This Vegan Savoury Mince Cobbler is easily cooked using the slow cooker, and has the best cheesy fluffy cobbler topping with a rich savoury veggie mince filling. Veggie savoury mince cobbler is the perfect cozy, comforting, family meal. If you're looking for a meat-free or vegetarian savoury mince recipe then you can use our recipe omitting the cobbler topping.
if you would prefer to cook the cobbler on the stove-top and oven we have provided an easy guide within our FAQ section and recipe notes within the recipe card.
Our savoury meat-free mince features a cobbler topping, similar to savoury scones and suet dumplings. However, unlike the traditional baking or stewing methods, we steam these in the slow cooker. This results in soft, light, and melt-in-the-mouth cobblers with a delicious fluffy texture and melted cheese. We use plant-based cheese, but you can easily substitute this with nutritional yeast flakes if preferred for a similar cheesy flavour.
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What is a cobbler?
Cobblers in some shape or form are popular around the world but especially so in Britain, the US, Canada, and Australia. A traditional cobbler can be prepared with either a sweet or savoury filling such as stewed fruit or savoury mince. The cobbler part refers to the bumpy looking cobbled topping that is usually prepared with a scone or dumpling mixture.
Many British cities, such as Edinburgh, still have some of the traditional cobbled streets that were built during the 1800s, and it is these bumpy cobblestone roads that the culinary cobbler is named after. It is claimed that cobblers originated in the early American colonies when British colonialists prepared meat stews and topped them with scones or flour dumplings.
Before the British settlers arrived in the colonies, they would have added the animal fat 'suet' to dumplings, puddings, and pastry dishes, but once in the colonies suet was not so readily available. American biscuits evolved from the British scones, and so biscuits would have eventually been used as a cobbler topping.
How to prepare
This meat-free mince cobbler is easy to prepare in the slow cooker or crock-pot with two stages. First the vegan or plant-based mince is cooked within a rich sauce before being topped with small cheese cobblers. The cobbles only take about an extra 60 minutes to steam cook.
The ingredients you will need for the vegan savoury mince is - vegan mince [either fresh or frozen], diced carrot, diced celery, diced onion, finely diced garlic, frozen peas, bay leaf, soy sauce, vegan Worcester sauce, tomato paste, meat-free gravy powder, black pepper, red wine vinegar, and vegetable stock.
The ingredients you will need for the cobblers are - plain flour [all-purpose flour], baking powder, salt, mustard powder, margarine, plant-based cheese, and plant-based milk.
- Step 1: First, add the fresh or frozen vegan mince, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, tomato paste, vegan Worcester sauce, soy sauce, marmite [vegetable extract], bay leaf, gravy powder, and black pepper to the slow cooker.
- Step 2: Pour in the hot vegetable stock.
- Step 3: Cook on the slow cooker high setting and for 3 ½ hours.
- Step 4: Stir through the red wine vinegar and frozen peas.
- Step 5: Prepare the cobblers
- Step 6: Add the plain flour, baking powder, and margarine into a mixing bowl and using your finger-tips rub the mixture together into a breadcrumb like consistency.
- Step 7: Stir through the salt, mustard powder, and vegan cheese.
- Step 8: Stir and add enough milk to bring the mixture together into a ball just as you would if you were making scones.
- Step 9: With a rolling pin gently roll out the dough to about a half inch thick.
- Step 10: Stamp out cobbles with a biscuit or cookie cutter.
Step 11: Place the cobbles over the savoury mince - it's fine if some overlap.
Step 12: Sprinkle the cobbles with a little vegan cheese.
Step 13: Place a tea towel under the slow cooker lid and securely press the lid down.
Step 14: Leave to cook for 60 minutes. The cobbler is now ready to enjoy.
Recipe notes
Storage and reheating
Leftover cobbler can be stored within the refrigerator for 3 days. Or frozen for up to 3 months.
Reheat by placing into an oven safe dish and heat until piping hot within the oven at about 160Fan /180C / 356 Fahrenheit / Gas 4. If preferred cover the cobbler with some kitchen foil.
FAQ
If preferred omit the cheese and perhaps replace with nutritional yeast flakes for the cheesy flavour.
Any kind of meat-free mince either fresh or frozen can be used for our cobbler recipe. Many supermarkets and grocery stores do their own brand of vegan mince which is usually less expensive than named brands. We like to check out the reduced sections for fresh vegan mince which can then be frozen.
The tea towel is simply to soak up the excess moisture that develops as the cobbles cook in the slow cooker. The tea towel is not necessary for cooking the savoury mince but helps with slow cooker bakes such as bread, cakes, scones, and similar.
