Looking for a plant-based main dish for a meat-and-potatoes man? Searching for a healthy centerpiece for your Christmas feast? Look no further than my Vegan Shepherd’s Pie! The thick, umami-rich bottom layer features black lentils, aromatic vegetables, and savory spices. Top it with mashed potatoes and bake until browned and crispy. Serve it with ketchup or vegan Worcestershire sauce for extra bro points. (I’m not a bro, but I’m from Michigan, so I like comfort food with ketchup too!)
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie costs only $2.03 a serving using organic ingredients. Cook for Good supporters can see the nutritional information below the recipe. Preview: each portion has 21 grams of protein, 15 grams of fiber, and loads of iron and vitamins with very little fat.
I don’t remember ever hearing Shepherd’s Pie mentioned as a Christmas dish, but what could be more perfect? Let’s make it a new tradition.
You can use the parts of this recipe to make rugged mashed potatoes that keep their earthy spud flavor and a mouth-watering black-lentil stew to serve in tacos and hot-dog buns or over cooked whole grains. I chose black lentils instead of the larger green or brown ones because they seem more “meaty” when combined with mushrooms.
This is a Cook for Good recipe because it:
- Uses lentils not lamb
- Saves time and money by not peeling the potatoes
- Cuts dish washing by using the same skillet twice
- Lets you cook once and enjoy several times
- Makes organic cooking wildly affordable
I got to meet some adorable sheep at the Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge. I’d rather feed them than eat them!
| Prep Time | 1 hour |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 medium red onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 8 ounces button mushrooms baby portobellos or white mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 pound black lentils 2 cups or 454 grams
- 3 3/4 cups water divided
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 medium carrots
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
Ingredients
Aromatic Vegetables
Black Lentils
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- Scrub potatoes, cut away any bad spots or sprouts, and put in a medium pot. For the richest potato flavor, do not peel or cut into pieces. Cover potatoes with water, add about a teaspoon of salt, top with a lid, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low so that the water just bubbles. Cook until you can easily slide a fork through the centers, about 35 minutes.
- While potatoes simmer, cook aromatic vegetables. Put olive oil in a large skillet and heat over medium-low heat. Chop red onion and celery, adding them to the skillet as you go. Slice mushrooms and cut crosswise once or twice, then add to the skillet. Cook for about 8 minutes, until onions and mushrooms are soft.
- Set out an 13x9x2-inch baking dish or another oven-safe dish that holds 15 cups. Mince garlic and stir into the vegetable mixture with smoked paprika, then dump vegetables into the baking dish.
- Cook the lentils in the same skillet used for the vegetables: no rinsing needed. Pick through and rinse lentils and add to skillet with 3 1/2 cups water, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low so that the water just bubbles. Chop carrot and add to lentils. Cook until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees F with a rack in the center position.
- When potatoes are tender, save a half-cup or so of cooking water and drain the rest. Mash potatoes using a potato masher, pastry cutter, or large fork. Add olive oil and salt, then mash a bit more until potatoes are well blended. If potatoes are too dry, add a few tablespoons of the reserved cooking water.
- When lentils are tender, removed bay leaf. Stir corn starch into 1/4 cup water until smooth, then stir mixture into lentils. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and boil gently for one minute.
- To assemble the Shepard's Pie, pour lentils over aromatic vegetables. Stir and smooth so the mixture covers the baking dish evenly. Spoon mashed potatoes over lentil mixture and spread to cover. Try to get potatoes to the edges so lentils don't bubble out when cooking. Use a fork to make fun swirly patterns in the potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes until potato edges brown. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes before serving.
- My Taster likes that this Shepard's Pie has more base than topping. That's where most of the umami flavor is. If you want a thicker potato topping, use up to three pounds of potatoes and increase the olive oil and salt for balance.
- Shepherds are flexible and this recipe is too. Use brown or green lentils instead of black ones, switch out the celery for frozen peas, or use half cauliflower for the mash on top.
Nutritional Information for Vegan Shepherd's Pie
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