chocolate and sugar is not my friend either so it has been a bit difficult finding recipes that suit my diet. I’m anxious to make more of your scruptious looking dishes. Thanks again and God Bless you!

  7. Nicole St. John

    I made these for my family tonight, but added chicken for my husband. They were wonderful, although a bit tricky to get out of the pan! My youngest son wasn’t feeling well, but I saved him some because I know he’ll love them just as much as the rest of my family. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.

  8. IceCreamJill

    I made these last night and they were delicious! I couldn’t resist eating three of them right away! I was surprised how easy they were to make even after I fought with the crust for some time! :o)

  9. keepinitkind

    These cupcakes are just oozing comfort- just like this post! Isn’t it freeing to know that everything we need to be our perfect selves, lies within us at all times? Beautiful post (and cupcakes)! 🙂

  10. stephanissima

    They’re soooo cuuuuuute! 😀
    btw, if you don’t have shortening handy, I’ve found oil to work well for crusts.

    Also, I love your food for thought mixed with your eye candy (photos)!

  12. Willow

    Great post, Cara – well said!
    And these pot pie ‘cupcakes’ are pure genius! I love pot pies, but always feel like such a pig if I eat a whole one. Besides which, I love making things mini, haha!

    • Cara

      Me too! And I have no control when it comes to pot pie to I never know when to stop. These really are the perfect size!

    • Cara

      They are so my favorite too! Goodness, I could talk all day about them. Wow, am I boring or what? hehe. But something tells me you would love that conversation… xo!

  17. bethnorred

    Reblogged this on bethnorred and commented:
    PotPie CUP CAKES.. comfort food at its best.. THAT is what i think of when i read your recipe for the Pot Pie cupcakes. SOUNDS DELISH. Cant wait to try these. thanks

  18. Gabby @ the veggie nook

    Thank you for this beautiful reminder Cara- each moment presents an opportunity- to be more fully yourself and to grow and change. It’s a really optimistic idea and one that we simply don’t give enough credit too. Sometimes we feel we are stuck, but as you say, nothing is too small to invite self-growth!

    And those pies are just the cutest 🙂

    • Cara

      Oh, you are so welcome Gabby! Just a small piece of sunshine in exchange for the huge rays you send to me. So grateful for your love and support! xo

  19. Richa@HobbyandMore

    its been a few minutes of staring at the filling coming out of those super cute pot pies! ..
    ok back now.. i am loving your meal series:) you know i would pick up this potpie or the meatballs over doughnuts! yes, i love savory saucy things.
    love the fodder for the day. let me stick it in my internal audio tape, so i remember to keep it rolling esp on those days.

    • Cara

      I think you are inspiring to move away from the sugar and more towards the salt 🙂 Mmmmmm, salt. I love salt. Yes, tonight for dinner, I shall make salt. Wait, that is not what you said is it? Crap. Somehow my inner audio tape is saying SALT. SALT. SALT.

  20. Caitlin

    Your life–just as it is right in this moment–contains everything you need to find freedom, find change, find happiness, and find the lessons you need to learn. You have all the tools you need, which is sometimes difficult to believe, but it is the truth. It’s simply your choice to open up to it right in this moment. <~ i love that!

    pot pies were one of my all-time favorite comfort foods growing up. remember marie calendar? those things are complete garbage. but soooooo damn good.

    i have a request- can you make vegan cream chip beef? that was my ALL-TIME favorite. on toast.

    • Cara

      I get more and more creeped out the more I learn about you. It’s eery really. I mean, do you know of many people who loved cream chip beef as a kid? I LOVED it! Gonna have to ask my mom how she made it and see what I could do about it… Great suggestion girl!

      • Your biggest fan!

        Ever since I checked your site out today my mouth has been watering. I thought I could actually smell them! Aren’t these the miniature version of what you made for us in Texas? I remember those with savory pleasure – I do remember salting it…..mmmmmmm…and soooo much better than any I ever ate at Marie Calendars!…..and speaking of salt……..I made the cream chipped beef with a light (that may be an oxymoron) Béchamel sauce and cut slices of Armour Dried Beef….talk about salty! And I always put it on TOAST 🙂
        XOXOXOX

        • Cara

          Hmmmmm, not sure if the chipped beef could be veganized after all. Well that is disappointing! I can totally taste it too. Aaaaaahh, the memories.

          And yes! These are the mini version of what I made the fam in TX! They are even better in mini form. For some strange reason that is always the case, isn’t it? Love you!

