by The holiday season is upon us, and all I can think about is this easy vegan shepherd’s pie.
If you’re looking for an easy, delicious and vegan main that everyone can enjoy this holiday season, this vegan shepherd’s pie is it. This vegan shepherds pie is seriously my go-to when I know that I’ll be feeding both vegans and non-vegans. I promise you won’t miss the meat! The filling is made up of veggies and lentils, with savory mashed potatoes on top.
Even though I know there are tons of different vegan shepherd’s pie recipes going around the internet, I still wanted to share one of my own. To make this recipe a little easier, I decided to use veggies that I always have on hand as a filling, so that limited preparation (or shopping) needs to be done.
Traditional shepherd’s pie uses a ground beef filling. While you can certainly use a vegan ground beef substitute in its place, I prefer to use lentils. They’re less expensive and are packed with iron, protein, and fiber. I also love that the lentils take on the flavor of the spices used to cook them, meaning you can adjust to your taste. The addition of celery, carrots, peas and mushrooms makes this dish even more flavorful and adds amazing texture.
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I love making vegan shepherd’s pie because it feels like a few dishes in one- a delicious source of protein from the lentils, tons of veggies in the filling, and mashed potatoes on top (my favorite!). You can serve this vegan shepherd’s pie with mushroom gravy, or just as is. Either way, it’s a crowd-pleaser.
I hope you enjoy this vegan shepherd’s pie as much as my family does!
Easy Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 4 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup dried green lentils, can replace with 2 cups canned or pre-cooked
- 2 1/4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp salt
For the mashed potatoes
- 6 large yellow potatoes, diced
- 1/3 cup unsweetened plant-based milk of choice, plus more as needed
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder, optional
Instructions
- Cook green lentils as per package instructions (can also use canned).
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a large casserole dish with vegan butter or oil and set aside.
- Sauté onion and garlic in a large pan over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add diced potatoes to a large pot of water. Bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, approximately 15 minutes.
- Add carrots, celery, mushrooms, cooked lentils, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and soy sauce to the pan. Sauté until combined, approximately 3 minutes.
- Whisk together vegetable stock and flour. Add to pan with filling.
- Sauté filling for 5-10 minutes, until you notice it starts to thicken and carrots and celery are fork-tender.
- Meanwhile, drain cooked mashed potatoes. Place back in the pot, and mash in vegan butter, unsweetened plant-based milk, salt, and garlic powder.
- Spoon lentil mixture into the casserole dish, spreading evenly. Spread potato mixture on top. Feel free to drag a fork throughout the potatoes to create divets, which will get crispy in the oven!
- Bake for 25 minutes, until lentil mixture is bubbling slightly up the sides of the dish and edges of the potato are golden brown. Serve and enjoy!
