Lentil Vegan Shepherd's Pie (2024)

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by Taesha Butler on Oct 12, 2021 (updated Jun 30, 2023)

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5 from 5 votes

This Lentil Vegan Shepherd’s Pie is one of our family’s favorites. Made with cooked lentils, mixed frozen veggies, and fluffy mashed potatoes. This vegetarian and easily gluten free dinner is flavorful, easy to prep, and done cooking in about 40 minutes.

This Lentil Vegan Shepherd’s Pie is delicious and my favorite version of this classic recipe. The combination of tender lentils and sautéed mushrooms gives this plant based recipe a hearty texture and the frozen vegetables makes this healthy dinner even easier to make! Bursting with rich flavor, this shepherd’s pie recipe is meat-eater approved and the perfect healthy comfort food to add to your dinner rotation.

This recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant based, dairy-free and is easily made gluten free.

How to cook lentils for this recipe

This Lentil Vegan Shepherd’s Pie recipe is made extra easy by the use of precooked lentils.

You can use canned or precooked and frozen lentils in this vegetarian Shepherd’s pie to save yourself a step during your meal prep. But if you prefer, it’s easy to cook your own lentils from dry

To cook lentils on the stove top

Place rinsed lentils in a large sauce pot and cover with 3 cups of water/broth/stock.
Add seasoning of choice.
Bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the lentils are tender. If you prefer a softer lentil, extend cook time to 30-35 minutes.
Once cook time is up, carefully drain lentils.
Enjoy or let cool and store in fridge for up to 5 days.

To cook lentils in the Instant Pot

Place rinsed lentils in Instant Pot and cover with 3 cups of water/broth/stock.
Add seasoning of choice.
Place lid on your Instant Pot and lock it into place. Make sure the valve on the top is switched to sealing.
Cook on HIGH pressure for 9 minutes. It will take your Instant Pot about 10 minutes to get up to pressure.
Once cook time is up,carefullyquick release the pressure by switching the valve on the top to venting. Remember that this releases hot steam, so keep your hands clear of the vent on top of the valve as you turn it (I like to use tongs sometimes to do this).
Check lentils for desired tenderness. If you prefer a softer lentil, turn the Sauté feature on your Instant Pot on and let your lentils simmer until desired consistency is reached.
Carefully drain lentils.
Enjoy or let cool and store in fridge for up to 5 days.

To cook lentils in slow cooker

Place rinsed lentils in your slow cooker and cover with 4 cups of water/broth/stock.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or on LOW for 6-8 hours. Time depends on your individual slow cooker, as not all cook at the same temperature.
Once lentils are done cooking, carefully drain lentils.
Enjoy or let cool and store in fridge for up to 5 days.

Wondering how to store your carrots so they stay fresh as long as possible? Check out my post on How to Keep Cut Carrots Fresh and get the most out of your produce buck!

Tips and tricks

Cut the potato into uniform pieces. This will help them to cook up faster and evenly. And, thus, get this vegan shepherd’s pie onto the table and into your belly faster. Very few of us are going to be measuring potatoes pieces with a ruler when chopping, so just cut them into small, bite-sized pieces when prepping. In the recipe, I suggest cutting them into eighths, but if your potato is larger, you might need to cut them into smaller pieces.
Use a food processor to save time chopping. I love to throw the mushrooms and/or onions for this recipe into my food processor with the “S” blade to make chopping them that much easier. Just quarter the onions, add them to your food processor, and pulse a few times to quickly chop before adding them to this vegan shepherd’s pie. For the mushrooms, remove the stems and add them into the food processor whole. Pulse to finely mince.
Use your food processor to quickly mash your cooked potatoes. If your food processor is already out, just give it a rinse and then toss your cooked potatoes into the food processor with the “S” blade. Add oil, milk and salt. Pulse until mashed to desired consistency.

Suggested adaptations

Use a plant based butter instead of olive oil when making the mashed potato topping for this vegan shepherd’s pie. It adds wonderful rich flavor. If your vegan butter is salted, adjust or omit the added salt in the potato topping.
Use whatever potatoes you have handy. I like to use yellow potatoes because they have a nice thin skin and you don’t need to peel them, but pretty much any potato will work in this vegetarian Shepherd’s pie.
If vegan or dairy-free isn’t needed, feel free to use regular milk in the mashed potatoes.
Up the veggies in this vegan shepherds pie. Add riced cauliflower or stir in baby spinach when you add the frozen mixed veggie to get even more plant goodness into this healthy dinner recipes.

More veggie-loaded vegetarian and vegan recipes you are going to love.

Black Bean Sweet Potato Quesadilla
Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole
Easy Vegan Pumpkin Waffles
Creamy Mushroom Vegetable Rice Soup (dairy-free)
Creamy Cauliflower Vegetarian Potato Soup

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5 from 5 votes

Lentil Vegan Shepherds’s Pie

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

For potato topping

▢ 2 pounds yellow potatoes, washed and cut into eighths. If your potatoes are larger, you might need to cut them smaller. I left the skins on.
▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
▢ 1/3 cup unsweetened oat milk or almond milk, if vegan/dairy-free not needed, use whatever milk you prefer
▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

For lentil veggie filling

▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
▢ 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
▢ 8 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
▢ 2 tablespoon tomato paste
▢ 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
▢ 1 teaspoons dried thyme, or 2 teaspoons fresh
▢ 1 tablespoon soy sauce, or coconut aminos for gluten free
▢ 2 cloves garlic, minced
▢ 10 ounce bag frozen mixed veggie
▢ 1 cup vegetable broth
▢ 2 cups cooked lentils, canned are fine
▢ 1 tablespoon corn starch
▢ salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Potato topping

Place potatoes into a large pot and add water until they are just covered. Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil on high heat. Cook for 10-13 minutes or until they fork tender.
Once the potatoes are cooked to fork tender, drain the potatoes and add back to hot pot. Add oil, oat milk and salt to the pot and mash until tender and fluffy. If your potatoes seem too dry for your taste, add a little more milk, oil or some veggie broth. Set aside.

Lentil veggie filling

While potatoes are cooking preheat the oven to 425℉ and heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Once hot, add onions and sauté for about 2 minutes or until onions start to turn translucent.
Add mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, tomato paste, and soy sauce to the pot. Increase heat to medium-high. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
Add cooked lentils, broth, and frozen veggies to the pot and stir to combine.
Bring to a simmer and sprinkle the corn starch over the veggies. Stir in to combine and cook for about 5 minutes or until the broth is thicker and the vegetables are heated through.
Transfer the the filling into a 9 x 13 greased baking dish. Spread the filling evenly in the baking dish and then top with the mashed potatoes. Spread the potatoes in an even layer, mashing them down gently with a fork to cover the filling. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are lightly browned on top. For a crisper potato topping, broil for 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish fresh herbs and enjoy warm.
Let leftovers cool completely before storing in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Calories: 244kcal, Carbohydrates: 41g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Sodium: 618mg, Potassium: 917mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 1957IU, Vitamin C: 30mg, Calcium: 58mg, Iron: 4mg