entertaining

Here’s a rustic, vegetarian take on traditional pot pie! This weeknight dinner is prepped, cooked, and served all in one skillet. It’s perfect for feeding a crowd and saves time on dishes and clean up.

This rustic take on a pot pie combines the classic fall flavors of carrots, sweet potatoes, rosemary, and sage in a creamy sauce that is rich and bold flavored, even without chicken stock. Enjoy this pot pie as a vegetarian holiday entree or a hearty side dish to a meat-centered meal.

How to Make Vegetable Pot Pie
This pot pie is prepped on the stove, baked in the oven, and served directly in the skillet—which saves time doing dishes! For those looking to save time upfront, a pre-made pie crust works as well as a freshly prepared one. If it cools before everyone comes to the table, you can pop it directly back into the oven to keep it warm until everyone is ready.
While it isn’t the fastest recipe, its presentation and taste stand up to a casual family dinner or an elegant meal.
THE PERFECT POT PIE FILLING
If you find working with a traditional roux stressful, you’ll be happy to know that this recipe breaks down the process into a more foolproof one: Just add butter to the empty pan, sauté the vegetables, sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, then whisk in the liquid. Simmer until thickened.
When the pot pie goes in the oven, it will bake just long enough to cook the crust on top, and the filling won’t thicken much further.

PIE CRUST TIPS AND TRICKS
The less time you spend on it the better—fork tines pressed all around, fingertip patterns, and other normally-great decor touches should be avoided, as they will melt the crust further.
If you make the crust yourself, this recipe is an excellent choice, because there will be no leftover crust. You do not need an egg wash on top, but feel free to use one for extra shine if preferred.
Keep the crust refrigerated until five minutes before rolling it out.
Cast iron pans retain heat, so it’s best to let the cooked filling sit for about 10 minutes before placing the crust over the skillet.
Make sure the crust reaches the edges of the pan, otherwise the filling will seep out. It can overlap the pan edges to the outside or reach just to the inner edge; either works fine.
Once the crust is placed on the skillet, you should make at least two one-inch vent lines with a sharp knife for steam to escape.
BEST HERBS FOR POT PIES
When it comes to flavor, rosemary and sage were chosen for their fall, holiday feel in this pot pie. Use either fresh or dried herbs; using one fresh and one dried is our suggestion, so you don’t have to have two types of fresh herbs on hand at once.
To substitute fresh or dried herbs or vice versa: Half tablespoon of fresh for one half teaspoon of dried.
If rosemary and sage aren’t your favorite flavors, you can also use:
Thyme
Italian herb blend
Dried dill

POT PIE VEGETABLE TIPS AND SWAPS
This pie is easy to adapt to your personal taste, but I do recommend sticking to mostly root vegetables here, because they all have similar cook times. If you swap in a green vegetables like broccoli or zucchini, they will overcook.
A half to three quarter-inch dice for all root vegetables will ensure even cooking, and since this is a rustic dish, there is no need for perfect cubes.
As far as root vegetables go, the underground world of tubers is at your disposal! Keep it simple with our selection of sweet potatoes, carrots, and potatoes, or make a colorful exchange with beets. You could also use parsnips, turnips, or rutabagas, if available.
Whatever combo you choose, stick to only one or two sweet root veggies (beets, sweet potatoes or yams, parsnips) with at least one savory (potatoes, rutabaga, turnip), to equal a total of four cups. Even though white sweet potatoes are slightly firmer than yellow, both work equally well here.
Peas are added for green color and a customary pot pie flavor; they can be omitted or swapped for lima beans, should you have friends or family who enjoy that embattled veggie.
No Cast Iron Skillet? No Problem
The fun of this dish will not be lost if you can’t cook and serve it all in one vessel! If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, cook the filling on the stove, then pour it into a deep dish pie plate, top with the crust, and bake that way. We used a 10-inch cast iron pan, so a 10-inch deep dish pie plate is ideal. If you don’t have a pie plate, cooking in a shallow 9×11-inch casserole pan will work.

HOW TO MAKE AHEAD AND FREEZE POT PIE
This dish reheats well and can be made a day ahead, then popped back into the oven at 350°F for 25-30 minutes to reheat. Note that you do not want to keep it in the cast iron pan for more than two days, or you’ll risk the vegetables turning grey from the pan.
It also freezes nicely. Freeze individual portions or the entire pie in Tupperware containers, not the cast iron pan itself. While the pie crust may soften slightly, reheating in the oven instead of the microwave will help it re-crisp.
NEED MORE POT PIE IN YOUR LIFE? TRY THESE RECIPES! LEGGI TUTTO

Serve up this Southern classic chess pie to friends and family alike! It’s made with basic pantry ingredients, keeps well, and you can freeze it. The secret ingredient is a little cornmeal mixed into the custard.

