This vegan shepherd’s pie is packed with plant-based protein and incredible flavors! It’s so easy to make, and ready in under an hour.
Serve this for special occasions, a wintery dinner, or pack it for lunch. It’s great for meal prep, and suitable for freezing.
Love shepherd’s or cottage pie but looking for a vegan version? This recipe is truly the best ever mushroom and lentil shepherd’s pie. This is vegan comfort food at its best!
A savory stew of mushrooms, lentils, tomatoes, and peas is baked underneath a creamy layer of homemade mashed potatoes. Just look at the crispy bits on top!
This vegan pie with mashed potato topping is extremely easy to make, and I love making a large batch to divide into smaller portions and pop in the freezer for later.
Were you looking for a ground beef version of this recipe? Try my classic Cottage Pie recipe!
Difference Between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie
Technically, a shepherd’s pie is made with lamb and a cottage pie is made with beef or ground beef.
When it comes to this vegan lentil pie recipe, it’s made with neither of those things, so it doesn’t really matter what you call it.
It can be a vegan cottage pie or a vegan shepherd’s pie! All you really need to know is that this is a delicious, savory, meat-free meal.
The Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this, and some details on the most important ones:
- Mushrooms: You can either use white or cremini/chestnut mushrooms for this pie.
- Lentils: Brown or green lentils are the best type for this recipe. We’ll cook them ahead of time so that they’re ready to go. In a pinch, you can also use canned lentils here.
- Potatoes: You can use leftover mashed potatoes in this recipe, and they work perfectly fine! Otherwise, we will boil 2 pounds of potatoes and mash them with salt, vegan butter, and almond milk to keep them dairy-free. I suggest Yukon gold potatoes or Russet potatoes.
- Vegetable Stock: For the very best flavor, use homemade vegetable stock, or a high-quality boxed version.
How to make Vegan shepherd’s pie
Tip!
Let your vegan shepherd’s pie rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. This will allow the filling to set up a bit, and be cool enough to eat.
Make Ahead Option
I love making this vegan shepherd’s pie one day in advance if I’m hosting a dinner. I do everything as explained above, wrap and store in the fridge. Then I pop the pie in the oven just before serving (no need to pre-bake it). It comes out so fresh and nice every time.
Recipe Tips
- Baking Pan: This recipe will work well in a 12-inch round baking dish or a 9×13-inch baking dish. I’m using a large oven-proof skillet so that I don’t need to do so many extra dishes.
- Timing: The potatoes and lentils can be simmering on the stove while you prepare the sauce. This will help you save time while making dinner!
- You can use sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes in this recipe. You’ll end up with a sweet potato shepherd’s pie. You might also like to add things like cauliflower, butternut squash, or parsnips to your mash.
- Use any beans and vegetables that you like! I add lentils because I like them, but any other type of beans works perfectly here too. You could also add other veggies such as cauliflower, broccoli, bell peppers, sweet corn, etc.
Storing Tips
- To Store: You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. They easily reheat in the microwave on in the oven.
- To Freeze: Once the lentil shepherd’s pie is assembled it can be frozen whole! Wrap it well with layers of plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil, then freeze for up to 2 months. I suggest thawing overnight in the refrigerator, then baking as directed.
What to Serve with Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
The good news is that this hearty vegan dish is already a full meal, packed with protein, vegetables, and potatoes.
You don’t need to offer any side dishes, but you can go above and beyond and make up a batch of homemade dinner rolls and a simple side salad.
Recipe FAQs
How to make this pie oil-free?
Saute the veggies with just water, and omit the vegan butter when mashing the potatoes.
Can I make this recipe gluten free?
The only gluten in this recipe comes from the soy sauce. Replace it with a gluten-free option such as tamari or liquid aminos.
Should I mash potatoes with a mixer?
I actually don’t recommend using a hand mixer to make mashed potatoes. This method mashes the potatoes too much and causes them to become sticky and starchy. Instead, use an old-fashioned hand-held potato masher.