  21. Laurel

    My comment got lost. It must be hiding somewhere with my brain and my energy. Tell Nick muni mula foil was from a Martin the Martian cartoon that you are all way too young to remember. The site won’t let me, and okay, ah lU min ium 😀 xo

    • Cara

      I’m sure he’s never even heard of Martin the Martian cartoon anyway since he probably spent his childhood reading the dictionary instead of watching tv 🙂
      xo!

  22. Abby

    I’m not creative with cooking, so while I won’t be digesting this recipe (although I would if you made it, of course,) I ate up the copy completely. You are wise, my friend, and I think you know that I agree. While it can be hard to see sometimes, it’s truly not the circumstances we’re placed in, but the spirit in which we face them, that determines our comfort.

    And, well, pot pie cupcakes couldn’t hurt either.

    • Cara

      Truth be told, I was thinking about you the entire time I wrote this post. Your previous post put me into a meditative place in the past 2 days. You are so wise to have taken something so seemingly small like walking in the rain and relate it to your life. See, *this* is why you must post ALL of the time. I need it! So thank YOU. xo. Making you mini pot pies for dinner…

  23. Shira

    I adore this post Cara. Every words is true – every single one and you are so fortunate to have had such a wise teacher (and even more fortunate to be such a wise student)! Yummy looking pie too – deliciously good looking *fodder* today!! 🙂 xox

    • Cara

      It’s always good to be reminded daily that we are in control of our destiny/happiness/change. You are rubbing off on me, Shira. Your positivity is positively impacting me 🙂

  25. Somer

    Now there’s a post after my own heart. I haven’t made pot pie since going vegan. Now I have no excuse. Especially since they are CUPCAKE pot pies and sure to be a huge hit with the kids. You make me want to get out my shredder (hypothetically, of course) 😉

    xoxo

      • Somer

        we had defrosted dr. praeger’s instead. pathetic. sometimes being a runner that gets up at 5am, a mom and getting a wholesome vegan meal on the table is more than my normally awesome superhero powers can handle. I do however think they are GF, and I wrapped mine in lettuce and served it with hummus so I should have invited you anyway. 😉

  26. Anonymous Burn

    Cara, my darling, I love you. I love this. I’m a firm believer no moment should be wasted or regretted. Every *wrong* choices leads us to more choices of which one could be the rightest one you ever make, meaning the wrong one that came before couldn’t possible be wrong. Could it? The words we say, the words we don’t say, the way we walk, the way we dress ourselves, what we toss, what we keep, what makes us cry, what gives us strength…all of it, means something, and it’s up to us to find the meaning and make sense of it and free ourselves from the bonds that would hold us down.

    Your professor is tres, tres wise. (See what I did there? I got all European)

    • Cara

      I just called pilot. He will be picking her up in 10. I told him also to bring over a bottle of champagne that I got while I was in Paris last week as a celebration for your new home. Hope you like it. It was only $500 bottle. I know, I know, next time I will give you the better kind, but this will have to do.

  28. denlyn3

    I love the idea of making a pot pie into cupcake size. Great for kids and the kid in me. More importantly I love the idea of “Everything is fodder for the soul”. As my life continues to evolve, understanding this is key because it is so true. Every experience is for a reason, it is up to us to not waste the moment.

    • Cara

      I find myself totally over-eating when it comes to pot pie (it’s seriously one of my weaknesses). So these are THE perfect size–2 is just enough and then you can freeze whatever you don’t eat and save them for later.
      You are so right–nothing is to waste. No moment is small enough to not learn something from it. So glad you liked that meditation! I heard it for 3 years straight and I finally get it 🙂

  29. frugalfeeding

    These look great :D. It is nice to see something savory again :D. Isn’t it funny how Americans actually add a ‘u’ to savory… anything to be different huh?

    • Cara

      Nice try, that is your side’s fault with the misplaced “u”. We have already been over this: here in America we spell things correctly. You could really learn a thing or 2 from me…hahaha. Okay I couldn’t even WRITE that with a straight face.

        • Anonymous Burn

          If we are talking pronunciation here…what’s up with the refusal to use a z? Y’all actually say the esss sound or do you just like to leave letters cold and alone to fend for themselves only to be used in the off-chance one comes across a zebra?

          • frugalfeeding

            We use the letter ‘z’ as an when appropriate. Not every ‘s’ has to sound like ‘esssss’, the subtleties of language often fail to pervade Americans. (This is banter by the way) I refuse to take lessons on pronunciation from anyone who lives in a nation that collectively pronounces ‘aluminium’ in the way that they do :D.

