If there's one dish that's utterly perfect for a cold autumnal day, it's a hearty mushroom pie. This version is taken to the next level with a creamy white wine sauce, the beautiful texture of cooked chestnuts, and a dumpling-like suet pastry crust (which is a lot easier to make than it sounds!).
I can't decide which part of this mushroom pie I like most. The suet crust ends up crispy and flaky on the top, while underneath, it's soft and dense like a dumpling, where it soaks up all the tasty sauce.
Underneath the crust, there's a luscious filling of earthy mushrooms and tender chestnuts, coated in a creamy sauce that's rich, savoury, and oh-so-indulgent.
I'll admit, at first glance the ingredients list looks a little longer than most of my simple recipes, but don't let that put you off - it's really just a case of make the dough; make the filling; combine; bake!
Serve your mushroom pie with a few greens on the side, and you have an ideal hearty meal - perfect comfort food!
❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The flavours are unbelievably good - this mushroom pie is seriously irresistible.
- It's a hearty meal that will satisfy vegetarians and meat-eaters alike - so it's great for feeding a crowd!
- The creamy mushroom mixture can be used in various other ways, if you don't want to make your own crust - see below for some ideas.
- Adding chestnuts to the mushroom filling makes it feel extra special, and a little bit festive - this mushroom pie would be perfect for cooking on a special occasion like Christmas!
🥧 What is a Suet Pie Crust?
Suet is essentially a type of fat. It traditionally comes from animals, but I obviously use a vegetarian version, which is made from vegetable oil.
In the UK, vegetarian suet is easy to find in most supermarkets, but if you live elsewhere and you can't find it locally, you may be able to purchase it online. Here it is on Amazon US, for example.
I usually use suet to make incredible suet dumplings, which are soft and doughy, and seriously comforting cooked on top of a hearty stew! To make this suet pie crust, I just made a flatter layer of the dough, and spread it across the top of the mushroom pie filling. The underside of the crust retains that soft, doughy texture, while the top crisps up beautifully, like pastry.
🥗 Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this recipe. You'll also need a few cupboard staples, like butter, salt and pepper. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
- mushrooms - I used a mixture of baby portobellos and chestnut mushrooms. Stick with one type if you prefer!
- onion
- garlic - I love using garlic paste or pre-chopped garlic from a jar, to cut down on prep time.
- dried thyme
- vegetable stock - I use a stock cube, but liquid or jelly stock would be fine too.
- chesnuts - I used the kind that come ready-cooked in a packet (Amazon UK).
- white wine - nothing too fancy! Any cheap dry white wine will be fine.
- shredded vegetarian suet (I use this one - Amazon UK / Amazon US)
- self-raising flour
- cream
- fresh parsley
👌 Top tip
If you can't find chestnuts, use chopped walnuts instead. They'll do a great job of adding that slight crunch, and making the mushroom pie feel a little bit special.
✏️ Ways to Simplify the Recipe
If you can't be bothered to make your own pie crust (or if you can't find suet anywhere), don't let that put you off - there are plenty of ways you could adapt the recipe to suit you.
Here are a few examples:
- Make a standard pastry crust using your favourite pastry recipe.
- Use shop-bought puff or shortcrust pastry, instead of making your own crust.
- Make a simple savoury crumble topping instead.
- Serve the mushroom and chestnut filling without a crust at all, just like a standalone mushroom stew (similar to a creamy mushroom stroganoff!)
- Serve mushroom mixture in a different way, for something a bit different - perhaps creamy mushrooms on toast, or creamy mushroom pasta.
📋 Instructions
Here's how to make this recipe - see below for the printable recipe with detailed ingredients and instructions.
Step 1: Prepare the suet dough, and leave it to rest in the fridge.
Step 2: Cook the onion, mushrooms and chestnuts in the creamy sauce.
Step 3: Roll or press out the suet dough into a rough rectangle.
Step 4: Transfer the mushroom pie filling into a baking dish, and top with the suet crust.
Step 5: Bake until the filling is piping hot, and bubbling up around the crispy suet crust.
👌 Top tip
If you're baking something in a dish, always place the dish on a baking tray before putting it in the oven! Pies and casseroles have a tendency to bubble over the edge of the dish, and the tray will help to catch any drips.
💭 Recipe FAQs
You could definitely prepare the mushroom and chestnut filling in advance, and store it in the fridge until you're ready to bake it. If you're also planning to add the suet crust in advance, allow the mushroom filling to cool beforehand.
Personally, I tend to microwave any leftover portions, since it's a method that's quick and easy. Alternatively, reheating in the oven will help retain the crispiness of the crust. The mushrooms filling will dry out a little when it's reheated, so you may want to serve any leftovers with some extra vegetarian gravy.
