The Best Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie (2015 Version)
Lentil, quinoa & barley vegetarian shepherd's pie with a potato, parsnip and goats cheese topping! This veggie pie is packed with flavor and texture. It's sure to be adored by your family and is one of the healthiest comfort food dishes you can prepare.
Ingredients
Topping
- 3 potatoes, chopped (you could peel the the potatoes if you don't like skins in your mashed potato, but I leave them on)
- 5 parsnips, chopped
- 125 g (4.5 oz) goats cheese
- A few spoonfuls of butter
- A couple handfuls of cheddar cheese
- 1 bunch of spring onions, aka green onions or salad onions, sliced, with the green and white bits separated
Filling
- 2 onions, minced
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 200 g (7 oz) mushrooms , sliced
- 2 Tbsp dried herbs such as rosemary, sage and thyme
- 1 Tbsp + 1 Tsp of dried mustard powder
- 1 Tbsp + 1 Tsp of dijon mustard
- 500 g (2.5 cups) mix of green lentils, quinoa and barley*
- 1500-1700 ml 6 or 7 cups of vegetable stock (faux beef stock works great too and gives a darker color to the filling)
- 1 spoonful of Marmite*
- 2 bay leaves
- 250 g (1 cup) frozen peas
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a few glugs of olive oil a large saucepan, and cook the carrots and onions until they start to soften (maybe 3-5 minutes).
- Add the mushrooms, herbs and mustard powder. Cook until the mushrooms start to let out moisture and the herbs are fragrant (another 2-3 minutes)
- Add the lentils, quinoa and barley (or whatever combo you're using) to the pan along with the vegetable stock, marmite and bay leaves.
- Bring to a low boil and then simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring regularly, until the grains have cooked. You may need to add more liquid throughout. It depends on your grains so just keep an eye on things.
- Meanwhile, make the topping. Boil the potatoes and parsnips for 15-20 minutes until both are fully cooked. Drain and return to the pan with the goats cheese and butter. Using a hand mixer, whip the mixture until it's creamy and totally smooth.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C / 355F
- Once the filling is fully cooked, add the frozen peas and cook for another few minutes until they are defrosted.
- Assemble the pie. Pour the filling into a large oven dish (see notes below) and top with the mashed potato and parsnip mixture. Add the grated cheddar and the white parts of the spring onion to the top.
- Cover and bake for 30-45 minutes.
Notes
*To make this recipe gluten free, omit the barley (just add more of the other grains) and the marmite (just add more of the other flavour sources).
I cooked this in a 4.8 liter (4.2 quart) stove-to-oven dish. I simply cooked the filling on the stove, added the topping and then baked it.
Calories: 559kcal, Carbohydrates: 79.2g, Protein: 24.4g, Fat: 15.4g, Saturated Fat: 8.4g, Sodium: 938.6mg, Fiber: 14.7g, Sugar: 10.1g