Introducing the Best Vegan Shepherd’s Pie! It is hearty, healthy, and flavourful. Plus it’s gluten-free and dairy-free! This Shepherd’s Pie is super versatile and will cost you under £10!
Recipe Difficulty – Easy
Jump to:
Why this recipe works
This Vegan Shepherd’s Pie really gives you that comforting feel you want from a simple healthy dinner during the colder months.
It’s incredibly easy to make and trust me – this lentil shepherds pie will be a massive hit with family and friends. It will easily feed four for under £10!
This vegan shepherd’s pie with lentils is absolutely packed full of flavour and given a real meaty texture from the lentils. For another delicious recipe using lentils try out my Lentil Walnut Sausage Rolls.
This was inspired by the sauce from my Speedy Lentil Bolognese recipe, and pairs well with this amazing Air Fryer Broccoli.
Ingredients to make Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
- Olive Oil – adds a great flavour to both the mix and the mash.
- Red Onion – Make sure you use a large one and dice it for this recipe.
- Garlic Cloves – need to be crushed.
- Mushrooms – should be sliced. They add a great heartiness to this recipe.
- Carrot – needs to be finely chopped.
- Tomatoes – should also be finely chopped.
- Dried Basil – gives a great, savoury flavour.
- Dried Oregano – adds a good, earthy flavour.
- Tins of Chopped Tomatoes – add some different benefits from the fresh tomato.
- Tins of Green Lentils – Lentils are a great source of protein and can be a great alternative to meat such as ground beef in a meatless shepherds pie. Got any tins spare? Try my 20 Minute Lentil Bolognese.
- Frozen Peas – do not need to be defrosted prior to use.
- Veg Stock Powder – thickens up the dish with a nice flavour.
- Tamari – is basically a gluten-free soy sauce to add umami flavour. I also use this in my Vegan Pad Thai recipe.
- Potatoes – I used white this time, but any potatoes that boil and mash well will work.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Olive Oil – could be replaced with any other oil.
- Vegetables – Feel free to mix up the vegetables with other options or varieties.
- Garlic Cloves – can be substituted with minced garlic or garlic granules.
- Potatoes – I decided to use white potatoes this time, but this recipe is so versatile you could even use pumpkin for some Halloween vibes, sweet potato, or butternut squash if you wanted to. You could even do a cauliflower mash!
- Lentils – If you don’t want this to be a shepherdless pie, you could easily swap the lentils for beef.
Variations
- Spicy – Add chilis and/or chilli powder for a nice spicy bite in this vegetarian shepherds pie.
- Deluxe – Sprinkle some vegan cheese on top and broil for a couple of minutes for a nice addition. You could also sprinkle some herbs on top and/or mix them into the mash to add a little colour.
- Kid friendly – The rich flavours in this vegetarian shepherd’s pie with lentils help to make these vegetables palatable for little mouths. Using their favourite vegetables and allowing them to help with the cooking process can make them more likely to enjoy it. And vegan cheese sprinkled on top certainly wouldn’t hurt!
See this Zero Waste Veggie Pie version!
How to make Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 200C.
Prep the veg per the instructions in the ingredients list.
Place a large pot on medium heat and add olive oil, garlic, onion, veg, and herbs and fry together for a couple of minutes until it softens.
Add the tinned tomatoes, lentils, peas, tamari, and veg stock powder and mix to combine.
Step 2: Cook on medium/high heat for 15 minutes until it starts to thicken, stirring every 5 minutes.
While the vegetables are cooking, boil the potatoes. Once boiled, drain and mash with olive oil or vegan butter and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Add the mix into a deep dish and top with mashed potato.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Hint: No need to skin the potatoes. Save time and add some nutrients by keeping it on.
Leftovers
Leftover vegan lentil shepherd’s pie can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. It should last in the fridge for 3-5 days and in the freezer for two months. Reheat in the microwave or oven.
Recipe FAQs
A veggie shepherds pie is made of a lot of the ingredients in regular shepherd’s pie! Rather than meat, I use lentils to add a great texture and add protein. It may sound impossible to have a vegan shepherd’s pie, but I promise you it is delicious!
It could be that you had too much liquid in the mix. Allow it to simmer longer to thicken up.
It is! It is full of vegetables, giving you all sorts of nutrients! My vegan lentil shepherds pie uses lentils instead of meat and no cheese on top, making it an even healthier option!
You can! You can choose to freeze it either before or after baking. Store in an airtight container for up to two months. Reheat or cook in the oven. You’ll need to either thaw first or cook for a longer time if frozen.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE…
Tried this Vegan Shepherd’s Pie recipe? Please leave a star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and let me know how you get on. Hearing positive feedback is one of the best parts of creating recipes so please review it below and leave a comment!
P.S Never miss a new recipe! Get more healthy recipes sent straight to your inbox weekly – Subscribe and receive a free recipe eBook!
Recipe
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- red onion finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 200 g mushrooms sliced
- 1 large carrot finely chopped
- 150 g tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2x 400 g tins of chopped tomatoes
- 2x 400 g tins of green lentils
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon veg stock powder (or 1 stock pot/cube)
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 1 kg potatoes (I use maris pipers)
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 200C. Firstly prep you veg as per the instructions above.
- Place a large pot on a medium heat adding the olive oil, garlic, onion, veg and herbs and fry together for a couple minutes until it softens.
- Then add the tinned tomatoes, lentils, peas, tamari and veg stock powder and mix. Cook on a medium/high heat for 15 minutes until it starts to thicken making sure to stir every 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile boil the potatoes, I keep the skin on to save time. Once boiled simply mash with olive oil or vegan butter and a pinch of salt & pepper.
- Add the mix into a deep dish and top with the mashed potato. Place in the oven for 30 minutes at 200C.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that Nutrition information is a rough estimate
The absolute BEST Shepherd’s Pie!! My partner and I have made this together several times to eat fresh. It also freezes and reheats so well. Truly a favourite! Thank you, James!!
Brilliant! Lots of chopping, but that’s ok! Dish did us for two days. So economical. Only addition was a bit of tomato paste.
Would this work in anNinja Air Fryer? Any recommendations re timing and temperature?
Hey Patrick, I haven’t tested it but it should work. I would go for 200C for 15-18 minutes 🙂 enjoy!
Split between 4 any idea how many calories per portion this is please?
One of my favourite dishes. Really simple to make and delicious every time. I like to add some chilis or chili powder to give it a bit of bite!
Thanks Kevin! So pleased you loved it 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous. I slightly changed it by adding some parsnips into the mash but it was so yummy. Thank you for all your great recipes.
Yay glad you enjoyed it Danielle, thanks for leaving feedback!
We are new to plant based meals and have had many more misses than hits with recipes. Made you lentil shepard’s pie and my son told me that it’s the first vegan recipe he’s really enjoyed. A big hit with the whole family!
Yay 🙂 so pleased it went well Madonna. Thanks for sharing a review!
This is so tasty & easy to make. I love it has all of James recipes they are all fabulous
Made the lentil shepherds pie tonight Maybe added a little cheese to the top. It was divine.
Hey Lorraine, really pleased you enjoyed it 🙂 thanks for sharing your feedback!
This pie looks fantastic, really need to try this at home!
Thank you Petra, definitely need to try it! Let me know how you get on 🙂
Hi I was wondering could you make this and then freeze it? If so how would you reheat it? Do you defrost it first or just cook from frozen? Thanks so much
Hi Emma,
Good question, I didn’t actually trying freezing it myself yet but I don’t see why that wouldn’t be ok.
I personally would defrost it and then heat back up in the oven so it goes a little crunchy again. Let me know how it goes 🙂
James