If cold-weather comfort food is what you’re after, this vegetarian shepherd’s pie is sure to satisfy. Loaded with vegetables, white beans, and tons of savory flavors, this hearty casserole is topped with a blanket of cheesy mashed potatoes. And it just happens to be naturally gluten free, as well.
Have you ever had shepherd’s pie? If you’re unfamiliar with this traditional English dish, it’s a casserole that typically includes ground lamb and vegetables, which is topped with mashed potatoes and baked.
The version I’m sharing today is a vegetarian take on the comforting classic. Here, we’ve leveled up the topping by including white cheddar cheese in the creamy mashed potato, which then gets nice and crispy on top under the broiler. Underneath is a well-seasoned stew-like filling of mushrooms, white beans, and vegetables. Hearty yet healthy, and so deliciously warming on a cold day.
Today’s recipe joins my list of 30+ delicious fall dinner recipes—and for good reason! Between testing, photographing, and filming a video reel for this dish, we probably made it about 12x. My entire team and I loved this. The flavor is downright INCREDIBLE.
Why You’ll Love This Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie, Too:
Classic comfort food, like a stew, casserole, or pot pie
Hearty yet wholesome and healthy filling
Well-seasoned with garlic and herbs
Customizable based on the vegetables you love
Topped with creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes
An excellent way to use up leftover mashed potatoes!
Satisfying all-in-one meal
Vegetarian and naturally gluten free
Perfect as a hearty vegetarian option for a holiday meal
Pot pie is usually prepared with pie crust or puff pastry and baked in a pie dish. It’s so satisfyingly delicious and my double-crust chicken pot pie is my go-to when I crave the regular version. I also have a biscuit-topped vegetable pot pie, which is more like a casserole and more similar to this vegetarian shepherd’s pie. The two differences with this recipe is that (1) we are topping it with mashed potatoes instead of pie crust, puff pastry, or biscuits and (2) the filling isn’t creamy/dairy-based.
Ingredients in Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie Filling (& Substitutions)
Olive Oil: Heat some olive oil in the skillet before you begin sautéing.
Vegetable Base: Chopped onion, carrots, and celery (aka mirepoix) make a flavorful and aromatic base to many soups, sauces, and stews. We’re adding some extra carrots, too.
Garlic: I usually use 3 cloves of garlic, but you could increase it to 4 for extra flavor.
Mushrooms: Mushrooms lend their meaty weight to this vegetarian filling, but if you don’t care for them, you can double the beans instead.
Red Wine + Red Wine Vinegar: We tested this shepherd’s pie without the wine, and found the flavor lacking. Choose an inexpensive table wine—you don’t need much, and the alcohol cooks off; that said, if you’d rather not use it, you can double the red wine vinegar and add a little more broth.
Tomato Paste: This helps the filling to thicken as it cooks. It serves the same purpose in this sweet potato chili, too.
White Beans: I use 1 can of great northern beans here, but feel free to use cannellini or navy beans instead.
Vegetable Broth: Vegetable broth is the main liquid in the filling, which helps everything cook down together into a stew-like consistency.
Herbs & Seasonings: Thyme, rosemary, parsley, salt, pepper, and a bay leaf flavor this filling. If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can substitute dried as listed in the printable recipe below.
Vegetable Add-Ins: Here’s where you can play around with the recipe by adding in the vegetables you love most or have on hand. I usually use a mix of frozen peas and corn. A bag of frozen mixed vegetables is super convenient, but you can use fresh or canned and drained vegetables instead of frozen, if you wish.
What is the Best Pan to Use for Shepherd’s Pie?
Feel free to cook and bake this shepherd’s pie all in one pan using an oven-safe skillet, like we do with this easy skillet pot pie recipe. I recommend a 12-inch cast-iron skillet that’s at least 2 inches deep. If you don’t have one, you can transfer the cooked filling from the stovetop to any oven-safe casserole dish that’s about 2.5–3-quarts in size. You could also use a Dutch oven, which can go from stove to oven.
I used a Le Creuset braiser pan in the color Sea Salt, which is definitely a little pricey, but such excellent quality. Makes a lovely gift to any cook or baker. (I’m not working with this brand, just a big fan!)
