Vegetarian Shepard’s Pie

This is a recipe for Vegetarian Shepard’s Pie. I love a hearty vegetarian dinner!

Shepard’s Pie is a favorite in our house. There is nothing quite like the mix of creamy garlic mashed potatoes with sweet corn kernels and seasoned gravy. With my daughter now vegetarian, I wanted to make her favorite dish in a way she could enjoy it. 

Lifestyle Blogger Chocolate and Lace shares her recipe for Vegetarian Shepard's Pie.

Ingredients

Mashed Potaoes

Lentils

Tomato Paste

Vegetable Broth

Corn

Butter or Vegan Butter

Salt and Pepper

You can of course make this same exact recipe with ground beef or other options but here we’ve swapped out beef for lentils. Simmered in broth, the lentils are hearty and delicious. Dazzle this dish with fresh herbs and you’ll be delighted how all of the ingredients fold together for a perfect warm bowl of comfort food. 

It’s for dishes like this that I love using my Staub cookware. You want something that will really hold a hearty dish and hold up in the oven. I love using this set here. 

Let’s Talk Mashed Potatoes!

Let’s talk Mashed Potatoes! You can use pre-made or store-bought mashed potatoes but I recommend making them in your slow cooker! Yes, your slow cooker. It takes out all the work and I promise you’ll never make them another way again. See my recipe for Slow Cooked Mashed Potatoes here.

Try out these 11 Easy Weeknight Dinners!

Vegetarian vs Non- Vegetarian

This recipe is very interchangeable to make non-vegetarian, vegetarian or even vegan. It all comes down to your ingredients. Using meat or beef broth for example brings a lot of flavor but you can create flavor in other ways using vegetable broth and seasoning.

Fresh herbs and deep flavorful broth can make all the difference.

Can I substitute the lentils in vegetarian Shepard’s Pie?

Yes! You can use mushrooms instead of lentils or make it non-vegetarian with ground meat.

Can I make this recipe Vegan?

Yes! This recipe is easily made vegan by using or making vegan mashed potatoes and all vegetable based products.

What’s in Shepard’s Pie?

Classic Shepard’s Pie is made of ground lamb or beef, mashed potatoes and corn. To make your option vegetarian or vegan, substitute meat with lentils or another bean of choice.

Lifestyle Blogger Chocolate and Lace shares her recipe for Vegetarian Shepard's Pie.
Yield: serves 6

Vegetarian Shepard's Pie

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Additional Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

This warm and hearty dish is the perfect comfort food. Adjustable to your tastes and preferences, everything with creamy mashed potatoes is magic.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown lentils
  • 3-4 cup vegetable broth (or beef broth if not making vegetarian)
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and diced
  • 1 rib celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce (you can buy a vegetarian Worchsetershire sauce)
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • chopped fresh herbs of choice, I like an Italian blend!
  • 3 cups prepared mashed potatoes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Combine lentils and broth in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer until tender, about 15-20 minutes.
  3. In a large skillet, saute onion, carrot, celery in olive oil over medium heat.
  4. Stir in flour and cook for another minute. The flour will thicken your vegetable mixture.
  5. Add in the cooked lentils, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so. Add in frozen peas and season with salt and pepper.
  6. Using a deep dish pie plate or other oven safe plate (I love my Staub cookware here!), pour the lentil mixture into the bottom and smooth out evenly.
  7. Top with the cooked mashed potatoes and smooth until the pie is even.
  8. Garnish on top with fresh herbs and a few pads of butter. Place in the center rack of your oven and bake about 20-25 minutes.
  9. Remove from the oven when the potatoes are golden and browned on top.
  10. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

This recipe can easily be interchanged for vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Substitue vegetable broth for beef broth to cook the lentils or ground beef for the lentils.

You can make your potatoes ahead of time or use premade potatoes.

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