Filling and comforting vegan shepherd’s pie made with a veggie-packed veggie mince and creamy mashed potatoes and baked to perfection.
This vegan shepherd’s pie is what dinner dreams are made of!
Jaye was the one who created this recipe – 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 creamy 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.
It’s comfort food to the max, that is for certain! And if you love vegan comfort food as much as we do then you’ll also love our vegan baked ziti and vegan goulash.
How To Make Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
Mashed Potatoes:
Peel and chop potatoes and add them to a pot. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Let them cook for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are soft and cooked.
When they’re nicely soft and cooked you mash them up with some vegan butter, non-dairy milk and salt and pepper.
Veggie Mince:
Add mushrooms to the food processor and process them until finely chopped. They will barely even resemble mushrooms anymore, this is ideal!
Add chopped onion and garlic to a pot with olive oil and sauté until softened.
Add in the soy mince or (already hydrated) textured vegetable protein (TVP).
Sauté the mince or TVP with the onions and garlic until it’s nice and soft and browned.
Add the finely chopped mushrooms, soy sauce, maple syrup, dried basil and oregano and tomato paste and mix it in.
Add frozen peas and carrots and sauté everything until the peas and carrots are softened and you have a deliciously thick veggie mince.
Transfer all the veggie mince to a pie dish (a rectangular or square dish is also fine).
Top it with all the mashed potato.
Create some nice ridges in the top with your fork (looks pretty and helps with browning).
Top it with some knobs of vegan butter and a sprinkle of ground black pepper.
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 meal 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 and leftovers store really well. So if you’re only cooking for two, you can have this for dinner 3 nights in a row (and you won’t mind a bit!).
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) or Soya Mince
The first time we made this shepherd’s pie we made it using a frozen soy mince. This worked great, but a couple of readers wrote in to us saying that this wasn’t something they could get hold of.
So we tried it with textured vegetable protein and it worked wonderfully. Textured vegetable protein is a dehydrated soy mince product. You rehydrate it by mixing it with hot water. And then you add it to recipes with flavorings and spices and it turns out delicious!
It works REALLY well in this recipe and if you don’t find it locally, you can definitely get it on Amazon. We used Bob’s Red Mill TVP.
Storing and Freezing
It keeps super well in the fridge for 3-4 days so leftovers are not going to be an issue at all. You can reheat it in the microwave or in the oven at 350°F until heated through.
It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 350°F until heated through.
More Vegan Dinner Bake Recipes
- Vegan Pasta Bake
- Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese
- The Best Vegan Lasagna
- Vegan Enchiladas
- Vegan Moussaka
- The Easiest Vegan Lasagna
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
For the Veggie Mince:
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 Tbsp Crushed Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 cups Frozen Soya Mince (300g) or 1 cup Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) reconstituted with 1 cup Hot Water (see notes*)
- 5 cups Cremini Mushrooms (480g) finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Dried Basil
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- ½ cup Tomato Paste (130g)
- 2 cups Frozen Peas and Carrots (280g)
For the Mashed Potatoes:
- 4 Large Potatoes (2 ½ pounds / 1100g)
- 4 Tbsp Vegan Butter (60g) plus more for the top
- ⅓ – ½ cup Soy Milk (80ml – 120ml) or other non-dairy milk
- Sea Salt To Taste
- Ground 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.
- While the potatoes are cooking, start making your mince.
- Add the mushrooms to a food processor and process until finely chopped.
- Add the onion and garlic to a pot with the olive oil and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add the soy mince or TVP 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
- Frozen soya mince. If you’re using frozen soya mince then a little more or a little less than 300g is fine. Some packs of frozen soy mince are 320g or 350g and this is fine, just use all of it in this recipe.
- Textured Vegetable Protein. If you’re using textured vegetable protein (TVP) then add 1 cup (92g) of TVP to a bowl. Pour over 1 cup (240ml) of boiling hot water from the kettle. Give it a stir and then leave it to sit for 5 minutes. Stir again and your TVP is ready to use. Use all of it in this recipe.
- Cremini mushrooms are also called portobellini or baby bellas. You could also use white button mushrooms in this recipe.
- Frozen peas and carrots. If you can’t get frozen peas and carrots together then get them separately and use 1 cup of each. Other frozen veggie mixes like peas, carrots, corn and green beans also work great in this recipe.
- Soy milk – I have generally found ⅓ cup soy milk to be enough for the mashed potatoes but you might need a bit more, but start with ⅓ cup and only add more if needed.
- Storing and Freezing: Leftovers keep super well in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 350°F until heated through. It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 350°F until heated through.
This was soooooo delicious I couldn’t believe it. Way better than the Shepherds pies from my pre-vegan days.
I will definitely make this again.
Thank you.
