The winter-chill beating comfort food goodness of a classic Shepherd’s Pie, minus the meat. This Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe features a savory vegetable, lentil and gravy loaded interior, topped with pillowy mashed potatoes, baked in the oven to perfection.
What’s not to love about a savory vegetable, meat and gravy loaded interior, topped with pillowy mashed potatoes, baked in the oven until taste-bud nirvana occurs!? It’s comfort food that can provide a warm hug when the winter chill creeps into your bones.
This vegan shepherd’s pie recipe is almost indistinguishable from the original. In fact, I’d venture that this is one of the best lentil recipes I’ve tried to date!
Who would have thought a plant based shepherd’s pie could pack a savory punch – and approximate the texture of meat without having to resort to a meat substitute?
This is vegan comfort food for the winter (and holiday season) to come.
Table of contents
Shepherd’s Pie And Cottage Pie
Now, you’ll frequently see both terms used interchangeably – but there is a method to the naming madness. You see, the title used is usually in reference to the type of ground meat in the recipe. Typically, shepherd’s pie refers to a lamb mince pie. And a cottage pie would usually include ground beef.
However, since we’re using a combination of lentils and mushrooms for this vegan shepherd’s pie, all naming conventions are out the window!
Ingredients Needed
This hearty and healthy shepherd’s pie is a super easy vegetarian recipe that calls on lentils and mushrooms to act as the ‘meaty’ element.
In regards to flavor, mushrooms have much of the same earthy, umami flavor you get from simmered ground beef.
And, from a texture perspective, cooked lentils produce a consistency that – when combined in this casserole with the other veggies, gravy and mashed potatoes – really stands in for the mouthfeel you’d get from ground meat. It might sound crazy – but it’s true!
Most of what you’ll need to make this vegetarian shepherd’s pie is probably already sitting in your pantry – or it’s a quick trip away at the corner shop.
I’ll list a few of the key ingredients below just in case you prefer to pick them on Amazon:
How To Make It
There are two main elements to preparing this easy shepherd’s pie: the potatoes and the filling.
Prep the potatoes
- Peel and cut about two-and-a-half pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes into manageable chunks. Then place them in a large pot of water and bring them to a boil. Boil the potatoes for 10-12 minutes or so, until they’re tender. Drain your potatoes and place them in a mixing bowl.
- Then, just mash them up! Use a fork or potato masher and really go to town until they are smooth.
- Add about three tablespoons of vegan butter, two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a little salt & pepper. Mix again. Your potatoes will be velvety smooth – and packed with flavor. Place a kitchen towel over the mixing bowl, and let’s move on to our filling!
Make The Filling
- Get a large pan going over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil, plus a medium diced onion and a couple cloves of chopped garlic. Your onions should be translucent in 2-3 minutes.
- Add a cup and a half of sliced mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes – until the water the mushrooms release at the start of cooking has evaporated. Then add three tablespoons of flour, stirring the entire time. About 1 minute total.
- At this point I like to add three cups of mushroom stock, ½ cup of rinsed dry-lentils and about a teaspoon of thyme. The stock will interact with the flour and thicken into a gravy.
- Hit it all with a little salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- After simmering, add a full 10-ounce bag of mixed frozen veggies. Peas, carrots, corn and green beans work super well in this vegan shepherd’s pie! Cook for another 10 minutes.
Then grease an 8×8-inch baking dish and carefully pour in the filling. Top with your mashed potatoes and spread evenly. You can then run the tines of a fork over the top of the mashed potatoes to create lines. My mom used to do this – and it looked super pretty after being baked! It’s totally optional though 🙂
Simply bake for 20 minutes at 425°F. For the last five minutes, crank the heat up to broil so your potatoes get nice browned ridges.
What Does It Taste Like?
I gotta tell you… The resulting taste is just out of this world! There’s a savory flavor of mushrooms and a meaty nuttiness from the lentils that just play so nicely off the little pops of freshness from the frozen peas and corn kernels.
It’s enveloped in a luxurious and thick mushroom gravy. The potatoes are equal parts velvety smooth – and perfectly browned and slightly crispy on top. Comfort food: level 10!
This vegan shepherd’s pie is one of my favorite new vegan main dishes. With flavor to spare, it ticks all of those boxes I hope a vegan version of a comfort food classic will.
