Dairy Free Fish Pie

5 from 3 votes

This Dairy Free Fish Pie is pure comfort food! Fresh fish mixed with a creamy sauce, topped with mashed potato and all dairy free!

Prep Time25

Cook Time35

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Servings: -6 servings

Calories: 424kcal

Pre-heat the oven to 200˚C / 180 Fan / 396˚ F / gas mark 6.
Peel the potatoes and chop into even chunks, then boil in a saucepan for 15 minutes until tender.
Whilst the potatoes are cooking you can make the roux. Melt the butter in a separate saucepan, once melted whisk in the flour then slowly add the milk whisking the whole time.
Add the bayleaf to the sauce mixture, bring to the boil then reduce and simmer for a few minutes until thickened, whisking all the time so the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Remove the sauce from the heat, then stir in the mustard and nutritional yeast. Remove the bayleaf from the sauce and season to taste. (You may wish to leave out the seasoning if cooking for small children)
Finely chop the onion and celery.
Drain the potatoes once they are cooked, add a knob of dairy free butter to the pan and mash until smooth and creamy.
Add the fish, onion, celery, peas, sweetcorn, dill and parsley to an oven proof casserole dish and add the cheesy sauce. Stir through gently until combined.
Top with the mashed potato, score the potato with a fork (see notes below) and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the fish is cooked and the mash starts to crisp and brown on top.

4-6 servings or 8 toddler portions.

Tips &Tricks

Use a fork to make a line pattern on top of the mash. This helps to create texture so you get the delicious brown crispy bits on top of the mashed potato.
Once you have mashed the potatoes, stir the mash with a wooden spoon to make it extra smooth and creamy.
To get an even crunchier and cheesy topping, smash up a packet of (dairy free) cheese and onion crisps then sprinkle over the top of the mash before cooking.

Substitutions & Variations

Fish - You can use any fish you like here. Cod, pollock & salmon are popular choices but allergies permitting why not add some fresh king prawns. Smoked haddock adds a lot of flavour to the dish but go easy as it can be over-powering. Trout, halibut and sea bass also work well.
Flour - To make this recipe gluten free, simply swap the plain flour for a gluten free version when making the roux.
Veg - If you are not a fan of peas and sweetcorn, you can add small florets of broccoli and cauliflower, some diced carrot or why not stir through some baby spinach which will wilt into the warm sauce.
Potatoes - If you can’t find Yukon Gold potatoes any white potato can be used. For a healthier version why not use sweet potato or carrot & swede mash as a topping instead?
Mustard - If you are allergic, this can just be left out. English or wholegrain mustard can be used, but they both have a stronger flavour so I would use half the amount.
Make It Cheesy - Top with some vegan cheese before baking in the oven for a crunchy, cheesy topping.
Eggs - Some people like to add eggs to their fish pie. If you do not have an egg allergy, you can add 2 hard boiled eggs (peeled and sliced) to the fish pie mixture before placing it in the oven.