Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
This Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie is loaded with nutrients and is so delicious, your body and your mouth will thank you for making it!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked lentils optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 large yellow onion diced
- 16 ounce frozen peas and carrots
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 8 ounce button mushrooms roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 4 cups mashed potatoes
Instructions
- Sauté the onion and garlic with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent.
- Once the onions are soft, add celery to the skillet and continue to sauté until the celery begins to soften slightly.
- Add the mushrooms, salt, thyme, smoked paprika, and freshly cracked pepper to the skillet.
- Continue to sauté until the mushrooms have fully softened (3-5 minutes). Add the tomato paste and flour to the skillet. Stir and cook the vegetables with the flour and tomato paste until the vegetables are coated and the pasty mixture begins to coat the bottom of the skillet (about 2 minutes).
- Add the vegetable broth to the skillet, stirring to dissolve the flour and tomato paste from the bottom of the skillet. Allow the broth to come up to a simmer, at which point it will become slightly thicker.
- Stir in the cooked lentils and frozen peas and carrots and allow to mixture to heat through.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Pour the vegetable mixture into a casserole dish or use your skillet if it is oven safe. Spread the mashed potatoes out over the surface of the vegetables and gravy.
- Bake the shepherd’s pie in the fully preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until everything is heated through.
Notes
Lentils are optional, but we highly recommend using them as they help with the texture of the dish and help to absorb flavor.
You can create a fun, decorative pattern in the mashed potatoes using your spoon. To create a browned surface on the mashed potatoes (optional), turn on the oven’s broiler (and place the pie under it, if not already). Be sure to keep your eye on the pie and watch closely until the top has browned to your liking. You may run the risk of burning the pie if you look away for even one second.
As always, make this recipe your own by adding any vegetables or proteins you wish.
This recipe is modified from budgetbytes.com.
To make the recipe vegan, check out our instant vegan mashed potatoes recipe: https://www.hungertaskforce.org/recipes/instant-vegan-mashed-potatoes/