Vegan Shepherd’s pie with lentils and sweet potato is a tasty and balanced vegan meal. This recipe is easy to make and fantastic for meal prep. Full of flavour and made with simple ingredients, this vegan Shepherd’s pie is perfect to serve to a crowd of vegans or non-vegans.
On a fun note, I got married in 2019 to my husband whose last name is Shepherd. It was a family joke that I needed to learn to make Shepherd’s pie before we married. Of course, we’re both vegan so I had to come up with a tasty vegan Shepherd’s pie recipe of my own and here it is!
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How to Make a Healthy Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Vegan Shepherd’s pie can easily be made into a tasty and balanced meal! While there’s certainly nothing wrong with opting to make vegan Shepherd’s pie with a vegan ground beef alternative, if you’re looking for a cheaper option, lentils are a fantastic choice!
Compared to a vegan ground beef alternative, lentils will contain more fibre but less protein. In Canada, vegan meat alternatives are required to be fortified with many nutrients, so you aren’t missing out on too much if you go for the veggie ground round.
However, lentils are much less expensive compared to a meat alternative and work perfectly to create a tasty base for this vegan Shepherd’s pie recipe.
Why Use Sweet Potato on Vegan Shepherd’s Pie?
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of nutrition for vegans. They are packed full of beta carotene, the precursor to vitamin A. Vegan diets may lack in vitamin A and it’s generally recommended to eat a serving or two of foods that contain high levels of beta carotene each day.
Adding sweet potatoes to your vegan Shepherd’s pie can be a great way to get in your daily recommendations for vitamin A!
You could opt to only use sweet potato but I personally like white and sweet potatoes mashed together. Just because sweet potatoes are packed full of delicious nutrients doesn’t mean you should discount the nutrition benefits of white potatoes. White potatoes contain lots of great nutrition as well, and more vitamin C compared to sweet potatoes.
Hope you enjoy this recipe for vegan Shepherd’s pie with lentils and sweet potato. Let me know how yours turns out in the comments below!
Note: I use Herbamare seasoning in this recipe – Herbamare is a blend of sea salt with herbs; you can substitute for ½ salt + ½ herb blend (such as Herbs de Provence or Italian herb blend). A half of a bouillon cube would also work in place of the Herbamare.
Vegan Shepherd's Pie with Lentils and Sweet Potato
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Large pot
- 9x13 Baking dish
- Large pan
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes:
- 2 large sweet potatoes peeled and diced (4 ½ C)
- 4 medium-small white potatoes peeled and diced (3 C) (or use additional sweet potato)
- ¼ C vegan butter/ margarine
- 1/3 C plant-based milk of your choice
- ¼ C nutritional yeast
- Salt to taste about ½ tsp
Filling:
- 2 C onion diced
- 2 large ribs celery finely diced
- 1 C carrot diced
- 2 tbsp oil (I use olive or avocado oil)
- 2 19 oz cans lentils drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ C frozen corn
- 1 ½ C frozen peas
- 4 tbsp ketchup (can use tomato paste)
- 3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp dry thyme
- 1 tsp Herbamare seasoning (see note above for substitutions)
- ½ tsp ground dry sage
- ½ tsp celery seed
- ½ tsp salt (more or less to taste)
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
Mashed potatoes:
- Start preparing the potatoes by peeling and dicing the sweet potato and white potatoes.
- Place the diced sweet/white potatoes into a large pot and cover with water.
- Place pot on the stove on high heat for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are really tender and easy to mash with a fork.
- Drain the water from the potatoes and add them back into the pot.
- Add the vegan butter/ margarine (1/4 C), plant-based milk (1/3 C), nutritional yeast (1/4 C) and salt to taste.
- Mash to your desired texture.
- Set aside.
Filling:
- While the potatoes cook, prepare the vegetables for the filling. Dice the onion, celery and carrots.
- Place the 2 tbsp oil, onion, celery and carrots into a large pan over medium heat. Cook for about 7 minutes, until the vegetables have started to soften.
- Once the vegetables are mostly softened (they will continue to cook in the oven so try to not overcook) add the remaining filling ingredients.
- Cook an additional 3-5 minutes, until the frozen peas and corn have thawed.
Assembly:
- Preheat oven to 350 °F.
- Grease the 9x13 baking dish (I use an oil spray).
- Pour filling mixture into the bottom of the 9x13 baking dish and spread into an even layer.
- Top with the mashed potatoes and smooth them out into an even layer.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, depending on how “crispy” you like your potatoes.
- Enjoy!
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