This Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie is perfect comfort food! It's a tasty and hearty blend of vegetables, lentils and vegetarian mince in a delicious and flavoursome sauce. On top is creamy mashed potato with a sprinkle of cheese for that perfect golden topping. This is a brilliant family meal and ideal for serving a hungry crowd. It's the kind of food that really warms you up, body and soul!
What's great about this recipe
- It feeds a crowd
- It's packed with veggies for plenty of goodness
- It's versatile so you can add in leftovers or vegetables that need using up
- You can easily make this recipe vegan
- It's perfect comfort food!
What you will need
- Onion - a white onion is perfect for this recipe, but if you have a red onion to use up instead then it won't make a huge difference
- Celery - this is a great base flavour for this recipe and it's good for you too. If you don't have any celery you can leave this out, or add an extra half an onion
- Garlic - adds lots of yummy flavour. Fresh, frozen or a puree will all work great
- Carrot - adds a little sweetness and a lot of goodness to this recipe
- Courgette - I like to pack extra veg into meals where I can so I usually add courgette to this recipe, if you don't have it you can leave it out
- Vegetarian mince - I used Quorn, but you can use any vegetarian or vegan mince. If you don't want to use the mince, you can use mushrooms or crumbled tofu instead
- Chopped tomatoes - a tin of chopped tomatoes create the base of the sauce
- Red wine stock - I love using red wine stock in recipes that are traditionally made with beef, they add depth and richness to the sauce
- Vegetable stock - my favourite brand is Oxo, but you can use any brand you prefer
- Balsamic vinegar - just a dash of this is a brilliant flavour boost, trust me!
- Marmite - also known as yeast extract, this is used for adding flavour to the sauce, but don't worry if you are a Marmite hater, your pie won't taste like Marmite!
- Tomato puree - for an extra boost of tomato flavour
- Mixed herbs - I used a dried herb mix containing thyme, marjoram, parsley, oregano, sage, basil. If you don't have a mix then I suggest using thyme at a minimum, and rosemary too if you can. They add lovely fragrant flavour
- Tinned lentils - you will need tinned green or brown lentils for this recipe, I have not tried this recipe with dried lentils
- Potatoes - I used regular white potatoes for topping this pie, but you can also top it with sweet potato, or even a mix of white and sweet potato
- Milk - this makes the mashed potato lovely and creamy, you can leave it out it you prefer
- Butter - this makes the mashed potato extra rich and tasty, but can leave it out if you prefer
- Cheese - a mature cheddar is best for topping the potato, it helps make the topping go beautifully golden, plus it tastes pretty good too!
How to make Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
Cook the onion, garlic, celery, courgette and carrot together until the onion is softened. Add the vegetarian mince, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, water, both stock cubes, marmite, balsamic vinegar and mixed herbs. Bring to a simmer. While it's simmering, peel and chop the potatoes and boil them for 15-20 minutes until soft. Stir the lentils into the filling mixture and pour it all into a baking dish.
Mash up the cooked potatoes with milk and butter. Carefully top the filling with the mashed potato. Run a fork all over the top, then add grated cheese all over.
Cook the pie for 20-25 minutes until golden on top and bubbling.
Can this recipe be made vegan?
Yes! Make sure to use a vegan suitable mince (or substitute it for mushrooms or crumbled tofu). Then use dairy free butter and dairy free milk when mashing the potatoes. Finally, sprinkle dairy free cheese on top of the pie.
Can this recipe be made in advance?
Yes! The best way to do this is to make the filling in advance as the mashed potato is best when it's fresh. Once the filling is made and cooled, you can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. You can add it to the baking dish cold, then top with fresh mashed potato and cook as per the instructions.
How long does the Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie last for and can it be frozen?
Once fully cooled, you can cover and store the shepherd's pie in the fridge for 3 days. Or you can portion it out into Tupperware containers and freeze it for up to 3 months.
What can you serve with a shepherd's pie?
- Lashings of vegetarian gravy
- Most steamed or boiled vegetables like carrots, peas, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, leeks, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc.
- Corn on the cob
- Extra mashed potato
- Mashed, roasted or boiled sweet potato
- Bread and butter
More tips for making Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie:
- I always place a baking tray underneath my baking dish as pies like this can often bubble over the sides. Putting the dish on a baking tray, or placing a baking tray on the shelf underneath, saves you from having to clean spills from your oven
- For an extra crunchy topping you can sprinkle on some breadcrumbs as well as the cheese
- The ceramic dish I used to make this recipe was from Tesco and it measures 21cm in width, 31cm in length and 6cm in depth
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
- Chefs knives
- Saucepans
- Garlic press
- Chopping boards
- Ceramic dish
- Cheese grater
- Can opener
- Measuring spoons
- Sieve
*I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting Kat's Veg Kitchen!
Troubleshooting
If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you.
You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!
Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
For the filling
- ½ tbsp Vegetable oil
- 1 Onion diced
- 2 Carrots diced
- 2 Celery sticks diced
- 1 Courgette diced
- 2-3 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 300 g Vegetarian mince
- 400 g Chopped tomatoes
- ½ tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 1 Red wine stock cube
- 1 Vegetable stock cube
- 300 ml Water
- ½ tsp Marmite (yeast extract)
- 1 tbsp Tomato puree
- 1 tsp Mixed herbs
- 235 g Tinned lentils drained
- Salt & Pepper to taste
For the potato topping
- 900 g Potatoes peeled and chopped
- 20 g Butter
- 3 tbsp Milk
- 40 g Cheese grated
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan on a low heat
- Add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery and courgette. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the onion has softened
- Add the chopped tomatoes, vegetarian mince, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar, marmite, vegetable stock cube, red wine stock cube, water and mixed herbs
- Stir everything together and bring to a gentle simmer, simmer for 20 minutes
- While it is simmering, prepare the potatoes and place into a pan of boiling water. Boil them for 15-20 minutes until soft, then drain them
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C Fan/400F/Gas Mark 6
- Mash the potatoes up with the milk and butter
- Add the lentils to the filling and stir them in. Then taste the filling mixture and add salt and pepper to your preference, then put it in your baking dish
- Carefully top the filling with the mash potato. Run a fork all over the top to create texture (this helps to make the top lovely and crispy)
- Sprinkle the grated cheese all over the pie
- Cook for 20-25 minutes until golden on top and bubbling
- Remove from the oven and serve
- Fully cooled leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 3 days or the freezer for 3 months
Notes
- I always place a baking tray underneath my baking dish as pies like this can often bubble over the sides. Putting the dish on a baking tray, or placing a baking tray on the shelf underneath, saves you from having to clean spills from your oven
- For an extra crunchy topping you can sprinkle on some breadcrumbs as well as the cheese
- The ceramic dish I used to make this recipe was from Tesco and it measures 21cm in width, 31cm in length and 6cm in depth
Nutrition
If you like this, check out more of my Main Meal recipes!
I'm linking this recipe up with Cook Blog Share.
Polly
This veggie shepherd's pie was perfect for my daughter and me and, as far as I'm concerned, had a lot more flavour to it than the traditional shepherd's pie that I had to make for the meat eaters in the family. Plus I have some in the freezer (without potato topping) which is always a bonus.
katsvegkitchen
I'm so pleased to hear you enjoyed it Polly, thank you for your lovely feedback!
Keegan
I can't thank you enough for this recipe, I've been craving a shepherd's pie for a month now and having finally made one today it tastes just like the ones from my childhood (and those were meat!) Absolutely brilliant 🙂