Vegan Shepherds Pie with Chickpeas and Sweet Potato mash. Savory Brothy Veggies and Chickpeas, mashed potatoes, Crusted with breadcrumbs, garlic and herbs. 1 hour easy Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie. Vegan Nut-free Soy-free Recipe. Can be gluten-free.
Veggies, Chickpeas (or lentils), fresh herbs, herbed mashed sweet potato and a crusty garlic top. This savory pie just shot to the top in the running for the Vegan Thanksgiving entree.
Thanksgiving and potlucks around the holidays are a good time to whip up some savory filling meals. This Easy Casserole is filled with a veggie, herb, chickpea filling. Mashed sweet potato with vegan butter and thyme is layered over the filling. Breadcrumbs mixed with olive oil, minced garlic and rosemary finish the dish, to get a garlicky crusty top. Make this Vegan Shepherd’s Pie! I made individual servings, because everything is more fun in individual ramekins. Bake into ramekins or one baking pan. Use veggies of choice. Use cooked lentils instead of chickpeas for variation. Use potatoes, butternut squash for variation.
Gorgeous colors, savory flavors, warming, and delicious.
More options for the holidays
- Lentil Quinoa Loaf. can be GF
- Cauliflower Steaks with mushroom gravy GF
- Chickpea Veggie BBQ Loaf . Can be GF
- Gobi Musalam – Whole Roasted Cauliflower with creamy gravy. (GF SF)
- Cauliflower Alfredo, Spinach, Artichoke Lasagna. SF can be GF
- Easy Vegan Veggies Lasagna. Can be GF
If you make any of these of this Shepherd’s pie, tag me on Instagram (#veganricha) or social media and also let me know how it turned out!
Make the chickpea veggie filling. Cook and Mash sweet potatoes. Prep the garlic crumb herb topping.
Assemble in individual ramekins. Fill two thirds of the container with chickpea veggie filling. Add a layer of mashed sweet potatoes. Sprinkle some breadcrumb mixture on top and bake. The breadcrumb idea is from Jamie Oliver’s vegetarian Shepherd’s pie.
Video:
Recipe Card
Vegan Shepherds Pie with Chickpeas & Sweet Potato
Ingredients
Chickpea Veggie Pie Filling:
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) coriander seeds
- 1/3 tsp (0.33 tsp) cumin seeds
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp fresh
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) dried sage
- 1.5 to 2 cups (273 g) veggies -carrots, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, celery, chopped
- 3/4 tsp (0.75 tsp) or more salt divided
- 1/2 cup (72.5 g) peas
- 15 oz (425.24 g) can chickpeas or 1.5 cups cooked
- 1.25 to 1.5 cups (312.5 ml) water
- black pepper and cayenne to taste 1/4 tsp or more
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) soy sauce optional
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) celery seed optional
- 1 tsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp water
Sweet Potato Mash:
- 12 to 14 oz (340.2 g) chopped sweet potatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) dried thyme
Breadcrumb Garlic Olive oil topping:
- 1/2 cup (54 g) breadcrumbs
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast optional
- fresh rosemary or thyme
Instructions
Sweet Potato Mash:
- Add sweet potatoes to a pot of water with salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender. Drain, mash, season with salt, pepper, olive oil, thyme and set aside. (I used pre-cubed sweet potatoes to save time and to save my thumb).
Chickpea Veggie Filling:
- Meanwhile, Crush coriander and cumin seeds in a mortar pestle or blender/grinder. Heat oil over medium heat in a saucepan. When hot, add the crushed seeds to the oil. Cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add onion garlic and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. I had a thumb injury, so I chopped up onion and garlic in the food processor and used. I also processed the veggies in the processor, to add at the next step. This made the chopping prep a very quick 2 mins.
- Add veggies, thyme, sage and 1/2 tsp salt and cook for another 3 minutes. Add peas, chickpeas, salt (depends on if the chickpeas were salted), water, black pepper, cayenne, soy sauce, celery seeds, and mix well. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover, add cornstarch mixed with water and simmer until thickened slightly. 5 to 7 mins. Taste and adjust salt, herbs. Preheat the oven to 425 deg F/ 220ºc
Assemble:
- Distribute the chickpea veggie mixture into ramekins (fill 2/3 of the ramekin) or one large baking dish. Add sweet potato mixture on top.
- Mix breadcrumbs, garlic, olive oil, optional nutritional yeast. rosemary or thyme in a bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mash.
