Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie – Mushroom and Lentil Shepherdless Pie with Gravy and Garlic mashed potatoes. Gluten-free Nut-free Recipe. Can be soy-free oil-free. Vegetarian Shepherds Pie.
In my series of traditional and simple holiday favorites, the next dish is this Delicious Lentil Mushroom Shepherdless Pie. Garlic mashed Potatoes over mushrooms, onion, lentils, veggies mixed with a bit of gravy, baked, then served with more of my 1 Pot gravy!
The pie comes together quickly once you have your potatoes done and the veggies assembled. You can cook the lentils and potatoes in the Instant Pot with PIP(pot in pot method), see recipe notes, or in separate pots and make ahead. I like my pie on the wet side, use less or more of the gravy with the lentils to preference. Add seasonal veggies or other root vegetables. I love the garlic breadcrumb and herb topping from my chickpea sweet potato shepherd’s pie on this. It elevates the flavor to a whole new level. Lets get cooking for Thanksgiving.
Combine the cooked lentils, sauteed mushrooms + veggies , gravy, herbs and spices. The picture below is prebaking (ready for the potato layer) and the sauce dries up significantly.
More Mains for the Holidays
- Lentil Quinoa Loaf. a fave
- Cauliflower Steaks with mushroom gravy GF
- Chickpea Veggie “meatloaf”
- Cauliflower Alfredo, Spinach, Artichoke Lasagna. can be GF
- Easy Vegan Veggie Lasagna. Can be GF
- Whole Roasted Cauliflower with creamy makhani sauce . GF , perfect for non traditional gatherings
This shepherd’s pie does take some time, but divide up make ahead, then layer and store until ready on bake on the day.
Vegan Lentil Shepherd's Pie - Mushroom Lentil Shepherdless Pie
Ingredients
Lentil Mushroom:
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 (0.5 ) medium onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 8 oz mushrooms cremini, white or a mix with portobello
- 3/4 cup (96 g) chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup (50.5 g) chopped celery
- 1 tsp fresh or 1/2 dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) dried sage
- 1.5 cups (297 g) cooked brown lentils 1.25 to 1.5 cups, drained well, see note to cook in Instant pot
- 1/3 cup (72.5 g) peas
- 1/3 cup (78.67 g) Vegan Gravy and more for serving, or mix 1 tbsp veggie broth, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp vegan worchestershire sauce, a good dash of onion and garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1 tbsp bbq sauce or 2 tsp tomato paste (optional)
- black pepper to taste
- extra virgin olive oil and thyme for topping
Instructions
- Prepare your mashed potatoes and vegan gravy and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pulse the onion, garlic, mushrooms in a processor, or chop all by hand.
- Add onion mushroom mixture to a skillet with a good pinch of salt and 1 tsp oil over medium heat and cook for 8 minutes or until the moisture from the mushrooms is starting to dry. Add the carrots, celery, other chopped vegetables (upto 1 cup), herbs, 1/4 tsp salt and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes.
- Alternatively, brush oil on the baking dish. Add the chopped onion mushroom mixture and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, then add the carrots, celery, other chopped root vegetables, mix in and continue to bake for another 8 minutes.
- Fold in the lentils, peas, bbq sauce, gravy, black pepper and mix in (in the baking dish or mix in the the skillet and transfer to the baking dish). Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Add less or more gravy to preference.
- Layer the mashed potatoes on top. Use a spatula to even ithem out.
- Add a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of thyme and pepper, or top with these garlic breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Broil for a minute to brown. Cool for a few minutes before serving. The pie keeps thickening on cooling. Serve with gravy or other toppings of choice. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for 4 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Varsha
This recipe was amazing! I made it for Xmas Day to bring to my sister-in -law’s house and it was a huge hit!! Like others mentioned it is time consuming so doing the prep work ahead of time won’t make it feel as exhausting (but still well worth it!). Will definitely make this again…
PS Vegan gravy is way more flavorful than “traditional “ gravy.
Vegan Richa Support
🎄 vv Yay!
Anna
My British partner grew up eating Shepard’s Pie. He LOVES this recipe. So do I and I’m really glad I made a batch and a half. I’ll admit it took me a long time to make because I’m a slow cook. But daaaaannnnnggggg, sooooo goooooood! 10 out of 10, would recommend to a friend. Actually, I already shared a link to facebook. Vegan Richa recipes never disappoint.
Vegan Richa Support
nothing wrong with going slow, i enjoy the process
Pamela Sager
Very good flavor! I started the night before by making the lentils in the instant pot. Even though the recipe took awhile to prepare, I will make it again.
Vegan Richa Support
instant pot is such a time saveer. i’m glad that you took the time to prepare and enjoy this. – and also to leave a nice review
Tom Bunten
Awesome, my grandson had 3 helpings, ate it 3 days in a row! I never told him it was vegetarian.
Vegan Richa Support
That.. is awesome. What they don’t know….hee hee. quite a yummy trick indeed. Thanks for the 5Stars!!
Marty
That doesn’t quite help me. But thanks for trying.
