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 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr15 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr45 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: shepherd's pie vegetarian recipe, shepherd's pie with lentils and vegetables, vegetarian version of shepherd's pie
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.