          • Anonymous Burn

            Hah! I will absolutely admit that everything sounds immediately better when said in a British accent. Any accent will do, rather, except the southern drawl that BBC likes to give 98% of American characters.

          • Anonymous Burn

            Indeed they do. I watch a lot of BBC mini-serieses (usually period pieces) and anytime some character is from America they almost always have a southern accent. Really hard “r”s and frequent use of y’all

          • Cara

            I do not need to be present in this conversation, apparently. ha. I am enjoying this actually. Poor Nick. Everyone is ganging up on the foreigner. You are such a good sport though, which only makes me want to continue giving you a hard time. You seriously are the best, though!

          • frugalfeeding

            We both know that I know that I’m the best… If you want to know about good sports you ought to read uneasy money by Wodehouse. You’d fine his books funny.

          • Cara

            You are so arrogant, I love it. There are few people on this earth that I want to hug and hit at the same time 🙂 You, my friend, have that title. ha. And I refuse to read any book you suggest. Sounds boring.

          • frugalfeeding

            Goodness, I wouldn’t know whether I was or coming or going. I think a lot of people think that about me… It’s a good book, very British.

          • Cara

            That is what makes you endearing. And to quote one of my fav childhood movies, “Teenwolf”: “Underneath all that hair, you’re still a dork Scott. I’ve handled your kind before.”
            Not sure what that has anything to do with this but I wanted to say it. <–reason why I don't read British books.

  31. dandelion_blower

    These are so darn cute! Perfect for little tummies and sure to be on the menu for the monthly mom’s cooking club I host.

    • Cara

      They really are the perfect size! I usually over-do it on the pot pie. It’s seriously my kryptonite and I get the worse belly aches because I just don’t know when to stop 🙂 With these, I have 2 and it’s just enough to satisfy and fill me up (plus, I get to freeze the rest of them and get excited at the fact that tomorrow I get to eat them again). xo! I love the idea of having a mom’s cooking club, by the way!!!

  32. SarahJ

    It is so encouraging to be reminded that we DO in fact have everything we need for our lives, where we are, right now. Even if it seems like things are spiraling out of control or if we feel that we are somehow lacking – we’re not good enough, don’t have the resources we would want. We are where we are meant to be and whatever is happening is growing us. Thanks for this reflection.

    • Cara

      Sarah, thank YOU for such a thoughtful comment! I am so glad to hear that this strikes a chord in you. You put it all together so beautifully–we ARE enough just as we are, right in this moment. May you have a wonderful day with this truth tucked away in your pocket 🙂 xo

    • Cara

      Thank you, Emily! Hope you enjoy eating them as much as looking at them 🙂 They really are sooooo good.

  35. veghotpot

    Really enjoying seeing some savoury recipes Cara these look amazing!! how cute and because they’re small I could have two….right?!? 🙂 xx

    • Cara

      I was JUST thinking about you yesterday!! HI!
      You can absolutely have 2–in fact, that is the perfect amount to keep you satisfied with these cuties. Glad you are liking the dinner recipes–get used to it! Every week now 🙂 xoxo

      • veghotpot

        Aw, Hi back atcha 🙂 ooo how exciting I look forward to seeing more! Your a creative genius on both the sweet and the savoury spectrum….can I steal your brain mwahaha x x

        • Cara

          I don’t think I would wish my brain upon anyone. It’s scary in there 🙂 But thank you for such generous words, for reals! xo

  36. Alexiasana

    now this recipe is right down my aisle. i usually prefer savoury to sweet and those cupcakes caught my eye. looks sooo delicious !!!

    • Cara

      Cooking is my preference over baking, most definitely! I love it so much. I have just been carried away for a while with conquering gf/vegan baking but am so happy to get back down to dinners again too. xo!

  39. Gretchen

    In the title from allfreecopycatrecipes.com, the title of this recipe indicates it contains chicken; however, there is no chicken listed in the ingredients! IF you wanted to add chicken, would it be already cooked chicken breasts chopped up?

  40. Cara

    Your dough will resemble typical gluten-filled dough however it will be a little more sticky than normal. Just make sure to roll it inbetween 2 pieces of wax or parchment paper and use a good sprinkle of gluten-free all purpose flour to keep it from sticking 🙂

  41. Cara

    Oof, that is not good! I’m sorry about that confusion Gretchen. Everything over here is sans meat, gluten, eggs, and dairy. But if you wanted to add chicken, absolutely! That would add a nice flavor 🙂

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