Want to wow your guests at your next holiday celebration? Make my vegan tourtière! This plant-based twist on the classic Canadian meat pie features a savory lentil-pecan filling between two layers of golden, flaky crust. Hearty, decadent, and packed with spices, it’s the perfect main dish for your next special dinner!
If you ever get stuck on planning a vegan main dish for the holidays, here's a tip: make it a pie. Savory pies are always a hit — I've yet to meet a vegan or omnivore who can resist that flaky crust. That's why I love dishes like my vegan pot pie, vegan cheese and onion pie, and savory vegan hand pies. Today I'm sharing a new favorite savory vegan pie, and this one is perfect for holiday dinners — vegan tourtière!
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Tourtière is a Canadian meat pie that's pretty popular for holiday dinners. The filling is loaded with warming spices, which give it a very distinctive flavor. It's obviously not very vegan-friendly, but that's easy to fix! Instead of meat, we're using a mix of lentils and pecans to stuff our pie, along with potatoes. We'll be using a similar spice blend to traditional tourtière, so you won't miss a thing in terms of flavor.
Whether you grew up eating tourtière for Christmas, or it's a totally new concept to you, I'm sure you'll love this vegan version!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Lentils. We're using dried brown lentils, which are generally the most common variety. If you'd like to substitute canned lentils, go ahead — you'll need three cups.
- Potato. The recipe calls for a russet potato, also known as a baking potato. Red or yellow potatoes will also work just fine, though.
- Vegan butter. Most grocery stores will have this in the refrigerator case, near the regular butter.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Pecans. Walnuts and hazelnuts also work really well in this recipe.
- Spices. You'll need quite a few spices! Fortunately, they're all pretty common and can be found in the spice aisle of just about any grocery store — or maybe they're already in your pantry. We're using thyme, smoked paprika, rubbed sage, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg.
- Soy sauce. Tamari and liquid aminos can be substituted, if necessary.
- Red wine vinegar. Other types of vinegars that will work include white wine, apple cider, and balsamic.
- Salt.
- Pie crust. You can use store-bought or homemade crust. I recommend going with my easy vegan pie crust. One batch is just right. Alternatively, you can make two batches of my coconut oil pie crust, or get two store-bought crusts — just scan the ingredients for things like lard and butter.
- Non-dairy milk. We're using this as our vegan egg wash. Just about any variety you'd normally drink will work. Soy milk, almond milk, and oat milk are all fine. Read my guide to dairy-free milk if you're feeling lost here.
Tip: This dish is great on its own, but I really love drenching it in my vegan gravy. I don't think that's a traditional thing — it's just good!
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Cook the lentils. Cover them with water and simmer just until they're slightly undercooked. Drain them into a fine mesh strainer when they're done.
Step 2: Make the mashed potatoes. Boil peeled and diced potatoes until fork tender, drain them, then mash them with some vegan butter. Be sure to leave some chunks!
Step 3: Cook the onion. Melt some vegan butter in a large skillet, then add diced onion and cook it for a few minutes to start softening it up.
Step 4: Add nuts and seasonings. Stir in minced garlic, chopped pecans, and all of your spices. Cook the mixture for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
Step 5: Cook the filling. Add the lentils to the skillet, along with the soy sauce and red wine vinegar. Cook the mixture for just a couple of minutes to reduce the liquid, then remove the skillet from heat.
Step 6: Finish the filling. Gently fold in the mashed potatoes. Don't mix too much — keep a few chunks! Season the filling with salt.
Step 7: Fill the crust. Fit your crust to your pie plate, then transfer the filling to the crust, lightly packing it in and piling it into a dome if needed.
Step 8: Add the top crust. Drape it over your filling, then seal the edges and cut slits in the top. Brush your top crust with some non-dairy milk.
Step 9: Chill. Place the pie into the fridge and let it chill for about a half hour.
Step 10: Bake. Pop it into a 350°F oven to bake for about an hour, until the top crust is golden.
Steps 11 and 12: Cool and slice. Let your pie cool for at least 15 minutes before you slice it. It needs time to finish setting! When the time is up, slice it and enjoy!
Tip: The longer your pie sits, the firmer and easier it will be to slice. Forty minutes is the sweet spot. You can also make the pie a day ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, and in fact, it might be better the second day. Just let the pie cool after making it, then wrap it tightly in plastic and stick it in the fridge for up to two days. On the day of serving, unwrap the pie and heat it up in a 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until heated through. Alternatively, you can just assemble the pie in advance and bake it on the day of serving.
It sure is! I like to slice it up, then leave the slices in the pie plate, and place it in a large freezer bag and into the freezer, where it will keep for up to three months. Individual slices can be removed and reheated in the microwave or oven.
It's traditionally served hot, but it's actually very good served cold as well (and the leftovers make for great packed lunches!). If you're having a party or potluck, you can leave the pie out for guests to serve themselves without worrying about it getting cold.
More Vegan Holiday Main Dishes
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Tourtière
Equipment
- 1 9-inch pie plate
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups dried brown lentils
- 1 large russet potato (16 to 18 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter, divided
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon rubbed sage
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 batch vegan pie dough (enough for a double crust), or 2 store-bought crusts
- 2 tablespoons unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Place the lentils into a medium saucepan and cover them with water. Place the pot over high heat and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and let the lentils simmer until just a touch undercooked, about 20 minutes. Drain them in a fine mesh strainer when done.
- While the lentils simmer, place the potato into a medium saucepan and cover it with cold water. Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and let the potato simmer just until the pieces are easily pierced with a fork. Remove the pot from heat, drain the potato into a colander, then return it to the pot. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and mash the potato with a potato masher, leaving some chunks.
- Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it becomes soft and translucent.
- Stir in the garlic, pecans, thyme, smoked paprika, rubbed sage, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. Cook the mixture for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Gently stir in 3 cups of the cooked lentils (if you have some leftover, save them for another use), along with the soy sauce, and red wine vinegar. Cook the mixture for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring gently, just to reduce the liquid a bit. Remove the skillet from heat.
- Fold in the mashed potatoes, then season the mixture with 1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste.
- Drape one of your pie crusts into a 9-inch pie plate, gently pressing so it conforms to the inside of the plate. Trim any excess dough, then poke holes in the bottom and sides of the pie crust with a fork. Transfer the lentil mixture to the pie shell, gently packing it in. You may need to dome the top a bit.
- Place your second crust over the filling, then trim any excess dough and pinch or crimp the edges to seal. Cut a few slits in the top of the pie and brush it with the non-dairy milk.
- Place the assembled pie into the fridge and let it chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. When the oven has fully heated up, place the pie inside and bake it for about 1 hour, until the top crust is golden brown.
- Place the pie on a cooling rack and let it cool for at least 15 to 20 minutes before slicing. The longer it sits, the cleaner it will slice. I recommend shooting for 40 minutes — it will stay warm for a while.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
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