Cook the filling ingredients on the stove per the recipe below. Before it thickens, it looks like this:
Cheesy Mashed Potato Topping
For this, you need 2 pounds of potatoes. I typically use Yukon Gold, but russet potatoes are good too. You also need butter for flavor, sour cream to provide a creamy texture, salt, plus some white cheddar cheese. Instead of sour cream, you can use plain yogurt, milk, or heavy cream.
Do I have to add cheese to the mashed potato topping?
The cheese is optional, but taste testers and I loved the flavor sharp white cheddar provides here.
Can I use leftover mashed potatoes in shepherd’s pie?
Yes. If you happen to have leftover mashed potatoes from a big holiday meal, save yourself some time and use those to top the pie instead! Don’t worry about measuring how much; just add a nice layer on top of the stew-like mixture.
What tool do I use for the mashed potatoes?
You can use a potato masher if you have one, or a handheld mixer (what I use), or even a pastry cutter.
Spread the mashed potato topping over the thickened and warm filling (pictured below), and then bake:
Finish by broiling for a couple minutes, to crisp up the top of the mashed potatoes.
Warm from the oven, this vegetarian shepherd’s pie is a whole meal in one. I usually serve it with a simple green salad on the side. Between the creamy mashed potatoes, the vegetable filling, and well-seasoned flavor, this humble-looking dish ALWAYS delightfully impresses.
More Savory Dinner Pies
This recipe is part of Sally’s Pie Week, an annual tradition where I share a handful of new recipes that fit into the pie/crisp/tart category. Join the community below!
If cold-weather comfort food is what you’re after, this vegetarian shepherd’s pie is sure to satisfy. Loaded with vegetables, white beans, and tons of savory flavors, this hearty casserole is topped with a blanket of cheesy mashed potatoes. Naturally gluten free! See recipe Notes for some substitution suggestions.
Instructions
Cook the potatoes for the topping: To save time, and ensure that the potatoes are still warm when ready to use, boil the potatoes while you prepare the filling in step 2. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan or stockpot, and add enough water to cover, so that the water line is about an inch above the potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-high and boil until soft, about 10–15 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
Cook the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the red wine and vinegar to the pan. With a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, stir and scrape up any vegetable bits sticking to the pan. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add the tomato paste, broth, beans, herbs, salt, pepper, and bay leaf and let the mixture come to a boil. (You may need to increase the heat to medium-high to help it along.) Once it starts to bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced and thickened into a sauce, about 20 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat. Remove and discard the bay leaf, and then stir in the frozen vegetables. If your skillet is not oven-safe, transfer the filling to a greased 2.5–3-quart baking dish.
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
Finish the potato topping: Place the warm potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, sour cream, and salt. With a handheld potato masher or electric mixer, mash or beat until combined and creamy. Fold in the shredded cheese. Spread the mashed potato topping evenly over the filling.
Bake for 30 minutes; then, keeping the shepherd’s pie in the oven, turn on the broiler setting and broil on high for 1 to 3 minutes, until golden spots appear on the topping.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired, and serve warm.
Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat as desired. You can also freeze this for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat as desired.
Notes
Make Ahead Instructions: This dish tastes best baked right after you cook it on the stove. But, if needed, you can make both the mashed potatoes and filling up to 1 day ahead of time. Refrigerate both and assemble and bake the next day. I recommend bringing the mashed potato topping to room temperature and beating in a couple Tablespoons of milk to thin it out before spreading on the cold filling. Increase bake time by a few minutes.
Pan To Use: For cooking the filling and baking the dish, I recommend a 12-inch cast-iron skillet that’s at least 2 inches deep. If you don’t have one, you can cook the filling in a large pot and transfer it to an oven-safe casserole dish that’s about 2.5–3-quarts in size. You could also use a Dutch oven, which can go from stove to oven.
Mushrooms: If you wish to skip the mushrooms, use 2 cans of white beans instead of 1.
Red Wine: You can use any kind of red wine; I always use an inexpensive table wine. If you want to skip the red wine, you can replace with 1/2 cup more vegetable broth and use 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, but expect to lose some flavor.
Vegetable Add-Ins: Use 1 and 1/2 total cups of mixed vegetable add-ins. I usually use a mix of frozen green beans, peas, and corn (no need to thaw before using). You can also use fresh chopped vegetables, or canned and drained vegetables.
