What dinner goals are made of! This easy recipe for vegan shepherd’s pie also happens to be high in protein! Made with lentils, potatoes and whole food ingredients so you can nourish your family. Naturally gluten-free and totally delicious. The perfect meal prep recipe for healthy weeknight dinners.

Are you a Shepherd’s pie fan? Ok, so confession time…. until last week no one in my family liked Shepard’s pie. At least not until I made his one. My middle guy was the only non-convert but hey 4 out of 5 ain’t bad right! This recipe has quickly become a family favorite around here and with how simple it is to make and meal prep I am super happy about that!

UPDATE: This vegan Shepards pie has since been tested on a view different types of people and I am happy to report it is a real crowd favorite. So go ahead and bring this one to your next pot luck or serve at your next gathering.

A high protein vegan recipe

To make this a high protein vegan recipe I added red lentils to the mash potato top. I will be honest this was a total mistake initially. I was actually planning on adding red lentils to the meat base to help thicken it up. But in true mom brain fashion, I overcooked the red lentils resulting in a mushy puree!! Being the eco-conscious person I am, I decided I would figure out a way to incorporate it into this recipe!

So I decided to test adding the red lentils to the mash potatoes. And to my delight, it added a nice creamy and stiff texture to them. Which I enjoyed for many reasons. Not only did it make this a high protein vegetarian recipe but it also made the entire pie just hold together better. So the pieces came out well defined making serving this pie a breeze!

You can read about getting the perfect texture and creaminess for the potatoes here. I have a few tips and tricks.

How to make this vegetarian shepherds pie

While this recipe may seem or look complicated I assure you it is not. While the ingredient list may seem long I assure you that the steps are easy and this vegan shepherd’s pie comes together fairly quickly. I do suggest making this on a night where you have an hour to make dinner. Or to meal prep this recipe on a lazy Sunday!

But once you make this you will fall in love with it’s comforting, hearty flavors and I bet it will quickly become a family favorite for your family as well! And bonus that it is a gluten free meal!

Using a meatless ground round

This recipe calls for using mock meat to make the base of the Shepherds pie. I decided to use a meatless ground round by The Meatless Farm (not sponsored). I was actually super excited to try this mock ‘meat’ because of their ingredient list. I don’t often use processed or mock meats because we like to stick to a whole foods plant-based diet.

But after getting to know the brand a bit better I was excited to try their products and to make a recipe with their signature item.

As a previous meat eater, I was so surprised by how real the meat looked and felt. And the flavour produced by this meatless-ground was super delicious. I loved it so much we actually made chilli with it twice last week!

You can find where to buy yours here, or if you are in the U.S check out your local whole foods!

Substitute lentils for the mock meat base For an easy Shepherd’s pie recipe

You can totally make this vegan shepherd’s pie with lentils if you like! To keep this a whole food vegan recipe feel free to sub in brown lentils in place of the mock meat. You will need roughly 3 cups of cooked brown lentils for this recipe.

How to assemble vegan Shepherds pie

There is no big secret to assembling Shepherds pie. But here are some tips to ensure you get the best results!

• Make sure the meat sauce base is not too runny or it will not hold it’s shaped as well.
• The potatoes should be a tad firmer than regular mashed potatoes but the addition of the red lentils will help that tremendously!
• After adding the potatoes on top of the meat sauce, take a fork and press down to help it take shape. Then using the fork you can make some patterns to the top to give it that classic Shepherd’s pie look.
• For an extra crispy top brush on some olive oil to get the tips of the potatoes to be nice and crispy! And it adds a nice flavour to the pie too 🙂

Meal prep Shepherd’s pie and yummy party food recipe

Make life easier in the kitchen by adding this healthy recipe as part of your meal prep Sundays! After makign this dish we ate it all week long, and it was delicious until the very last bite! So it keeps very well!

Simply cover and keep it in the fridge for up to a week for easy weeknight dinners or healthy work lunches.

