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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 medium onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 8 oz mushrooms, cremini, white or a mix with portobello
- 3/4 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 tsp fresh or 1/2 dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1.5 cups cooked brown lentils, 1.25 to 1.5 cups, drained well, see note to cook in Instant pot
- 1/3 cup peas
- 1/3 cup 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 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
That doesn’t quite help me. But thanks for trying.
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).😄
It makes six servings in 9 by 9 inch pan
Fascinating recipe.
Do you think this will work with canned pumpkin?
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
Would you do only pumpkin or a mix of potato and pumpkin? I have a ton of fresh pumpkin ready to use
yes that should work. You can add more garlic and herbs to the mix to keepit more savory
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 🙂
This shepherds pie is delicious. I made the gravy too! A little time consuming but definitely worth it! Loved it!
Awesome! Yes it is a bit time intensive. I usually divide it up ad make parts of it earlier
Hi this recipe looks amazing! Can it be reheated ok in the microwave?
yes
could I make this ahead, freeze it and then thaw and bake the day of?
yes, assemble and freeze. Bake covered with foil , remove foil for the last 10 mins to brown
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!
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.
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.
Awesome!! I usually make the lentils ahead and chop up the veggies ahead to reduce the work on the day.
Yes I was thinking I would do that next time. It is definitely worth the time 😊
Can i cook it without he mushrooms?
Thanks, Rina
Yes, just add more veggies and lentils to bulk it up in volume for the missing mushrooms.
Made this after Thanksgiving and LOVED it! I will be doubling the veggies next time.