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OMG. I made pot pies!!
I know this may not seem like a big deal to most of you, but for me, it kind of is. I have never made a pot pie before.
Growing up we never ate pot pies for dinner, and in my few years of cooking I just never had the desire to make one. That is until I saw these pretty Staub cast iron mini cocottes, and it hit me that I really wanted to make a pot pie.
I am not joking when I say that the sole purpose I developed this pot pie recipe was because of the mini cocottes. I kind of fell in love with them and bought two on the spot, plus the cute pumpkin because I obviously had to have that too. No brainer.
I only bought two cocottes though because one, they are kind of expensive and two, the barn is going to suck me dry and I am trying to control the amount of dishes I buy… that part is clearly not going so well.
Speaking of the barn, things are finally happening. I have to say my mom/new general contractor is KILLING it. She has got people working back-to-back and our end of November/beginning of December deadline is looking just a little more do-able. Still going to be cutting it so close, but I am finally feeling good about it now. YA!
Ok, so I made these cute pot pies w/flakey taleggio crust using a mix of butternut squash, mushrooms and beef. I just have to say though, you can totally skip the beef and add more veggies in place. I wanted to make a super hearty pot pie, but if beef is not your thing just leave it out. It’s honestly no big deal.
The butternut squash and mushrooms are the star in these pot pies anyway. Oh and that crust. Wow, that crust is delicious. Cheesy taleggio and puff pasty is a match made in pot pie heaven. Yep, pot pie heaven you guys.
I think that pot pies can sometimes be tough. One of the reasons I never made a classic pot pie is because I was fearful that they would be bland and boring. I think that the secret to a good pot pie is letting the stew cook as long as possible. I am not sure if you need to do this with a chicken pot pie, but it’s been my experience that low and slow is always the way to go when it comes to stews. So if you can, cook it all day and then assemble the pies when you get home from work or wherever.
It’s actually a really easy one-pot meal to make. Perfect for a busy week day or better yet a lazy Sunday when you want something cooking on the stove all day long to make the house smell amazing and feel super cozy.
Oh and I have to say, if you are trying to impress, I feel like this pot pie would be a good meal to make. It’s that pretty, golden and puffy crust that gets people every time. And I mean with good reason too. I think the crust it my favorite… it’s the puff pastry. That stuff is good.
Butternut Squash and Beefy Mushroom Pot Pies w/Flakey Taleggio Crust.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 1078 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick cut bacon chopped (optional)*
- 2 1/2 pounds stew meat or short ribs cubed into bite size pieces (optional)*
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 8 ounces of mushrooms sliced (use 12 ounces if using no meat)
- 1 1/2-2 cups butternut squash cubed (about 1/2 a small squash)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt + pepper
- 1 (12 ounce) beer I used pumpkin beer
- 2 cups beef broth plus as needed
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme + fresh thyme for stewing
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary + fresh rosemary for stewing
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed
- 6 ounces taleggio cheese cubed
- 1 large egg beaten
Instructions
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove from the pot and drain on a paper towel lined plate. To the same hot pot add the cubed beef and brown all over. Depending on the size of your dutch oven, you may need to brown the meat in batches. Once the meat is browned, remove it from the pot.
- If needed, add a drizzle of olive oil to the same pot you browned the meat in. Once hot, add the carrots, onions and garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until soft. Toss in the mushrooms + butternut squash and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add the beef back to the pot with veggies. Add the butter and flour, tossing well to coat all the veggies + meat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook one minute and then deglaze the pot with the beer, scrapping up any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the beef broth, smoked paprika, thyme, rosemary, oregano, crushed red pepper and bay leaf. Bring the stew to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. If desired you can add 2 sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary(I did). Stir in the reserved bacon. Cover the pot and simmer for 2 1/2-4 hours, the longer the better. If you can, simmer the stew all day, it can be cooked up to six hours over low heat.
- When the stew is ready, remove from the heat and stir in the fresh parsley. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Grease 6 mini ramekins (or just leave the stew in the oven safe pot you cooked it in and make one big pot pie). Divide the stew among the ramekins. Unroll the puff pasty and cut it into 6 squares. Sprinkle a little cheese over top each ramekin and then place the puff pastry over-top the cheese. Tuck the sides of the pastry down into the ramekins.
- Brush the tops of the pastry with the beaten egg and then sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake for 35-45 minutes (maybe more or less depending on the size of your pot pies) or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh parsley and salt. Enjoy warm!
Notes
*To make this vegetarian, leave the meat out and just start the cooking process at step two. Use a little olive oil and double the amount of mushrooms in the recipe. You may want to add about 1 cup more of butternut squash as well.
That bite. Ohhhmmyyygoshhhh. That was a good bite.
I really want to make this, but I need a substitute for the beer. Any ideas? Thanks!
You can use chicken broth! xT
Hi Teighan,
Was wondering if you could substitute sweet potatoes for squash. We are not a fan of squash.
Love your recipes!!!
Hey Pam,
Totally, sweet potatoes would be great! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Hey Tieghan, not sure if you’ll see this in time, but wondering how to make this just in one bigger pot. Not sure how to adjust the crust. I don’t have the small sized ramekins. Thanks!
Hey Kathryn,
I haven’t tested this but I would just increase your baking time to 50-60 minutes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Didn’t have beer and we are in the middle of a snow storm, so I made this with Red Wine, threw in some parsnips that needed to be used up as well. Definitely cook this low and slow as long as possible. It thickens up really nice.
Thank you so much Kelly! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was delicious! I felt like I could’ve kept eating it all day long. The only disappointing part was my puff pastry cooked on top but remained soggy/raw underneath – maybe it was a facet of doing one big pot pie instead of the little ones? I also wasn’t able to find Taleggio at any of my local stores: do you have any cheese substitutes in future? I did a Port Salut mild soft cheese, and it was good, but I don’t know if there’s something better.
Any way around it, the meal as a whole was superb and I’ll definitely be using this as my to-go stew recipe. The butternut squash was magnificent.
Hey Jill! Try cutting 3 slits into your pastry before baking to better allow air to circulate. For the cheese, I would try a cream Brie or fontina cheese. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am glad you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
LIttle confused by the wording “1 ounce beer 12”. Is it one 12 oz beer?
Hi Alexis, you need one (12 ounce) beer. So sorry for the confusion. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
This looks like the perfect dish to have on a wet cold night. Such a comfort dish.
YES! Thank you Sandy!