Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie (vegan, gluten free)
Dec 10, 2020 • Updated Jun 20, 2023
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Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
There are few meals in my mind that are cozier than Shepherd’s Pie, besides Vegan Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie, that is! This is my meatless, dairy free take on a classic winter dish and the best part is that it’s both delicious and nutritious.
A Shepherd’s Pie is typically made with a base of ground meat, veggies like peas, carrots and corn, fresh herbs and a mashed potato topping. It’s similar to a pot pie, but with broiled mashed potatoes to top instead of pie crust. Comfort food to the max! As is, it’s a pretty balanced meal, with a source of protein, variety of veg and complex carbohydrates thanks to sweet potato.
The dish is fairly easy to veganize, and I’ll provide a few different options because I know there are folks that prefer an all veggie dish, some that prefer tofu and some that prefer faux meats. It’s a fairly straightforward recipe in two parts–mashed sweet potato and a veggie filling.
This Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie is vegan, gluten free, nut free, refined sugar free and can be made oil free as well.
What’s in this Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie?
- Potatoes → I opted to use white sweet potatoes, but you can use orange sweet potatoes or russet potatoes if you prefer a more classic pie.
- Frozen veggies → I like a blend of frozen peas, corn and carrots, but you could also add green beans. If you prefer to use fresh veggie ingredients, just be sure to sauté as needed to cook through.
- Mushrooms → In place of a ground beef, roughly processed mushrooms create an umami, meaty texture and add lots of flavour to the filling. I like to use a mix of shiitake and button mushrooms.
- Plant protein → On top of the mushrooms, adding a plant protein like tofu, lentils or faux meat make the dish a high protein meal. You can opt to leave this out if you prefer.
- Vegetable broth → I highly recommend a “beef flavoured” vegetable bouillon, to replicate what is typically a beefy filling, but feel free to use any vegetable broth you like!
- Fresh herbs → The standard rosemary, thyme and sage take the filling to the next flavour level!
- Mirepoix → As always, our flavour builders, shallot, garlic and celery, create the base for our delicious filling.
And a touch of tomato paste, arrowroot starch, or gluten free flour of choice to thicken, plus salt and pepper to season.
Secrets to success
To make this dish in a time efficient way, I recommend starting with boiling the potatoes, and preparing the filling while they’re boiling. The filling and potatoes should be ready around the same time, and you can then mash and top your filling with potato.
If you’d like to take your dish to the next level, mash your potato with a little bit of vegan butter to fluff. You can also get creative with your potato pattern, by piping your potato filling onto the dish, or scoring in different patterns.
If you like this recipe, try…
- Sweet Potato Dessert Boats
- Holiday Harvest Rice
- Lemon & Herb Crusted Tofu Steaks
- Cornbread Muffins
- Creamy Quinoa Mushroom Bake
If you try this recipe out, tag me on Instagram @veggiekins so I can see your delicious re-creations and feature them! As always, I love when you share your reviews in the comments below, and if you make any fun substitutions, let me know how it worked out below too.
Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie (vegan, gluten free)
Ingredients
- 3 large potatoes white sweet or russet
- 1/2 cup celery finely minced
- 2 shallots finely minced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 3-4 cups mushrooms pulsed gently in a food processor
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch or flour of choice
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp fresh sage
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth I like this vegan beef-flavoured bouillon, more as needed
- salt and pepper to taste
- unsweetened plant milk as needed
- optional
- 8 oz extra firm pressed tofu brown/green lentils or vegan ground "beef"
Instructions
- Prepare potatoes
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you prepare your potatoes. Remove skins, and chop into chunks.
- Once water is boiling, add potato chunks and cook until fork tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- Strain and transfer potatoes into a large bowl, then mash until smooth using a potato masher or fork.
- Add plant milk as needed to help then, and season lightly with salt and pepper. You want the potatoes to be smooth enough to spread.
- Prepare filling
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté shallot, celery, garlic and fresh herbs in oil or vegetable broth until fragrant and tender. Add tomato paste, arrowroot starch, frozen vegetables, mushrooms and plant protein (if using) and sauté until evenly combined.
- Add vegetable broth and simmer until the mixture thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Assembling the pie
- Transfer filling into an oven safe baking dish or dutch oven and spread mashed potato mixture on top in an even layer.
- Using a fork, gently score lines into the potato layer, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Broil for 10-15 minutes until filling is bubbling and potato layer is lightly golden brown.
Video
@veggiekins Reply to @cherrychapst1ckk Cozy & hearty 🥣 full recipe link in comments! #vegan #vegantiktok #cozyathome #hellowinter #comfortfood #cooking #nyc
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Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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