Elizabeth Berrett
If you’ve ever wanted comfort food that doesn’t immediately demand a lie-down, this BOSH! vegan filo pie is your new midweek ally. It’s Joe Wicks-inspired, topped with crisp filo, and built to be hearty and filling while staying lower in fat, processed carbs and calories—and because life is short, it cooks quicker too. Make sure your vegan meat is low in salt and saturated fat.
There’s something gloriously unfair about pies: the best ones taste like you’ve moved in with your granny and she’s decided you look peaky.
This one keeps that homely payoff, but with a clever twist—crumpled filo pastry on top, which means maximum crunch with less heaviness. Underneath, you’re getting a rich, herby mix of mushrooms, thyme, rosemary and a good splash of attitude from red wine.
What makes this vegan filo pie “lighter” but still satisfying
The trick is the top. Instead of a thick lid of pastry, filo gives you that shattery, golden finish without the same weight. Then the filling leans on vegetables and herbs for depth—mushrooms especially, doing their best “meaty” impression—while vegan meat keeps it properly filling and protein-forward. It’s the sort of dinner that feels like a reward, not a compromise.
Ingredients you’ll need (serves 4)
For the pie
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 2 celery sticks
- 400g mixed mushrooms
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 20g fresh parsley
- 400g vegan meat
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 50ml red wine
- 250ml vegetable stock
- 4 sheets filo pastry
- Low-fat cooking oil spray
To serve
- 200g Tenderstem broccoli
- 200g frozen peas
- 200g fresh spinach leaves
- 1 lemon
- Salt and black pepper
You’ll also need: Large frying pan, 18 x 28cm baking dish, saucepan, kettle boiled
Oven: Preheat to 190°C
Step-by-step method
First, prep the ingredients
- Peel and dice the onion
- Peel and dice the carrot
- Trim and thinly slice the celery
- Roughly chop the mushrooms
- Pick and roughly chop the thyme and rosemary leaves
- Pick and roughly chop the parsley leaves
- Cut the vegan meat into bite-sized chunks
Now, brown the vegan meat
- Warm half a tablespoon of the olive oil in the large frying pan over a medium heat
- Add half the vegan meat and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until the chunks are browning
- Transfer the browned chunks to a plate
- Repeat this process with another half tablespoon of the olive oil and the remaining vegan meat
Make the pie filling
- Heat the remaining half tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan over a medium heat
- Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes
- Add the carrot and celery and stir for 2 minutes
- Add the mushrooms and stir for 3–4 minutes
- Add the thyme, rosemary and bay leaf and stir for 1 minute until aromatic
- Add the tomato purée and stir for a further minute
- Add the browned vegan meat and stir for 1 minute
- Add the wine and stir for 1 minute
- Add the stock, increase the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated
- Add the parsley leaves
- Taste and season to perfection with salt and pepper
- Tip into the baking dish, smooth it out with the back of a spoon and leave to cool for 5 minutes
Make the topping
- Crumple the filo pastry sheets into loose balls and cover the dish
- Spray with 4 sprays of cooking spray
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the pastry is crispy and beginning to darken
Get the greens ready
Five minutes before the pie is set to come out of the oven:
- Trim the broccoli
- Put the broccoli and peas in a saucepan, cover with boiling water and allow to warm through for 3–4 minutes
- Put the spinach in a colander, pour the broccoli and peas and all the hot water from the pan into the colander (this will wilt the spinach)
- Halve the lemon
- Squeeze a little lemon juice over the greens, and season with salt and pepper
What to serve with it
This vegan filo pie doesn’t need much fussing—those greens do the job: broccoli for bite, peas for sweetness, spinach for that virtuous flourish, and lemon to cut through the richness. Plate up while the filo is still audibly crackling; that’s half the point.
Nutrition per serving
521 KCAL | 31G PROTEIN | 18G FAT | LOW FAT | LOW SUGAR | HIGH FIBRE
If you want one simple upgrade without changing the recipe: don’t rush the mushroom stage. Give them time to cook down properly so the filling tastes deep and savoury, not watery. That’s the difference between “nice for vegan” and “actually just nice.”
