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.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
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
Ingredients
- 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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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! 😍
I’ve always made shepherd’s pie with meat and it never occurred to me to try and make a vegetarian version. Thanks for the inspiration!
I made this recipe last week and it was amazing! This is definitely going to be one of my staple recipes. You can’t even tell it’s vegetarian unless you know. I made one little addition of my own. I made slow cooker mashed potatoes but added some cauliflower to the mix. It’s a great way to add one more veggie!
My 16-year-old son, who judges vegetarian meals as gross, declared this as really good. My palette found this recipe as one of the best vegetarian meals I have ever eaten. We never missed the meat.
I tried this last night and it is awesome! I cannot believe how filling it is, considering it’s mostly vegetables. I think the only thing I would change in the future is replace the smoked paprika (after trying it in several dishes, I’ve come to the conclusion that I might just not like the flavour) with Worcester sauce and doubling the lentils for added protein. That’s just personal preference, though. Both my husband and I enjoyed it as-is. :)
I made this earlier this week and I’ve been eating it ever since. The leftovers heat up great. Like everything on this site, it’s so delicious!! I added a little cayenne like another reviewer said, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Amazing and so cheap. Thank you!
Made this last night – It looked a bit like hospital food, but tasted soooo good! I think if you don’t use the lentils you are really missing out. I also am not a fan of peas, so I used frozen green beans instead. Not a fan of mushrooms either – but I chopped them up very small so I hardly even noticed they were there. Great recipe!
Made this last night when my little sister came over! It was absolutely delicious. I didn’t make the mashed potatoes according to your recipe, I improvised by throwing in the dairy products I had on hand (milk, cream cheese, cheddar cheese) and we threw a little extra parmesean on top just for extra cheesy goodness. I ate one bowl without hot sauce and one bowl with hot sauce, and honestly I liked it both ways. I don’t expect a lot of heat from a bowl of comfort food/mashed potatoes and vegetables anyway – pure salty, savory, smoky, herbal flavors were enough for me. But if you like heat, this dish will pair very well with your hot sauce of choice :)
Anyway, this one is another winner. I’m almost out of leftovers already and it’s been less than twelve hours! I’ll have to make it again ASAP.
I added a little red wine to the gravy and thought I died and went to heaven! And it paired fantastically with a chocolate stout. A wonderfully hearty meal for a chilly evening.
Oh wow, that sounds fantastic!
I made this yesterday, and am already excited for dinner tonight so I can have leftovers! I only made two slight modifications – I ended up needing 2 cups of broth to get as much gravy as you have in the photos (my stove runs hot, so it probably just cooked down faster than expected) and I didn’t bother measuring the spices, I just tasted as I went and adjusted when I thought it needed more.
I made this last night and it was so freaking good! The veggies were great, the proportions were great, the cooking time was exact, everything worked amazing. Based on some of the other reviews commenting on the blandness, I added a pinch of cayenne. If I were to do it again, I think I would add just a little bit more, but it had a nice soft subtle heat.
If you’re like me and a bit of a meat-lover, you can sub in ground beef for lentils or ground lamb, and then it becomes cottage pie! My partner and I also like to use mashed sweet potatoes for a topping, and it comes out amazing (super recommend trying at some point). :) I’ve seen some versions that add cheddar cheese on top of the potatoes, too!
Made this yesterday afternoon for an early dinner, we loved it and will definitely make this again!!
Also left out mushrooms (didn’t have any on hand) and will need to up/change the spices next time for more of a kick. I had to add sriracha to my bowl. But comfort food, heck yes!
This was delicious, and not bad in calories with high protein…after a few tweaks :) I did not have any mushrooms so I subbed in ground chicken breast from my freezer. I also only used a pound of potatoes to make the topping with a tablespoon of unsalted butter. I got four servings out of this at 340 calories a serving (says My Fitness Pal)! It was super filling, warm, and comforting. Thanks Beth!
Honest review:
This is a lot of messing around for a pretty mild end product! I think the measure of spices should be increased a bit
I also think it’s a oversight not explaining how to paste the mash on the top! It ended up sinking in as there isn’t much to support it. How did you do it Beth? You might as well add that part into the instructions too! Consider nothing as self evident or obvious to an amateur cook :)
Haha, well, I didn’t do anything special to spread the mashed potatoes, but I did note that if they’re not warm they won’t spread well. Now that I’m thinking about it though, the texture of your mash will also probably make a big difference. If you have a drier mashed potato, it won’t spread as easily as a moist mashed potato (one with a lot of milk or sour cream, for instance). So I just plopped it on there and spread it out, with no special technique. :)
My family is allergic to mushrooms. Can you suggest a substitute?
You can just leave them out. :) There are plenty of vegetables to keep it flavorful and full of texture.
Yup, I had no mushrooms, and it turned out fine. I also used red lentils and sweet potato mash… Yes, there was a lot of orange on my plate but it was yum!