Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie
There are no words to describe this other than as a deep dish of absolute comfort. Recipe from Vegan Holiday Kitchen. It’s a bit of a project, but not difficult, and definitely worth it for a special occasion meal. Photo by Susan Voisin of FatFree Vegan Kitchen.
8 or more servings
- 8 large or 10 medium potatoes (Yukon gold works well)
- 2 tablespoons Earth Balance or other vegan buttery spread
- 1/2 cup rice milk
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 ounces cremini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- Two 15-ounce cans lentils, lightly drained
- 2 tablespoons dry red wine, optional
- 1 to 2 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce or Bragg’s liquid aminos
- 2 to 3 teaspoons all-purpose seasoning blend (such as Spike or Mrs. Dash)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot
- 8 to 10 ounces baby spinach or arugula leaves
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
Peel and dice the potatoes. Place in a large saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a small mixing bowl.
Stir the Earth Balance into the potatoes until melted, then add the rice milk and mash until fluffy. Season with salt, cover, and set aside until needed.
Preheat the oven to 400º F.
While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue to sauté until the onion is golden.
Add the lentils and their liquid and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the optional wine, soy sauce, seasoning blend, thyme, and pepper. Cook gently for 5 minutes. Combine the cornstarch with just enough water to dissolve in a small container. Stir into the lentil mixture.
Add the spinach, a little at a time, cooking just until it’s all wilted down. Remove from the heat; taste to adjust seasonings to your liking.
Lightly oil a 2-quart (preferably round) casserole dish, or two deep-dish pie plates. Scatter the breadcrumbs evenly over the bottom. Pour in the lentil mixture, then spread the potatoes evenly over the top. If using two pie plates, divide each mixture evenly between them.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to turn golden and slightly crusty. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, then cut into wedges to serve.
- Here are more easy, tasty potato recipes.
- Mushroom lovers, rejoice! Here are more mushroom recipes for you.
- Return to A Colorful Vegan Christmas (Vegetarians Welcome!) for a complete listing of holiday dinner recipes, menus, and desserts.
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28 comments on “Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie”
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This is almost done cooking now. I added some carrots and celery and used Sherry (a good deal more too!) and a tsp. of miso instead of soy sauce. It smells great! This makes a huge amount though. I have enough for two dinners at least if not three. I hope it freezes well. Thanks!
This recipe makes a heaping helping, since it’s meant as a holiday meal entree. I don’t know whether it would freeze well, though—potato dishes often don’t. If you try freezing it, let me know how it thaws and reheats!
Hi, I would like to make this for my daughter for Christmas since she is vegan but can’t find the recipe for your all-purpose seasoning anywhere on the website. Can you please send it to me via email? Thanks, Holly
Holly, I’m so sorry for this omission; that’s what happens when I quickly copies a recipe from one of my books, this time forthcoming one, with a reference to a page number. All that reference referred to, and which I corrected in the recipe above, is the mention of a couple of my favorite brands, Spike (from natural foods stores) and Mrs. Dash (from the supermarket). I will also contact you via e-mail as you requested.
I made this for my family tonight and it is very good! Thank you!
LOVE. I made this the other night without adding red wine and using soy sauce. I also added some more veggies from a frozen variety pack for more color and added Adobo seasoning. It was so delicious and I couldn’t stop eating it. I can’t wait to make it again!
Lisa, so glad you enjoyed it. I like hearing how others tweak these recipes to suit their taste. I’m due to make it again myself and am interested to see what the Adobo seasoning does to it. Thanks for your comment!
I have made this 3 times now and I love it. I use far fewer potatoes – just a thin layer for the top. I can eat half of it in one sitting. It is now my comfort food. I make it a bit spicier than called for. I use fresh lentils, skip the oil and the salt and cornstarch, and this time I added baby bok choy instead of the spinach. Each time it is fabulous. Thank you!!!
Susan, I’m glad this is a hit in your kitchen. I’m always please that readers take my basic recipes and make them their own. This is a recipe that can be varied so many ways, and I’m glad people are taking it upon themselves to do so!
