After making (and devouring) my Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes last week, I was really craving some shepherd’s pie. But, because of the strict budget I’m working with, I decided to make a vegetarian shepherd’s Pie. This warm and comforting dish is still full of deep and rich flavor, even without the meat, and I love all the color and texture that the vegetable medley brings to the plate.
What’s In Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie?
To make up for the meat I made sure to use plenty of vegetables, including mushrooms, which give a nice “meaty” umami flavor. I also added in a cup of cooked lentils for bulk and extra protein. Lentils are great because they cook super fast, have a small shape, and a mild flavor that helps them blend really well into recipes. I often use them half and half with meat to stretch my dollar, but that same technique also works well with vegetables. If you’re not a fan of lentils, no worries. You can just leave them out and you’ll still have a delicious and hearty straight vegetable filling for your vegetarian shepherd’s pie.
What Kind of Mashed Potatoes Should I Use?
I made a second slightly smaller batch of my Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes to top the pie, but you can use any type of leftover mashed potatoes you have (make sure to use vegetable broth in your mashed potatoes to keep this recipe vegetarian). Another great option is to use my Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes, which are dairy-free, and will make this whole Shepherd’s Pie vegan!
You can make your mashed potatoes fresh, or use leftovers. Just be sure to warm them up before trying to spread them onto the pie because cold mashed potatoes don’t exactly “spread.” LOL
Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked lentils (optional)* ($0.21)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.31)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 3 carrots ($0.37)
- 2 ribs celery ($0.38)
- 8 oz. button mushrooms ($1.99)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1 tsp dried thyme ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.11)
- 1 Tbsp flour ($0.01)
- 1 cup vegetable broth ($0.13)
- 1 cup frozen peas ($0.45)
- 4 cups mashed potatoes ($1.36)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Sauté the onion and garlic with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent (3-5 minutes).
- While the onions and garlic are cooking, peel and dice the carrots, dice the celery, and slice the mushrooms. Once the onions are soft, add the carrots and celery to the skillet and continue to sauté until the celery begins to soften slightly (5 minutes).
- Finally, add the mushrooms, salt, thyme, smoked paprika, and freshly cracked pepper to the skillet. Continue to sauté until the mushrooms have fully softened (3-5 minutes). Add the tomato paste and flour to the skillet. Stir and cook the vegetables with the flour and tomato paste until the vegetables are coated and the pasty mixture begins to coat the bottom of the skillet (about 2 minutes).
- Add the vegetable broth to the skillet, stirring to dissolve the flour and tomato paste from the bottom of the skillet. Allow the broth to come up to a simmer, at which point it will become slightly thicker. Stir in the cooked lentils and frozen peas, and allow to mixture to heat through.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Pour the vegetable mixture into a casserole dish, or use your skillet if it is oven safe. Spread the mashed potatoes out over the surface of the vegetables and gravy. Use your spoon to make a decorative pattern in the mashed potatoes, if desired.
- Bake the shepherd’s pie in the fully preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until everything is heated through. To achieve a browned surface on the mashed potatoes (optional), turn on the oven’s broiler (and place the pie under it, if not already), and watch closely until the top has browned to your liking.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie – Step by Step Photos
Using lentils in your Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie is entirely optional, but I find that it provides more bulk, texture, and protein. You’ll want one cup of cooked lentils for this recipe, which is about 1/3 dry. Cooking lentils is simple, just boil a pot of water, add the lentils, then continue boiling until they’re tender (brown lentils take about 20 minutes). After cooking, drain in a colander. Note: without the lentils you’ll get about four servings out of this recipe.
For the vegetable mix I used 2 stalks celery, 3 carrots, 8oz. button mushrooms, 1 cup frozen peas, 1 yellow onion, and two cloves garlic. Both my celery and peas were on their last leg, but this is a great recipe to use up older vegetables in because they get cooked down and slathered with tasty gravy. :)
Begin by mincing the garlic and dicing the onion. Sauté the onion and garlic with 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the onions are soft.
While the onions and garlic are cooking, peel and dice the carrots, and dice the celery. Add them to the skillet and continue to sauté for a few more minutes, or until the celery begins to soften just a tad.
While the celery and carrots are cooking, slice the mushrooms. Add the mushrooms to the skillet along with 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp thyme, and some freshly cracked pepper. Sauté the mushrooms and seasonings until the mushrooms are soft. My mushrooms came pre-sliced and they were in HUGE pieces, so I broke them up into smaller pieces with my spatula as they cooked.
When the mushrooms are soft, add 1 Tbsp flour and 1 Tbsp tomato paste. Stir the flour and tomato paste into the vegetables until everything is coated in a paste-like mixture. Continue to stir and cook until the paste begins to coat the bottom of the skillet.
