Easy Vegan Shepherd S Pie With Lentils Jessica In The Kitchen

Say hello to a brilliant main dish, perfect for Thanksgiving, perfect for Christmas, and perfect for an everyday dinner. Make this Shepherd’s Pie for a crowd or make it for a weeknight meal, but whatever you do, don’t expect many leftovers! I mean, it’s topped with creamy mashed potatoes that are browned and crisped to perfection—how could you not help yourself to seconds?! I should also mention that this recipe is ridiculously easy to make. You’ll cook everything down at the same time for the filling, pour it into the dish, top it with garlicky mashed potatoes, then bake it to crispy-edged perfection. Basically what I’m saying is, you need to make this.

Notes on Ingredients

Please note that this is important information on the ingredients and instructions and the FULL recipe with amounts and details can be found DOWN BELOW (scroll to it) in the recipe card.

Vegan butter or olive oil – Here’s how to make your own vegan butter. Mushrooms – You can use your standard white mushrooms, cremini, or portobellos for more meatiness. Carrots Garlic Onion – A yellow or white onion will work. Celery Fresh thyme – Or use a smaller amount of dried thyme. Gluten-free flour – Swap in all-purpose flour if you’re not on a gluten-free diet. Vegetable broth – Here’s how to make your own. Fresh or frozen peas – Not a big fan of peas? You can omit them! Cooked lentils – You can use brown lentils, but a puy lentil holds up especially well in a casserole if you can find them. Sea salt Ground black pepper Best Vegan Garlic Mashed Potatoes

How to Make Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

If you’re making this for Thanksgiving it’s pretty ideal: make the lentils in advance (or use canned lentils), then make a double batch of mashed potatoes and use the extra batch to top your Shepherd’s Pie. Prepare. Preheat your oven to 400ºF/200ºF. Have the lentils and mashed potatoes cooked and ready to use. Start the vegetable filling. Heat the vegan butter or olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, carrots, garlic, onion, celery and thyme, then give them all a good stir. Cook until the onion is translucent and veggies are tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Finish the vegetable filling. Add the flour to the skillet, and stir to coat all the vegetables evenly. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat, or until the mixture thickens a bit. Remove the skillet from the stovetop and fold in the lentils and peas. Season to taste, again, with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Assemble. Pour the vegetable filling into a casserole dish and spread the mashed potatoes over the top. If you want to gussy it up, you can use the tines of a fork to make swirls and designs in the potatoes, or pipe the potatoes over the veggies. Cook. Bake the Shepherd’s Pie for 15 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil on low until the topping is golden brown. Cool slightly, then serve.

Tips for Success

Here’s how to make sure this recipe turns out perfect every time.

Smooth mashed potatoes are key. The thing that makes Shepherd’s Pie such a delight is the contrast in textures. Lumpy mashed potatoes just won’t cut it! They need to be smooth and ethereal; perfectly spreadable! Cook the lentils a little less than you think. Brown lentils have a tendency to break down if they’re over-cooked, so keep a close eye on them. As soon as they’re tender enough to eat, remove them from the heat and drain them. Make it your own. You can use mashed sweet potatoes or mashed cauliflower as a topping, add green beans, replace the lentils with crumbled tempeh—the world is your oyster! Shepherd’s Pie is pretty versatile.

How to Store Leftovers

Store any extra Shepherd’s Pie wrapped in the baking dish if you have a lot of leftovers (that’s doubtful!), or transfer the leftovers to an airtight storage container. Refrigerate for up to 5 days. You can reheat leftovers in the oven at 350ºF/180ºC (the amount of time will vary depending on how much you’re warming up) or in the microwave until warmed through.

Can This Recipe Be Frozen?

Yes, this is a recipe that freezes quite well! You can freeze the entire casserole for later, or freeze your leftovers. Wrap the Shepherd’s Pie tightly or transfer it to an airtight container, then freeze for up to 2 months.

Enjoy friends! If you make this Vegan Shepherd’s Pie, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much! P.S. Here are some of the items I used to make this recipe if you’d like to use them too: | WHAT YOU’LL NEED // SHOP MY FAVORITE INGREDIENTS & PREP PRODUCTS |