I like to make this lentil shepherd’s pie when a vegan friend comes over for dinner—it impresses and satisfies EVERYONE. People can’t believe my mashed potatoes don’t have any milk or butter – that’s the magic of olive oil and almond milk.
Piping the mashed potatoes on top is totally optional, but it’s pretty fun and really elevates both your mood and the dish itself. I use my piping bags (they’re so cheap on Amazon) for savory dishes more than I use them for desserts. If you want to make it even more epic, add sweet potatoes to the mash for a gorgeous orange pop of color. If you don’t have a ceramic pie dish, you can use any oven-proof dish.
More delicious plant-based mains:
Lentils, eggplant and tomatoes stew
Creamy chana masala
African stew
Plant-based Shepherd's pie
Ingredients
For the mashed potatoes layer
- 4 medium waxy potatoes
- ¼ cup almond milk
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Salt & black pepper
For the bottom layer
- 2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
- 1 medium onion - diced
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- Salt & black pepper
- 1 pint mushrooms - chopped
- 1 cup lentils - preferably soaked in water for 1 hour
- 5 thyme sprigs or ¼ teaspoon dry thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Put the potatoes in a medium pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil until they're very tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile make the bottom layer: Put the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is warm add the onion, spices, salt and pepper and cook until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally.
- Add the mushrooms and saute them for 1 minute. Add the rest of the bottom layer ingredients. Lower the heat to simmer, cover the skillet and cook until the lentils are tender about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally and make sure that the bottom of the skillet isn’t burning. If all the liquid evaporated and the lentils are still chewy, add 2 - 4 tablespoons of water.
- Make the mashed potatoes: peel the potatoes and put in a medium bowl. Using a potato masher or potato ricer mash them into the bowl. Add the mashed potatoes ingredients and mix until well combined. Taste and correct seasoning.
- Remove the bay leaf and thyme stems. Put the mushroom lentil in a small (8inch / 20cm) round or square ovenproof dish and spread it evenly.
- Put the mashed potatoes in a piping bag* fitted with a large flower drop tip. Hold the bag straight but bend your wrist inward. With the tip just touching the surface, hold the top of the bag with one hand and use your other hand to gently squeeze out the mashed potatoes. Stop squeezing before lifting the tip away. Cover the pie with flowers. It’s okay if the flowers aren’t the same size.
- Put the pie in the broiler for 10 minutes or until the mashed potatoes get some brown lines or patches.
*If you don’t have a piping bag or piping tip, you can use a zip lock bag or simply spread it with a spatula over.
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