Vegan Shepherd’s Pie with Gravy & Potatoes!
Traditional shepherd’s pie / cottage pie is made with ground beef which I of course left out because there is zero need for any of that cruelty on our plate. Baby lambs are simply meant to be loved!
Instead I doubled up on nutritious veggies: mushrooms and green peas medley in a thick and creamy gravy topped with golden pillows of fluffy mashed potatoes. Heaven!
the Mashed Potatoes:
I love adding olive oil to my mashed potatoes and a splash of my homemade cashew milk. You don’t know fluffy and creamy until you do this. I also love eating them standing up over the kitchen island in my pajamas straight out of the bowl, so I always make sure I have a little extra to indulge.
Wanna get a little creative ? Cauliflower or sweet potato mash, even butternut squash would be lovely here, whatever your tastebuds fancy. Maybe just mix in some parsnips or parsley root with your olive oil mashed potatoes.
It’s also the best thing to make with all your Thanksgiving leftovers, make use of everything in sight and throw together this vegetarian cottage pie like a boss.
note: I did indulge with some olive oil in this recipe because Christmas, duhhh! However, you can still adapt it and make it oil-free and whole foods plant based compliant. It will still be damn delicious, I promise!
Here’s why we love it! It’s:
Super Tasty
Quick & Easy to Make
Dairy Free – Pure Vegetarian
Veggie Packed
Everybody Loves Potatoes & Gravy.
Watch How to Make Vegan Shepherd’s Pie:
Best Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet onion - diced
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 lb brown mushrooms - sliced
- 1 cup frozen green peas - rinsed under warm water
- 1 large carrot - diced or sliced into rounds
- 2-3 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour - organic
- 2 cups vegetable stock - low sodium
- 1/2 cup red wine - vegan
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 leaves bay
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 red chili pepper - diced & Optional
- 5 sprigs thyme - leaves only
- 1 pinch sea salt + more to taste
- 2 tsp olive oil or a splash of water
- 1/4 cup micro greens or chives for garnish (optional)
Mashed Potatoes:
- 3 lb Yukon gold potatoes diced
- 4-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (omit for WFPB & Plantricious diets)
- 1/2 cup cashew milk - plain unsweetened
- 2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast +more to your liking
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 leaves bay
- sea salt + black pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the Mashed Potatoes
- Scrub and rinse the potatoes well and cut them into 1 inch pieces. Transfer them to a large pot and cover with cold water. Add 2 bay leaves and 4 cloves of the minced garlic and bring to a simmer. Season well with sea salt and cook until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander and allow them to dry well in their own steam. Discard the bay leaves.Transfer back into the pot, drizzle with the olive oil, plant milk and nutritional yeast and mash to your liking. Taste and adjust seasonings with more sea salt. Add more plant milk and olive oil if a creamier consistency is desired. Set aside until needed.
- Preheat your broiler. If you'd rather just bake this just preheat the oven to 350"F.
Make the Shepherd's Pie:
- Preheat a cast iron medium pot over medium flame. Add half of the diced onion and a drizzle of olive oil or a splash of water and sauté with a pinch of sea salt for about 5 minutes until translucent. Stir in the carrots and cook another 5 to 10 minutes until they begin to soften.
- Add 2 bay leaves, thyme leaves, whole cloves, chili pepper and garlic. Give everything a good stir then add the paprika, onion powder and flour. Stir again then whisk in the red wine and vegetable stock. Keep whisking until everything is smooth.
- Bring the gravy to a simmer and cook on low flame until slightly reduced and thickened. Stir in the green peas and warm through. Taste and adjust seasonings to your taste with sea salt.
Cook the Mushrooms:
- Heat up a large skillet over medium low flame and add the remaining onion. Cook 5 minutes then stir in the mushrooms and a pinch of sea salt. Sauté until wilted and most of the liquid has evaporated. Transfer the cooked mushrooms to the pot with the gravy, stir and taste again.
Assemble the Shepherd's Pie:
- Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the mushroom gravy and level them with the back of a spoon. Take a fork and create little tracks over the surface.
- Transfer the Shepherd’s pie to the preheated broiler and broil for a few minutes until golden brown on top. Alternatively bake it in a preheated oven at 350"F for 25 minutes.Serve hot garnished with micro greens, chives or your favorite fresh herbs.
Notes
- To make the recipe WFPB and Plantricious compliant make sure to omit the olive oil from the mashed potatoes and saute the onion and mushroom is splash of broth or water.
- The olive oil mashed potatoes topping can be replaced with cauliflower or sweet potato mash.
Nutrition
Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup
Healthy Cabbage Soup
French Potato Salad
This was amazing, the sauce and everything was simply perfect. I doubled the recipe and had some leftover mashed potatoes that I assure you did not go to waste. Bookmarked and will definitely make Shepherd’s Pie a weekly affair from now on. Thank you very much for sharing the recipe.
Agree – best shepherds pie. Much prefer this over the lentil varieties. Perfect coolish day as we roll into fall. It is saved in our fav recipes file. FYI – made it exactly as recipe indicates and would not change a thing. Thanks Florentina!!
So happy you loved it Ed. Enjoy!
