Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie! ♡ Ay yay yaaaay. This is good.

Shepherd’s Pieeeee on the loose! And veg only here!

To be fair, I do love a meat version of Shepherd’s Pie as well. And by meat, I mean beef. Technically I think Shepherd’s Pie is supposed to be made with lamb, right? and just the thought of that makes my heart break into a million little pieces. I know eating lamb is, like, culinarily accepted and appreciated and enjoyed worldwide and I’ve eaten it before and I do kind of love gyros sometimes, but then I think about it and I realize that I also really like vegetables.*

*when they taste good.

And these are vegetables that taste good. Like, REALLY good. Like, sauced up with a red wine gravy and baked under a layer of creamy mashed potatoes good. Want. Want. Want.

I decided to put Greek yogurt in my potatoes to lean towards healthy while still being creamy-tangy, if you know what I mean, but if you want this to be completely vegan, that is no problem at all. Just use olive oil instead of butter and maybe a splash of non-dairy milk in your potatoes and you will be golden. And if you’re gluten free? I have a hack for you. Check ze recipe notes.

Meat or no meat, dairy or no dairy, gluten or no gluten… we can work with everyone here.

Can you smell it though? That red wine, garlic, olive oil, rosemary aromatherapy?

I first made Shepherd’s Pie after Thanksgiving this year, because guess what we had a lot of in our fridge? Leftover mashed potatoes. This was and is an amazing way to use up some of those holiday potato leftovers. The mashed potatoes usually need a little help since they dry out a bit in the fridge, so just heat them up with a little water or milk and get them nice and creamy again, and then spread that magic on top of your silky, veg-packed mushroomy gravy.

When you pull this out of the oven and the sauce is bubbling up around the sides under the barely-browned potatoes? That will not be a sad moment for you.

This is a total comfort food meets real food situation. It requires pajamas or sweats. A big fluffy sweater would be okay, too. Blanket, slippers, and candle optional – big appetite necessary.

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

• Author: Lindsay

Ingredients

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie Filling:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 shallots, minced (or some onions and garlic)
• 16 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 6 carrots, peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)
• fresh herbs to taste (I used a whole sprig of rosemary, thyme, and a bay leaf)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1-2 cups veggie broth
• 1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
• 2 cups frozen peas

Mashed Potatoes:

• 6 Yukon gold potatoes (about 2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup full fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup butter or olive oil
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Make the mashed potatoes: Peel the potatoes. Boil them until fork tender (you want them to mash easily). Drain, mash, and mix in yogurt and butter. Season to taste. (You can also use the Instant Pot method which is quick and easy! That’s what I do.)
2. Make the veggies: In a large oven-safe pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until fragrant. Add mushrooms, carrots, and whole herbs (you will pull the herbs out later). Sauté until carrots are softened.
3. Make the gravy: Add tomato paste and flour to the pot and stir. Pour in the red wine (sizzzzle) and scrape all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Let the wine cook out for a minute or two. Slowly add the broth, stirring it in until a gravy starts to form. Season with salt. Simmer over low heat to get it thickened even further.
4. Bake: Remove the herbs. Stir in the peas, spread the mashed potatoes on top (brush with butter to be extra awesome), and bake for 15 minutes at 350. I finished mine on the broil setting for a few minutes to get it nice and brown on top.

Notes

Gluten Free Variation: Skip the flour and stir in about 3/4 cup mashed potatoes to the veggies and liquid to make a “gravy.” Easy. Tasty.

Vegan Version: Use olive oil in place of butter and non-dairy milk in place of the yogurt.

Meat Version: Add browned ground meat to the gravy mixture. Yummy!

Pro Texture Tip: I chopped up half of my mushrooms so there would be a better texture variety in the filling.

If you don’t want to use red wine, just sub a little more liquid. No problem.

Did you make this recipe?

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