Without the tea towel the moisture would steam up onto the lid and then drip back down onto the scone cobbles, which could result in soggy cobbles.
Instead of a tea towel, a muslin cloth designed for cooking can be used. Or a specially designed slow cooker cloth lid can be purchased [have a look on eBay for instance].
The slow cooker lid is always placed firmly over the tea towel so don't just use the tea towel or muslin cloth for a lid as the food may not cook properly and the tea towel could sink into the food.
Finally, always stay close by the slow cooker while the tea towel is under the lid just in case of any mishaps!
As ordinary Worcester or Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies it is not suitable for a vegan or plant-based diets. A little bit of Worcester sauce goes a long way as it contributes a good doze of deep and rich savoury flavours, so it can be worth the initial outlay as one bottle can last for months in the refrigerator and can be used in many meals.
Many supermarkets, grocery stores, health food or wholefood stores carry vegan Worcester sauce.
Asda [UK] have Chippa Worcester sauce which at the time of writing is £1.30 for a 150g bottle. Chippa Worcester sauce is labelled gluten-free and vegetarian but there are no animal ingredients.
Holland and Barrett carry Bonsan Vegan Worcester Sauce Organic which at the time of writing is £3.79 for 140g.
Alternatively, if you can't find a vegan Worcester sauce or just don't want to use it then simply replace it with soy sauce - on a 1:1 basis.
Yes, the savoury mince can be prepared on the stove-top, although extra liquid will likely need to be added - but don't add too much extra as a thick savoury mince is what we're going for. When the savoury mince has cooked transfer it to an oven-safe dish and top with the cobblers. Brush the cobblers with a little plant-based milk and sprinkle with grated vegan cheese or nutritional yeast flakes.
Bake the cobbler at 200 Fan/ 220 C/ 425 F/ Gas 7 for 15 minutes [on the middle shelf] or until the cobblers have risen, are lightly golden brown and the cheese melted. Exact times will depend on your oven.
Alternatively, use smaller individual pie dishes or ramekins to prepare mini cobblers. Depending on the size of your baking dish you should be able to prepare 4-8 little cobblers.
These fluffy, light, and cheesy cobbles are similar to tasty dumplings or steamed scones and are just irresistibly delicious, especially when enjoyed with the rich savoury veggie mince. The vegan cheese used for this cobbler recipe is - Violife Original Flavour Grated.
More vegan dinner recipes with savoury mince
Meat-free meat is so versatile and can be used for lots of family favourite traditional recipes - from pies, stews, soups, and pasta dishes and more. It can replace ordinary meat mince in most recipes and can be very budget-friendly.
A few of our family favourites that are part of our regular meal rotation are this meat-free vegan version of a Scottish Mince Round Pie and the classic Vegan Scottish Mince and Tatties and an American classic this Vegan Chuck Wagon Stew which is particularly delicious with our quick Cornbread Muffins or a slice of our Boston Brown Bread which is actually prepared in the slow cooker!
Another favourite is this easy and quick Vegan American Goulash which can conviently be prepared in one-pot.
For more meat-free dinner recipes do have a look at our family Vegan Dinner Recipes collection.
***please note: for US measurements click the 'US customary button' within the recipe and the measurements will switch to tablespoons, cups, and ounces.***
📖 Recipe
Vegan Savoury Mince Cobbler [Slow Cooker]
Equipment
- 3.5 litre [3.5-4 quart] slow cooker
- tea towel
- Mixing bowl
- sieve
- Rolling pin [optional, can just pat the cobble dough down by hand]
- Biscuit cutter [about 1¾-2 inches diameter]
Ingredients
Cobbler filling:
- 300 grams vegan mince [fresh or frozen]
- 140 grams celery [2 sticks] diced small
- 175 grams carrot [1 large or 2 medium] diced small
- 170 grams onion [1 large or a few small] diced small
- 4 cloves garlic [or one tablespoon garlic puree, or replace with 1 teaspoon garlic powder]
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcester sauce [use an extra tablespoon of soy sauce if not available]
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon marmite [yeast extract]
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoon vegan gravy powder
- 700 mililitres vegetable stock [hot] [use a vegan 'beef' flavour stock if available]
Stir through before adding cobbler topping:
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 140 grams frozen peas
Cobbler topping:
- 225 grams plain flour [all-purpose flour]
- 1 tablespoon baking powder [use a knife to level out the tablespoon measurement]
- 60 grams vegan margarine
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 85 grams vegan cheese [grated, plus a little extra for sprinkling over cobbler]
- 200 mililitres plant-based milk [may require more or less, we like to use unsweetened soya or oat milk]
Instructions
- Add the vegan mince, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, tomato paste, Worcester sauce, soy sauce, marmite, bay leaf, black pepper and gravy powder to a slow cooker.300 grams vegan mince, 140 grams celery, 175 grams carrot, 170 grams onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon vegan Worcester sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon tomato puree, 1 teaspoon marmite, 3 tablespoon vegan gravy powder, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, 1 bay leaf
- Pour in the hot vegetable stock and switch the slow cooker to the high setting.700 mililitres vegetable stock
- Leave to cook for 3½ hours.