- Bake at 425 degrees F / 220ºc for 15 to 20 minutes. Broil for a minute to brown if needed. Cool for a few minutes then Serve.
- The baked pie keeps well refrigerated. The filling will thicken a bit. Reheat and serve.
Video
Notes
Use some uncooked quinoa + lentils for variation Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Wendy
Thank you for this great recipe. My Mum is visiting and avoids all nightshades. Finding vegan mains with no tomatoes, peppers, or white potatoes is almost impossible!
Vegan Richa Support
so happy it worked for her! don’t forget to rate!
Deepa
Would panko breadcrumbs work just as well?
Richa
Yes
Brenda
I was really looking forward to this recipe, love the concept, unfortunately it fell short for me.
The spices were harsh and overpowering and I found the chickpeas in their whole state disharmonious with the the rest.
I did really appreciate trying this recipe though and I loved the presentation
Richa
Oh no. That’s ok that it didnt work you for. I really love the whole spices in this, but everyone doesn’t have to like all of what I like 🙂 thank you for trying it! Try my lentil shepherds pie and you can make it in the small ramekins
Nina
I made this today and it’s so good, my boyfriend and I absolutely loved it. Thank you!
Ann
I am thinking about doubling this recipe and serving for Thanksgiving. What size casserole dish would work (I won’t use the ramekins).
Richa
use a 9 by 13
D.
Another comment mentioned that this tasted like Thanksgiving in a single dish and that was spot on! Easy and delicious. I used lentils instead of chickpeas and loved the fresh rosemary and garlic in the bread crumbs.
Richa
awesome!
adams@nationalrestaurantny
Vegan Shepherds Pie with Chickpeas and Sweet Potato is great! To be honest, I’m not good at cooking but I like them, they give me joy and excitement every time I finish the dishes, which is a great thing. With your recipe, I just need to follow the instructions and the rest is simple. Thanks for sharing
Douglas
Wow! Amazing (and I even forgot the peas!) . I added mushrooms, carrots, broccoli and brussel sprouts, and it was wonderful. The sweet potato adds coziness and I love the sage and thyme. Will make this one again!
Richa
Awesome!
David Lapedis
So good….I used oats instead of breadcrumbs and some coconut aminos with veggies, and a little coconut oil in the sweet potatoes.
Love your recipes Richa.
Richa
awesome
Monica from Best Consumer Reports
Looks delicious, you make me hungry :)) easy to follow I’m definitely will try this. Thanks for sharing Richa!
Camille
What size baking dish would you use if you were cooking it all together (not in single serve ramekins)
Richa
8 by 8 or 9 by 9
Heather
What if I wanted to freeze this for later? Would that work? If so how?
Richa
yes it should work fine. Bake half way through,coool completely and freeze. thaw and bake for 20-30 mins
Kathleen Cook
Just made this tonight and it was a huge hit with the family. Such great flavours, very savoury. A great taste of fall – we used squash, broccoli, peppers and carrots from our local afremers market.
Nasef
I was a little bit concern about the taste of the sweet potatoe on this recipe and to be honest..I loved it
Recipe was super yummy.
Thanks
Richa
great!
Dee
No spice grinder. Will the store bought ground spices work?
Richa
Yes. You can grind the spices in a blender too. They might grind to coarse state and that will work too. Ground spices generally have lower flavor payoff, so taste and add more if needed before putting the stew in the baking dish.
Dee
Ok. I’ll see if my Nutribullet will work .
Thanks.
Richa
nutribullet has a 2 blade grinder, that works wonderfully if you have it.
Dee
Oh. I’ll use that one.
Thanks!
Emily
Unfortunately, our family didn’t like this recipe. The combination of the spices was weird. I think if I made this again I’d omit the cumin. I have loved every other Vegan Richa recipe I’vevtried, just not this one.
Richa
oh no. Its ok :), sometimes the flavor or texture doesnt work for everyone. It might be one of the spices. Whole coriander seeds is a strong flavor so it could be those too. Or maybe the coarsely ground spices needed more roasting time. The roasting helps infuse the flavor into the oil, mellows it out. If they arent roasted long enough, the spices generally are more mouthy (ie. you an feel them while eating) and also give more flavor bursts rather than a balanced flavor distributed throughout. Or maybe one of the spices has gone rancid.
You can add some mashed potatoes and breadcrumbs to the mix and herbs that you like for flavor and make into patties. The additional potato and herbs should mask the overall flavor. Let me know what exactly you didnt like.
