Home » Diet » Vegan » Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
Jump To Recipe 4 reviews posted Dec 16, 2019 by Jessica Hoffman
This Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie is loaded with lentil, peas and big flavour. It starts by cooking up veggies in a pan and deglazing them with wine. Then it all gets topped with creamy mashed potatoes and baked to perfection!
A healthy shepherd’s pie recipe
This Sheperd’s Pie is one of those recipes that is perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner that can be prepared ahead of time.
I’ve been making this Vegan Lentil Sheperd’s Pie a lot of my weeknight dinner rotation, along with this Coconut Chickpea Curry and my Kimchi Fried Rice.
This recipe is healthy and uses lentils as the base instead of ground meat. The lentils are cooked off in a pan with onions, celery, and carrots (the big flavour makers) and then deglazed with wine. This is the most important step in this recipe that gives it BIG flavour!
Then these pies get topped off with creamy mashed potatoes and it all gets baked to perfection and broiled from some crispiness.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- This Sheperd’s pie recipe can be made in individual ramekins, or in a baking dish
- This recipe is packed with protein and fibre so it will keep you feeling full and satisfied long after dinner is over.
- It’s a great recipe to make for food prep and can also be frozen and taken out for dinner whenever you want!
How to make Vegan Lentil Sheperd’s Pie
Start by browning all the veggies in a pan, then deglaze the pan with some red wine. Take your time with this step, this is where all the flavour builds. Next, add in the lentils and peas and mix everything together.
Boil and mash the potatoes with some vegan butter until your desired texture. Then take a baking dish or mini ramekins and layer the lentil mixture followed by the potato mixture on top.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes and optionally broil for 1-2 minutes to get that golden brown colour on top.
What vegetables go with shepherd’s pie?
There are many different vegetables you can add to this Sheperd’s Pie. This recipe uses carrots, celery peas and lentils, but you can also try adding in the following vegetables:
- chickpeas or beans
- chopped asparagus, broccoli or cauliflower
- Sauteed leafy greens like spinach or kale
Tips for making this recipe perfectly
- Chop the onion, carrot and celery into very small pieces. This will give a better texture to the dish.
- Take your time when browning the vegetables. This is where all the flavour builds, so you don’t want to skip this step.
- If you want to have a golden brown colour on top, broil the Sheperd’s pie for just 1-2 minutes before serving.
- If prepping this recipe in advance, assemble the shepherd’s pie and then skip the baking until your ready to eat. You can also freeze it at this step.
More lentil recipes to try
- Vegan Lentil Moussaka
- Vegan Lentil Loaf
- Lentil Bolognese
Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 4 reviews
- Author: Jessica Hoffman
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: British
Description
This Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie is a delicious and cozy meal that’s packed with protein!
Ingredients
Scale
Mashed potatoes
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp vegan butter or oil
- 1/4 tspsalt
Lentil filling
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- pinch salt & pepper
- 1/4 cup red wine to deglaze
- 1 1/2 cups lentils (canned or pre-cooked)
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup-3/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tspthyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tspgarlic powder
- 1 tsk paprika
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan on medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrot, celery and garlic to the pan with a pinch of salt and pepper and let brown, stirring constantly for 6-7 minutes until the veggies are nice and brown. (They will cook down a lot)
- Once the veggies are browned, add the red wine, stirring until the liquid is evaporated, then reduce heat to medium.
- Add the lentils, peas, tomato paste, 1/2 cup vegetable broth, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper and stir together letting cook for 5 minutes on medium-low heat. If the lentils become too dry add the remaining 1/4 cup broth if needed.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- To prep the potatoes, peel and chop into large chunks and add to a pot of boiling water, boiling for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
- Drain the water, then add the almond milk, butter and salt and mash with a potato masher.
- Scoop the lentil mixture into ramekins or baking dish and top with the mashed potatoes.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.
- *Optional* turn the oven on broil for 2 minutes to make the tops crispy
Notes
Chop the onion, carrot and celery into very small pieces. This will give a better texture to the dish.
Take your time when browning the vegetables. This is where all the flavour builds, so you don’t want to skip this step.
If you want to have a golden brown colour on top, broil the Sheperd’s pie for just 1-2 minutes before serving.
If prepping this recipe in advance, assemble the shepherd’s pie and then skip the baking until your ready to eat. You can also freeze it at this step.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the recipe
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 300mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 15g
- Protein: 18g
If you tried thisVegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pieor any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along onPinterest,InstagramandFacebookfor even more deliciousness!
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Fall Gluten Free Grain-free Recipes Refined sugar-free Vegan Vegetarian Winter
posted by Jessica Hoffman on December 16, 2019 (updated November 14, 2021)
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24 comments on “Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie”
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Eso — Reply
If I use water instead of vegetable broth, what can I do to not lose the taste of it? (Can I put extra salt or extra vegetables etc)
And have you used defrosted peas? Or what?
Thank you!-
Jessica Hoffman — Reply
You can add some more salt to adjust the flavour!
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Julianne — Reply
Non alcoholic red wine substitute suggestions?
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Jessica Hoffman — Reply
Hi Julianne, you can use veggie broth instead!
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Cyndy — Reply
I love this dish in the fall and the winter. I freeze some the individual ramekins and although the mashed potatoes aren’t quite as good, it makes a great quick lunch.
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Lara — Reply
I used more potatoes because I like a heavier potato ratio and I eliminated the tomato paste (personal preference) and WOW!!!!! This was the first time in her life that my kid ate & loved lentils! This dish goes into our weekly rotation immediately. Thank you!
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Jessica Hoffman — Reply
Thanks Lara! Happy you and your kid both enjoyed 🙂
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Cristina Plowman — Reply
Do you have to use red wine? If not what can be a substitute?
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Jess — Reply
Hi Christina, you can substitute it with some vegetable broth!
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Morgan — Reply
Pomegranate juice works really well too and gives a nice depth of flavour.
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jeanne — Reply
can you use red lentils for this recipe?
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Jess — Reply
Hi Jeanne, I haven’t tried this out with red lentils but I think it should work just fine! You’ll want to make sure they are cooked before using them in the recipe!
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Kim — Reply
What kind of lentils did you use?
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Jess — Reply
Hi kim! I used canned green lentils for this recipe!
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Mary Ann islek — Reply
Are the lentils dry or canned?
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Jess — Reply
I use dried lentils but you can use canned as well!
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Sara — Reply
Yum! This looks good. I make something very similar using a sweet potato topping. Lovely comfort food that’s also good for you.
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Jess — Reply
Hi Sara, thank you! That sounds delicious with sweet potato topping!
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Arielle — Reply
Wow these pictures are so beautiful. Makes me want to eat them up
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Jess — Reply
Thank you!!
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Jess — Reply
Thanks Bianca! They’re the perfect dinner and loaded with protein and veggies:)
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Tamsin — Reply
Omg yes, I love lentil shepherds pie!!! And all those pictures are so beautiful I can’t get over it, making me so hungry!
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Jess — Reply
Thanks Tasmin! Feeling like a Shepherd’s pie is perfect to eat the end of March. Have a great weekend!
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