New Vegan Shepherd’s Pie 🌱 A deliciously elevated plant-based version of a classic comfort dish, also known as Gardener’s Pie. Filled with mushrooms, lentils, onions, carrots & peas in a rich gravy and topped with mashed potatoes and cauliflower. Hearty, healthy & so satisfying!
What could be more inviting than coming home to one of these veggie & potato filled mini casseroles, toasty hot from the oven? This is comfort food known as New Vegan Shepherd’s Pie or 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.
What is New Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Sometimes called Gardener’s Pie or Shepherd-less Pie, most vegan Shepherd’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 recipe without stout. *See below for more info.
How to make the best vegan Shepherd’s or Gardener’s Pie
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
Ingredients
- Mushrooms
- Leek
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Lentils
- Vegetable broth
- Potatoes
- Cauliflower
- Butter – vegan
- Non-dairy milk
- Flour
- Stout beer (optional)
- Tomato
- Peas
- Rosemary
- Oregano
- Sage
- Parsley
- Thyme
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
See the complete recipe below for directions
Did you enjoy this recipe? Check out these other delish 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 using stars in the comment section below the recipe. It helps other readers find it online & decide if they want to give it a try too!. Thanks a bunch!🥕
New Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Equipment
- 4 qt or larger dutch oven
- 3 qt saucepan
- Mesh strainer
- 4 oven-proof 8 oz (1 cup) ramekins
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp 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 tbsp 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 tsp rosemary fresh – finely chopped or dried** 🥕See notes below
- ¼ tsp oregano fresh – finely chopped or dried**🥕See notes below
- ¼ tsp sage fresh – finely chopped or dried**🥕See notes below
- 1 tsp parsley fresh – finely chopped or dried**🥕See notes below
- ½ tsp thyme fresh – finely chopped or dried** 🥕See notes below
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp 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 tsp salt & ¼ tsp 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 tsp 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 tsp 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 tbsp vegan butter, ½ tsp 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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I loved this Shepard’s Pie! It came out very flavorful and tasty! This is what we call a “Keeper” in our house! Yummy!
Laurie, I’m so happy you enjoyed your Shepherd’s Pie! We love it in our house too! 🥕🌱Thanks for sharing!
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!
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!🥕
Do you think I could store uncooked ramekins in the fridge for a week and cook singles in the air fryer each night?
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!🥕
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
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!💚🥕