Zach
Made this tonight, so delicious! I used a blender for the veggies like you did, normally I wouldn’t chop them so finely but I liked it. Everything about this was a winner. Thanks for sharing!
Richa
Awesome!
Kathleen
I made this for Thanksgiving this year substituting lentils for the chickpeas. It was amazing!
Richa
awesome!
Lita Watson
Gorgeous colors, savory flavors, warming, and delicious !!! Thank you for such an amazing recipe, Richa!
BB
What’s a ramekin?
Richa
a small baking dish, 3.5 to 5 inch size
Gabrielle
what size ramekins do you use for making individual ones?
Richa
the smaller ones in the picture are 4 inches. the larger one is probably 5 or 5.5 inch. The recipe should make 4 small ramekins.
Vickie
Yum, this looks delish! Thank you for your sharing 🙂
Nana
Wow this is so good!! I just made this. It’s awesome!
Emma Claire
We made this this weekend. My husband and kids love it very much 🙂 . Thank you for your post :).
Richa
Awesome!
Vee
Just made this for Thanksgiving dinner. It was really yummy and filling too!! Thanks! Next time, I’m planning to add jalapeno or serrano peppers to make it more spicy.
Richa
Awesome!!
Liz Brumer
This recipe was amazing! My husband and I both thoroughly enjoyed it. As always – great work!
Richa
yay!
Sarah-Eve Vallee
That was sooo good!! So happy I discovered your blog!
Richa
Awesome!
Cindy
I love this recipe! I am making it for the second time today – so yummy!
Richa
yay!
Jennifer
I really like this. It is so good. This is so delightful. I wish I could have found this early. I can’t wait to prepare this. The preparation guide is very clear and simple to follow. Thank you for sharing this delightful information.
Leslie
This was super! Made it exactly as written and we enjoyed it very much. We will be enjoying this one again!
Richa
Awesome!
Edwina at The Equipped Cook
I love chickpeas. I could eat them every night for dinner. Your recipe looks delicious and they all look so cute in individual ramekins. I will definitely make this. Thanks for sharing.
Dee
Will ground coriander work? Will dried thyme work in the breading?
Marissa
This is like Thanksgiving in a single dish. I might make this the night before Thanksgiving because leftovers taste even better.
Madhu Mantena
Awesome recipe.
Gabriella @ Putumayo Kitchen
This looks so delicious ! Such a satisfying meal for this time of year 🙂
Plenty Vegan
I’ve made a seitan loaf for years now for Thanksgiving. I’m reconsidering with this recipe. Might just have to do a trial run this weekend!
Louwana
I’m trying to cook up some of my overflowing CSA bounty this weekend- do you think these would freeze well or do you feel freezing would change the textures?
Richa
I think it should freeze well. Make the chickpea mixture and mashed sweet potattoes and layer them. Dont add the garlic breadcrumb topping. add a sprinkle of lemon juice on top of the sweet potatoes and seal the container with a cling wrap. Add the breadcrumb topping fresh and bake.
Emily
We made this for a potluck this weekend. Now only if I can stop eating it so others can get some!
Audrey
Wow, it’s a delicious meal! I just tried it and everybody loved it! I didn’t have celeri neither mushroom or peppers, I used cauliflower instead and it was absolutely delicious!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Richa
Awesome! So glad everyone loved it!
carol
Thanks for commenting on the actual recipe results, not just on how it looks or sounds. So much more helpful to readers and recipe creators. That’s my first and last non recipe tested comment. I promise!
Cassie Autumn Tran
I LOVE LOVE this idea! I would absolutely adore using my sweet potatoes this way. Perfect holiday recipe!
Elizabeth
Pinned! Now, where did you find those adorable polka-dotted dishes??
Richa
worldmarket
Elizabeth
Thank you, Richa. Love your recipes!
Rusty
Definitely going to give this a try! I will use green lentils, I like their earthy flavour and texture which I think will work well with this. My go-to topping at the moment is potato mashed up with celeriac, that might be a variation to try too… ooh the possibilities! Thanks Richa.. X Rusty
Richa
Thanks! I like both chickpeas and lentils equally in this one.
Jan
So would you substitute 1.5 cups cooked lentils for the chickpeas?
Regards, Jan
Richa
yes, start with that and add more if needed.
Jacqui
I must say that this is making my stomach growl right now. I can’t wait to try it!
Lennae Stubbs
Oh wow this looks amazing! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe, a definite must try for the cooler months.
Lennae xxx
http://www.lennaesworld.com
Richa
thanks!