AND as this is a real crowd pleasing dish don’t forget to serve this at your next family gathering or pot luck party!

If you want to make this recipe ahead of time, simply assemble the pie BUT bake it on the day you plan to serve it. Just don’t make it too far in advance or the potatoes may dry out!

Alright now on to the recipe and thank you for reading 😉 If you make this healthy vegan Shepherd’s pie recipe please like and comment, that would mean a lot to me! And tag me (@at.my.table) with your re-creations so I can share it over on Instagram!

If you are looking for more easy vegan family meals be sure to check out

• One-pot vegan bean chili, stovetop recipe
• 15 minute vegan Alfredo sauce
• Vegan gluten-free family lasagna
• 5 minute creamy Caeser Salad with chickpea croutons

Until then, tchau

High Protein Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

atmytable

A delcious vegan shepherd's pie recipe perfect for beginers or seasoned pie eaters. Made with vegan ground meat, peas, corn and a lovely creamy red lentil potato mashed. Ready in under an hour for a satisfying, healthy vegan family meal This vegetarian shepherds pie freezes well so make sure to add it to your meal prep recipes!  Pssst, this is a crowd pleasing recipe so go ahead and bring this to any pot luck or serve at your next gathering!

** For a more tradional shepherd's pie you can omit the red lentils to the potato mash. while adding the red lentils is delicious, it does make the potato top a bit stiffer.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 1 hr

Course Dinner

Cuisine Gluten-free, Vegan, vegetarian

Servings 8 servings

Calories 316 kcal

Ingredients

  

‘Meat’ sauce base (with lentil substitution)

• 1 package vegan ground meat I used Meatless Farm for this recipe
• * to substitiue for this just add 3 cups of cooked brown lentils instead
• 1 white onion diced
• 3 garlic coves minced
• 1 tbs veggie broth powder or paste
• 1 tbs oregano
• 1 tbs italian seasoning
• 1 tsp all spice
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen peas

Mashed Potato top

• 5 medium yukon gold potatoes
• ¾ cup dry red lentils * 2 cups cooked (optional step)
• 2 tbs dry oregano
• 1 tbs garlic powder
• 2 tbs vegan butter
• salt to taste
• *reserve some of the potato water (1/4 cup)

Instructions

 

Red lentil mashed potato top

• Wash, peel and dice your potatoes. Then fill a large pot with cold water. Add the potatoes in and a generous amount of salt. Place onto the stove top and boil until potatoes are fork tender.

  High protein mash version: Add your dry lentils to a pot with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the lentils are soft and mushy.
• Drain your potatoes very well and add back to the pan. Use a ricer or potato masher to start mashing. then add in the salt, oregano and butter and mash to mix.. slowly add in the potato water to get them wet but not soagy. this will help make them creamy,

  High protein mash verion: Go ahead and add in the red lentils to the mash and mix. You may need add a bit more of the water or some oat milk if they get to dry.

Meatless sauce base

• To a medium sauce pan sautee the onions in some olive oil until soft. Then add in the spices, veggie powder, and garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add in the tomato puree and conitnue to cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add in the gound ‘meat’ and cook for 10 minutes. If you are using lentils then just add then here instead of the mock meat. Finally add in the peas and corn and cook just until the veggies are warm, roughly 2 minutes)

Assembling the pie

• To a oven safe dish add the meat base to the bottom. Pack it slightly to help hold it's shape. Then scoop the potatoes on top. Use a large spoon to spread evently on top. Then with a fork you can make little lines or a pattern. If you want that nice golden crispy tips then brush a little olive oil onto the potatoes.
• Bake in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes, you can turn the heat up for the last 2 minutes to get a nice crispy top.

Notes

*feel free to eliminate adding the red lentils for an even easier recipe

Keyword gluten free family meal, gluten free vegan recipe, high protein recipe, meal prep recipe, vegan family meal, vegan meal prep recipe, Vegan shepherd’s pie