This is one of our recipe favorites. It’s comfort food, hearty on a cold day. I make it vegetarian, but it could also be made with ground beef or lamb. You won’t miss the meat in my version.
I use vegetarian ground crumbles as the main protein mixed with chopped vegetables and cheese. You could also substitute cooked lentils, if you prefer. I often use frozen vegetables for convenience, but you can chop your favorite vegetables and add them. (I usually combine both fresh and frozen). It’s topped with mashed potatoes and a little more cheese. Use your favorite mashed potato recipe or go to dried potato flakes for a quick mash. Serve with a cup of soup or a tossed salad for a complete meal. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 package ground vegetarian crumbles (Morningstar, Gardein, Boca, Impossible)
1-8 ounce package of frozen corn
1-8 ounce package of frozen mixed vegetables (chopped carrots, peas, beans and corn-or use fresh and chop into small pieces)
1-sweet onion diced
3 ounces of diced baby carrots
3 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons Montreal seasoning
3 grinds salt from salt grinder (a pinch or two)
Worcestershire sauce (Annie’s, Savory Spice, The Wizard and Haddan make vegan versions if you prefer) shake it liberally over the whole pie
1 1/2-2 cups of grated cheddar (or vegan cheese substitute)
2-3 cups mashed potatoes
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan
Defrost the frozen crumbles and vegetables.
Combine the crumbles, chopped vegetables and spices. Spread evenly on the baking pan. Mix in 1/2-1 cup of the cheese. You can use more or less cheese-your preference. (If using uncooked Impossible or Beyond meat, or ground beef or lamb-you can sauté it to brown it slightly first)
Make the mash potatoes following your favorite recipe. I sometimes use the Potatoes Buds for a very quick mash. You don’t need much butter (or any) in your potatoes since we are adding the cheese. Spread the potatoes evenly over the top of the vegetables and crumbles. Top with the remaining cheese.
Bake for 45-55 minutes-checking to see if the top browns. It’s good slightly crispy so lean towards being over done. Even better the second day. Enjoy!
This vegetarian shepherd’s pie recipe sounds delicious! I appreciate the flexibility of using either vegetarian crumbles or cooked lentils as the main protein option. Have you tried substituting the mashed potatoes with sweet potato mash before?
Marcus Thompson
Thank you. I haven’t tried sweet potato mash yet with this though I almost did last time. I think it would work well.