- Add the red wine vinegar and taste to see if salt or additional black pepper is needed. Stir through the frozen peas and pop the lid back on while the cobbles are prepared.2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, 140 grams frozen peas
- Add the margarine, and sift the plain flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Using your fingertips rub the ingredients together until a bread crumb like consistency is produced.225 grams plain flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 60 grams vegan margarine
- Stir through the salt, mustard powder and grated cheese.½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon mustard powder, 85 grams vegan cheese
- Pour half the milk into the mixture and stir the milk through. Keep stirring as the mix will begin to clump together.200 mililitres plant-based milk
- Add small amounts of the milk and stir, press the dough together against the side of the bowl. Lift the dough up and press together into a ball, using extra milk if the mix is too crumbly. * don't add all the milk at once as it may not be all needed, simply use enough to form a ball of dough that is not sticky. Add extra flour if it becomes too sticky to roll out*
- On a floured surface, roll or pat the dough down to a height of about ½ an inch.
- Stamp out cobbles with the biscuit cutter.Bring the dough back together and pat it down again when necessary.This mixture is enough for about 15 cobbles if a 1 ¾- 2 inch cutter is used.
- Place the cobbles over the savoury mince, overlapping if necessary. Sprinkle the top with extra grated vegan cheese.* If the savoury mince is not thick enough for the cobbles to sit nicely on top stir through a few more tablespoons of gravy powder to thicken the mince up enough so that the cobbles do not sink*
- Lay a tea towel over the top of the slow cooker and press the lid down firmly. Keep the towel taunt and don't allow it to sag down into the food. Lift the parts of the tea towel hanging down and place over the top of the slow cooker lid.
- Cook for 60 minutes, When ready the cobbles will have risen and be light and airy inside, and the cheese melted.
Notes
- Nutritional information is produced for guidance only and is not intended as an exact calculation as ingredients vary.
- Store leftover cobbler for 3 days within the refrigerator.
- Or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat in the oven until piping hot.
- Vegan Worcester sauce can be replaced with an extra tablespoon of soy sauce, or a tablespoon of tomato ketchup or brown sauce.
- Instead of marmite use something like Tesco yeast extract which is pretty much the same thing.
- The vegan cheese used for this recipe is Violife Original Flavour Grated.
- The vegan cheese is optional so omit if preferred, or replace with nutritional yeast flakes for a cheesy flavour.
- The gravy powder used is ahh Bisto onion gravy granules which is not labelled vegan but contains no animal ingredients.
- Instead of peas you can add frozen or fresh sweetcorn or a drained can of haricot beans [navy beans] or your cooked preferred bean.
- Stove-top & oven method:
- To prepare the cobbler in the oven keep in mind that you will likely need to add a bit more liquid than usual, but be cautious not to overdo it as the goal is to achieve a thick consistency.
- If the mince needs thickening up you can add a few extra tablespoons of gravy powder.
- Once the savoury mince is cooked, transfer it to an oven-safe dish and arrange the cobblers on top.
- Lightly brush the cobblers with plant-based milk and sprinkle with grated vegan cheese or nutritional yeast flakes for added flavour.
- Bake the cobbler in a preheated oven at 200°C (Fan)/220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7 for about 15 minutes, or until the cobblers have risen and turned a light golden brown, with the cheese nicely melted. Keep in mind that baking times may vary depending on your oven.
- Alternatively. you can also make individual mini cobblers using smaller pie dishes or ramekins. Depending on the size of your baking dish, this recipe should yield 4-8 little cobblers. This is a great option for personalized servings or for when you're entertaining guests.
Nutrition
Comments
Prepared our Vegan Savoury Mince Cobbler? We would love to know how you got on with the recipe so do pop back and let us know by leaving us a comment and clicking the star ratings. Thanks so much, Love Jacq x
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