this vegan lentil shepherd’s pie is full of comfort and so delicious. the perfect meal for the holidays and fall/winter!
Shepherd’s pie is truly a perfect comfort food dish. While the original is made with ground lamb or meat it is easily veganized by subbing the meat out for lentils! If you have never had Shepherd’s pie it is just a meat and vegetable filling with a layer of mashed potatoes. It almost reminds me of a chicken or beef pot pie but with mashed potatoes instead of pie crust.
I feel like there isn’t really a right or wrong way to make this dish. I think there are a few elements you need but for the most part you can add an extra vegetable or omit one if you like. There are extra things you can add like red wine or vegan Worcestershire but if you don’t (I didn’t) the dish is still amazing.
This dish is great to share with non-vegans. You truly can’t go wrong with a vegan shepherd’s pie. I baked mine in a cast iron skillet to eliminate washing an extra dish but feel free to transfer it all into a glass baking dish or casserole dish. The bigger baking dish you use the thinner the layers will be.
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Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 cup lentils cooked
- 1 carrot chopped
- ⅓ cup onion chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 ½ cups vegetable stock
- 2 tsp flour cornstarch for gluten free
- ½ cup frozen corn
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- A few leaves of fresh thyme
- ¼ tsp salt or more to taste
- ¼ tsp garlic powder or more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper or more to taste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce tamari or liquid aminos for soy free
Topping
- 3 russet potatoes
- ⅓ cup almond milk or any non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- ¼ tsp salt or more to taste
Instructions
- Cook lentils in 2 cups of water for about 30 minutes or until soft. You may need to add more water as the lentils cook since they tend to absorb a lot of liquid.
- Peel and chop the potatoes.
- Add the potatoes into a pot and cover with water. Cook for about 20 minutes or longer. Potatoes should be very soft.
- After the potatoes and lentils are done cooking preheat oven to 400F.
- In a pan or skillet add the oil, onions and carrots. Cook for 5-7 minutes until onions become translucent and carrots are a bit softer.
- Add 1 cup of vegetable broth to the pan and flour. Whisk until a thick sauce has formed.
- Then add the lentils, corn, peas, tomato paste, thyme, salt, garlic powder, pepper and soy sauce.
- Mix together and then if you feel like it looks like the lentils are absorbing too much liquid add in the other ½ cup of vegetable broth.
- Give the mixture a taste and add more flavor if necessary.
- To the potatoes add the almond milk, butter and salt. Mash with the back of a fork or potato masher. Mash until creamy and fluffy. Make sure to taste to see if you need more salt.
- Add the potatoes on top of the lentil mixture. To make it extra fancy pipe little rosettes of mashed potatoes on top.
- Bake on the top rack for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes turn golden.
- Allow to cook for 5 minutes before serving.
Video
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If you enjoyed this recipe please be sure to leave a comment or review, it is so helpful for the blog. Thank you!
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