Marty
Maybe I missed this in your post but you say 185 calories per serving but how big is a serving. So many grams or a cup? Thanks. (I’m on a diet).😄
Richa
It makes six servings in 9 by 9 inch pan
Maya
Fascinating recipe.
Sonia
Do you think this will work with canned pumpkin?
Richa
yes, you will need to add some flour to the pumpkin so that it sets on baking as some canned pumpkin can be much more like a puree compared to potatoes
Amanda
Would you do only pumpkin or a mix of potato and pumpkin? I have a ton of fresh pumpkin ready to use
Richa
yes that should work. You can add more garlic and herbs to the mix to keepit more savory
Renee
I made this and used the Instant Pot for the filling and just boiled the potatoes, came out great as all of Richa’s recipes do 🙂
Debbie
This shepherds pie is delicious. I made the gravy too! A little time consuming but definitely worth it! Loved it!
Richa
Awesome! Yes it is a bit time intensive. I usually divide it up ad make parts of it earlier
Clare
Hi this recipe looks amazing! Can it be reheated ok in the microwave?
Richa
yes
Megan
could I make this ahead, freeze it and then thaw and bake the day of?
Richa
yes, assemble and freeze. Bake covered with foil , remove foil for the last 10 mins to brown
Megan
So do I bake it from frozen or do I thaw it first? Do I need to adjust baking time or temperature? I am bringing this to my family Thanksgiving and I’m hoping to convert some meat eaters with this delicious sounding recipe!
Richa
Just let it sit at room temp for 15 mins and bake. Check at 40 mins if the center is heated through and the top is golden enough, else continue to bake.
Lenore
This took me some time to make because of all the steps but it was absolutely worth it! Just delicious. My husband loved it. So tasty.
Richa
Awesome!! I usually make the lentils ahead and chop up the veggies ahead to reduce the work on the day.
Debbie
Yes I was thinking I would do that next time. It is definitely worth the time 😊
Rina
Can i cook it without he mushrooms?
Thanks, Rina
Richa
Yes, just add more veggies and lentils to bulk it up in volume for the missing mushrooms.
Amy Weiss
Made this after Thanksgiving and LOVED it! I will be doubling the veggies next time.
Marissa
Any ideas to make this meal into a complete protein?
Richa
Add less of the potato layer and add some cooked chickpeas or quinoa in the lentil mixture.
Paige
Excellent! Everyone loved it. I didn’t have any bbq sauce on hand so I used a little bit of ketchup. My daughter requested I make it again for Christmas dinner ☺
Richa
yay!!
Matilda
Richa, This is going to be on my Thanksgiving Table,I love lentils and all the rest that is in the recipe. Thank You for the terrific recipes and a very happy Holiday season to you and yours. Matilda
Mae
This looks Delicious, I might use this recipe in one of my other vegan concoctions on my instagram (https://www.instagram.com/munchwithmae/)
JdW
Do you think this would work with sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes?
Richa
Yes, see my chickpea sweet potato shepherd’s pie for reference. http://www.veganricha.com/2016/10/vegan-shepherds-pie-chickpeas-sweet-potato.html
Nina
Hi Richa, thanks for the recipe it looks fabulous. I am going to make it this weekend. The photograph without the Potato (just showing the vegetable base) is this the skillet version or the bake it in the oven version? I am assuming if you bake it 12-14 minutes you bake it at 400F. Is the dish an 8” x 8” ?
Do use make your own BBQ sauce? is the sage in the recipe dried or fresh?
If you used canned puy lentils would it be 1.5 cups drained?
Thanks
Richa
Thats the baked version where i baked the mushroom onion mixture them mixed in the lentils, gravy and spices etc and it is ready for the potato layer. Its a 9 by 9 inch pan. sage is dried. I use annie’s maple bbq sauce. Most canned lentils yield 1.25 to 1.5 cups drained, so yes.
Nina
Hi Richa, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Very much appreciated.
I live in the UK so have not heard of Annie’s maple bbq sauce,. I may make my own perhaps.
I would love to watch a video of this recipe. I can imagine that there must be a lot of work involved.
Thanks again for the recipe. It is my birthday this week and your new cookbook is being gifted to me. Can’t wait….
Richa
Yes, you can use any other bbq sauce. its a small quantity to add a balance of flavor. Yes i will eventually make a video. Its not a dish that can be messed up too much. Taste the lentils and potatoes individually before baking and if they all taste good, then together they are definitely going to taste good 🙂
Edward John Allen
Hi
THe links to the mashed pots, and gravy return a NOT FOUND, ERROR 404 message. Can you fix pls???
THanks
Richa
fixed
Cassie Autumn Tran
Your recipe looks so decadent, but it’s amazing how secretly healthy (and diet-friendly) it is! 😀 I’ll be sure to try something like it soon!
lani
When I think of what I am thankful for, its YOU..your blog, your recipes and your cookbooks. I don’t know what our family would do without your terrific recipes.
Freya
I second this comment! Absolutely love your recipes and this ones looks PERFECT for winter. Can’t wait to give it a whirl 🙂
Amanda
Just might have to make this tonight!