Great to hear that! Thanks Catherine. 🙂
Wow! This was a huge hit! I chose this recipe because I wanted a shepherd’s pie that wasn’t lentil based, since we’d had lentil “meat” loaf yesterday. It was really delicious. Thank you for a great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for posting. 🙂
Just looked at your moussaka recipe (looks fab) have you tried the moussaka mince in this pie? What are your thoughts? I would personally omit the cinnamon.
Hi Nina, yes the moussaka mince (minus the cinnamon) would be great to use in this recipe as well! We also used that mince (without cinnamon) in our Vegan Sloppy Joes. The cinnamon is very specific to moussaka so that’s why I would definitely also omit it if using it in this shepherd’s pie, but I definitely think it would work very well in this recipe.
Thanks for replying to my question, very much appreciated. I live in the UK and I don’t like the tvp substitutes. I have been on the look out for a mince substitute for some tim.
My only concern is that I’m unsure of the tofu in the recipe, but I think that I will give it a try.
How did the tofu work out?
Dear Alison, all I can say is WOW! Sheer genius. This is the first recipe I have made from your website and if this anything to go by it’ll be my go to site for vegan inspiration. My family have very recently switched to a vegan diet and there’s no going back! In fact this shepherds pie looked so much like the meat version that I nearly didn’t want to eat it! It was delicious. I added some garlic and spring onions to the mash but otherwise followed your recipe to the letter. Loved the story about how you adopted your two kittens… sending love to you all from the UK.
Hi Satin, so happy you liked the recipe and congrats on switching to a vegan diet, that’s awesome! Thanks so much for posting and the amazing review! 🙂
Another absolute winner! Followed the recipe to a T except for using dried mixed herbs in place of the basil and oregano and my frozen veg had peas, corn and carrots in it. Thank you again for an amazing website! Non-vegan and vegan family members alike loved this.
Awesome! So pleased to hear this Bek, thanks a million! 🙂
Wonderful!! I’m a mom of three, and the hub & I made this for the family last night. We doubled the recipe to have leftovers, and are having those for brunch today! I didn’t have enough tomato paste for the double batch, so made up the diff with ketchup. The soy mince I used also didn’t have a wonderful flavor, so to mask it I added more of everything in the recipe + balsamic vinegar and a couple small pinches of powdered monkfruit. Seriously, soooooo delicious — my kids have said they want it for EVERY meal, ha!
Oh haha, so pleased the kids liked it too! Thanks for sharing, sounds like you made the perfect adjustments to make it work great for you. Thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂
Meal prep’d this for lunch next week. Omg so good!! I tried Shepards Pie last year with Lentil but the soy meatless crumbles made this so much better!! Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful to hear that Theresa! Thanks so much for the great review. 🙂
Hi do you think your recipe for taco meat would work in this recipe- thanks
You could try it!
This was a great recipe, my guests loved it; the finely blended/chopped mushrooms made for a very rich minced base.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks Chris. ?
Alison,
Great recipe. I just tried it and thought of leaving my comments. I put a bit of Garam masala as this spices it up a bit as well. Well done for showing us this great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Garam masala is definitely a great addition too. Thanks for the great review! 🙂
Recipe tested this evening for a dinner with friends. Everybody liked it !!! It’s tasty, savoury and so easy to cook.
I think your website will become my new bible ! Thanks again and go on !
Yay! Sounds great. So happy to hear that, and hope you find lots more recipes here that you enjoy. 🙂
I just made this just now havent put it in the oven yet. Curious if i can let it cool then put it in the oven tomorrow for dinner
Hi Dani, yes sure! You can assemble it ahead of time, cover and refrigerate and bake when you’re ready. 🙂
What can I substitute for soy mince?
Not sure, maybe something like lentils.
What about using something like soyrizo?
I haven’t used that, but it might be great! 🙂
Hi Ildiko,
Alison is right, you can try Puy Lentils. Boil them first then the cooking in the sauce make sure the lentils have soaked the juices before placing them in the dish to bake. I also would try some chilli powder to spice it up a bit if you are not prone to chillies.
Quorn mince is great try that.
Great dinner! Our friends loved it, and even the kids enjoyed it – it’s very rare to find a recipe that pleases kids AND vegan & non-vegan adults! Thank you.
Not only is my hubby vegan but he can’t eat pulses and beans, so this dinner really ticked all our boxes. ?
That is awesome to hear! Thanks so much for sharing and your fabulous review Tanya! 🙂
Hearty and delicious meal for anytime of the year!
It sure is! 🙂
This looks fabulous. I’m going to make it and post it on my blog with a link back. The only thing I would add is garlic to the mashed potatoes, but that’s my own taste. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Deborah, yes garlic would be a great addition! 🙂