Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

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. Great for meal prep, and suitable for freezing.

Love shepherd’s or cottage pie but looking for a vegan version? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Because today, I’m sharing with you guys the best ever mushroom and lentil shepherd’s pie. Comfort food at its best!

This pie is extremely easy to make, and I love making a large batch to divide into smaller portions and pop in the freezer for later.

Difference Between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie

I know it might be confusing to you, but for a vegan version, a shepherd’s pie and a cottage pie are pretty much the same thing. However, in the classic shepherd’s pie lamb is used, whereas a cottage pie is made with beef.

The Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this:

• You can either use white or cremini/chestnut mushrooms for this pie.
• Use cooked brown lentils that are either canned, or cook them from dried before you add them to this recipe.
• You can use leftover mashed potatoes in this recipe, and they work perfectly fine!

How to make lentil shepherd’s pie?

• Heat oil in a pan, add onion, carrot, celery, and mushroom. Cook until the vegetables are tender, then add vegetable stock, peas, and garlic. Cook until the garlic is fragrant (about 1 minute) then add the seasonings and the 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.

• Boil potatoes until they’re 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).
• 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, 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.

Make-Ahead

I love making this vegan shepherd’s pie one day in advance if I’m hosting a dinner. I do everything as explained above, and pop the pie in the oven just before serving (no need to pre-bake it). It comes out so fresh and nice every time.

How to make this pie gluten-free?

The only non-gluten-free ingredient in this recipe is soy sauce, so to make it gluten-free just substitute the soy sauce with tamari sauce.

How to make this pie oil-free?

Saute the veggies with just water, and omit the vegan butter when mashing the potatoes.

This vegan shepherd’s pie is perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter dinner. It’s also great to be served on any day in the year!

Expert’s Tips

• You can use sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes in this recipe. You’ll end up with a sweet potato shepherd’s pie. Or 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 things like 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.

More easy vegan dinners to try

• The best ever vegan chili
• Vegan pumpkin curry
• Sheet pan sausage and veggies
• Greek green beans with tomato and potatoes
• Sweet potato curry
• Aubergine and chickpea curry