A filling, hearty, and healthy vegan shepherd’s pie recipe for the perfect weeknight dinner. This recipe uses dried red lentils and is topped with the best fluffy, creamy mashed potato.
This vegan shepherd’s pie is the perfect cosy, wholesome weeknight dinner – and it’s healthy, too!
To make this recipe, I combined red lentils with lots of chopped mushrooms to make the perfect combination for a savoury and hearty veggie mince with a great texture. Not too ‘sloppy’ but not too dry, either.
This is one of those recipes that does take a bit longer to whip up – but a lot of the cooking time is hands-off, so you can just leave it bubbling over the hob or cooking in the oven without needing to supervise it the entire time.
Other recipes with a similar red lentil mince include my very popular lentil bolognese recipe, and this amazing red lentil and potato hotpot! This recipe also goes great with a creamy, extra-cheesy cauliflower cheese side!
To make this recipe, you’ll start with the mash. Boil your potatoes, add lashings of vegan butter and plant-based milk with salt and pepper, and mash.
Make sure you use a hand potato masher (or if you don’t have one, a fork) to mash your potatoes – using a machine blender will make your potatoes go gluey and gross. Trust me, don’t do it.
After making the potatoes, set them aside and preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Then, you’ll fry up some onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and in a pan before adding a mix of herbs, tomato puree, and Worcestershire sauce (this could be omitted, but it gives the veggie mince a delicious depth and added savoury flavour).
Next, you’ll add the mushrooms, red lentils, tinned tomatoes, and stock and let it all simmer together for around 20 minutes. The finer the mushrooms are, the less they’ll actually resemble mushrooms, and the more they’ll give the mix a chunky, crumbly ‘mince’ texture.
Once, cooked, assemble your pie and top with vegan cheese, then cook in the oven for 30 minutes until it’s deliciously golden brown and crispy on top.
Vegan Shepherd's Pie
A filling, nutritious vegan shepherd's pie made with red lentils and topped with creamy, fluffy mashed potatoes and vegan cheese. The perfect healthy and super satisfying vegan dinner.
Ingredients
- 200g dried red lentils
- 250g white or chestnut mushrooms
- 1 large white onion
- 1 large carrot/2 medium carrots
- 2 sticks celery
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp vegan worchestershire sauce
- 1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
- 300ml vegan stock
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
Potato Topping
- 4 medium-large potatoes
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 100ml plant-based milk
- salt and pepper
- 50g vegan cheese (grated)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C | Gas Mark 5 | 350 degrees F
- Peel and chop your potatoes, then boil for around 20 minutes. They should be soft enough that a knife easily slides through them, but not falling apart. Add the butter, plant-based milk, and seasoning, and mash with a potato masher (or fork) until there are no lumps.
- While the potatoes are boiling, dice your onion, carrot, and celery and add to a pan with 1 tbsp oil on a low heat. Saute for 5 - 8 minutes, then add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. The onion should be soft and translucent.
- Next, add the tomato puree, worchestershire sauce, and herbs and cook for another 1 - 2 minutes.
- Stir in the lentils, tinned tomatoes, and stock. Bring the mix to the boil, then turn the heat down low. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, adding more water if needed. Season to taste.
- Pour the lentil mix into a casserole dish, then top with your mashed potatoes. Use a fork to evenly distribute the potato. Sprinkle over the grated vegan cheese.
- Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. The top should be golden-brown - depending on what cheese you have used, it might be melted, although some vegan cheeses don't fully 'melt'.
Notes
My favourite vegan cheese is KoKo Dairy, followed by Follow Your Heart 'Cheddar' vegan cheese.
Julia
Tuesday 23rd of January 2024
Hello, lovely easy recipe but the instructions have omitted the mushrooms!
By The Forkful
Monday 19th of February 2024
thanks Julia - I definitely need to update this old recipe!
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