Absolutely - just substitute your favourite non-sweetened vegan cream, and use vegan butter too. The suet pie crust is already vegan.
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📖 Printable Recipe
Creamy Mushroom Pie with Chestnuts (and Easy Suet Crust)
If you've cooked this recipe, don't forget to leave a star rating!
Print Pin CommentIngredients
For the suet pastry crust:
- 140 g (~ 1 cup) vegetarian shredded suet
- 280 g (~ 2 cups) self-raising flour
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ~ 175ml (~ ⅔ cup) water
For the mushroom and chestnut filling:
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 700 g (~ 1 ½ lbs) mushrooms, cut into chunky pieces (I used chestnut mushrooms and baby portobellos)
- 180 g (~ 1 cup) cooked chestnuts
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 100 ml (~ ⅓ cup) dry white wine
- 1 vegetable stock cube (I used low salt), crumbled
- 100 ml (~ ⅓ cup) water
- 100 ml (~ ⅓ cup) single cream
- Few sprigs fresh parsley, roughly chopped
To assemble:
- More flour for dusting
- 1 Tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Start by preparing the suet pastry. Add the vegetarian suet, self-raising flour, thyme, salt and pepper to a large bowl, and mix to combine. Add half of the water, and mix with a fork. When the mixture starts to come together into a ball of dough, it’s easiest to set the fork aside and use clean hands to continue mixing. Add a little more water, and knead the mixture briefly in the bowl (30 seconds or so), until you have a firm, but slightly sticky, dough. You may not need all of the water listed in the ingredients, or you may need a splash more.
- When you have a firm ball of dough, cover the bowl and set it into the fridge to rest while you prepare the mushroom mixture.
- In a large frying pan, melt the butter with the oil over a medium heat. Add the diced onion, and cook for a few minutes, until fairly soft, but not browned. Next add the mushrooms, and cook for a further 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly, until they are fairly soft.
- Cut the chestnuts into small pieces (I cut each chestnut into about 4-6 pieces), and add them to the pan, along with the minced garlic, dried thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
- When everything is nicely soft, make a gap in the centre of the pan, and add the white wine and the crumbled stock cube. Let it sizzle for a few minutes - you may need to raise the temperature a little to help cook off the alcohol.
- Turn the heat down again to medium-low, and add the water, the cream, and the chopped parsley. Cook for a few more minutes, until well combined.
- Heat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F), and transfer the mixture to a baking dish - mine measured approximately 8 x 8 inches.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge, and thoroughly dust a board with flour. Knead the dough for another minute or so, sprinkling it with a little more flour until it’s not too sticky. Then roll or press the dough until it’s approximately the same size as your baking dish, and an even thickness all over. Place the dough on top of your pie filling, and tuck the sides in. It doesn’t need to be too precise.
- Cut a couple of slits in the top of the pie to let out the steam, and brush lightly with milk. Place on a baking tray (in case it bubbles over), then into the oven for approximately 35 minutes, or until the suet crust is golden brown, and the mushroom mixture is piping hot and bubbling.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
NEATLY-PACKAGED says
Just found your blog, I love it! Very clean and cute :) Plus the mushrooms I am looking at look GOOD! Hope you can check out my blog :)
Víktor Bautista i Roca says
Tou ask "when else you eat chestnuts?"
Well, I'm Catalan and here we have even a festivity dedicated to them, la "castanyada" (castanya means chestnut), when we eats roasted chestnunts and sweet potatos (the orange ones) and some almond and sugar sweets called "panellets". It is on All Saint's Eve.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
That's really interesting, thanks! :)
Mina Joshi says
What a great way to use chestnuts. The dish looks fantastic.
Mushrooms Canada says
You're right, it's too easy to let vegetarian options slip in this busy time of year. This is one meal that I think the meat eaters would love to sink their teeth into too! Thanks for sharing such a decadent dish...
-Shannon
Debbie @ onelittleproject.com says
I love mushrooms! This looks delicious! Seriously mouth watering! It would be amazing if you would come to my house and make this for me for dinner tonight. hehe
Debbie @ One Little Project
Mark Willis says
Sounds like a delicious dish! I'm lucky enough to have some chestnut trees near me, from which I collect some nuts every Autumn. Our Christmas dinner traditionally includes Brussels Sprouts and chestnuts cooked together, which is a really good combination of flavours and textures. I wrote about this here:- http://marksvegplot.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/free-food-chestnuts.html
Patricia says
I'm drooling! What a great combo! I have some chestnuts, and thinking this will be a nice way to use them. Thanks!
Elizabeth Lake says
I'm thinking this would also make a wonderful topping for polenta.
Linda says
Great job. Looks wonderful!
Britni @ Play. Party. Pin. says
I've only ever had chestnuts once, in a Thanksgiving stuffing, but I loved them. This looks delicious Becca!