This delicious classic casserole, a vegetable-filled shepherd's pie, requires 30 to 40 minutes of hands-on time, plus about an equal amount of baking. So, while it may not qualify as a quick dish to make when you come home from work, it's a comforting weekend meal. It's substantial and filling.
Serves: 6 or more
- 4 large or 6 medium potatoes
- 1 tablespoon Earth Balance or other vegan buttery spread
- ½ cup unsweetened nondairy milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 cups very finely chopped cauliflower or broccoli
- ½ to 1 cup chopped brown or white mushrooms
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1 cup cooked fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill, optional
- 2 teaspoons salt-free seasoning blend (like Frontier or Mrs. Dash)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, optional
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Peel and dice the potatoes. Place in a 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 buttery spread into the potatoes until melted, then add the nondairy milk and mash until fluffy. Set aside until needed.
- Meanwhile, as the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onion and carrots and sauté over medium heat until the onion is golden. Add the cauliflower or broccoli and the mushrooms along with ¼ cup water. Cover and cook until the vegetables are just tender.
- Add the peas, corn kernels, parsley, seasoning blend, and optional dill. Cook until the mixture is well heated through, then stir in ½ cup of the mashed potatoes and the optional nutritional yeast. Season with salt and pepper.
- Lightly oil a shallow 2-quart casserole dish. Pour in the vegetable mixture and pat in evenly. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top and pat down lightly.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to turn golden and slightly crusty. Let stand for 5 minutes, then cut into squares or wedges to serve.
Nutrition information:
Per serving: Calories: 214; Total fat: 4g; Protein: 6g; Fiber: 6g; Carbs: 41g; Sodium: 49mg
Variations:
To make this dish even more substantial, add 8 ounces of well-drained, finely diced tofu (or baked tofu) or 1 cup cooked or canned beans of your choice. Just stir them into the vegetable mixture.
Other vegetables can be substituted for the ones listed above. Try zucchini or green beans in place of the corn and/or peas, for example.
- Find more of VegKitchen's Vegan Dinner Recipes.
- Browse more of VegKitchen's vegan casserole recipes.
Hareen Seerha says
What is Earth Balance??
Nava says
It's a vegan buttery spread — basically a nonhydrogenated margarine.
Hareen Seerha says
Oh, I wanted to give you an idea for the special occasions. Maybe you could do Anniversaries. My parent's are having their's and I want to surprise them be making a romantic but tasty dinner. I have had so much trouble finding formal, but not wedding formal food for this. Maybe it is something you could consider.
Hareen Seerha says
could the wheat germ be substituted with breadcrumbs??
Nava says
Yes, breadcrumbs would work really well.
Nava says
In reply to your other comment, that's a very good idea. There should be a section on romantic dinners for two; it would work for anniversaries, engagements, as well as Valentine's Day! I'll definitely give it some thought.
Tracy says
Can I leave out the wheat germ all together? My husband is gluten intolerant. Is the wheat germ just for texture? Thanks!
Nava says
Tracy, the wheat germ is to absorb a bit of that moisture from the
veggies layer and make it a bit easier to scoop out. It would likely be fine without it, or you could sprinkle with a fine layer of rice flour or even a very modest layer of a cooked grain.
Carol says
What about using sweet potatoes instead of white?
Nava says
Absolutely! Or, you can combine the two.
Tracie Lin says
I am no cook, so please excuse me. What if you added a vegan meat crumble layer, to make it more traditional?
Nava says
Tracie, by all means. I encourage readers to add their own tweaks to recipes, to make them your own. Hope you like it!
NirZ says
Just thought I'd point out - there is no mention of the mushrooms in the ingredient list, and there is no mention of what to do with the nutritional yeast in the recipe. I've made a few recipes from this website and almost all of them have at least one oversight like that.
Always been able to figure it out, but it is a little confusing the first time to see "add the broccoli and mushrooms" having not seen any mention of mushrooms prior.
Nava says
Hi Nir — so sorry about that, the recipe has been updated.
Jen says
I didn't see anything about wheat germ or substituting rice flour? Guess it pays to read thru the comments but there's no mention of how much of either ingredient. Can u post it? Thanks 🙂
Rachel says
Hey Vegan Banana,
One of my favorite winter dishes. Thank you as I have only recently given up flesh you have been a wealth of knowledge and encouragement. And I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have the dishes that I love to eat guilt free.
Rachel
Nava says
Thank you, Rachel! Glad we've been of service. Though I'm a bit perplexed by the Vegan Banana designation!
Christie Rechin says
Hello trying to make this dish for a friend. But I have 2 questions
1. What could I substitute mushrooms for? My friend is not a big fan of the consistency of mushrooms but I'm sure it adds a lot of flavor because your not adding meat.
2. When you add the beans to the dish for extra substance when do you add them in and how should I cut them, if I should at all?
Nava says
Hi Christie — you can just omit the mushrooms and increase one or two of the other vegetables by 1/2 to 1 cup or so. Or just use the beans, which will also make up for the volume. You just add them in with the other vegetables. Chickpeas would add a nice flavor. I hope your friend enjoys this!
Dominique says
Thanks for this amazing recipe. I love it so much I will make it for my christmas dinner. I hope that you don't mind that I added it to my latest blog "Vegan Christmas recipes". You can see it here: https://omdetox.com/21-vegan-christmas-recipes/
Happy holidays!