If you’ve never heard of chess pie before, don’t worry, you haven’t been living in the dark. You’ve just grown up outside of the South, where chess pie is ubiquitous.
I learned about chess pie in my first job out of college, by a coworker who was hosting a Southern-themed picnic. “Make a chess pie. Here’s the recipe,” and I was hooked. I’ve been making the classic pie ever since. The chess pie is similar to most custard pies, sweet and rich with eggs, but with a slight texture because of the addition of the cornmeal.
In fact, chess pie was actually one of the first recipes that put my blog on the map. I won a pie contest for a blackberry and lemon chess pie, which was then featured on Bon Appetit’s site.

WHAT IS CHESS PIE?
Chess pie is a pantry staple pie, made with basic pantry ingredients that can be found in most Southern kitchens. It is an egg custard-based sugar pie, with the addition of a little bit of vinegar and cornmeal.
Cornmeal is key to distinguishing chess pie from other pies like sugar pie, vinegar pie, and pecan pie. If it doesn’t include cornmeal, even a little bit, it’s not a true chess pie but a regular custard pie.

WHERE DOES THE NAME CHESS PIE COME FROM?
There are many theories about where the name originated. Some guess it is a bastardization of cheese pie which looks similar to it, though it tastes completely different.
Others think it might come from the fact that Southern kitchens often have a very specific piece of furniture called a “pie safe” or “pie chest” where pies go to cool and be stored. Chess pie was so common and easy to make that it was the predominant pie that appeared in those pie chests, and the name “chest pie” evolved to “chess pie.”
But my favorite theory is the name came about from the idea that the matriarch of the family would be baking pies, and her husband and family would constantly ask what sort of pie it was. “It’s jes’ pie,” was her frustrated answer, which eventually morphed into, “It’s chess pie.”
WHAT’S THE BEST CORNMEAL FOR CHESS PIE?
You can find different recipes for chess pie floating about the internet where the filling has anywhere from 1 teaspoon of cornmeal to 1/2 cup of cornmeal.
I opt for a 1/4 cup with this recipe, as it is enough cornmeal to create texture, help with the thickening of the pie, and lend subtle corn flavor and sweetness, but not so much to be distracting or overly gritty.
Use whatever cornmeal you have on hand, though stoneground yellow cornmeal is traditional and most commonly used. White cornmeal is also fine to use, though it doesn’t have as pronounced a traditional cornmeal flavor. I usually avoid blue cornmeal, as the color isn’t the most pleasing with this sort of pie, but if color isn’t an issue for you or it’s all you have on hand, it will work.

HOW TO MAKE A CHESS PIE
Chess pie is a simple, easy recipe. However, there are a few tips and tricks that will help you make an even better chess pie.
Chill the pie dough ahead of time: Chill the pie dough for a good hour before rolling it out. This allows the flour to fully hydrate from the water, and for the gluten to relax, making it easier to roll out the dough. It also lets the butter chill and harden, which leads to a flakier crust.
Once rolled chill the pie dough again: Once you’ve rolled out and fitted the dough into the pan, stick it back in the fridge for fifteen minutes, just enough time to pre-heat the oven. Chilling the dough again allows the gluten to rest, which means less shrinkage and slumping of the dough. It also chills the butter again, to help with flakiness.
Par-bake the crust: You don’t need to blind bake the crust completely, but baking it for five minutes with pie weights in it, then three to four minutes without the weights allows the crust to get a jump start on the crust baking. If you pour the filling into an unbaked pie crust, you run the risk of soggy crust. Par-baking the crust prevents this.
Bake until the top is golden brown and the center doesn’t wiggle anymore. This pie is pretty forgiving; once the center of the pie isn’t wiggling anymore, you know it’s done!
Cover the crust edges: If the pie crust edges brown too fast, just cover the edges with aluminum foil or a pie crust shield to prevent it from burning as the custard filling continues to bake.
Cool it completely: If you cut into the pie while it is still warm, the filling won’t have time to set. Let the pie cool completely before cutting into it, which will lead to cleaner slices.
WAYS TO ADAPT CHESS PIE
Move beyond the basics of chess pie and try a variation of this classic recipe.
Lemon chess pie: Substitute the vinegar for lemon juice and add the zest of a lemon.
Orange chess pie: Substitute the vinegar for orange juice and add the zest of an orange.
Coconut chess pie: Add one cup of toasted coconut flakes to the filling and use coconut milk in place of the milk.
Chocolate chess pie: Add 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder to the filling.

CAN YOU MAKE THIS PIE AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes! The high amount of sugar in this pie means it will keep well. Store the pie in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to three days. Bring the pie to room temperature by placing it on the counter for two hours before serving.
HOW TO FREEZE CHESS PIE
Chess pie does freeze well. I recommend slicing the pie into individual servings, then placing the pie in an airtight container, with pieces of parchment paper separating the pie slices to keep them from freezing to each other. Once frozen, just take as many slices as you need!
MORE EASY CUSTARD PIES

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