Vegan Shepherd's pie, a super comforting recipe. It's delicious, nutritious, packed with lots of veggies and protein, and made with simple ingredients.
This vegan Shepherd's pie is a great recipe for special occasions. It's delicious and filling, as well as easy to make, and so nutritious! I love to have it for Christmas, as it's a beautiful dish and it's perfect for making a big batch of it so everyone can enjoy it.
Traditional Shepherd's pie is made with ground beef, so I decided to use lentils instead. However, you can make this recipe with any legume you have on hand, and also with textured soy protein.
Besides, you can customize it with your favorite veggies. It actually is a very convenient dish for when you have some leftover ingredients (such as small parts of different veggies) and don't want to throw them away.
Vegan Shepherd's pie, a traditional British recipe, super comforting, and very appropriate for when you need to serve a special dish. It's made with simple and natural ingredients, and it's super easy to prepare!
How to make vegan shepherd's pie - Step by step
- Preheat the oven to 355 ºF or 180 ºC.
- Steam or boil the potatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes (photo 1). Drain and set aside.
- In the meantime, heat the oil in a large pot (photo 2), add the veggies and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 to 10 minutes (photo 3). Then add the wine (photo 4), stir, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add the peas, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, lentils, paprika, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper (photo 5), stir and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 to 15 minutes (photo 6).
- To make the mashed potatoes just place the potatoes in a large bowl and mash them using a potato masher, a fork, or even an immersion blender (photo 7). Add all the remaining ingredients (photo 8) and mash again.
- Transfer the filling to a large baking dish (photo 9) and top it with the mashed potatoes (photo 10).
- Score the top with a fork to create grooves that will brown easily (optional) (photo 11).
- Bake the pie for about 20 to 25 minutes (photo 12).
- Serve immediately.
Pro tips
- Although I didn't peel the potatoes, you can do it if you'd like.
- Feel free to boil the potatoes instead of steaming them.
- You can add any veggies, dried or fresh herbs, or spices you like.
- Replace the canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes or even with some tomato sauce if you want to.
- If you can’t find nutritional yeast, use brewer’s yeast instead or just add some beer.
- Use some water or vegetable stock instead of oil.
- You can also replace the wine with some water or vegetable stock.
What is vegan shepherd's pie?
Shepherd's pie is a classic British dish traditionally made with meat. However, I veganized it by adding vegetable protein (lentils) to make it comforting, nutritious, warm, and filling, as well as cruelty-free.
This is a perfect dish to enjoy on holidays like Thanksgiving or even Christmas, although it's so good and easy to make you could actually have it on a regular day. It is one of my go-to comfort foods!
Can you freeze vegan shepherd's pie?
Yes, you can. The mashed potatoes might get a slightly different texture than the non-frozen version, but the dish will keep in good condition in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To freeze it, let it cool first, put it into an airtight container, and transfer it into the freezer. When you're ready to eat it, you can let it thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat it in the oven, or you can directly reheat in the oven for 1 hour approximately.
How long will this vegan shepherd's pie last?
This recipe is made with natural ingredients, so it's important to store it in an airtight container in the fridge so it keeps in good condition for about 3-5 days.
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Vegan Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
For the mashed potatoes:
- 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
- ½ cup unsweetened plant milk of your choice, I used soy milk
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or melted vegan butter
- 4 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the filling:
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup red wine, optional
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 4 tablespoon tomato paste, optional
- 2 15-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can lentils, drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 and ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 355 ºF or 180 ºC.
- Steam or boil the potatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes or until they're soft. Drain and set aside.
- In the meantime, add the oil to a large pot and when it's hot, add the veggies (onion, garlic, carrot, and red bell pepper) and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 to 10 minutes or until they're soft. Then add the wine, stir, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add all the remaining ingredients (peas, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, lentils, paprika, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper), stir, and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- To make the mashed potatoes just place the potatoes in a large bowl and mash them using a potato masher, a fork, or even an immersion blender. Then add all the remaining ingredients (milk, oil or vegan butter, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper) and mash again.
- Transfer the filling to a large baking dish (of about 9x13 inch or a similar size, about 23x33 cm) and top it with the mashed potatoes.
- Then use a fork and score the top to create grooves that will brown easily (this step is optional).
- Bake the pie for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve immediately or keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Although I didn't peel the potatoes, you can do it if you'd like.
- Feel free to boil the potatoes instead of steaming them.
- You can add any veggies, dried or fresh herbs, or spices you like.
- If you don't want to use canned tomatoes you can replace them with fresh tomatoes or even with some tomato sauce.
- If you can’t find nutritional yeast, use brewer’s yeast instead or just add some beer.
- If you don’t eat oil, just use some water or vegetable stock instead.
- You can also replace the wine with some water or vegetable stock.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in April of 2016, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions, and tips in August of 2020.
Jasmin childs says
hi i havent managed to try this yet because i am a single person and 6 servings is too much for me to make. i do batch cook but normally only up to about 4 servings. i find it easier to try to work it out for a portion of 1 and then double it up from there, if that makes sense. however, with this one i am unsure of how to work out what 1 portion would be in terms of the amounts of spices. for example, if this 6 serving one requires 1 teaspoon of paprika, how much would i need for 1 portion? i tried to divide it but that comes up with 0.3!!
Iosune Robles says
Hi! Thanks for writing to us 🙂 That's it! You have to divide the recipe into 6! But, maybe, instead of 0.3 teaspoons of paprika, add just a pinch!
Dave Pressman says
Thanks for another sure-to-be delicious recipe. One minor question: The list of ingredients calls for a "12 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes (850 g in total)". Should this read "1 12 or 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes (850 g in total)"?
Iosune Robles says
Hi Dave! It was a mistake but we've already fixed it 🙂 Sorry for the inconvenience!
Dave Pressman says
Again a minor comment from a neurotic writer: It should be "2 15-oz. canS of crushed tomatoes".
Iosune Robles says
Thanks for your comment Dave 🙂 Have a nice day!