A few days ago I was staring into the refrigerator, wondering what the heck to make for dinner. My husband and I prefer to eat meatless on weekdays to keep things light, but I hadn’t really planned ahead and I was kind of out of ideas. After taking a quick tally of ingredients, I started imagining a warm casserole– something hardy and filling, winter comfort food. Shepherd’s pie! That’s what I was craving. But how the heck do you make a shepherd’s pie without the meat? I don’t like using the ground soy meat substitutes because eating too much soy makes me break out. I thought back to my Vegetable Moussaka recipe, where I used lentils as a meat substitute. I thought it might work in this dish, so I decided to give it a go. With a little creativity and a lot of sriracha, I whipped up something that I’m sure many of you will enjoy! With Purim coming up (a Jewish holiday that is sometimes celebrated with a vegetarian meal), I thought it was the perfect time to share this tasty, comforting Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie recipe with you.
This dish can be enjoyed by people who have a variety of dietary restrictions. It’s vegetarian, and can be made vegan/pareve with a couple of simple substitutes. It’s gluten free if you use a GF tamari sauce. It’s much lighter and healthier than traditional shepherd’s pie, and it’s a great choice for those on a low cholesterol diet. If you use the vegan substitutions, you can serve this as a meatless option alongside a kosher meat meal.
I really like the flavor that Worchestershire sauce adds to this dish, but most brands contain anchovies, which means they can’t be enjoyed by vegetarians. It’s also tough to find gluten free Worchestershire sauce. Wan Ja Shan brand produces an organic, vegan, kosher, and gluten free Worcestershire. If you can’t find a sauce that suits your particular dietary needs, use 2 tsp of tamari sauce– gluten free tamari is widely available, and it’s a vegetarian product.
Now, for those traditionalists out there, my topping of choice for this dish may sound strange. I like spice, and lately I find myself adding sriracha sauce to just about everything. Topping my shepherd’s pie with sriracha took this dish from yum to yumtastic. Those who crave sriracha will understand what I mean. Amazing.
If, however, you’re craving a simple, British-style shepherd’s pie without the meat, the sriracha is totally optional. Feel free to sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top, if you’re feeling cheesy. Enjoy!
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Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
- 1 whole garlic clove
- 1 cup dry brown lentils (1/2 lb)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup corn
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley, divided
- 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire or tamari sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup milk or milk substitute (soy, almond, or rice milk)
- 3 tablespoons butter or vegan butter substitute (ex. Earth Balance)
- Salt and pepper
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
- Sriracha sauce for topping (optional)
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the peeled potatoes in a pot along with one whole peeled garlic clove. Cover the potatoes with plenty of water. Bring to a boil on the stovetop, then reduce heat to medium to the potatoes continue to simmer. Let the potatoes cooks for 25-30 minutes till fork tender.
- Meanwhile, rinse and sort the lentils. Pour the lentils into a pot along with a bay leaf. Cover with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.Reduce heat to a simmer and let the lentils cook for 15-20 minutes till just tender-- keep a close watch on them and don't overcook, or they'll become soft/mushy. Remove from heat as soon as they're cooked. If there is any excess water, drain it.
- As potatoes and lentils are cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced onion to the skillet and saute for 5-6 minutes till softened.
- Add the diced carrots and celery. Continue to saute for 5-6 more minutes till the vegetables are tender-crisp.
- Add crushed garlic, peas, corn, 3 tbsp of the chopped parsley, vegan Worchestershire or tamari sauce, oregano, and cayenne pepper to the skillet. Stir and saute for 3-4 minutes more till the vegetables are tender and fragrant. Stir the skillet vegetable mixture into the cooked, drained lentils. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.Drain the cooked potatoes; reserve the whole garlic clove that cooked with them. Mash the potatoes and softened garlic clove with milk and butter (or vegan milk and butter substitutes) till smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the lentil and vegetable mixture in an even layer across the bottom of the dish.
- Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the vegetable mixture, using a spoon or fork to add texture to the top of the potatoes for browning. Top with cheddar cheese (or vegan cheddar shreds), if desired.
- Place the dish in the oven and let it bake for about 30 minutes till the tips of the potatoes turn golden brown. Increase heat at the end of cooking for more browning, if desired. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp of chopped parsley on top of the pie to garnish. Serve hot.
- I like to top each serving with a squirt of sriracha-- it's very spicy, but oh so delicious!
Nutrition
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Done! 🙂
thank you for not putting mushrooms in this. i hate mushrooms.
This vegetarian shepherds pie is absolutely delicious! It will be my third time making this dish. I’m a vegetarian and planning on making this for Christmas Eve at my in-laws house – something for me to eat and maybe others to try as well. I love the flavor that the Worcestershire sauce add to this dish. It’s my go-to staple in the winter time and my husbands really enjoys it too!
The Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie was good. I added Frank’s hot sauce and garlic salt to even make this dish more flavorful. I especially like the fact that the recipe is low-cal and nutritious too. Thanks “Yummly” for another lunch that was enjoyed by my husband and I..
Glad you enjoyed it Patricia, and happy you found me through Yummly. Welcome!
Almost any veg will do. Also added mushrooms, lightly sautéed cabbage and small chunks of butternut. Colon problems don’t allow me to eat lentils, peas, beans or corn.
hi Tori, when I see a new recipe, I look for the protein, carbs, fat, and fiber at the bottom of the list of ingredients, but didn’t see this. I am trying to stay on track with what I eat and try to follow the weight watchers point system. I would like to try this recipe because it really looks good. I am always looking for new ones. Thank you for these great recipes. Loretta
Hi Loretta, I cannot provide nutritional information on my recipes at the moment, but there are several online calculators that you can use to determine the nutritional value for you. I will keep it in mind for the future.
Hi there,
You can use Weight Watchers’ recipe builder to get the points for this recipe.
Thanks SO much for this recipe- it was DELICIOUS! To suit the other’s tastes, I had to leave out the spicy components, but even without, it was a great comfort-food meal. Served with onion gravy and have made it two weeks in a row due to popular demand! 🙂 Definitely a keeper.
Great to hear that Beca!
Looks great! I also made a veggie shepherd’s pie this st. paddy’s day and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was! I used Smartground for the “meat” part, and honestly you would never know it was vegetarian.
I am a reluctant semi-vegetarian who eats almost no meat anymore partly for my health and partly out of environmental guilt. Most of the time I’m happy enough with my diet, but I occasionally miss comfort-food staples like shepherd’s pie, meatloaf, and chicken with dumplings. This was a great substitute!
Awesome Kate! So happy you liked it.