Lentils and Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie | Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

This Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie or Lentils and Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie is a classic casserole dish with combined goodness of lentils, vegetables, potatoes, and cheese – the perfect vegetarian main course meal.

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

I am presenting you today – The combined goodness of lentils, vegetables, potatoes, and cheese. It is the vegetarian version of the Shepherd’s Pie aka the lentils and veggie shepherd’s pie. This kid-approved classic casserole dish is a perfect vegetarian main course meal. The process might sound lengthy, but you can do a lot of things in parallel or make ahead too. Check out my detailed post below for those options and also for the step by step pictorial recipe.

The traditional shepherd’s pie is prepared with minced beef and vegetables which then topped with mashed potato and baked. It’s also known as cottage pie and apparently it was a staple among the rural workers. I just wanted to replace the meat with other vegetarian protein, and I was contemplating between tofu and brown masoor lentils.

Using Lentils in Your Shepherd’s Pie

As I am still struck with my protein rich dals and lentils, I decided to use lentils for this recipe. I chose not to keep it vegan this time. So I used heavy cream generously while preparing my mashed potato and also topped the pie with cheese and panko before baking. I always prefer panko breadcrumbs. They are grainier than the regular breadcrumbs with no additional flavor. I love that flaky texture. But you can top it up with whatever breadcrumb you have in your pantry.

I did not include mashed potato preparation in this post. I just followed my recipe that I posted here. The only difference was I cooked my potatoes in the microwave to fasten the process. I have explained the make-ahead process and also how I prepared. I hope this helps. Overall this recipe took me about 1 hour and 40 minutes to cook from scratch including the mashed potato and cleaning.

Without any further ado, here comes the vegetarian version of the shepherd’s pie.

Lentils and Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie – Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

• Brown Masoor Dal / Your favorite lentil – ¼ cup
• Water – 1 cup
• Mashed Potato – 1.5 cups
• Mixed vegetables – 2 cups (I used carrot, celery, mushroom, beans and bell peppers)
• Onion – ½ of medium sized onion
• Garlic clove – 1
• Cheese – 2 tbsps or as required
• Chopped Cilantro – 1 tbsp
• Panko breadcrumbs – 1.5 tbsps
• Dried Thyme – ½ tsp
• Oregano (dried) – ½ tsp
• Dried Basil – ½ tsp
• Oil – 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Pepper – 2 tsp

Preparing Mashed Potato:

• Prepare mashed potato as mentioned in this recipe and set aside 1.5 cups of mashed potato.
• You can prepare this well ahead and refrigerate.
• If using refrigerated one, make sure you bring it to room temperature and if it’s too thick/solid, reheat it by adding 2 to 3 tbsps of milk or cream.

Cooking the Lentils:

You can prepare the lentils in different ways. I always prefer the pressure cooker. But make sure you don’t overcook and make the lentils mushy.

• Wash the lentils and add 1 cup of water and pressure cook for just one whistle. Let the pressure release naturally and do not drain the water.

• You can cook the lentils ahead too. If you discard the water fret not, you can use veggie broth while preparing the vegetables.

What I did: While the lentils were cooking, I prepared my mashed potato in parallel and chopped all the veggies.

Preparing the Filling:

• Chop all the vegetables including cilantro, onion, and garlic.
• Heat a pan and add 1 tbsp of oil.

• Once the oil is hot add the onion and garlic and cook until they turn translucent and slightly browned up.
• Then add all the chopped veggies, followed by salt, pepper, dried thyme, basil, and oregano.

• Mix them all.

• Let it cook for 2 minutes.
• Now add the cooked lentil along with the water. Mix well. Check for the seasoning at this stage. If required adjust as per your preference.

• Let this veggie and lentil mix cook till 90% of lentil water is absorbed.

The filling is now ready. Let it cool for 10 minutes before assembling. Again, you can prepare this mixture ahead. Once you have the stuffing and mashed potato available, you can put them together in the casserole dish, bake and serve when required.

Assembling and Baking:

I used my CorningWare® French White® 15-oz Oval Casserole for this recipe.

• Preheat the oven to 350deg F.
• Grease the casserole pan with one tsp of oil.

• Now add the vegetables and lentil filling and spread them evenly.
• Then add the 1.5 cups of mashed potato.

• Spread the mashed potato evenly on top of the vegetable filling.
• Sprinkle some panko bread crumbs then cheese on top.

• Bake this for about 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese melts. You can bake it up to 12 mts and let the potatoes brown slightly. But we like it this way.
• Let it cool a bit before serving.

Enjoy the vegetarian shepherd’s pie warm.

Notes:

• Instead of dried herbs, you can use fresh ones too. Adjust the quantity according to your preference. Also, it is not mandatory to use all three. In fact, I missed sage, which plays a major role in Thanksgiving meal.
• Depending on the cheese you add and the salt you added in mashed potato, adjust the amount you use for the filling.
• If you are using parmesan cheese, reduce the salt amount.
• In fact, you can use any of your favorite lentils and vegetables.
• If you have discarded the lentil water, use veggie broth for cooking the filling.
• Protein + vegetables + mashed potato = Shepherd’s pie. So you can have fun with ingredients and prepare it in your style.