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This is absolutely delicious! My mom and I made it for dinner last night, and it is now my first vegan staple recipe! Vegan comfort food at its best. We do agree that when we make it again, we will increase the amount of filling, or decrease the amount of potato, in order to have a ratio that we prefer. We might try putting peas and carrots in it to make it look more like traditional shepherd’s pie, but the flavor is just perfect just the way it is. Thank you for this recipe!
Just did a trial run with this recipe to see if I wanted to bring on Thanksgiving day. I loved it! I brought it to a luncheon with some girlfriends and they gave it a thumbs up. I made the recipe as written except I used soy milk instead of rice milk because it was what I had available. Definitely will be making for Thanksgiving day.
I just bought your Vegan Holiday Kitchen book and was thrilled this recipe is in it. I’m going to take it to a Thanksgiving dinner so I can be sure to have something to eat for myself and my son.
I’d like to cook lentils vs. using canned ones. Any idea how many I need to cook to equal 2 cans?
Thanks and I’m looking forward to trying more recipes in your book.
Connie
Thanks Jessica and C Lorenson! Hope the rest of your family and guests enjoy it. Have a great holiday …
Hi Connie — I’d say that two cans worth of lentils would be about 3 1/2 cups. Blanking a bit on how much that would be raw, but I think you’d be safe to cook 1 1/2 cups lentils. Make sure to reserve just a bit of the liquid you cooked them in to use in the dish, just enough to make them a bit moist, but not soupy. Enjoy and have a great holiday!
This recipe once made my then four-year old ask, “oh Eema (mommy). When is Abba (daddy) going to be a shepherd?” He is now seven and we still don’t know why! I’m allergic to soy and the Bragg’s. Any suggestions?
This dish is in our regular fall/winter dinner rotation. I also use fresh lentils and the amount is different every time. My whole family loves it. Thank you!
Hi Miri — being Israeli-born, I got a kick out of Eema and Abba and the question asked! I apparently forgot to make a suggestion on subbing for the Bragg’s to make the recipe soy-free. I would say to simply salt to your taste and add a favorite seasoning for extra flavor. These recipes are eminently flexible and can be made to suit your palate. Enjoy the holiday!
Thanks, Lori! Enjoy the holiday.
This recipe is really quite delicious and a sure winner!
I had to alter it a bit as well. I did not have red wine so I used what I had; hibiscus tea. Also, I halved the Earth Balance and oil, used lentils made from scratch (which means I needed to add water to the recipe to adjust it a bit), I left the skin on the potatoes, used soy milk instead of rice milk, add some fresh sage to the mix, and finally, I added fresh carrots and celery (not all in that order). Very very good!
In the future, I may add tomato paste to the filling as I like my Shepard’s Pie tomatoey.
Suggestion- Your recipe should call for chopping up the mushrooms .
I used Lacinato Kale and collards instead of spinach.
Very good recipe
Thanks for pointing that out, Howard. I fixed it. And I can see how lacinato would be very good in this — hard to go wrong with kale!
Hi there,
What’s exactly is the All-Purpose Seasoning? Unfortunately we don’t have the stores you mentioned in Australia so I’m hoping there’s something similar here! So last minute, I’m making this for my part of the family Christmas dinner!
Emma
Hi Emma — all-purpose seasoning is simply any seasoning blend that combines a number of herbs and spices in a non-spicy mix. You can just use whatever favorite individual seasonings you have on hand, to your taste. Hope you and enjoy this dish!
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. My family absolutely loved it. I used the extra spicy version of Mrs Dash and less potatoes.
You’re very welcome, Susan — glad you and your family enjoyed it, and I always like hearing about the variations readers come up with.
Hi. I made this recently for a party of ten and we had a lot leftover, but I think we made a double batch? I’m not entirely sure as I was working with another cook. Can you tell me how many servings this recipe makes?
Vibeke, you’re the first person who noticed that this widely-used recipe didn’t have the serving amount listed, so I just added that in. This is meant to serve 8 or more. It does sound as if you made a double batch, since if this was for a party of 10, it would have been gone! Thanks for the eagle eye.