Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie Recipe (2024)

Absolutely delicious. I hate when people change recipes, but I had no mushrooms, so doubled the carrots to four and would use six next time; used shallot instead of leek. Okay, sorry, also used up a nice bit of goat cheese instead of sour cream in the potatoes. The puy lentils make all the difference and so does a bit of Worcestershire sauce. Oh man I changed so many things, I'm one of those irritating people. But let's take it as homage—this was so good I got text messages from people

This was a very tasty dinner on a chilly evening. The filling turned out surprisingly savory and meaty even with just cremini mushrooms instead of a mix. I admit that I used cauliflower in place of potatoes for the topping and cut the butter back to two tablespoons. No complaints from anyone. No leftovers either.

1. Add potatoes to a pan of cold well salted water, bring to a boil and cook 10 - 15 mins. Check after 10 minutes.2. Can use half sweet potatoes, half regular potatoes.3. Substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream.4. Can substitute onions for leeks.5. Can use 1/2 tsp dried thyme instead of fresh sprigs6. Add a Tbsp or two of Panko to the grated Parmesan topping

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is not vegetarian. Sadly, it contains rennet (scrapings from animal intestines.) There are somewhat similar types of cheese which are vegetarian/vegan which may be available at your local cheese shop.

As others have mentioned, this makes more potato topping than you'll need. Rather than reducing the potatoes, though, I'd add more carrots, lentils and mushrooms to the base. I'd also up the base's complexity with carmelized onions, and deglaze with white wine. It just needs more oomph. Also, instead of all the effort of mixing parmesan into the potatoes, I'd up the butter and cream until you have a really good standard mashed potato flavor for the topping.

Kosher parmesan will not have rennet.

Can you make the day before? Traveling to a vacation home for Christmas dinner. Please advise!

This was AMAZING. No leftovers whatsoever! Pretty easy to make but it takes time and may take more pots and pans than anticipated. Plan ahead!

This was DELICIOUS. I made it a day ahead, for a St. Patrick's Day party (I'm the vegetarian) and everyone loved it. I kept the filling separate from the potato topping until it was time to bake. Savory and comforting - this is a delightful winter dish, and a nice choice for vegetarian and/or gluten-free guests (use cornstarch instead of the flour). I found green lentils at Trader Joe's.

I have made this several times and its been a hit every single time! There is a lot of work and a lot of pots and pans to clean after, but the recipe is totally worth it... so I've often made 1.5 times or even double the batch and frozen for another meal a few days/weeks later. I freeze the filling and topping separately in air-tight containers and thaw in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours before assembling and baking. The frozen version comes out just as good and leftovers are also delish!

Cook it all separately. Worth it. Add rosemary. Use potato water bullion with the veggies. Caramelize onions first. Use potato water and yogurt in mashed potatoes. Smoked paprika on top. Add celery and corn.

A delightful meal and I dare say better than meat based shepherd’s pies I have eaten. I did not find the prep work too much. I did boil potatoes the day before and warmed them up in the microwave before mashing. This did cut down on the prep time. While the potatoes boiled I peeled and cut the vegetables and stored in frig until the next day.

Try cooking the lentils with two cups red wine for two cups of the broth. I also use a mash of potatoes, one mashed parsnip, and one mashed white sweet potato. As many comments indicate, this is a recipe which can take many variations and almost all enjoy it, especially on a cold night

Really good dish--even though (as a non-vegan), I (and my family) also love traditional Shepherd's Pie with lamb. Added Worcester sauce. Surprised at the comments about the number of dishes. By pre-cooking the lentils in the same pan that is later used for the mushrooms, leeks, tomato paste, etc., the only cooking pans are two (the above-mentioned, and one for cooking the potatoes pre-mashing). Yes, it takes some time (and measuring cups/bowls), but this is hardly unusual to any recipe.

This was very tasty. My son, who is not vegetarian, said it was good as he was eating it. I usually have to ask if he likes something, and then I get a critique as though he were a critic on Chopped. I used shallots, instead of leeks, because I prefer their flavor. I used a Parmesan (without rennet) which adds a lot of flavor to the potatoes. I will definitely make this again.

Wonderful recipe, just delicious. Had to sub black lentils for French green but otherwise made as written. A lot of pans but worth it. Would be an excellent pot luck dish. I always trust NYT 5* recipes and have never been disappointed!

Spectacular dish. Wow. Probably doesn’t need adjustment, but I deglazed pan with bourbon and added some diced, soaked dry mushrooms and their liquid. This made it a bit more complex and truly delicious. While i love traditional versions of this, I gotta say, this’ll be a go to recipe for just us and also for guests. Yummmmm.

Followed recipe exactly and it was FANTASTIC,

Made this mostly as written (seasoning/preference adjustments to potatoes) and it was outstanding. I brought this to a gathering on St.Patrick's day and everyone asked for the recipe. You really don't miss the meat in it at all. No one in the group was a vegetarian but I know one of them doesn't like ground meat, so thought this would be a good option. I will definitely make this again, and not just for St. Patricks. This will be a go-to recipe.

I had virtually everything except leeks (yellow onions work just fine). But, I've made this several times and the first two times with what I had on hand for lentils (brown) and once with French lentils. If you can get them, the French lentils make a huge difference. It's good without them, but it's awesome with them.

Potentially add 1 chopped sage leaf to the butter on the sautéing leeks step?

It would be lovely with rosemary

I have made this several times now. It is a fantastic dish. Once substituted whipped cauliflower for the potato topping. Last time I added a half bag of spinach chopped up and a stalk of celery. Otherwise followed the recipe. It has so much flavor and good texture mix. Brought it to a potluck where it was a big hit.

A new St. Pat tradition. I have a rule that I need to cook a recipe at least twice before I move it to my "favorites" file. This recipe was so delicious that it's earned a cooked-once-and-it's-saved-in-the-favorite-file honor. I did add some Worcestershire sauce and forgot to add the lemon at the end. I even made a special trip to the grocery store to buy a lemon. Ugh! Also, nixed the sour cream and parm cheese in the mashed potatoes because the butter and milk make them rich enough already.

I didn’t have green lentils so I used 1/4 c red lentils and 1/2 c black. The red basically disappeared in the cooking process but the black held up well and cooked in about the time suggested. I rarely cook lentils because I don’t really know what to do with them beyond daal but this was great!

I love this recipe and have made it many times. I have only altered the method. I actually sauté all the veggies then throw the lentils, paste, and broth on top and simmer until the lentils are done. While that mixture cooks I make the mashed. I love the idea of folding in some caramelized onions and corn with the peas at then of the lentil cooking time.

I’ve made a few vegetarian shepherds pies over the years and this was the best one! The filling was delicious. My family doesn’t love mushrooms, so I practically minced them. The minced mushrooms, along with the lentils resulted in a meaty texture without really tasting the mushrooms. Potato topping was creamy and flavorful with all that butter and sour cream!

A tweak here and there and this can easily be made vegan. I've been making something very similar for years for my customers to great reviews.

I make this once a year on St. Patrick’s Day and it is so loved by my pescatarian daughter and meat loving husband that I have to comment on what a hit it is. I don’t make any substitutions and found the note that there was ‘too much topping’ to be somewhat amusing as our family would never say there were too many mashed potatoes with anything! Last night’s prep just kept getting better with every bite and I am counting the minutes to lunch when I can have leftovers.

Light miso makes a wonderful substitute for parmesan in applications like this where it's mixed into a dish. Also great in risotto.