This vegan shepherd’s pie is what (dinner) dreams are made of!
Jaye was the one who conceived of it (he’s great with the savory stuff!) and he wanted to experiment with chopping up mushrooms super fine and putting them in with the veggie mince to create a really hearty texture. And oh wow it worked fabulously!
This veggie mince was amazing! And topped with some fabulous vegan mashed potatoes this is a super satisfying vegan dinner meal.
Cottage pie and shepherd’s pie are basically the same thing when it comes to vegan fare, but traditionally a cottage pie is based on beef and shepherd’s pie is based on lamb. But since we’re making vegan versions we can really call it whatever.
To make the veggie mince you fry up some onion and garlic in some olive oil and then add in some soy mince. Ours was a frozen soy mince that you can cook directly from frozen. If yours is not frozen that’s fine, but you want it to be soy mince that’s ready to go – as in, it can be cooked up right away. If you’re using a version that needs to be hydrated first, then do that in advance.
You fry up the soy mince with the onions and garlic until the soy mince is nice and soft and browned. If your soy mince has quite chunky pieces then you can just use your spatula as you’re sautéeing it to break the pieces up and make it into a finer mince. Then you add in the chopped mushrooms.
As you can see above, we chopped up the mushrooms in the food processor, so they were super super fine, and barely even resembled mushrooms anymore, this is ideal!
Add in the mushrooms, and some soy sauce, maple syrup, dried basil and oregano and some tomato paste and mix it in. Then you add some frozen peas and carrots and sauté everything until the peas and carrots are softened and you have a deliciously thick veggie mince like you see above.
While you’re making the veggie mince you have some potatoes on the go in the next pot, and when they’re nicely soft and cooked you mash them up with some vegan butter, non-dairy milk and salt and pepper.
Layer the mince in a pie dish (a rectangular or square dish is also fine) and top with the mashed potato. Create some nice ridges in the top with your fork (looks pretty and helps with browning) and top it with some knobs of vegan butter.
Bake in the oven at 390°F (200°C) for 30 minutes. In the last 5 minutes switch it over to grill to really brown the top super nicely.
This does take a while, you’re looking at 75 minutes at least if you’re fast, but more likely 90 minutes from starting this meal to having it on the table.
But it feeds a fair few people, at least 6!
This vegan shepherd’s pie is everything you want a shepherd’s pie to be, it is:
- Hearty
- Very filling
- Comforting
- Veggie-Packed
- Totally delicious!
It keeps super well in the fridge so leftovers are not going to be an issue at all and can be easily reheated the next day.
So what do you think of this vegan shepherd’s pie? Do let us know in the comments and please rate the recipe too!
For more delicious comfort food style vegan dinner recipes, check out these awesome options:
- Vegan Pasta Bake
- Vegan Chili
- Vegan Meatloaf
- Creamy Coconut Red Lentil Dal
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Lasagna
Sign up to our email list for a fabulously free 10-recipe ebook containing more delicious dinner recipes from the blog! You’ll also be the first to know whenever new recipes are posted to the blog.
Vegan Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
For the Veggie Mince:
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 Tbsp Crushed Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 12 ounces Soy Mince (340g)
- 5 cups Cremini Mushrooms (480g) finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Dried Basil
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 cup Tomato Paste (130g)
- 2 cups Frozen Peas and Carrots (280g)
For the Mashed Potatoes:
- 4 Large Potatoes (2 and 1/2 pounds/1.1 kilograms)
- 4 Tbsp Vegan Butter (60g) plus more for the top
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup Soy Milk (80ml - 120ml) or other non-dairy milk
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper to Taste
Instructions
- Peel and chop the potatoes and add them to a pot. Cover with water and bring them to the boil. Cook for around 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are soft and cooked.
- Process the mushrooms in a food processor on the S blade until they are finely chopped.
- Add the onion, and garlic to a pot with the olive oil and sauté until softened.
- Then add in the soy mince and sauté with the onion and garlic until soft and browned. If your soy mince is a bit chunky then use your spatula while sautéeing to break it up into small pieces.
- Add in the chopped mushrooms, soy sauce, maple syrup, basil, oregano and tomato paste and mix in.
- Add the frozen peas and carrots and sauté with the veggie mince until the peas and carrots are slightly softened.
- When the potatoes are cooked, add in the vegan butter and soy milk and mash it up. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
- Add the veggie mince to a pie dish (a square or rectangular dish will also do fine) and smooth down.
- Add the mashed potatoes on top and smooth them down as the top layer. Use a fork to create ridges in the mashed potatoes.
- Dot with some vegan butter on top and sprinkle with black pepper.
- Place into the oven to bake for 30 minutes. In the last 5 minutes switch over to grill for some extra browning on top.
Notes
- We used a soy mince that you cook directly from frozen, this worked really well and is ideal for this recipe. However, if you are using a soy mince that needs to be hydrated first, then do this before you start.
- Cremini mushrooms are also called portobellini or baby bellas. You could also use white button mushrooms in this recipe.
