New Vegan Shepherd's Pie (Gardener's Pie) 🌱 A deliciously elevated plant-based version of a classic comfort dish. Filled with mushrooms, lentils, onions, carrots & peas in a rich gravy and topped with mashed potatoes and cauliflower. Hearty, healthy & so satisfying!
I've always loved one-dish meals baked in individual servings. There's just something so cozy and appealing about enjoying a toasty hot veggie & tofu pot pie or broccoli cheese pot pie on a cold night. What could be more inviting than coming home to one of these veggie & potato filled mini casseroles? This is comfort food known as new Vegan Shepherd's Pie, or as I prefer to call it, Gardener's Pie.
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What is Shepherd's Pie?
Shepherd's Pie is a popular one-dish meal that originated in the UK at least two-hundred years ago. Created as a way to stretch leftovers, the traditional version of shepherd's pie consists of meat, gravy and vegetables baked with a toasty topping of mashed potatoes. Visit a British or Irish pub and chances are you'll find shepherd's pie on the menu.
Why you will love this shepherd's (gardener's) pie recipe
- It's a complete meal in a single dish
- Loaded with healthy ingredients
- 100% vegan
- A delicious plant-based spin on a traditional shepherd's pie
- The perfect vegan dish for St. Patrick's day or any day!
How to make the best vegan shepherd's (gardener's) pie
Sometimes also referred to as shepherd-less pie, most vegan shepherd's pie or gardener's pie recipes contain many of the same ingredients as a traditional version, but without meat or dairy products. For this recipe, we have replaced the meat with lentils and use vegan butter and non-dairy milk in the mashed potatoes & cauliflower. We also made sure to use a vegan-friendly stout (believe it or not, many beers are not vegan).
🥕NOTE: You can prepare this vegan shepherd's pie recipe without stout. See the printable recipe card below for more info.
Ingredients
- Mushrooms - white or cremini
- Leeks
- Garlic - fresh or dried minced
- Carrots -fresh or frozen
- Lentils - green
- Vegetable broth
- Potatoes - Yukon gold or russet
- Cauliflower - fresh or frozen
- Butter -vegan
- Milk - non-dairy
- Flour - all purpose (or cornstarch as a gluten-free option) for thickening gravy
- Stout beer (optional)
- Tomato - fresh or canned
- Peas - fresh, frozen or canned
- Rosemary - dried of fresh
- Oregano - dried or fresh
- Sage - dried or fresh
- Parsley - dried or fresh
- Thyme - dried or fresh
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
🥕See the printable recipe card below for complete details
- Prepare and cut veggies.
- Pour olive oil into a 4 qt or larger Dutch oven or heavy bottom sauce pan. Begin heating on stove at medium-high temperature.
- Add leek, garlic, and mushrooms. Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt & ¼ teaspoon pepper. Sauté until tender, stirring frequently. Adjust heat as needed to prevent garlic from burning.
- Add carrots, lentils and broth. Increase heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.
- In a bowl or measuring cup, combine flour with 4 oz stout beer (or ½ C water with 1 teaspoon vegan bouillon)
- Pour into veggies and lentils, add tomatoes & peas. Stir until slightly thickened. Add herbs, thoroughly combine.
- Spoon lentils/veggie mixture into ramekins.
- Prepare mashed potato with cauliflower (See directions in the recipe card below)
- Spoon mashed potato/cauliflower on top.
- Place ramekins on a baking sheet (to catch liquid that may bubble over)
- Bake at 425° for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes become slightly browned.
- Allow Shepherd's Pies (Gardener's Pie) to set for 10 - 15 minutes prior to serving. Garnish with a sprig of thyme or diced scallion.
🥕Serving Tips
This recipe for new vegan shepherd's pie (gardener's pie) is so satisfying, it's basically a meal in itself! It also pairs deliciously with our orange balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts and simple savory herbed tofu.
☘️ Enjoy a vegan St. Patrick's Day!
