This vegan savoury cobbler is easily prepared within 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, traditional family meal.
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.
This cobbler topping is comparable to the lightest, fluffiest, and soft pillow-like dumplings. So tasty and amazingly can be easily baked in the slow cooker.
How to prepare slow cooker vegan savoury mince cobbler
This savoury veggie mince cobbler is easy to prepare. First the vegan mince is cooked within a rich sauce before being topped with mini cheese scone cobblers.
The cobbles only take about an extra 45-60 minutes to steam cook and the result is just the best, fluffy, cheesy cobbler dumplings.
First, add the vegan mince [fresh or frozen], celery, carrot, onion, garlic, tomato paste, vegan Worcester sauce, soya sauce, marmite [vegetable extract], bay leaf, gravy powder, and black pepper to the slow cooker.
Pour in the hot vegetable stock.
Switch the slow cooker to the high setting and cook for 3 ½ hours.
Stir through the red wine vinegar and frozen peas.
Next prepare the cobbler topping.
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.
Tip in the salt, mustard powder, and vegan cheese.
Stir and add enough milk to bring the mixture together into a ball.
With a rolling pin gently roll out the dough to about a half inch thick.
Stamp out rounds with a biscuit cutter.
Place the cobbles over the savoury mince, its fine if some overlap.
Sprinkle with a little vegan cheese.
Place a tea towel under the slow cooker lid and securely press the lid down.
Leave to cook for about 60 minutes.
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.
Or place the cobbler back into the slow cooker and switch to the high setting and leave until piping hot. Or microwave for a few minutes.
Of course. If preferred omit the vegan grated cheese and perhaps replace with a 2-3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes for a cheesy hit.
Any kind of vegan mince is perfect for a savoury cobbler. The mince can be either fresh or frozen when added to the slow cooker. Many supermarkets and grocery stores do their own brand of vegan mince which is usually less expensive than named brands. I like to check out the reduced sections for fresh vegan mince which can then be frozen.
Alternatively, use dried vegan mince such as textured vegetable protein or dried soya mince, and rehydrate it according to the package instructions. Use about 300 grams [weight is after rehydration] of the mince for the cobbler recipe. Dried vegan mince usually only has one or a few ingredients and is the most cost effective compared with fresh and frozen veggie mince.
Although, fresh or frozen vegan mince does tend to have more flavour and texture, compared to dried vegan mince which usually needs more flavour added. However, this can be a bonus as the dried mince soaks up all the tasty flavours that is added to it.
As ordinary Worcester or Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies it is not suitable for a vegan or plant-based diet.
Many supermarkets, grocery stores, health food or wholefood stores carry vegan Worcester sauce. 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.
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.
Absolutely. The savoury mince filling can be prepared on the stove-top, although extra liquid will likely need to be added. When the mince has cooked transfer to an oven-safe dish and top with the cobblers.
Bake at 200 Fan/ 220 C/ 425 F/ Gas 7 for 15 minutes [on the middle shelf] or until the cobbler topping has risen and is lightly golden brown. Exact times will depend on your oven. As the cobblers will be baked they can be brushed with a little plant milk before sprinkling the cheese over.
Alternatively, use smaller individual pie dishes or ramekins for the cobbler which would make a delicious meal for Thanksgiving, the festive season or a special Holiday. Depending on your baking dish sizes, divide the mix between 4-8 dishes.
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!
As it is not recommended or advised in slow cooker instruction books to use a tea towel under the lid, to be on the safer side its best to check the slow cooker frequently just to make sure everything is going fine.
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 [200g].
More slow cooker family vegan meals:
There is 7 meals below so one for each day!
During the cost of living crisis the slow cooker is one of the most energy efficient methods of cooking.
Its so worth investing in a slow cooker or crock pot if you don't currently own one, and second hand ones are just as great.
Green lentil Spaghetti Bolognese
Black bean chilli sin carne [with fluffy quinoa]
Traditional Scottish mince and tatties
Cauliflower Tikka Masala [with chickpeas and spinach]
Traditional pea and 'ham' soup
And for a slow cooker pudding try one of these tasty traditional family favourites:
Traditional British spotted dick
Date and syrup steamed pudding
[steamed puddings are delicious served with hot custard or a drizzle of vegan cream]
Slow cooker breads:
Slow Cooker Savoury Mince Cobbler [vegan]
Equipment
- 3.5 litre [3.5-4 quart] slow cooker [or slightly larger]
- tea towel [or similar for placing under slow cooker lid while cobbler topping is cooked]
- 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/frozen or rehydrated dried mince]
- 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 tablespoon minced/puree garlic]
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcester sauce [use an extra tablespoon of soy sauce if this ingredient is not available]
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree [paste]
- 1 teaspoon marmite [yeast extract]
- 3 tablespoon vegan gravy powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 700 mililitres vegetable stock [hot] [use a vegan 'beef' flavour stock if available]
Stir through before adding cobbler topping:
- 2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 140 grams frozen peas
Cobbler topping:
- 225 grams plain flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder [use a knife to level out the tablespoon measurement]
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 60 grams vegan margarine
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 85 grams vegan cheese [grated/shredded] [plus a little extra for sprinkling over cobbler]
- 200 mililitres soya milk [may require more or less]
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, ¼ 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 teaspoon 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 soya 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 a little shredded vegan cheese.
- 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 about 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, or place back into the slow cooker and heat on the high setting until piping hot. Or microwave for a few minutes until heated through.
- Vegan Worcester sauce can be replaced with an extra tablespoon of soy 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 [200g].
- The vegan cheese is optional so omit if preferred, and perhaps add a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes to the cobbles instead.
- The gravy powder used is ahh Bisto onion gravy granules which is not labelled vegan but contains no animal ingredients.
Nutrition
Prepared this tasty slow cooker vegan mince cobbler?
We would love to know how you got on.
It would be wonderful if you could leave us a comment below and click the star ratings.
Thanks so much! Jacq x
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