The ultimate Vegan Lentil Shepherd's Pie featuring rich, flavourful, saucy lentils topped with fluffy, creamy mashed potatoes, all baked up until deliciously golden brown & crispy. Easy, healthy, comforting, filling, and a reader favourite recipe for over a decade!
FEATURED COMMENT:
"This was absolutely STUNNING - often recipes will describe something as "so flavourful" etc and it ends up just... fine... But this recipe is absolutely delicious. 100% recommend! So cheap, so tasty, I'm going to make this so many more times." - Abby. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
Can we all agree that Shepherd's Pie is the ultimate comfort food? And that doesn't have to change when there is no meat involved. Honestly, it's not needed here. This meatless Lentil Shepherd's Pie is just as good.
We're talking sautéed onions, garlic, herbs and tender lentils in a tasty gravy with real "meaty" depth of flavour. Then there's the creamy mashed potato, which becomes perfectly golden and crispy in the oven.
Don't let the lentils put you off. They've got a bad rep, but just like meat, they take on all the flavours around them. I promise these lentils are the super yummy kind!
This Vegan Lentil Shepherd's Pie is rich with lots of flavour, humble, and every bit as luscious and comforting as you would expect a Shepherd's Pie to be, and it's healthy, packed with protein, and budget-friendly too!
Mel x
🤍 WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS LENTIL SHEPHERD'S PIE
- Super tasty. Mention lentils, and you'll get some funny looks, but this recipe is absolutely packed with flavour. People are always so surprised when they try it. Don't just take my word for it - read the reviews!
- Seriously satisfying - This is true comfort food! It's delicious year-round, but especially comforting during the colder months.
- Family-friendly. Even kids love it!
- Healthy. Lentils are packed with protein and fibre.
- Budget-friendly. This cozy meal is made with simple, affordable ingredients. Lentils are really cheap!
- Versatile. Enjoy for family dinners or holiday meals. It's wonderful poshed up for special occasions. Use some red wine instead of the stock, and fresh herbs instead of the dried herbs.
- Great for meal prep. It freezes and reheats perfectly before or after baking.
How To Make Lentil Shepherd's Pie
Can't wait to make it? The full printable recipe is below, but first, let me walk you through the steps to set you up for success in your kitchen. I recommend watching my recipe video if you're more of a visual learner.
1 - Boil the potatoes until tender.
2 - Mash the potatoes.
3 - Sauté the onions, garlic and carrots. Very important for flavour!
4 - Add all of the other ingredients. Simmer.
5 - Assemble.
6 - Bake, then broil for a couple of minutes for maximum golden crispiness!
Success Tips
No red lentils. I love red lentils, especially in my dal, but for this recipe you must use green or brown lentils. Red lentils will not work.
Don't skip any ingredients/steps. Every single ingredient and step, like sautéing until golden and steaming the potatoes dry, adds another layer of flavour, and that's how this lentil shepherd's pie ends up tasting so good!
Be generous with the seasoning. It is so important for enhancing flavour. Notice the flavour theme going on here?
Let the potatoes steam dry. Once you drain them, return them to the pan and leave them lid off to steam themselves dry before mashing. Watery potatoes are no one's friend, especially on a shepherd's pie.
Spoon small dollops of mashed potato all over the lentils, then spread it out. Don't just splodge a whole pan-full of mashed potato in the middle of the filling, or you will create a lentil gravy-type tsunami!
Brush or spray the top of the potato with oil or melted vegan butter (if you're not WFPB). This is for maximum golden crispiness and, you guessed it, another layer of flavour/texture!
How To Serve Lentil Shepherd's Pie
For weeknight dinners, I like to keep things simple and serve Lentil Shepherd's Pie with steamed fresh or frozen vegetables. I think it's particularly good with green veggies like Brussels sprouts, cabbage, green beans, kale, broccoli and peas.
Other sides that work well include my Brussels Sprout Salad, Caramelized Brussels sprouts, Air Fryer Carrots, and Vegan Garlic Bread.
For more special meals like the holidays, it's fantastic with my roasted red cabbage and apples (which conveniently cooks in the oven at the same temperature) and my vegan red wine gravy.
