I love to make a lentil shepherd’s pie on a cold Sunday in the winter. This lentil shepherd’s pie combines savory lentils and vegetables into a hearty, comforting dish. It is not a quick weeknight dinner but once in awhile you just want that cozy meal that makes the house smell wonderful.
A note on some of the ingredients:
Lentils: I use dried lentils for this recipe as canned would get a mushy and would not absorb the flavours as well. Sometimes you can find dried lentils that have a Certified Gluten Free symbol on them but they are hard to come by and may cost more. I use regular dried lentil and I spread them out on a clean kitchen towel or a baking sheet first to inspect them for anything that may look suspicious or like wheat. This is a great job for kids to do while you are chopping some of the veg!
Worcestershire sauce: Most Worcestershire sauce contains gluten so make sure to double check the ingredients. I use Wizard brand Worcestershire sauce that is vegan and gluten free. A substitute for Worcestershire sauce could be A1 sauce or gluten free soy sauce.
Vegan beef bouillon: My favourite bouillon is McCormick’s All Vegetable Beef Style bouillon cubes. The cubes help to add a “beef” flavour and are gluten free. Any vegetable broth will work in this recipe. McCormick bouillon cubes contain a lot of sodium, so adjust the added salt if using them.
Nutritional yeast: Nutritional yeast is a deactivated brewer’s yeast that is high in protein and often fortified with vitamin B12. It adds an umami flavour to the lentil shepherd’s pie. If you don’t have any on hand just omit it.
Plant based butter: I use plant based Becel margarine in this recipe. It is vegan and gluten free and adds richness to the mashed potatoes. Any plant based, gluten free butter would work in this recipe. To add an extra kick of flavour you could also substitute the butter with plant based, gluten free sour cream.
How the lentil shepherd’s pie is made:
Begin by sorting through the lentils if they are not certified gluten free and removing any stones or possible pieces of wheat.
One good rule of thumb while chopping the vegetables is to try and have them all the same size. It takes a few more minutes but it helps with the cook time of everything and when you sit down to eat you can have a bit of everything on your fork.
If you use broth that needs to be hydrated, like a bouillon cube, you can boil the water while you chop the vegetables so that it is ready to go.
You will first sweat your onions in olive oil until they become translucent. Once that begins to happen you can add the garlic and cook it for only 30 seconds. Garlic burns quickly and once it’s burnt it adds a bitter taste to the dish. Next add the celery, carrots and mushrooms (which will slow the garlic from cooking) and sauté for another 5 minutes, until the mushrooms start to loose their moisture and the celery begins to soften. Then add in your seasonings.
Stir everything together and let it heat for about 30 seconds. Then add in all of your lentils and the stock. Depending on the brand of broth you use it may already be high is sodium so you don’t need to add any additional salt. If you happen to use a broth that is low in sodium you can add in 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt at this time.
Turn up the heat slightly and cover. Let everything come to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium low and let simmer for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft. At this point begin to preheat the oven to 350°F.
Meanwhile you can peel, chop and boil your potatoes. Once they are ready drain them but don’t forget to save some of the potato water! Add the nutritional yeast, salt and butter then mash. If you finish them before the lentils are ready you can always put the lid back on to keep them warm.
Once the lentil are cooked, add the frozen peas and corn and carefully pour it all into a large baking dish.
Next, add the mashed potatoes to the top. If you use a fork to create ridges in the potatoes as opposed to smoothing them down, they will get some great texture in the oven.
Bake the lentil shepherd’s pie for 40 minutes. Once it is done, let it sit for 10 minutes as it will be very hot.
Enjoy!
Looking for more hearty vegan meals for Canadian winters? Try my Beyond Stew, TVP Bolognese or Smokey Bean Chili!
Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
This lentil shepherd’s pie combines savory lentils and vegetables into a hearty, comforting dish.
8
servings20
minutes1
hour10
minutes290
kcal10
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup onion, finely chopped (1 small)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
227 grams cremini or button mushrooms, finely diced (1 package)
1 cup carrot, finely diced (1 medium)
1/2 cup celery, finely diced (1 stalk)
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup dried green lentils, sorted through
4 cups vegan beef bouillon
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 lbs yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped small
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp plant based butter
1 tsp salt, divided
Directions
- For the Lentils:
Spread the dried lentils out on a baking sheet and pick out anything that does not look like a lentil. - In a large pan over medium heat add the oil. Once hot add the onions and saute until they begin to turn translucent.
- Add in the garlic, mushrooms, celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften and the mushrooms have shrunk.
- Add in the parsley, rosemary, thyme and salt and stir. Add in the lentils, broth, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste and stir.
- Cover the pan and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to medium low and cook for approximately 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- For the Potatoes:
- Peel and chop the potatoes into small pieces, add to a pot and cover with cold water. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil.
- Once boiling reduce the heat to a simmer, add 1/2 tsp of salt and cook for 15 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
- Before you drain the potatoes reserve 1/3 cup of the water. Drain the potatoes and add them back into the same pot along with the butter, 1/2 tsp of salt and nutritional yeast.
- Mash the potatoes until no longer lumpy, adding the reserved potato water 1 to 2 tbsp at a time if needed.
- Assembling the Shepherd’s Pie
- Once the lentils have cooked add in the frozen peas and corn and then spoon the mixture into a large 9 x 13 baking dish.
- Top with the mashed potatoes, spreading them out to cover the entire top. Bake the pie for 40 minutes.
- Once the lentil shepherd’s pie is done, let it rest for 10 minutes before serving
Notes
- Ensure that all ingredients are gluten free if required.
- If you can not find certified gluten free lentils (they are hard to come by) you can use regular dried lentils and carefully sort through them before adding them to the dish.
- If your bouillon is high in sodium you will not need to add any additional salt to the lentils. If you use a bouillon or broth that is low sodium you may want to add 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt.
- Nutritional values are a rough estimate.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving Size: 1g
- Total number of serves: 8
- Calories: 290kcal
- Carbohydrates: 46.9g
- Protein: 12.5g
- Fat: 3g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 826.3mg
- Potassium: 814mg
- Fiber: 11.3g
- Sugar: 6.2g