Gardener's pie is the perfect dish to serve with this easy vegan Irish soda bread for a yummy St. Paddy's Day celebration!
Equipment
- 4 qt or larger dutch oven or stove top pot
- 3 qt saucepan
- Cutting board
- Kitchen knife
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Mesh strainer
- 4 oven-proof 8 oz (1 cup) ramekins or mini dutch ovens
🥕FAQ's
The traditional version of this dish often includes Stout beer as a liquid ingredient, which adds its own unique flavor. If you prefer not to use Stout or other beer, simply replace with ½ C hot water combined with ½ teaspoon vegan bouillon.
I love fresh herbs, but don't always have them on hand. Dried herbs often have a more concentrated, stronger flavor than fresh. If you use dried herbs, you might want to slightly decrease the amount you use to suit your taste.
Simply refrigerate (covered) up to three days. Reheat in a preheated 350℉ oven for at least 20 minutes or when you see the gravy bubbling around the edges. You can also reheat by microwaving, providing you use microwave-safe bakeware (not cast-iron).
Did you enjoy this recipe? Check out these other delish & comfy dishes!
- Easy Homemade Vegan Pot Pie
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
- Easy Vegan Mashed Potatoes
- Vegan Easy Cheesy Broccoli Pot Pie
very vegan 🌱 very good
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please rate it in the comments below. Sharing your experience helps others decide if they should give it a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕
Recipe
New Vegan Shepherd's Pie (Gardener's Pie)
Equipment
- 4 qt or larger dutch oven
- 3 qt saucepan
- Mesh strainer
- 4 oven-proof 8 oz (1 cup) ramekins
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 lb mushrooms button or cremini - thinly sliced
- 1 small leek thinly sliced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 large carrots peeled & diced in ¾" cubes
- ½ C lentils green or brown - rinsed
- 1-¼ C vegetable broth
- 10 oz potatoes Russet or Yukon Gold - peeled/cubed
- 1-½ C cauliflower roughly chopped florets
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- ½ C non-dairy milk rice or soy
- 1-½ tbsp flour sifted
- 4 oz stout beer optional *🥕See notes below
- 1 tomato peeled/seeded/chopped
- ¾ C green peas fresh, frozen, or canned
- ½ teaspoon rosemary fresh - finely chopped or dried** 🥕See notes below
- ¼ teaspoon oregano fresh - finely chopped or dried**🥕See notes below
- ¼ teaspoon sage fresh - finely chopped or dried**🥕See notes below
- 1 teaspoon parsley fresh - finely chopped or dried**🥕See notes below
- ½ teaspoon thyme fresh - finely chopped or dried** 🥕See notes below
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper fresh ground
Instructions
- Pour olive oil into a 4 qt Dutch oven or heavy bottom sauce pan. Begin heating on stove at medium-high temperature.
- Add leek, garlic, and mushrooms. Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt & ¼ teaspoon pepper. Sauté until tender, stirring frequently. Adjust heat as needed to prevent garlic from burning.
- Add carrots, lentils and broth. Increase heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.
- Preheat oven at 425°
- In a bowl or measuring cup, combine flour with 4 oz Stout (* or ½ C water with 1 teaspoon vegan bouillon)
- Pour into veggies and lentils, add tomatoes & peas. Stir until slightly thickened. Add herbs, thoroughly combine.
- Spoon lentils/veggie mixture into ramekins.
- Spoon mashed potato/cauliflower on top.
- Place ramekins on a baking sheet (to catch liquid that may bubble over)
- Bake at 425° for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes become slightly browned.
- Allow Shepherd's Pies to set for 10 - 15 minutes prior to serving. Garnish with a sprig of thyme or diced scallion.
Mashed Potato & Cauliflower Topping
- In a 3 qt or larger saucepan, cover potatoes and cauliflower in water & ¼ teaspoon salt. Cover, place on high until boiling. Lower heat to a rolling simmer until tender - approx 15 -20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and throughly drain.