Recipe Variations
- Posh it up by using red wine instead of the stock, and fresh herbs like a good few sprigs each of thyme and rosemary instead of dried herbs. Then brush the mashed potato top with melted vegan butter. Yep... Instantly transformed to date night or holiday meal standards!
- Add some chopped mushrooms or frozen corn or peas at the same time as the lentils.
- Sprinkle the top of the pie with lots of shredded vegan cheese before you put it in the oven. Over the top, mashed potato deliciousness!
- Try using mashed root vegetables or sweet potatoes instead of the potatoes.
- Make individual shepherd's pies in small ovenproof dishes. Place them on a baking tray and cook at the same temperature for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
Recipe FAQs
My potatoes of choice for roasting, mashing, stews, almost everything really, are Yukon Gold potatoes. They aren't grainy, watery or mushy, and they have a buttery flavour, which is always a good thing. They make excellent mashed potatoes. I recommend avoiding russets because they are a bit tasteless and can become watery when boiled and mashed. If you are in the UK, Desiree and Maris Pipers are good choices.
Lentils roughly double in size and weight when cooked, so before you make this recipe you will need to cook about 100 grams or 1¼ cups of dried green or brown lentils. If you make extra though, they freeze brilliantly. I often boil up a big batch and freeze them in pre-measured pots.
Yes, this pie freezes well, either assembled but unbaked or fully baked. Use a dish that's safe for both the oven and the freezer. Let the pie cool completely, then wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw it in the fridge overnight, then bake at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes. If you baked the pie before freezing and it starts to brown too quickly, cover it loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes or so.
Red lentils don't hold their shape. They break down and disintegrate and would make the filling extremely thick, stodgy, claggy and unpleasant.
Your dish needs to hold at least 8 cups or 2 litres/quarts. Anything ovenproof will do. A Dutch oven, large skillet, cast iron skillet, ceramic 8 x 8 or 9 x 13 casserole dish, large deep pie dish, etc. My terracotta dish (in the photos) is about 9 inches in diameter (round) and about 3 or 4 inches deep.
Recipe
Lentil Shepherd's Pie
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
For the mashed potato top
- 1kg or 2.2lbs (about 6 large ) potatoes; I like Yukon Gold for this
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) dairy-free milk, unsweetened & unflavoured
- OPTIONAL vegan butter. Add as much or as little as you like. I usually use a couple of tablespoons. If you omit the butter, add an extra drop of milk to compensate.
For the filling
- 2 teaspoons olive oil (optional - use water to sauté to make the recipe oil-free)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2½ teaspoons dried herbs. Thyme, rosemary, oregano, or marjoram work well. Or use a combination or a mixed herb blend, such as Italian mixed herbs.
- 2½ cups (190 grams) canned/cooked green or brown lentils (NOT red lentils)
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch (cornflour in the UK)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce, or tamari, GF soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- 1 cup (240 ml) canned crushed tomatoes or passata (If you only have whole or diced tomatoes, blend them up until smooth)
- 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable or mushroom stock, or vegan beef-style stock
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt, or to taste (reduce as necessary if using table salt)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 400° F (200 °C).
- Boil the potatoes. Peel the potatoes (or leave unpeeled if you prefer) and cut into pieces. Put them in a large pan and cover with water. Add the salt, cover, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender (check with a fork or knife). Drain, then return to the pan. Leave with the lid off for a few minutes so they steam themselves dry.
- Mash the potatoes. Add the milk and optional butter to the potatoes. Mash well until creamy, then set aside.
- Start the filling. Warm another pan over medium heat (I do this while the potatoes are boiling). Add the oil (or use a little water instead to keep it oil-free) and sauté the onions, garlic and carrot until the onions are starting to turn golden brown.
- Add the herbs, lentils, and arrowroot or cornstarch. Stir well, then add the soy sauce and canned tomatoes. Stir well.
- Add the stock and stir again. As soon as it is just starting to bubble, turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper.
- Assemble the shepherd's pie. Spoon the lentil mixture into an ovenproof dish. Add small dollops of the mashed potatoes all over the top, then use a fork to spread it out evenly. A few little gaps around the edges are fine. Rough the surface up with the fork (this will create more crispy bits) and either leave it as it is, or brush or spray with a bit of oil or melted vegan butter for extra golden crispiness.
- Bake. Place the dish on a large baking tray (to protect the bottom of your oven if it bubbles over the side) and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Then pop it under the broiler/grill for a few minutes to make it extra crispy before serving.
Patricia Giannelia says
I have a very similar recipe, and it is amazingly easy and wonderful. My brother was visiting the last time we had it and ate thirds! A couple of suggestions: SAVE your potato water when you drain them. I use some for the mashing, and then cool off the rest and keep it on hand (frozen) for use later in soups and gravies. (Ditto with yams, vegetables, etc.) Also, instead of vegan butter, I add a about 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast - great flavour and nutrition.
Anne says
I served this to guests for dinner last night, and everyone loved it! It's so good that I'll make it a regular go to meal for the winter. I did add a cup of red wine instead of stock, and it added lots of flavour. ???
A Virtual Vegan says
Red wine is a great addition. I do that too when I want to fancy it up a bit. Glad you all enjoyed it!
Marlene says
Hi Mel, I want to verify before making this recipe, will 2 1/2 cups of dried brown or green lentils when cooked be 190 g as required in your recipe? Thanks and looking forward to tasting this dish!
A Virtual Vegan says
You need 2.5 cups or 190g of already cooked lentils. They roughly double in volume when they cook so you are looking at needing about 1.25 cups dried. I always do 1.5 just in case though then use leftover in other things.
Janet Walters says
Quick question: would tinned brown lentils be ok? I’d rinse them of course...
Janet says
Thank you. This is a great idea.
Our family loves lentil tacos. So this shepherd's pie will most likely be a hit to add to our favorite meals. We make other meals using green lentils/brown lentils. Plus our fave for red lentils is a vegan soup I created "red lentil tomato soup"......soooo yum, oh my!! We also have some lentil meals with meat added as we are not vegan nor vegetarian, of which my fave is one I created called "Italian lentil stew" (cooked lentils, cooked wheat, cooked crumbled sausage, onions, garlic, crushed tomatoes, water, italian seasonings). 3 desserts we make with legumes: lentil chocolate cake, pinto 'pecan' pie with wheaty crust, apple lentil cake. We also like a '3-bean' salad I created with lentils, pintos, green beans, cabbage that has been successfully taste-tested by several crowds. My goal in daily meals: one meal based on wheat/grains, one meal based on beans/lentils, one meal based on vegetables (with one of those allowing meat sparingly if it fits in the recipes for that day). I have always been ahead of my time, I started my children on healthy meals wayyy before it became a 'thing'. And healthy meals are NOT expensive, they can be made from basic ingredients and learned skills.
Laura says
It’s a hit! I cooked my lentils in my Instant Pot (9 min pressure, 10 min npr) and topped the pie with mashed sweet potatoes. So good! It will definitely be a regular menu item.
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad you enjoyed it Laura!
Teresa Brown says
Absolutely delicious without any changes! My husband and I both loved it. I divided the results into two loaf pans and gave the other one to my son.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you both enjoyed it. I love the idea of using loaf pans for dividing it up!
Tess Leahy says
Once again, your recipes are delicious. I added red wine instead of stock and added a little nutritional yeast to the mash for indulgence. My husband loves extra gravy so I served his with your Red wine gravy and also some turnip on the side (very Irish thing to do :) ) Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic recipe. It makes veganism so easy for my husband and I
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much Tess! I'm really pleased you both enjoyed it. And why have I never thought to add nutritional yeast to mashed potato??? Trying that ASAP!
Doris says
My mom made a delicious Sherherd's Pie. Very simple ingredients, but the main difference was she ALWAYS put a couple cups of drained, whole kernel corn on the meat layer before adding the potatoes! I made it this way for more than 50 years. When I made your recipe I adapted it to the seasonings I remembered, sans tomato, and cooked as usual. Very good, but something was missing! Then I realized it was the corn! I added a can of drained whole kernel corn and was very pleased with the results! So good! Sorry if I didn't follow your recipe exactly but thank you so much for the idea of lentils in place of meat! Much preferred! Just don't forget the corn!!?☺ You have to try it! Really takes it over the top!
Gail says
Hi Doris, This is what I was thinking of trying next time I make this too. Corn and no tomatoes. (The recipe was absolutely lovely just the way it is, by the way, but I am craving my mom's old taste, without the meat... ) I was wondering if you added another liquid instead of the tomato sauce or did you just leave it out altogether?
Gail says
Oh dear... I really wish there was an edit button. I should have said craving the taste of my mom's old recipe! lol.
Sarah says
Really delicious. The whole family enjoyed it.
jen says
Do you think chickpea flour would work in place of the arrowroot or cornstarch?
A Virtual Vegan says
I've never used chickpea flour as a thickener. I'm not sure it would work as well. It's also got a pretty distinctive flavour. If you don't have either of those, regular all purpose flour will do the trick.
Alexandra says
I made this last night and it was really tasty - added a leek and peas which worked well. Will be making again :)
Jen says
I love your shepherds pie so much that I am making it tomorrow (Thursday) in LA and then driving it to Vegas for a big family dinner Friday night. What do you think the best way to do that would be? Do everything except for the oven part and then put it in the fridge / cooler until ready to heat before Friday’s dinner or do I need to freeze it? Please let me know as soon as you can. Thank you!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Jen. Wow, what a compliment! Thank you. It will be fine if you make it all as directed, then refrigerate it BEFORE baking it. Transport in a cooler then bake in their oven when you get there. As it will be going in the oven cold it will take probably 10 minutes more to cook through. Have fun!
Julie Rose says
Yummy recipe! So nice to have a vegan shepherd's pie :) Question about cooking the lentils, though - My lentils ended up quite crunchy! They were crunchy when I put them in the dish - should I have waited for them to soften in the pan or are they supposed to soften while baking?
A Virtual Vegan says
As per the ingredients lists you should have started with already cooked lentils. Did you accidentally use dried ones? So glad you enjoyed it despite the slightly crunchy lentils though!
Kristi says
My family really enjoyed this! I used vegetable broth instead of mushroom and added a few shitakes for flavour, but next time I want to try it with the mushroom broth. It was so healthy and yummy at the same time.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so glad you all enjoyed it! Thank you for stopping by to let me know!
Alison says
This is so good, have been making it often. Sometimes we just spoon the lentil mixture over the mash instead of baking in the oven if we're feeling lazy. Great comfort food, thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so glad you are enjoying it! The lentil mixture is nice over baked potatoes too!
Agnès says
Hi. I made this dish 2 days ago. I think it tastes good. But I used a vegetable bouillon cube, and a pre-made mix of herbs that made the lentils taste weird. Well, it was good, but because those ingredients had a distinctive taste, the dish all-together had not the taste I'd like. So be careful about which type of bouillon and which herbs you use because it's gonna influence greatly the whole dish. I need to try again, making my own bouillon and using other herbs.
God bless,
Agnès
JOSIE says
I bookmarked this ages ago & finally got round to making it on this wet & gloomy day in France. Real comfort food - absolutely delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me know!
MEME says
I NOTE THE BUTRITIONAL FACTS DO NOT INCLUDE PROTEIN. WHEN YOU STATE THERE IS 26 GMS PROTEIN PER SERVING, IS THIS 26 GMS OF COMPLETE PROTEIN WITH ALL ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS INCLUDED?
Patricia says
Tried it yesterday, salt free (for kiddo) with Italian seasoning. Everybody loved it! Even my 2 years old and my 10 months old!! Will be doing this at least once a week since my repertoire of vegan kid friendly meals is not very big. Plus, I really appreciate eating something other than rice!!!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome Patricia! It's a favourite here too. If they liked that they would probably enjoy my 'meatloaf' too. https://avirtualvegan.com/vegan-meatloaf-with-gravy/ (and if you have any mushroom haters, you really can't tell they are there, so as long as they don't see you make it you will be safe!)
Christine says
Hi,
What a great recipe for Shepherd's Pie. I was wondering what you would recommend as a substitute for the following
1/3 cup unsweetened, unflavoured non-dairy milk.
Thanks Again,
Christine
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Christine :O) The milk makes the mashed potato soft and creamy. Any milk you have will do as long as it is unsweetened but if you don't have any you could omit it or use a few drops of veggie broth/stock instead.