When the flour and tomato paste coat the bottom of the skillet (be careful to not let it burn), add 1 cup vegetable broth. Stir the broth and vegetables to dissolve the paste off the bottom of the skillet. Allow the mixture to heat through and come to a simmer, at which point the broth will thicken slightly.
Finally, add the frozen peas and cooked lentils (if using), and allow the mixture to heat through. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pour the vegetable mixture into a casserole dish, or just use your skillet if it is oven safe (this is a deep skillet).
Cover the vegetable and gravy mixture with about 4 cups of mashed potatoes. Spread the mashed potatoes to evenly cover the surface (mashed potatoes spread easier if they are warm). Use the side and back of a spoon to create a decorative pattern in the mashed potatoes, if desired.
Bake the vegetarian shepherd’s pie for about 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it’s heated through. To get the nice browned top, turn on the boiler and watch the pie closely until it’s browned on top (if your broiler is under your oven, you’ll have to transfer the pie to the bottom drawer).
Ohhhhh that gravy, though! 😍
What about cutting out the mushrooms? We’re not mushroom people. I know, I know; they’re good for you.
Anyway, what about just bulking up the other things in the recipe? A little more lentils, a little more carrots, a little more peas? Think that would stretch it closer to 6 servings again?
Yes, absolutely. And you can just leave the mushrooms out if you’re not into them. There are plenty of vegetables to keep things interesting without them. :)
I added ~1/3 to 1/2 pound of ground beef and that filled it out very nicely!
Quick question about a veggie only recipe book. Is there one? Thanks! Everything looks so good!
There isn’t one… yet! Maybe some day. :)
This looks amazing! I’m really envious of your mushroom prices, though! 8 oz of sliced (or unsliced, honestly) mushrooms here are around 3+ dollars and are often on the verge of turning. I love mushrooms so they still get my money so I may have to try freezing this just so I can draw the dish out for my mushroom fix.
I’ve had good results using canned mushrooms in stews (anything with a flavorful sauce) as they still have a pretty good bite and the cans are 59c – they should work okay here, too. Sometimes I add a couple of reconstituted dried shiitakes for extra mushroomy flavor too.
I’m with you on the mushroom prices, but I have come to a conclusion about that topic. If you’re eating a hearty veg meal vs. a light meat meal, you pay less for the mushroom than the meat. We’ve been eating lots less meat and spending less by eating lots of shrooms. Personally, though, I even choose to splurge on some of the more spendy mushrooms and am still saving some bucks and getting more nutrition. And this recipe, btw, sounds great.
I made this tonight for my family and it was a big hit! The gravy is delicious. I will definitely be making again this winter.
This sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing! However, please note that the recipe is not vegetarian if you make the mashed potatoes according to the linked recipe (because chicken broth isn’t vegetarian.) If you used water or a vegetable broth of some kind the recipe would be lacto-vegetarian.
Ah, I forgot about the chicken broth! Thanks. I was just thinking of the butter, milk, and cream cheese. I’ll update that. Thanks!
Yum! Great vegetarian comfort food for this chilly time of year! Looks delicious!
This makes me feel like I could actually make a Shepherd’s pie! To make it vegan it looks like all I’d need to do was make sure my mashed potato topping was vegan? The rest of the ingredients seem fine.
Thanks!
Yep, that’s all you need to do to make sure the recipe is vegan! :)
Think I’ll add this to my list to try with canned mixed veggies and again in the future with frozen.. never tried lentils either!
Ohhhh yummy! Shepherds Pie is one of my favourite dishes :) this veggie version looks so good.
This looks amazing! Do you think if I were to used mashed sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, that would change any of the cooking time?
Nope, that shouldn’t change anything and I’m sure it would be quite delicious! :)
I’ve done it and it is AMAZING!
This really sounds good and looks delicious! Pinned. Definitely making this. Thanks for sharing.
Do you think this would freeze well? It seems like it would freeze pretty well whole before baking or in individual servings after…
I do think this would freeze pretty well. :)
I loathe mushrooms, but I love lentils. I think I will try this with more lentils in place of the mushrooms. I have been looking for a lentil shepherds pie recipe and this one looks like a good prospect!
I am doing this for dinner tonight! My husband hates mushrooms too so I am using 2 c. cooked lentils and no mushrooms.
Yes! I am so excited to try this! Shepard’s pie is the ultimate comfort food for me, haven’t made it in ages though because we try to only buy local meat. With our budget that means we don’t really buy meat anymore! Always love finding good veggie versions of my favorite meals, thank you!
The mashed potatoes look so pretty. I love how the entire recipe only requires one pot.