Enjoying Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie? You will love these, too:

• South Indian Vegetarian Lunch Menu Ideas | Sambar and Potato Curry Thali
• Pumpkin Pie Spiced Date and Nut Balls
• Eggless Pumpkin Pie With Good Day Biscuit Crust
• Green Bean Casserole
• Rotini Casserole With Roasted Veggies

Have you made made this recipe?

If you’ve made this vegetarian shepherd’s pie recipe, please share your photos with me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Twitter – I will be delighted to see your results!

📖 Recipe

Pin Recipe Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Lentils and Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie | Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

This Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie or Lentils and Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie is a classic casserole dish with combined goodness of lentils, vegetables, potatoes, and cheese - the perfect vegetarian main course meal.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 3

Calories: 355kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Ingredients

• ▢ ¼ cup Brown Masoor Dal or your favorite lentil
• ▢ 1 cup Water
• ▢ 1.5 cups Mashed Potato
• ▢ 2 cups Mixed vegetables I used carrot, celery, mushroom, beans and bell peppers
• ▢ ½ Onion medium sized
• ▢ 1 Garlic clove
• ▢ 2 tbsps Cheese or as required
• ▢ 1 tbsp Chopped Cilantro
• ▢ 1.5 tbsps Panko breadcrumbs
• ▢ ½ tsp Dried Thyme
• ▢ ½ tsp Dried Oregano
• ▢ ½ tsp Dried Basil – tsp
• ▢ 1 tbsp Oil + 1 tsp
• ▢ 1 tsp Salt
• ▢ 2 tsp Pepper

Instructions

Preparing Mashed Potato

• Prepare mashed potato as mentioned in this recipe and set aside 1.5 cups of mashed potato.
• You can prepare this well ahead and refrigerate.
• If using refrigerated one, make sure you bring it to room temperature and if it’s too thick/solid, reheat it by adding 2 to 3 tbsps of milk or cream.

Cooking the Lentils

• You can prepare the lentils in different ways. I always prefer the pressure cooker. But make sure you don’t overcook and make the lentils mushy.
• Wash the lentils and add 1 cup of water and pressure cook for just one whistle. Let the pressure release naturally and do not drain the water.
• You can cook the lentils ahead too. If you discard the water fret not, you can use veggie broth while preparing the vegetables.
• What I did: While the lentils were cooking, I prepared my mashed potato in parallel and chopped all the veggies.

Preparing the Filling

• Chop all the vegetables including cilantro, onion, and garlic.
• Heat a pan and add 1 tbsp of oil.
• Once the oil is hot add the onion and garlic and cook until they turn translucent and slightly browned up.
• Then add all the chopped veggies, followed by salt, pepper, dried thyme, basil, and oregano. Mix them all.
• Let it cook for 2 minutes.
• Now add the cooked lentil along with the water. Mix well. Check for the seasoning at this stage. If required adjust as per your preference.
• Let this veggie and lentil mix cook till 90% of lentil water is absorbed.
• The filling is now ready. Let it cool for 10 minutes before assembling. Again, you can prepare this mixture ahead. Once you have the stuffing and mashed potato available, you can put them together in the casserole dish, bake and serve when required.

Assembling and Baking

• I used my CorningWare® French White® 15-oz Oval Casserole for this recipe.
• Preheat the oven to 350deg F.
• Grease the casserole pan with one tsp of oil.
• Now add the vegetables and lentil filling and spread them evenly.
• Then add the 1.5 cups of mashed potato.
• Spread the mashed potato evenly on top of the vegetable filling.
• Sprinkle some panko bread crumbs then cheese on top.
• Bake this for about 8 to 10 minutes until the cheese melts. You can bake it up to 12 mts and let the potatoes brown slightly. But we like it this way.
• Let it cool a bit before serving.
• Enjoy the vegetarian shepherd’s pie warm.

Notes

• Instead of dried herbs, you can use fresh ones too. Adjust the quantity according to your preference. Also, it is not mandatory to use all three. In fact, I missed sage, which plays a major role in Thanksgiving meal.
• Depending on the cheese you add and the salt you added in mashed potato, adjust the amount you use for the filling.
• If you are using parmesan cheese, reduce the salt amount.
• You can use any of your favorite lentils and vegetables.
• If you have discarded the lentil water, use veggie broth for cooking the filling.
• Protein + vegetables + mashed potato = Shepherd’s pie. So you can have fun with ingredients and prepare it in your style.

Nutrition

Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 968mg | Potassium: 784mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 6262IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 143mg | Iron: 4mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen

For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel

Sending this blogging marathon #82. Check out the other bloggers participating in this marathon.