More easy vegan dinners to try
- The best ever vegan chili
- Butternut squash chili
- Black Bean Soup
- Vegan pumpkin curry
- Greek green beans with tomato and potatoes
- Sweet potato curry
- Aubergine and chickpea curry
This vegan shepherd’s pie is perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter dinner. Don’t forget to Pin this recipe to save it for later!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
Lentils
- 1 cup (210 g) brown lentils or green lentils, dried
- 2½ cups (600 ml) vegetable stock
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Mashed Potatoes
- 2 pounds (900 g) potatoes peeled and diced into large pieces
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter softened
- ½ cup (120 ml) almond milk unsweetened
Lentil Ragu
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil or avocado oil
- 10 ounces (285 g) mushrooms thickly sliced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 1 medium carrot peeled and finely diced
- 1 rib celery finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour
- 2 cup (480 ml) vegetable stock
- 1 can (14 oz) (400 g) diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce or tamari
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano or any other dried herbs
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup peas frozen or fresh
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes until tender, then mash with butter, milk, and salt. You might not need to use all of the milk, so use common sense and see how much you need (this depends on the starchiness of your potatoes, and adding too much liquid will result in a watery mash).
- Heat oil in a pan, add the onion, carrot, celery, and mushroom. Cook until the vegetables are tender, then add vegetable stock and peas, and garlic. Cook until the garlic is fragrant (about 1 minute) then add the seasonings and flour. Cook for one more minute.
- Add soy or tamari sauce, lentils, and chopped tomatoes. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then have a taste and see if you need to adjust seasonings.
- In an ovenproof dish, add the mixture and spread the mashed potatoes over it evenly. Smooth the potatoes out and create a pattern to decorate using the back of a fork (see picture below). Or just create lines and peaks.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or so at 180°C (356°F), allowing the mixture to bubble. Then lightly brown the top so it's crispy and nice, but be careful as it gets browned pretty quickly.
Notes:
- Baking Pan: This recipe will work well in a 12-inch round baking dish or a 9×13-inch baking dish. I’m using a large oven-proof skillet so that I don’t need to do so many extra dishes.
- Timing: The potatoes and lentils can be simmering on the stove while you prepare the sauce. This will help you save time while making dinner!
- You can use sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes in this recipe. You’ll end up with a sweet potato shepherd’s pie. You might also like to add things like cauliflower, butternut squash, or parsnips to your mash.
- Use any beans and vegetables that you like! I add lentils because I like them, but any other type of beans works perfectly here too. You could also add other veggies such as cauliflower, broccoli, bell peppers, sweet corn, etc.
- Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the freezer you can freeze individual portions for up to 3 months.
- To make this dish gluten-free, substitute the soy sauce with tamari sauce.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
ElLois says
I’ve made the little sunny kitchen cottage pie
So I ventured to do this one.
I lacked celery and mushrooms. I used green beans in place of the mushrooms and did not add celery salt. I’m glad I didn’t.
I’ve never used smoked paprika before and I had none so I improvised with cayenne pepper. A 2:1 ratio with paprika and the taste was amazing.
I also used canned vegys since I have them and the liquid in the cans was a nice vegy broth. I soaked the lentils in chicken broth.
This was a recipe I will make again.
An excellent comfort food for me.
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thank you so much for trying my recipe! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it and that your substitutions worked well!
Bonnie says
Excellent! I’ve tried quite a few recipes and this is my favorite, by far!
A non vegan guest asked for the recipe as she really enjoyed it. 🙂
Jim Sullivan says
This is not Shepard’s Pie. This would be considered a variation of Farmer’s Pie. It looks tasty, so I will try it out and see if it makes my rotation for vegetarian meals. We attempt to eat meatless meals 4 to 6 times a week.
Sandra says
If I can not find any brown lentils at our store, can I use just regular dried lentils?
Thanks.
Diana says
Hi Sandra, not sure if you mean red lentils. You probably can use red lentils, but it will taste/look really different and I haven’t tried it myself. But if you do, please let me know what you think!
Natalie Dawn says
How many grams of dried lentils would I need to soak for the equivalent amount of tinned please? X
Diana says
1/2 cup of dried lentils = just over 1 cup of cooked lentils. So you probably need around 110-120 grams of dried lentils, to get around 260 cooked lentils.