Name: Shepard's Pie
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1.5 lb potatoes OR cauliflower, cut into 1" pieces ((about 3 medium russet potatoes or 1 large head of cauliflower)); 1 tbsp finely minced kale (to taste); 1 tbsp finely minced fresh rosemary (sub 1 tsp dry rosemary); salt (to taste); black pepper (to taste); 1.5 tsp ENERG Egg (for mashed potatoes); 0.5 cup nondairy milk beverage (for mashed potatoes); 1 tbsp lemon juice (for mashed potatoes); 0.5 cup nondairy cream cheese or strained yogurt (for mashed cauliflower); 0.25 cup nondairy butter (i.e. 4 tablespoons); 1 tbsp oil; 2 celery stalks, finely chopped (sub 1/2 cup cabbage); 8 oz mushrooms, chopped (I usually use the cremini or button varieties); 0.5 tsp salt; 0.25 tsp black pepper; 1 tbsp tomato paste (sub 1 tsp tamarind paste or 1 tbsp pumpkin puree for a nightshade free option); 1 tbsp finely grated/zested ginger; 2 tbsp unsweetened, pure cranberry juice; 1.25 cups water or broth of choice; 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce (see recipe notes); 1 sprig of rosemary; 2 sprigs of thyme; 1 bay leaves; 2 carrots, chopped; 1.5 cups cooked legumes of choice, rinsed and strained (Adzuki beans and black eyed peas are my go-to options in this recipe.); 0.5 cup uncooked quinoa (any variety); salt (additional, to taste); black pepper (additional, to taste)

Happy Pi Week!

This savory, plant-based version of Shepard’s pie features your choice of legumes together with quinoa and mushrooms. Top it with mashed potatoes (shown here) or the less carb-intense, nightshade-free, mashed cauliflower. Make the filling up to 2 days in advance to simplify weeknight meal prep.

This recipe includes ideas from Alton Brown and America’s Test Kitchen. Gluten free, plant-based and vegan, allium free (no onions, no garlic), soy free, and corn free, alcohol-free, with nightshade free and low FODMAP friendly options. See recipe notes for the 5-minute DIY Worcestershire sauce substitute.

Jump to Recipe

The ingredient list looks daunting but mostly consists of things that are readily available at any grocer. There are are a few lesser-used ingredients (coconut aminos, daikon) that go into the DIY version of Worcestershire sauce. Over time I’ve gotten into the habit of making this in advance and freezing it in single-use quantities so its readily available when needed.

Let’s begin!

Prepare the Mashed Topping

Cut 1.5 lbs of peeled potatoes or cauliflower into about 1″ pieces. Boil or steam until tender. If you choose to boil them, strain and return the potatoes / cauliflower to the pot on high heat for 1 minute to boil off any remaining water.

For Potatoes: Mash the potatoes manually. Add the butter and continue to mash the potatoes until they are creamy-ish. Whisk together 1 ENERG egg with 1/2 cup of warm milk until frothy. Stir this frothy mixture into the mashed potatoes together with lemon juice. Add 1 tablespoon of finely minced (or food processed) kale and rosemary as well as salt and black pepper to taste. Mix to combine and set to the side.

Note: Mashed potatoes are fluffier and just seem prettier in this preparation. We go with this topping when we’re having people over. While tasty, mashed cauliflower is thinner and just a bit more watery. So we opt for this lower carb version when it’s ‘just us.’

For Cauliflower: These are less starchy than potatoes so they can be ‘mashed’ in a food processor or blender with 1/4 cup butter. If you’d like a creamier mixture, feel free to add nondairy cream cheese or strained nondairy yogurt. Add 1 tablespoon of finely minced (or food processed) kale and rosemary as well as salt and black pepper to taste. Mix to combine and set to the side.

Note: The mashed cauliflower has a tendency to get runny if you add nondairy milk beverage so I don’t recommend it. Also, please note that ENERG egg replacer (and many nondairy cream cheese and yogurt options) contain potato starch and should be avoided in the mashed cauliflower for those on a nightshade free diet.

Prepare the Filling

Saute celery and mushrooms in a broiler-safe 10″ skillet with oil, salt and black pepper until soft. Stir in the tomato paste (sub 1 tbsp of pumpkin puree or 1 tsp of tamarind paste) and ginger and cook until the bottom of the skillet is dark brown. Add cranberry juice and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until the juice has evaporated and/or been absorbed.

Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, carrots, dry quinoa and cooked beans and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 12 minutes until the quinoa is cooked.

Discard the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary sprigs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set to the side.

Add the Topping

Preheat the broiler to 450F.

Add the mashed potato or cauliflower topping to the filling. This can be done by piping it on using a ziplock bag or just spooning it on as was done here. If you have frosting bags and tips, you can get fancy here and create a really show- stopping look. Or you can just smooth it over with the back of a spatula and run the tines of a fork in concentric circles on the top to create this look inspired by America’s Test Kitchen.

Broil

Place the whole skillet on a rimmed baking sheet and broil on the top rack for about 10 minutes until the topping is golden brown and crusty to your liking.

Note: If you are assembling this pie using refrigerated filling made a day or so prior, reduce the temperature to 400F and increase the cook time to 25 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crusty and the filling is bubbling.

Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes.

Serve!

