Perhaps more than a vegan shepherd’s pie I should have called it a vegetable pie since there is no meat. This is a very popular dish in England and the name means the shepherd’s pie: it consists of a base of minced meat and vegetables covered by a simple mashed potato that forms a crispy top in the oven. A very similar dish is the cottage pie, which is made with beef.
I replaced the ground meat with a healthier, lighter ingredient: lentils, thus creating a vegan, gluten-free pie. Alternatively you can use textured soy protein or ready-made plant-based mince. But with lentils it turns out great and is also easy to digest. Usually peas are added too but I forgot them: if you want, add them and consider the additional Weight Watchers points.
This pie is usually made in a large baking dish but I used individual ramekins for various reasons. My oven doesn’t work well at low temperatures so I needed to use the air fryer, which is too small for a large dish. So I chose to make single portions — this also makes the WW points counting easier. Not only that: you’ll also get more crispy mashed potato edges to enjoy! Let’s see how to prepare this vegan shepherd’s pie…
I also suggest some other lentil recipes:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven, Air Fryer
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, New Year's Eve
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry lentils (or 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (about 300 g))
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 carrot
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (measuring teaspoons)
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- 7 oz mushrooms (any type works (about 2 1/2 cups sliced))
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- to taste salt
- 1.1 lb potatoes (about 500 g, roughly 3 medium potatoes)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (1 measuring tablespoon)
- 1/3 cup soy milk (unsweetened or another plant milk)
- to taste nutmeg
- to taste salt
- Total Points = 20 WW points
- Points per 1 ramekin = 5 WW points
Tools
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Pot
- Pan
- Potato masher
- Wooden spoon
- Ramekins
- Air fryer
Steps
First, boil the lentils for about half an hour in plenty of water. Cooking time depends on the brand, so follow the package instructions. Drain them, reserving one cup of the cooking water, and set aside.
Clean and chop all the vegetables: mince the garlic and dice the onion, celery, carrot and mushrooms.
In a large pan, sauté the onion, celery and carrot with the bay leaf for a few minutes, then add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Stir well and, once the mushrooms have reduced, add the tomato paste and the lentils.
Simmer, using a little of the reserved lentil cooking water when needed. After about 15 minutes the filling for our vegan shepherd’s pie will be ready: make sure it isn’t too dry because it will continue cooking in the oven/air fryer.
Now make a simple mashed potato. To save time, peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces. Put them in a pot and cover with cold water lightly salted. Boil for about twenty minutes, checking with a fork to see if they’re done.
Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot, add a little more salt, nutmeg, nutritional yeast and the soy milk, and use a potato masher to make a smooth, creamy purée. If it’s too dry, add another splash of milk. At the end, adjust salt if necessary.
Divide the filling among the 4 ramekins. Do the same with the mashed potatoes and smooth the surface, sealing the mash down to the edges of the ramekins. Use the tines of a fork to score the surface of the mash: this will give a nicer crust.
Place 2 ramekins in the air fryer basket and cook at 320 °F for 15 minutes, then at 392 °F for another ~8 minutes, until golden.
Let cool a few minutes and then serve either directly in the ramekins or unmold with a spoon, being careful not to burn yourself.
And here our vegan shepherd’s pies are ready to be enjoyed, hot of course. They’re really tasty and, having eaten the originals when I lived in London, I was satisfied with this light vegan version.
Here you can see it unmolded from the ramekin: for 5 Weight Watchers points it’s a lot of food. They’re so good: they were much appreciated at home and will definitely be on the table this Christmas or maybe at New Year’s to honor tradition in a different way.
Try them yourself and let me know if you liked them.
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can prepare both the filling and the mashed potatoes in advance and even assemble them in the ramekins. I actually cooked two and covered the other two with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge. I then cooked them 3 days later and they were still perfect.
I didn’t freeze them but I’m sure they can be placed in the freezer and then slightly thawed and cooked a little longer.
FAQ (Questions & Answers)
What is nutritional yeast?
This recipe also uses nutritional yeast, which is a deactivated yeast rich in vitamin B12. It’s widely used in vegan cooking because it gives a cheesy flavor to dishes. To learn more read here: Nutritional Yeast: what it is, how to use it and why!
Can I use a conventional oven instead?
Certainly! In the oven you can use more dishes or a larger baking dish, doubling or even tripling the quantities. I couldn’t test it myself, but I believe you should bake at 356 °F for about 30 minutes and then brown the surface under the grill/broiler.
