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.
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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! 😍
I just made this dish tonight after craving Shepards pie for weeks and unable to find it anywhere. I had planned to make it but was fully planning on making it with meat until I watched “What the Health” on Netflix. Then I found this recipe and my eyes widened with excitement! I must admit I made several blunders and alterations that I’m surprised it still came out good. Even my non-vegan highly critical kids ate and liked it! I used the food processor for chopping the veggies, and next time i won’t. I think I will like it better if I can taste each veg separately (except for maybe the mushrooms cause the kids definitely hate them). I misread the recipe and used a whole cup of lentils instead of 1/3. I only had about 2 cups of mashed potatoes instead of 4. And I had to use a square pirex baking dish because my perfect round pie shaped pirex is in my storage unit. So even with all of that it managed to be a delicious meal that I will definitely make again. Just without so many blunders.
This was great! I subbed the lentils for veggie ground round for some extra protein and it came out wonderfully! This is my lunch for the week and I’m very happy and satisfied. Thank you once again for a great recipe!
i would love to try this recipe tonight but i have never made lentils. any suggestions on the cooking of the lentils prior to adding them into this dish?
Sure, there are brief directions down in the step-by-step area, but it’s quite simple. Just bring a pot of water to a boil, add the lentils, and let them boil for about 20 minutes (for brown lentils), then drain in a colander. :) Different lentils take different amounts of time to soften, so it’s a good idea to check the package for directions, and always taste test one or two to make sure they are tender before draining.
What size skillet pan is good for this recipe? I have a cast iron but am not sure if it is too big. I want hearty portions of veggies underneath the potatoes & not just a skimpy, thin layer.
This skillet is 3 quart volume. :)
I made this last night for dinner and just had some for lunch today. I followed the recipe exactly. It is quite tasty! I was worried about the amount of mushrooms, as I am not a huge fan of them, but I barely noticed them. (I made sure to shop them pretty finely) Next time, I would add more lentils and maybe try it with sweet potato mash instead. Yum!
I just made this recipe. I added the lentils, but omitted the mushrooms since I don’t like them. Wow! This is definitely a winner in my book!
This sounds really good and I’m looking to make it for a friend who is gluten-free. Is the flour a must-have or can I fudge it a bit?
I think it’s a must have for this one, unfortunately. :(
Use spelt flour to keep it gluten free. That’s what I use in everything that requires flour.
This was really yummy. I saved myself time by using Trader Joe’s frozen mashed potatoes (about half a bag) and I increased the lentils slightly. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
I am making this tonight. Sounds delicious
Yum! A big hit with my family. I made it as printed and it was great. Then I doubled it (everyone home for college & hungry) so I added about a half pound of lean ground beef, a half cup of milk to the sauce to make it creamier, and left out the peas and mushrooms (per picky eaters here) and added a can of drained corn. They scraped the dish clean!
This was very good on a cold winter evening. The carrots and celery needed to cook longer to start to soften, but that was not a problem. I made the mashed potatoes with Earth Balance and almond milk be.cause my son is lactose intolerant. I am looking forward to some great leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks!
Made this for dinner a couple nights ago and it was great. Made the recipe as-is with the slow cooker mashed potatoes, with one exception: ditched the lentils and added 1 cup of frozen corn instead. Wonderful, hearty, and holds up well for leftovers. Thanks for the recipe!
This looks amazing, and could easily be adapted to include meat. Thanks for sharing – will have to make this!
A question for you… I’ve never used the broiler option in my oven. Do you have any tips on how to acquire a nice brown top on dishes without the fear of burning the house down?
Broilers are a lot like grills. They expose the food to direct heat (open flame if you’re using gas). So the MOST important thing is to watch it closely. It usually only takes a matter of minutes to brown the top of something. When you’re starting out, keep the oven rack in the middle so that the food is not too close and you’ll have a little more wiggle room with the timing.
Best vegetarian recipe I have ever used!
Made this today! It turned out excellent. I didn’t have thyme, tomato paste, or smoked paprika but it turned out well without them. I think next time, I will use less carrots and more mushrooms. I also loved the texture and substance that the lentils gave to the dish. (I accidentally added twice as many lentils as I needed to, so I’m glad I liked them! Haha)
Thanks for the great recipe! I’ll be trying more of yours from now on. :)