Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

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Shepherd’s Pie is the original comfort food. Creamy mashed potatoes topping a steaming, juicy filling is high on the list for a Sunday lunch. The traditional filling is lamb, but that leaves vegetarians at the table. No fair!

You’ll bask in the joy of a meal together because this recipe makes a lot. You must fill the seats at your table with accommodating and hungry friends or family members. Doesn’t that sound like a brilliant idea?

Easy Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

A shepherd’s pie is often a catch-all for leftovers, topped with mashed potatoes and baked in a casserole. This vegetarian version omits the lamb or ground beef and replaces it with an array of mushrooms, carrots, celery, pearl onions, green beans and peas, all baked in a creamy sauce and topped with cheesy mashed potatoes.

Tips to save time

This recipe takes a little more time than your average weeknight dinner, but it’s worth it. Here are a few tips to save you some time and energy.

Use a mixture of butter and flour to thicken the sauce: Instead of a roux (a paste of butter and flour cooked in a saucepan), I mix the flour and butter in a bowl and stir it into the sauce to save cooking time. This is known as beurre mania in French cuisine. Also, I always think it’s easier to clean a small bowl than a pot!
Choose large potatoes: I’m not a fan of potato peelers, but the bigger they are, the less peeling there is to make! And the less time I have to spend on it. If you don’t mind the skins, you can skip the scrub altogether, but that’s an aesthetic choice. It doesn’t affect the overall taste, but maybe the potatoes won’t be quite as melt-in-the-mouth and creamy.
Buy grated cheese: I usually like to grate my own cheese because packaged cheese often contains cellulose to keep the shreds from clumping. However, there are brands that only have a few additives, and I find skipping that one step just speeds things up.

Yes you can do it!

Once you’ve topped the filling with the potatoes and sprinkled the last bit of cheese on top, allow to cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap. You can store it assembled, but unbaked, in the fridge for up to three days.

To bake the cake, remove the plastic wrap and transfer it straight from the fridge to the oven. Add another 15 minutes to the baking time. Check the cake after 30 minutes.

Cover loosely with foil if the top is browning too quickly.

How to Freeze Shepherd’s Pie

Cool the baked shepherd’s pie and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for two to three hours or until fairly firm. Remove the frozen cake and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place a large piece of aluminum foil on the counter. Put the casserole dish on it. Bring the sides of the foil up and over the cake. Crimp or fold the edges all the way around to seal the cake tightly in the foil.

Mark the date on a piece of tape. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to two months.

When ready to serve the shepherd’s pie, remove the casserole from the freezer and remove the foil and plastic wrap. Use the foil you just removed to loosely cover the cake. Make sure your casserole dish can go straight from the freezer to the oven; If not, place the casserole in the oven while the oven is preheating to allow the dish to slowly heat up.

Bake the casserole for 1 hour or until the cake is quite hot. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes to allow the top to brown. To reduce baking time to 40-45 minutes, thaw in the refrigerator a day before baking.

More vegetarian casseroles to try!

Three sisters casserole with cornbread topping
Eggplant with parmesan
Cauliflower Pasta Casserole
Cheesy tortellini casserole
Vegetarian lasagna with spinach and mushrooms

preparation time
45 minutes

cooking time
30 minutes

total time
75 minutes

portions
6
up to 8 servings

For the filling:

1/4 Cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 tablespoon (1/2 stick) soft, unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups low in salt vegetable broth or water
1 Cup dry White wine
8 ounces baby carrots (Above 2 cups)
8 ounces cremini or mushroomshalved or quartered if large (approx 2 cups)
4 stems celerycut into 1 inch lengths (approx 2 cups)
1 Bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
8 ounces green beanscut into 2 inch lengths (approx 2 cups)
1 Cup frozen pearl onions
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1/2 Cup whole milk or cream (Optional)

For covering:

2 1/2 to 3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4 very large potatoes), peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Cup milk
3 tablespoon unsalted buttercut into 2 or 3 pieces
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 1/3 cups grated sharp cheddar
1/2 bunch spring onionsfinely chopped
1/2 Cup fresh parsley, chopped

Make the beurre manié for the filling:

In a small bowl, whisk together the butter and flour until combined and set aside.
Cook Vegetables:

Bring the broth and wine to a simmer in a large saucepan. Add carrots, mushrooms, celery, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cook on low flame for 15 minutes. Add the green beans to the pot and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
Assemble filling:

Using a slotted spoon, scoop the celery, carrots, green beans, and mushrooms into the casserole dish, patting each spoonful on a folded paper towel to drain excess liquid. Leave the broth in the pan.

Scatter the frozen onions and frozen peas over the vegetables in the casserole dish. Remove the bay leaf.
Make the sauce:

Bring the reserved broth to a boil in the saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the Beurre Manie. Let the sauce simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened. The beurre manié looks lumpy at first, but quickly becomes smooth as the butter in the sauce melts.

If you want a richer sauce, stir in the optional milk or cream. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you like.
Mix sauce and vegetables:

Pour the sauce over the vegetables in the casserole dish. Stir gently to coat and set aside while you finish the topping.
Preheat the oven:

Set the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400°F.
Boil potatoes:

In a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water and add 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. When the water boils, turn the heat down to a simmer.

Simmer the potatoes for 12 to 14 minutes, or until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander. Put the potatoes back in the pot and heat over medium-high heat.
Mash potatoes:

Stir the potatoes constantly for about 1 minute or until the liquid in the pot has evaporated and the potatoes look dry. Push them to one side of the pot and pour 1/2 cup milk into the empty space. Cook until the milk is hot, then add the butter pieces. (Hot milk makes the mashed potatoes fluffier.)

Mash the potatoes, milk and butter with a potato masher. Gradually add enough additional milk to create a creamy consistency. Beat with a whisk to lighten and flatten the potatoes.
Finish the potatoes:

Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Stir in 2 cups of cheese, scallions, and parsley. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you like.
Topping and baking the cake:

Place the potatoes over the vegetables in the casserole dish. Use a fork to swirl into the potatoes to create peaks and valleys. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/3 cup shredded cheese.
Bake:

Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is bubbly and potatoes are golden brown. Leave to rest for 10 minutes and serve.