Other simple, delicious and hearty holiday-ready vegetarian comfort food recipes:
- Smashed Red Potatoes With Garlic and Chives
- Hearty Farro Salad
- Vegan Lentil Soup Recipe
- Easy Vegan Stuffing (The Ultimate)
- Blackened Hasselback Carrots Recipe
Did you like this recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
Print
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 85 minutes
- Yield: 4 people 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Frying, Roasting
- Cuisine: British
Description
A healthy and meatless shepherd’s pie recipe packed with flavor.
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/2 cup uncooked brown or green lentils (rinsed and drained)
- 1 1/2 cups mushrooms (sliced)
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups mushroom stock
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 10-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans and corn)
- 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley (chopped)
Mashed Potatoes
- 2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Grease an 8×8-inch baking dish – or other comparable sized baking dish.
- Peel and cut the potatoes and transfer them to a large pot filled with water. Bring the water to a boil – and boil the potatoes for 10-12 minutes, or until tender. Drain and transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Using a potato masher or a fork, mash the cooked potatoes until they are smooth and add vegan butter and extra virgin olive oil. Mix well – and season to taste with a little salt and pepper. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, onions and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent.
- Add mushrooms and saute for 3-5 minutes, until the water released by the mushrooms has evaporated.
- Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Slowly add mushroom stock while stirring. Then add lentils and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and stir.
- Bring to a boil. Then lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add frozen veggies, cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- Place the baking dish on a baking sheet (this is to catch any overflow of gravy once it goes in the oven).
- Pour the lentil mixture into the baking dish and carefully top with mashed potatoes, one large spoonful at a time. Spread the mashed potatoes using a fork or spatula – and smooth it until you get an even layer.
- This step is optional: run the tines of a fork over the mashed potatoes to create elevated lines (my mother used to do this – and I think it makes the finished pie look prettier).
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes (with the baking dish underneath).
- Then turn oven to broil and broil for 5 minutes to get a crispy, golden brown top (optional).
- Top with chopped flat leaf parsley and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 597
- Sugar: 4.6 g
- Sodium: 841.9 mg
- Fat: 19.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 90.4 g
- Fiber: 13.1 g
- Protein: 18.5 g
- Cholesterol: 10.8 mg
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! New to the vegan world my 8 kids and I have been searching for easy and yummy! This did not disappoint. In fact, my 8 tell me I cannot make again unless I double and make 2 pans of it! THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS RECIPE!
Thank you so much Kelli!! 🙂
Absolutely scrumptious! I had to leave out the mushrooms because 2/4 of us don’t like them. I love them so that’s unfortunate for me, but it came out amazing anyway! SO satisfying! Thank you so much for this one
Thank you so much! 🙂
Amazing! Didn’t change a thing and we devoured it.
I’ve never tried Shepard’s pie, so I’ve definitely never made it. This turned out amazing!!!!! I did almost exactly everything the same. 4 servings turned into 2 for me. It is the best comfort food! I love how meaty the mushrooms and lentils make it taste. The best recipe. Thank you.
Thank you so much Hayley! 🙂
Do you think it would set okay in the fridge if I put everything together and baked it six or seven hours later? Or do you think the mixture would come through the potatoes?
Hi Colleen, I wouldn’t recommend doing that as that potatoes would most likely soak up the gravy. However you can save the mashed potatoes separately from the veggies and combine them right before baking 🙂
Looks amazing. The calorie listed in nutrition info is for all 4 servings correct vs per serving?
Hi Colleen! It is really yummy, I make it all the time 🙂 The calories are per servings, which equals to about 4 servings for this recipe.
I liked it but it needed something a little extra. When serving i sprinkled with a little vegan parmesan cheese, this made it super tasty. If you dont have vegan cheese near you could perhaps use some nutrional yeast.
This recipe sounds yummy! Can you freeze this?
Yes you can Mary Ann! The same way you would for a regular shepherd’s pie 🙂
Amazing!! I’m a picky eater and needed something for dinner, and this recipe did the trick. Easy to make and full of flavour. I served this alongside a salad My husband had two servings and said I could make this again. I wouldn’t change anything to the recipe unless I was out an ingredient.
Thank you Heather! 🙂
This looks amazing! I have a can of lentils i want to use, how do I adjust the liquid, cooking time etc?
Hi Katharine! In the recipe card you can change the serving size to get the right measurements. I’m not sure about cooking time – were you thinking of making it without an oven?
I made the filling minus the potato and had it with salmon as a side.
Very tasty smoky taste.
Thank you.