Print Recipe

Shepard’s Pie

This savory, plant-based version features your choice of legumes together with quinoa and mushrooms. Top it with creamy mashed potatoes or less carb-intense, nightshade-free, mashed cauliflower (shown in the picture). One more tip: Make the topping and/or filling up to 2 days in advance to simplify weeknight meal prep.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Resting Time10 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Ireland, United Kingdom

Keyword: allium free (no onions, no garlic), corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten-free, low FODMAP friendly option, nightshade free option, plant-based, plantbased, soy free, vegan

Servings:

Calories: 260kcal

Ingredients

Mashed Potatoes OR Cauliflower

1.5 lb potatoes OR cauliflower, cut into 1″ pieces (about 3 medium russet potatoes or 1 large head of cauliflower)
1 tbsp finely minced kale to taste
1 tbsp finely minced fresh rosemary sub 1 tsp dry rosemary
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1.5 tsp ENERG Egg for mashed potatoes
0.5 cup nondairy milk beverage for mashed potatoes
1 tbsp lemon juice for mashed potatoes
0.5 cup nondairy cream cheese or strained yogurt for mashed cauliflower
0.25 cup nondairy butter i.e. 4 tablespoons

Filling

1 tbsp oil
2 celery stalks, finely chopped sub 1/2 cup cabbage
8 oz mushrooms, chopped I usually use the cremini or button varieties
0.5 tsp salt
0.25 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste sub 1 tsp tamarind paste or 1 tbsp pumpkin puree for a nightshade free option
1 tbsp finely grated/zested ginger
2 tbsp unsweetened, pure cranberry juice
1.25 cups water or broth of choice
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce see recipe notes
1 sprig of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaves
2 carrots, chopped
1.5 cups cooked legumes of choice, rinsed and strained Adzuki beans and black eyed peas are my go-to options in this recipe.
0.5 cup uncooked quinoa any variety
salt additional, to taste
black pepper additional, to taste

Instructions

Mashed Potatoes OR Cauliflower

Boil or steam the potatoes (sub cauliflower) until tender. If you choose to boil the potatoes, strain and then return them to the pot and cook on high heat for about a minute to cook off any remaining water.
Mashed Potatoes: Mash the potatoes manually. Add the butter and lemon juice and mash the potatoes some more until creamy-ish. Whisk the warm milk and ENERG egg in a bowl until frothy and stir the mixture into the mashed potatoes. Add the salt and pepper to taste along with the minced kale and rosemary. Stir /whisk to combine and set to the side.
I don’t recommend mashing potatoes in using a food process/blender since the starches can transform your fluffy potatoes into a goopy, sticky mess.
Mashed Cauliflower: Mash the cauliflower manually or in a food processor with butter. For added creaminess, consider combining with nondairy cream cheese or strained nondairy yogurt. Add salt and pepper to taste and the finely minced kale and rosemary. Stir/whisk to combine and set to the side.
I don’t recommend adding nondairy milk beverage to the mashed cauliflower as it may likely make the mixture ‘runny’ instead of thick and creamy. Please note that the ENERG egg contains potato-based products and should be avoided in the mashed cauliflower if you are on a nightshade free diet.

Filling

Saute celery and mushrooms in a broiler-safe 10″ skillet in oil with salt and black pepper until just starting to soften, 3-4 minutes.
Stir in ginger and tomato paste (sub tamarind paste, pumpkin or sweet potato puree for nightshade free option). Stir and cook until the bottom of the skillet is dark brown, about 2 min.
Add the unsweetened, tart cranberry juice, scraping up any browned bits, until the juice has been fully incorporated/boiled off.
Add the water/broth, Worcestershire sauce (see recipe notes), thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, carrots, dry quinoa and cooked legumes, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 12 minutes until the quinoa is cooked.
Discard the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary sprigs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set to the side.
Preheat the broiler to 450F. Pipe the potatoes / cauliflower in an even layer over the filling. If you have frosting bags and tips, you can get fancy here and create a really show stopping look. Or you can just smooth it over with the back of a spoon or spatula, being careful to seal the edges. Run the tines of a fork in concentric circles on the top to create this look.
Place the skillet on a rimmed pan and broil on the top rack for ~10 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crusty.
Remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes. Serve!

Notes

Cranberry juice is used in place of the red wine often used in traditional Shepard’s (lamb)/Cottage (beef) pie recipes.

If you are assembling this pie using refrigerated filling made a couple days ago, reduce the temperature to 400F and increase the cook time to 25 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crusty and the filling is bubbling.

Nightshade Free Substitutions:

The tomato paste in this recipe can be substituted with 1 tsp of tamarind paste or 1 tbsp of pumpkin or sweet potato puree. Mashed cauliflower can be used as a substitute for mashed potatoes. Just note that cauliflower has a higher water content so will have a different texture than potatoes when mashed. We love it with either topping so it comes down to personal preference.

Low FODMAP considerations:

Cabbage or even fennel bulb may be better tolerated at the quantities used in this recipe and can easily be substituted for the celery if needed (1/2 cup cabbage = 1 tbsp cabbage per serving). The rinsed, strained legumes in this recipe should be tolerated for those on a low-FODMAP diet in the suggested serving size (1.5 cups rinsed/strained legumes = 3 tbsp legumes per serving). Root vegetables are generally well tolerated but consider swapping the daikon for kale if needed in the Worcestershire sauce substitution below.

5-min Worcestershire sauce adapted from Nyteglori’s recipe from Genius Kitchen.

- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground mustard seed powder
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp zested daikon

Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Cool and store.

Nutrition Facts

Shepard's Pie

Amount Per Serving

Calories 260 Calories from Fat 108

% Daily Value*

Fat 12g18%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Sodium 316mg13%

Potassium 727mg21%

Carbohydrates 30g10%

Fiber 6g24%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 2890IU58%

Vitamin C 17.2mg21%

Calcium 92mg9%

Iron 4.6mg26%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition label is for 1 serving of Shepard’s pie made using adzuki beans in the filling with a mashed potato topping. Cuisine origin based on Wikipedia. March 12 2019: Updated recipe notes and corrected misprint in nutrition label.