This delicious Vegan Shepherd’s Pie is a twist on the classic. Packed and loaded with alllllll the veggies and topped with the creamiest mashed potatoes, it’s a guaranteed hit all across the board!
WHAT MAKES A GOOD SHEPHERD’S PIE?
In my humble opinion, a good shepherd’s pie is allllll in the potatoes. You could use gerbil droppings for the base and if you absolutely nail the topping – aka creamy, garlicky skin-on mashed potatoes cooked and seasoned to perfection – I could almost bet you’d be too in love with them to even notice the droppings (NOT speaking from experience).
On the other hand, in the boyfriend’s humble opinion, a good Shepherd’s Pie is apparently in the meat. Ok, ok, I can’t lie, I love Shepherd’s Pie involving any kind of meat, too. Just take this Venison Shepherd’s Pie as an example (too good!). So when he found out this version was vegan, he was quick to write it off. Going on with my bad self, I lathered the veggies in more veggies, ignoring his claim that real Shepherd’s Pie needs meat. Boy, was he quick to take that statement back. Not going to lie, even I didn’t miss the meat in this one.
Here, we use loads of different veggies (broccoli, corn, carrots, peas, celery and green beans) for the filling. Alongside the star of the dish: White Navy Beans. We then make a sauce out of cauliflower to stir into these veggies. And, if that’s not enough vegetables, the topping is perfectly creamy mashed potatoes. I don’t think it gets any better than this.
YES! In fact, I like splitting the shepherd’s pie into disposable baking dishes. One to bake on the spot, and one to put in the freezer to cook on a lazy day.
In my opinion, this White Bean Shepherd’s Pie is filling enough on its own! However, if you like you could serve it with a soup like this Lentil Soup or this Classic French Onion.
THE ‘MEAT WHO?!’ SHEPHERD’S PIE
Course: Main, Lunch, DinnerCuisine: Vegan, VegetarianDifficulty: Medium8
servings45
minutes1
hour10
minutes1
hour55
minutesThis dish will make you forget that Shepherd’s Pie wasn’t meant to be Vegetarian!
What You’ll Need
- For the Filling
1 large can White Navy Beans*, rinsed and drained
1.5 cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables*
1 medium White Onion, chopped
3 Celery Stalks, chopped
1/2 head Broccoli, cut into small florets
2 tsp Dried Thyme
1/4 cup Water
- For the Topping
6 large Potatoes*
1/2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Dried Parsley
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Fresh Cracked Pepper
3/4 cup Almond Milk, unsweetened
2 cups Water
2 cups Vegetable Broth, low sodium
- For the Sauce
1 head Cauliflower, cut into florets
4 cloves Garlic
4 cups Vegetable Broth, low sodium
1/2 cup Almond Milk, unsweetened
1/2 tbsp Arrowroot Powder
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Directions
- The Sauce
- Place the cauliflower florets and veggie broth into a large stock pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and allow to simmer for 15ish min or until one can be easily pierced through with a fork.
- Drain, reserving one cup of liquid.
- Place the cooked cauliflower, the one cup of reserved liquid, almond milk, olive oil, arrowroot powder, garlic, salt and pepper into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth and creamy, adding more almond milk if needed.
- The Filling
- Put 1/4 cup of water into a large pot on medium heat and add in the frozen veggies, celery, onion and broccoli, stirring occasionally for about 15 min, until the veggies are heated and cooked through.
- Add the thyme, beans and the veggie sauce your badass self just made and stirrrr until combined. Leave it on low heat, stirring for about 5 more minutes allowing the flavors to mingle and the beans to heat through.
- The Topping
- Scrub and chop the potatoes, leaving the skin on, into 2 inch chunks and add them to a soup pot. Cover with 2 cups each of vegetable broth and water and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20ish min or until you can easily pierce through one with a fork.
- Drain the potatoes and throw ’em back in the pot. Add the almond milk, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper and mash with a masher. Don’t go too crazy or you’ll run the risk of over-mashing, just use your eyes and judgement – you want ’em smooth but not runny.
- To Assemble
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Spoon the filling into a 9×13 glass baking dish. Alternatively, you can split it into two seperate disposable dishes and freeze one or both to cook another day.
- Top with the potato topping – Make sure the sides and edges are completely covered. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Bake for 15-20 mins, then broil on high for 5 or until the taters are golden brown. Let sit for about 10 mins before digging in.
Notes
- Either two 15 oz small cans of white navy beans or one 26-30 oz large can, depending on what you can find at your local grocery store
- I like using the Frozen Mixed Veggies that have carrots, corn, peas and green beans
- Any potatoes you want to use is fine. I used a mixture of Red Skinned and White Flesh
STAY ON THE VEGETARIAN TRAIN WITH THESE FAVOURITES:
