Vegetarian Shepherds Pie with Lentils
This vegetarian shepherds pie is a great cozy weeknight dinner. This recipe is vegetarian, low carb and healthy! I swapped out the traditional topper of mashed potatoes for mashed cauliflower and used a meatless filling of fresh vegetables and lentils.
Servings 4 -6 Servings
Ingredients
for shepherds pie
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 white or yellow onion diced
- 1 shallot diced
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 6 carrots peeled and diced
- 8 ounces of brown mushrooms sliced
- ½ cup of red wine
- 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons of thyme sprigs
- 12 oz of frozen peas
- 1 ½ cups of vegetable broth
- 1 cup of cooked green lentils
for mashed cauliflower
- 1 head of cauliflower chopped
- ½ stick of unsalted butter
- ½ cup of milk
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons of thyme sprigs
- 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of pepper
- grated Parmesan cheese to top with optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
- For mashed cauliflower: Fill a large pot of water and add chopped cauliflower. Bring water to a boil and cook cauliflower for 10-15 minutes or until a fork pierces cauliflower easily.
- Drain cauliflower from water and transfer to a blender, food processor or vitamix. Add butter, milk, garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, kosher salt and pepper to cauliflower and puree until smooth. Set aside for topping Shepherds pie…
- For shepherds pie: In a dutch oven or heavy bottom pot heat olive oil on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add in onions, shallots, minced garlic, carrots and mushrooms and saute for 5-10 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Sprinkle vegetables with flour and add tomato paste and mix well. Add in red wine and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the vegetables.
- Add in the thyme sprigs, vegetable broth and peas and stir consistently for 5-10 minutes on medium low heat until mixture has thickened. Stir in the cooked green lentils and transfer mixture to a casserole dish (if not using a dutch oven).
- Top mixture evenly with mashed cauliflower and sprinkle with a later of grated parm. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until pie is slightly golden.
Notes
How to cook lentils: Cook on a stovetop, using 3 cups of liquid (water, stock, etc) to 1 cup of dry lentils. Be sure to use a large enough saucepan as the lentils will double or triple in size. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, reduce heat and simmer until they are tender. For whole lentils, cook time is typically 15-20 minutes.
Top with mashed potatoes: You can totally use leftover mashed potatoes to top with.
Add in ground beef or stewing beef chunks: Before step 4 add in ground beef or stewing beef and cook for 5-8 minutes or until just cooked through.
Substitute wine: If you don’t want to use wine in this recipe sub in more broth.