- In a large bowl, combine potatoes, cauliflower, 1 tablespoon vegan butter, ½ teaspoon salt. Using a hand masher or electric mixer, begin mashing potatoes and cauliflower. Gradually add milk, a few tablespoons at a time, until desired consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please rate it in the comments below. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sharing your experience helps others decide if they should give it a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕
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Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
lena
hi! if i wanted to substitute tofu for the lentils, how would that work?
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Hi Lena, that's a good question! I haven't prepared this recipe with tofu instead of lentils, but if I did, I would prepare the tofu following the directions in my Homemade Vegan Pot Pie recipe (see below), using the seasonings listed in the Vegan Shepherd's Pie. I would suggest using one full package of firm or extra firm tofu. Be sure to drain it well. Love to know if you give it a go!💚🥕 https://thecarrotunderground.com/vegan-entrees/easy-homemade-vegan-pot-pie/
TJ
Instead of the ramekins would placing all ingredients in a big oven safe dish work?
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Hi TJ - Yes, definitely you can use one large baking dish. You may need to increase the bake time a bit. It is ready to remove from the oven when the filling appears to be bubbling around the edges and the mashed potatoes/cauliflower is lightly browned on top. Love to hear if you give it a go!
julie
Soooooo delicous and so easy to make. This will be on my list to remake throughout the winter.
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Julie, Thanks a bunch for your wonderful comments! I'm so glad you found a cozy new recipe to enjoy during the cold winter months. Happy cooking!🥕
Kristine
Could you use only cauliflower and no potatoes for the crust?
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Hi Kristine! I haven't tried it with this recipe, but I do think mashed cauliflower would work. You might need to adjust the baking time since I don't know how long it would take for the cauliflower to brown a bit. If you haven't made mashed cauliflower before, simply boil cauliflower florets until tender. Drain and place in a food processor or high speed blender with vegan butter, salt and pepper. You can add extra flavor with sautéed or baked garlic (not too much). Purée just until it's the consistency of mashed potatoes. Love to hear if you decide to give it a try!
Sam
Hi, what can I substitute for the milk( can’t do any kind of milk substitute soy, oat, rice, cashew etc), and the flour ? Thanks
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Hi Sam! I would try vegetable broth in lieu of milk. As for the flour, if your concern is gluten allergies, I would suggest substituting with cornstarch, arrowroot, or mashed potato flakes. You'll want to make sure that whatever product you use is certified gluten-free, as some companies use shared equipment. The best way to add them is as a slurry - a small amount added to broth. You can add more as needed until the gravy is slightly thickened. Hope this helps!💚🥕
Nicole Peters
Do you think I could store uncooked ramekins in the fridge for a week and cook singles in the air fryer each night?
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Hi Nicole - That's a really interesting question. I haven't tried storing them uncooked nor have I baked them in an air fryer. Just in case, do you have access to an oven? If so, and if this is your first time preparing this recipe, I would suggest baking one in the oven and one in the air fryer for comparison. You can always store one of the cooked ones in the fridge for later. As for storing them unbaked in the fridge, I always lean on the side of caution. I would say 3-4 days max, I wouldn't keep them a week. If you want them to last longer, you could freeze them and then thaw before baking. Love to hear how they turn out!🥕
Liz Robbins
Excellent recipe! The beer makes it extra delicious 😋 I used cauliflower and sweet potatoes for the mash on top. It was creamy and added a touch of sweetness. Thanks for the inspiration and definitely a keeper recipe!
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Liz - So glad you enjoyed making the Shepherd's Pie! Sweet potatoes sound delish . . . I'm going to give that a try next time! Thank you for sharing!🥕
Laurie
I loved this Shepard’s Pie! It came out very flavorful and tasty! This is what we call a “Keeper” in our house! Yummy!
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Laurie, I'm so happy you enjoyed your Shepherd's Pie! We love it in our house too! 🥕🌱Thanks for sharing!