Good clean comfort food? Is that really a thing? I’m going to make it a thing! Shepherd’s Pie used to be one of my favorite meal prep dishes. It’s a great dish if you want leftovers and depending on how you make it, can be relatively healthy. Since I don’t eat land animals any more, I try to make lists of the dishes I loved and figure out how to make them vegetarian or vegan. Here’s how I created a vegan Shepherd’s Pie recipe!

The ‘meaty’ filling ingredients:
2 cups lentils or 1 cup lentils and 1 cup diced mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup riced carrots
1/2 cup diced sweet onion
1/2 cup diced celery
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 TBSP tomato paste
2 cups of veggie broth
2 TBSP EVOO
2 TBSP flour
1 TBSP salt
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme

Creamy Vegan Mashed Potato Ingredients:
24oz Baby Gold Potatoes
1/2 cup almond milk
1/3 cup EVOO
salt to taste
vegan cheddar (optional)


Preparation

  • Soak your lentils overnight. They will cook much faster if you do!
  • Sautee onion, garlic, carrots, and celery in 2 TBSP of EVOO
  • Stir in 2 TBSP of tomato paste
  • Add in lentils, 1 1/2 cups broth, rosemary, thyme, and salt
  • Allow the mixture to boil and then reduce heat.
  • While this is cooking, boil the potatoes until soft
  • Remove from water, add milk, EVOO, and salt. Mash until smooth.
  • Once lentil mixture is cooked down (liquid should be absorbed fully), use an immersion blender to puree the lentils
  • add 1/2 cup of remaining veggie stock and whisk in flour.
  • Scoop into a baking dish and spread frozen peas over lentil mixture
  • Smooth mashed potatoes over the top (optional: sprinkle top with vegan cheddar)
  • Bake in over for 20 minutes at 400 degrees

*I don’t like a soupy base, however, you can still achieve that with this recipe by not blending the lentils. It will keep a more traditional consistency.

Want some gravy? How do you make vegan gravy? It’s super simple!
In a small pot, sautee 2 cloves of garlic, 2 TBSP minced carrots, 2 TBSP minced onion, and 2 TBSP minced celery in 2 TBSP EVOO with a pinch of salt. Add in 1 cup of veggie broth. Use an immersion blender to puree it all together, then whisk in 2 TBSP of flour. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, pour contents into a standard blender then place back into the pot before mixing the flour in)