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When I went vegan, I thought giving up cheese would be a real challenge but it wasn’t. There are so many great alternatives you don’t give up anything, you just swap. When I do a roast dinner my cauliflower cheese is always a hit so I thought why not turn it into a pie. With a crisp, nutritious spelt crust and creamy garlic & cheese sauce this pie recipe makes for a great dish on its own or served with roast potatoes, veg and gravy.

Tip: The pastry will thicken when it cooks so don’t make it too thick (unless that’s how you like it). Himalayan salt is unprocessed and full of minerals. I always use this instead of table salt. Here’s my pie recipe:

Preheat oven 200ºC/392ºF/gas mark 6.

Ingredients – Crust

175 g spelt flour (use wholemeal or gluten free if you prefer)
70 g vegan butter (I used avocado spread. You could also use coconut oil)
1.5 tsp baking powder
Generous pinch of Himalayan or sea salt
30 ml unsweetened milk (I used soya)

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the butter and stir in with a wooden spoon then use your hands and rub flour and butter together until you have a breadcrumb like mixture.

Pour in the milk and stir in, once absorbed use your hands again and kneed until you have a ball of pastry.

Sprinkle flour onto a clean work surface and roll the ball so its (approx) ½ cm thick. Using your pastry tin cut out the shape and press into the tin and use the remaining pastry to form the sides.

spinach pie recipe

Photo: Aaron Calder

Ingredients – filling

2 cups of cooked cauliflower (I chopped small pieces then steamed for 5 minutes)
½ chopped onion (red works best for colour)
1 cup of baby leaf spinach (use frozen if you wish)
1 crushed garlic clove
Generous pinch of salt and black pepper
½ cup of milk
½ cup of cream (I used soya)
½ cup of grated mature vegan cheddar
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
¼ tsp xanthan gum (thickens sauce) (use 1 tsp of the flour as an alternative)

Add 1 tbsp oil to a pan and brown the onion and garlic on a medium heat.

Pour in the milk and cream and bring to a simmer.

Add the cheese and melt. Add salt, pepper, nutritional yeast and xanthan gum and stir vigorously.

Add the cooked cauliflower and uncooked spinach and stir until spinach slightly wilts. Pour into your pie case or cases and sprikle with more grated cheese.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 20-25 minutes. The top of the pie should look golden brown. Be careful removing from the hot tins and serve immidiatley.

You can store the pies in the fridge once cooled for a couple of days and reheat 180ºC for 15 minutes.

I hope you enjoy this vegan pie recipe!

Also Read: 

Dreamy desserts: Vegan White Chocolate Tarts Recipe

This Easy Vegan Walnut Soda Bread Recipe will Impress your Guests