Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
This vegan lentil shepherd’s pie is the ultimate plant-based comfort food. Enjoy this hearty, vegetarian main dish during the holidays or any time of year for a hot and delicious meal.
Features
- dietary needs: vegan, can be gluten-free and oil-free
- makes a filling and comforting vegetarian main dish
- family-friendly and perfect for feeding a crowd
- budget-friendly
- can be made in advance and frozen
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- mushroom – white, cremini or even portobello work well here
- fresh herbs – recipe calls for fresh thyme and rosemary but if you only have dried herbs on hand, those totally work too!
- peas and corn – recipe calls for frozen but drained and rinsed canned would also be suitable
- lentils – this recipe is specifically for green or brown lentils, I do not recommend red lentils
- tamari – light soy sauce is a suitable substitute
- all-purpose flour – can be substituted with whole-wheat or a gluten-free all-purpose blend
- potatoes – use yellow-fleshed potatoes for best results
- almond milk – can be substituted with any unsweetened plant-based milk, however, the mild flavour of almond milk works best here
Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
Step by Step Method
Step 1. Make the lentils. Place the dried lentils in a pot on the stovetop with 3 cups of water. Cover and cook for 15 minutes at a light simmer until the lentils are tender. Drain off any excess water and set aside.
Step 2. Make the potato topping. Add the peeled, chopped potatoes to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Cook for approximately 10-15 minutes until the potatoes can be pierced with a fork.
Once they’re cooked, drain, add back into the pot and add the milk, olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Use a masher or immersion blender to mash into a smooth texture.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Step 3. Make the filling. Here’s how:
- Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic, celery and fresh herbs to a pot or skillet on the stovetop with either 2 tbsp olive oil, broth or water.
- Bring to medium heat and cook for 2-3 minutes until they’re starting to soften.
- Sprinkle the veggies with the flour and stir well.
- Add the tomato paste, tamari and stock, stir well and bring to a simmer.
- Fold in the cooked lentils, peas and corn and give it another good stir.
- Cook until the sauce thickens slightly, about 4-5 minutes.
Step 4. Time to assemble! Add the lentil mixture to an approximately 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, smoothing over the lentil mixture.
Place the dish on a baking tray, bake for 30 minutes uncovered, let cool briefly then dig in!
FAQs
Shepherd’s pie is quite hearty so it can definitely stands on its own without any side dishes. Otherwise, serve as a vegetarian main dish alongside holiday sides like brussels sprouts and stuffing or pair with a light salad, steamed vegetables or a dinner roll. It’s good with a little gravy too!
Yes. Shepherd’s pie can be frozen before or after baking. If you’re assembling and freezing to bake later, cover well with foil and freeze for up to 2 months and bake from frozen. If it’s cooked and frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge then reheat in the microwave or oven.
You can! For a variation on this dish, swap the potatoes for sweet potato. The method is the same.
Storing
- Fridge: Let cool then store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Let cool then store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Can be stored before or after baking.
- Reheating: If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the oven or microwave until heated to your preference.
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Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan lentil shepherd’s pie is the ultimate plant-based comfort food. Enjoy this hearty main dish during the holidays or anytime of year for a filling and satisfying meal.
Ingredients
For the Lentil Filling
- 3 cups finely chopped white or crimini mushrooms (225 g approx.)
- 1 medium onion, diced (175 g, 1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic (15g)
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme chopped (5g) or 1 tsp dry
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped (5g) or 1 tsp dry
- 1 cup frozen peas (130 g)
- 1 cup frozen corn (130 g)
- 3 stalks celery chopped (150 g approx. 2 cup)
- 1 cup dry lentils (225 g or 2 cups cooked)
- 1/4 cup tamari (60 ml)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (28 g)
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
For the Potato Topping
- 4 large yellow flesh potato, peeled and chopped (1175 g)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- In a medium pot place 1 cup of dried lentils with 3 cups of water, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat until lentils are tender, once cooked drain off the water and reserve for later.
- Put peeled potatoes in a large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender to the touch. Once cooked, strain off excess water, add your olive oil, milk, and seasoning. Using a potato masher, mash potatoes until smooth in texture, reserve for later.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Over medium, saute the chopped mushrooms, onions, garlic, celery, and fresh herbs until soft with a splash of olive oil for roughly about 2-3 minutes. Once the vegetables are softened, sprinkle 2 tbsp of all purpose flour and stir together.
- Add the tomato paste, tamari and vegetable stock, stir well and bring to a simmer.
- Fold in the cooked lentils from earlier along with the corn and peas.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed with salt and pepper. Cook for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Place lentil mixture into a 9x13in baking dish, top with mashed potato mixture from earlier and smooth until you have an even layer of mashed potatoes covering the lentils.
- Place the dish on a baking tray (prevents a mess in case of any spillage) and bake uncovered for 25 – 30 mins at 350 degrees F.
- Optional: broil for 1-2 minutes to achieve more browning and crispiness on top.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. The longer it sits, the more it will thicken.
Notes
- Storing: Let cool then store in a sealed container for up to 5 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the oven or microwave until heated to your preference.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6th of recipe
- Calories: 403
- Fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 72 g
- Protein: 13 g
Keywords: lentil shepherds pie, vegan shepherds pie
Delicious!! Love the flavors and consistently. Can’t wait to make the chickpea loaf. Thank you.😍
Amazing! Glad you loved it. Let me know how the chickpea loaf goes!
My husband and I both loved this recipe!!! Very tasty. This will definitely be a regular for us. Flavor like this makes it easy to make the switch to plant based eating. Just what we needed. I used purple potatoes, not dark sweet potatoes, as our program calls for those over white. No taste difference just added nutrients. I did chop the mushrooms pretty small as we are not the biggest fan of mushrooms and it worked out just right. We got the flavor without unwanted texture. Thanks for sharing such a yummy recipe.
★★★★★
That’s great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback and review.
Hi Deryn,
I made this recipe tonight. It was really good! Thanks for sharing 😘
Thanks, Eefje
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
This was the first recipe I made from your blog and it was the perfect introduction. Wonderful food.
★★★★★
Thanks, Alma! I’m so glad to hear that. Thanks for trying my recipe!
I made this for Christmas supper. This is a wonderful recipe and my family loved it. I more or less doubled it and used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables for ease. Can’t wait to enjoy it again.
★★★★★
Just made this tonight, and already looking forward to the leftovers! That is, if I don’t keep snacking on it before it’s packed away in the fridge 😂 Your recipes never disappoint, and this one was amazing!!
★★★★★
Thanks, Cara! So glad it was enjoyed.
Deryn, your recipe calls for a casserole dish, 9×13, but the photo shows the much smaller, square 8×8. Haven’t tried this yet but sounds good.
The dish in the photos is a fairly deep 9×9 inch. Anywhere between that and a standard 9×13 casserole dish will work just fine. The layers will just vary in thickness a bit. Enjoy!
I have just made this today for Christmas and it is lovely! I put in frozen carrot and pea instead of the corn. Ran out of dried Rosemary so put dried Sage instead. Turned out great! Thank you for the recipe…Merry Christmas!
I made this last night and two of us ate half and had more for dinner tonight. Great texture. Really filling without heaviness. Flavors blend beautifully. Next time I’ll increase the spices and add smoked paprika and sage. We like a lot of herbs and spices.
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the kind review! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Fantastic! Made this for a family meal and we all loved it. Actually going to make it again for Christmas! Thank you!
★★★★★