- If you can't get frozen peas and carrots together then get them separately and use 1 cup of each.
- I have generally found 1/3 cup soy milk to be enough for the mashed potatoes but you might need a bit more, but start with 1/3 cup and only add more if needed.
Hi,
How many grams of dried soya mince should you use before rehydrating?
I’m not sure, since we didn’t use one that needed rehydrating first, but it should be around 340g after.
It was delicious. The only things I did different was to substitute Blue Agave for the Maple syrup, because I didn’t have Maple Syrup. I used frozen vegetables that had carrots, corn and asparagus mixed togetherand I use LightLife Smart Ground Plant-Based Crumbles instead of Soy Mince. I gave some to my friend who is a vegan and he texted me and said it was good and wants the recipe. I will be making it again.
Happy to hear that Dolores! Thanks so much for the review!
Hi Alison, can you freeze this?
Thanks, Charisse
Hi Charisse, yes you can! Let it cool completely before freezing. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
Really really good!
I found the minced “soy” mixture to be a little dry so I added about a quarter of a packet of packaged vegan brown gravy powder and splash of water and it was very good.
Thank you for the recipe, we will definitely make this again.
Thanks for sharing Heather! So glad you enjoyed it.
I’ve made 3 shepherds pies over the past 2 weeks and this was by far the best recipe 🙂 I’ve made so many pies these past weeks as the previous recipes were less than great despite having good reviews so I really wanted to nail a good pie. So glad I came across this recipe! I tweaked the recipe to use up what I had in the fridge so used lentils in place of mince and also added a splash of beer and was probably a little more generous with the soy sauce as well. I also used sweet potato with the potato mash as I only had a few small potatoes left at home and I added some nutritional yeast to the mash as well. Pie turned out great ☺️ very tasty & moreish as you’d hope a pie to be.
Sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing Cathy!
How large was the pie dish you were using? I’m always a bit confused by what standard sizes are 🙂
It’s 9 inches round and also quite deep.
I use very different ingredients when I make a vegan mince based dish. But for this one I stayed true to the recipe and followed it to the letter. It’s amazing!
Thanks Dave!
I’ve made this multiple times now, and it always turns out delicious! It’s amazing as is and also works as a great base to experiment with. Highly recommend it!!
Thanks so much Celina!
This is a really great version of Shepherds Pie. We made it with beyond beef and only a handful of mushrooms. I also only had about half the amount of tomato paste so I added a little water and vegetable bouillon, along with a splash of vegan Worcestershire sauce. I also lacked the dry basil but a little extra fresh did the trick. I love how adaptable this recipe is, and how easy it is to sub this when you need. I will definitely be following this recipe again in the future! Thank you!!!!
Awesome! So pleased to hear that. Thanks Kendall!
This was absolutely amazing!! I can’t wait to share this with my boyfriend, who is currently away for work. He’s not vegan but loves to try new recipes with me. I’ll update on his reaction (:
Awesome Jess! So happy to hear! Hope your boyfriend loves it too. 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! I used soya mince from the brand “The Meatless Farm” and it worked really well. It really is so tasty and comforting, especially for me and my parents, I’m a vegetarian and they aren’t. They were thrilled and had loads! Thanks again!
Awesome to hear that! Thanks Amanda!
This was an amazing recipe! I was craving comfort food and was not in the mood for a lentil-based version. This really hit the spot.
Awesome! Thanks Emma! 🙂
Meat-lovers enjoyed this main dish that I brought to a Christmas Eve party! I used a combination, 50/50 of Soy Crumbles and Beyond meat. I peeled the potatoes, to make the mashed potatoes smooth. It was easy to double the recipe. I’m very happy to be able to have this dish in a plant-based version! Yay! Sheep should be snuggled and kissed- not eaten. 😉
Awesome! Thanks Sharon. 🙂
I have never worked with soy mince. If one uses the dried soy mince and constitutes it, how does one calculate the required 12 oz? Do you use the dry weight or the reconstituted? Then how to you convert that to cups? Thanks!
Hi Anne, you would use the reconstituted soy mince and use 12 ounces/340 grams of that. I didn’t check this in cups but I would estimate about 2 and 1/2 cups. And the measurement can be a little ‘loose’ for this as it won’t go very far wrong even if you use too much or too little.
This looks so perfect- just like what one “expects” something called “Shepherd’s/Cottage Pie” to look like (which is KEY when trying to feed vegan-shy friends and family.) One question: could you make this and freeze it for a later date? I’m thinking it could be a good thing to bring to a pot luck on a Saturday but would like to make it ahead on the weekend prior and/or to have in the freezer for “I don’ wanna cook” nights. 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Jen, I think this would be freezer friendly! Let it cool completely before covering and freezing and then thaw overnight in the fridge.
Love this recipe, and so did my husband! We’re new to a fully plant based diet and this recipe made us so happy and sure that we made the right decision and we wouldn’t be missing out on any of our favorite foods. Thank you!
So happy to hear that Heather! Thanks for the wonderful review! 🙂