Recipe was fantastic!! Only thing is that the prep time you list is WAY off. Took me over an hour to prepare this recipe. I also doubled the thyme and used 2 tablespoons of jarred vegetable bouillon to give it extra flavor. I used mostly white mushrooms and only about a fourth of the more expensive brown mushrooms. I used a good red cab for the wine and the entire recipe came out fantastic. Oh. I also had to add more flour to thicken the gravy in the end so the mashed potatoes wouldnt sink down. I made a side dish of extra mashed potatoes too. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hey Lynn, using a food processor to help with the slicing and dicing definitely cuts back the prep time. I’ll make sure to update that info. Xo’s ~ Florentina
Why cook the mushrooms separate from the onions?
You don’t actually have to cook them separately, if you watch the video I actually cooked them together in that one but It is a little faster If I have two pans going. Anyway you prefer 🙂
I’m out of red wine but really want to make this today….any suggestions?
Just use veggie stock or even white wine if you have it!
Sounds yummy and perfect just from looking at the ingredients
I noticed the video shows adding nutritional yeast to the potatoes but the ingredient list has none listed. How much do you normally add to your potatoes? I like the yeast and want to add it too. I am anxious to try this pie! Thanks
peace
Sorry Luanne, I updated the recipe to include the nutritional yeast. Usually I add about 2-3 tablespoons but you can add more if you prefer. Taste as you, hope you love the recipe 🙂
Excellent! Didn’t have mushrooms but added corn and a yellow pepper. Also did not put under broiler but in 350 oven for 30 minutes – need hot foods to be really hot 😀
Whoops – also added oregano, rosemary and 1T siracha ketchup to offset a bitter taste.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. When you say “whole cloves,” do you mean actual cloves or cloves of garlic?
Actual clove spice 🙂
Do you have to remove them at some point? Wouldn’t they hurt to bite down on? I’ve never eaten cloves….I’ve had them floating in cider for flavor and I’ve baked with ground cloves but I’ve never had whole cloves in a recipe before.
Yes you can discard them at the end of cooking, however I wouldn’t worry as they soften up during cooking. If you prefer you can use a tiny pinch of ground cloves instead.
Thanks, again. I used a pinch of cloves and about a 1/4 of the paprika and it turned out great. No leftovers 🙁
Just finished eating this for dinner and it was so good!! We were super pleased with it. The recipe is a little tedious but it is so worth it in the end! Super yummy and satisfying with the thick gravy! I added just a smidge of ketchup to off set a little bitterness. I’m thinking I’ll make this for thanksgiving! Thanks for a great recipe!!
So happy you loved it Brittney 🙂
Have not tasted yet, but sampled before going into the oven. I used a jalapeño instead of chile pepper and added fresh corn and fennel in the pie. I used “Better than Bouillion” vegetable broth because I didn’t have any on hand. Looks amazing! Can’t wait to taste.
This was an excellent recipe, thank you for sharing! I will definitely make it again…
tested this recipe and it was super tasty!
Are you able to freeze and re-heat this dish? I would love to make this for a family friend.
yes, you should be able to freeze it just fine Jessica. Just remember to thaw it out in the fridge before reheating in the oven at 350″F for about 35 minutes or until bubbly. You can finish under the broiler before serving.
Could this be made ahead of time such as a freezer meal?
Yes definitely works as a freezer meal, just remember to thaw out in the refrigerator before reheating.
Hi there,
I wonder if there are other thickener options in place of flour. I can’t eat it and would love any substitute suggestions. Thanks!
Hi Julie, you could do rice flour or tapioca instead (2 tbsp tops).
Like Barbara I heated mine in a 350 degrees oven for about 25 minutes – I wasn’t sure if my cookware would withstand the heat of the broiler. It came out perfect – delicious gravy and just the right consistency. With no food processor it took at least an hour to prepare, but I’m used to that. One thing – the recipe said 4 servings but for us it was more like 8. I’m going to freeze half of it. By the way, I loved the video! Thanks!
That’s awesome Sarah, i’ll update the oven baked instructions as well. I loosely said 4 servings because 4 hungry people in my house kill it every time haha but it can definitely be 8 for myself.
Haha, yes, we are light eaters – we can usually not finish a restaurant meal. Thanks again!
This was so amazingly good! My family loved it as well. My son asked why it’s called Shepherd’s Pie when there’s no meat in it. My husband said, we’ll call it Gardener’s Pie, lol. I just started my WFPB journey and am so glad I came across Veggie Society! Definitely a keeper.
That’s awesome, this makes me so happy 🙂
5/5
I have made this 3 times now , making slight changes with each , ( diff wines , powder clove vs whole, changed some spices , and its impenatrable !! It is DELICIOUS every way
Made this tonight for Saint Patrick’s Day. My wife and I loved it! After a heart attack in 2018, I have been moving more and more plant based and vegetarian. We didn’t miss the corner beef at all. Delicious. The gravy was amazing. Thank you!
Woohoo! I’m so happy you all enjoyed it 🙂
Can you use dry thyme? If so how much?
Sure, just a little pinch maybe 1 teaspoon or so.
What can I substitute for the cashew milk? My daughter is allergic to cashews.
Any plain plant milk should be fine here, just make sure it is unsweetened, no vanilla etc… Coconut will alter the flavor some so keep that in mind.
Can I use ground California chili pepper instead or do you think that will change things?
Sure!