Vegan Shepherd’s Pie [Gluten-Free]

Leftover mashed potatoes: they’re a blessing and a curse.

If you’re anything like my family, one of the staples of your holiday table is that simplest of sides. Who knew that boiling and mashing some root vegetables would bring so much joy?

In today’s post, we’ll help you use up some of those leftovers with Elana’s twist on a comfort-food classic: vegan shepherd’s pie.

Let’s dive in!

How to Make Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

One of the primary goals of this blog is to help you cook healthy, delicious meals without spending hours slaving away in your kitchen.

With that in mind, this recipe is a great example of something that would intimidate less-practiced chefs (read: me), but can actually be broken down into simple steps that you can do at the same time.

Here’s our suggested timeline to make everything go smoothly and quickly:

1. Set out your ingredients and chop all your veggies. To help you juggle a few tasks at once and save time, set out all your ingredients before you start. Wash and chop your potatoes, mushrooms, garlic, carrots, and onion.
2. Cook lentils. This step is pretty low-effort. Simply throw the dry lentils into a saucepan with some water or broth, cover it, and set the heat to high. Once it starts boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. The lentils can cook while you’re prepping the other ingredients; just turn the heat off when the lentils look done and most of the liquid has evaporated (about 20 minutes after they’ve reached a boiling point).
3. Boil potatoes and prep garlic mixture. Place them into a pot and cover them with 2-3 inches of water. Cook on high heat until boiling, then lower to medium-high heat to maintain a boil until potatoes are fork-tender (about 20 minutes).
   While potatoes are cooking, heat olive oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Once hot, add minced garlic and cook for a few minutes until garlic is sightly brown and fragrant. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN. Set aside until potatoes are cooked.
4. Sautee mushrooms. While potatoes are cooking, heat olive oil in another pan over medium heat. Add your sliced mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, and salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are slightly tender. Set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 425.
6. Sautee other veggies. While potatoes finish cooking and after you’re done with the mushrooms, heat oil in your cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, and garlic and sautee 8-10 minutes (stirring occasionally) until onions are translucent and carrots are soft. Add cooked lentils, spices, and frozen peas. Cook another few minutes until the peas are thawed. Remove from heat.
7. Finish potatoes. Once potatoes are fork-tender, drain water and place potatoes back into the pot. Mash them using a potato masher, fork, whisk, or electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Once mashed, add in cooked garlic, non-dairy milk, oil, salt, and red pepper flakes.
8. Put it together and bake it. Smooth the lentil/veggie mixture in the cast-iron skillet, then layer cooked mushrooms on top, then mashed potatoes as the top layer. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes, until the edges of the potatoes are golden-brown (optional: broil on low for 3-4 minutes to get an extra-crispy look).

Tips to Make Cooking Feel Easier

As someone who doesn’t love cooking, I’m more likely to gravitate towards two-step meals (hello, pasta+marinara or beans+rice). But honestly, making something a bit more complex like this vegan shepherd’s pie recipe isn’t that much more difficult.

It’s all about multi-tasking — and knowing when to cut corners.

Here are a few tips to get you started (some of them are already mentioned in the steps outlined above):

• Buy pre-cooked lentils. Use one can in place of cooking your own from dry lentils.
• Use leftover mashed potatoes. That way, you don’t have to worry about steps 3 or 7. Easy peasy!
• Embrace the “mise-en-place” technique. There’s a reason professional chefs prep and chop all their ingredients before starting. It’s a great technique to keep yourself organized, get everything on hand, and make your job easier when you’re in the midst of juggling skillets and stirring things on the stove.
• Buy pre-minced garlic. I was in my mid-twenties before I discovered you could buy garlic pre-minced in a jar, and it’s made my cooking so much easier. The gourmands and purists will probably scoff at this tip (“fresh-minced garlic is essential!”), but if you’re looking for ways to shave off a few minutes (and cut back on dishes to clean), think about it.

Whatever methods you use, this recipe is a great choice for a chilly winter’s night. It’s comforting, filling, and hearty — and a great complement to our balsamic green beans recipe.

After you’ve tried it, give us a rate and review below! Especially if you have any other tips for making a “complicated” recipe like this one a bit more effortless.

And don’t forget to tag us on IG @plum_savory with lovely pics of your creations!

Cheers,
Nicole

Shepherd’s Pie [Vegan and Gluten-Free]

What's better than hearty comfort food that nourishes you as much as it fills you up? This vegan shepherd's pie is the perfect meal for a winter evening – or an after-holiday meal to use up your leftover mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

Lentils:

• 1/2 cup lentils uncooked
• 1 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth

Mushrooms:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 8 ounces portobello mushrooms sliced
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• pinch of salt

Potatoes:

• 8-10 red potatoes
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 3 Tablespoons oil divided
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Everything else:

• 4 carrots chopped
• 1/2 white or yellow onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup frozen sweet peas
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

Instructions

 

Lentils

• Add lentils and water to a small saucepan. Cook on high heat until boiling then lower to medium-low heat and cook for additional 20 minutes. Drain excess water and set aside.

Potatoes

• Wash and cut potatoes into large chunks.
• Place in large pot and cover with 2-3 inches of water.
• Cook on high heat until boiling, then lower to medium-high heat to maintain boil for ~20 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender.
• While potatoes are cooking, heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a small skillet.
• Once hot, add minced garlic (6 cloves) and cook for 5-7 minutes, until garlic is sightly brown and fragrant. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN. Set aside until potatoes are cooked.
• Once potatoes are fork-tender, drain water and place potatoes back into pot. Mash potatoes using a potato masher, fork, whisk, or electric mixer with whisk attachment.
• Once mashed, add in cooked garlic, non-dairy milk (1/2 c), remaining oil (2 Tblsps), salt (3/4 tsp), and red pepper flakes (1/4 tsp). Set aside.

Mushrooms

• Heat olive oil (1 tsp) in a small skillet over medium heat.
• Once hot, add sliced mushrooms, balsamic vinegar (1 Tblsp), and salt (pinch).
• Cook for 4-5 minutes, until mushrooms are slightly tender. Set aside.

Pie

• Heat olive oil (1 Tblsp) in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
• Once hot, add carrots, onions, and garlic.
• Let cook for 8-10 minutes, until onions are clear and carrots are soft.
• Add cooked lentils, thyme (1.5 tsp), rosemary (1/2 tsp), and peas (1c).
• Let cook for ~5 minutes, until peas are thawed.
• Smooth lentil mixture, then layer cooked mushrooms on top of lentil mixture, then add mashed potatoes on top of mushrooms.
• Cook in oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, until edges of potatoes are light brown.*
• Serve immediately with green beans, broccoli, roasted vegetables, or a salad!
• Keeps in fridge for 3-4 days in a sealed container.

Notes

*I also broiled mine on low for 3-4 minutes to give the potatoes that extra brown, crispy look.

Note: This may take less time if you do several steps at once.

Keyword comfort food, fall foods, gluten-free, healthy, vegan, vegetarian