This easy vegan shepherd’s pie is a plant-based twist on the traditional comfort food dish. And it is packed with flavor. I am sure it will satisfy all your cravings for a warm, comforting meal. This is the perfect dish for those cozy nights when you want something filling and super delicious yet vegan.
Peel, then chop onion and garlic into fine pieces. Peel, then dice carrots and eggplant into smaller cubes. Dice zucchini with skin on, also into smaller cubes.
Preheat the frying pan to medium heat and fry onion and garlic first. Once it's sauteed, add diced carrots. Stir well and cook for a few minutes.
Add diced eggplant and season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Stir well and cook for a few minutes.
Add diced zucchini and bay leaves at last, as zucchini needs a shorter time to be ready. Stir well and cook for a few minutes.
Add tomato paste and mix it well before pouring in the vegetable stock. I usually only add half of the stock. I only add the other half when the excess water evaporated.
Cook until all vegetables are soft. When ready, take them off the heat.
Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Peel and dice potatoes. Cooked them in salted water until soft. The smaller you dice the potatoes, the faster they will be ready.
When the potatoes are soft, drain the water and transfer the cooked potatoes into a large bowl. (Reserve cooking water if you want to make oil-free mashed potatoes.)
Add dairy-free butter and milk (we used our homemade vegan cashew milk) and season with some salt.
For mashing the potatoes, I use a hand mixer. In this way, you will get a very smooth almost foamy texture at the end. For more tips see our vegan mashed potatoes recipe.
Baking Vegan Shepherd's Pie
Preheat the oven at 400F (200C).
Take 4 ramekins (8-oz) or 1 larger oven-safe pot (8x8) and add the vegetable stew filling first. Spread it evenly before topping it with creamy vegan mashed potatoes.
Bake for 15 minutes under a broiler or until it gets light brown on top and the stew bubbles up around the sides.
Video
Notes
Chop vegetables evenly - We added carrots first, as they need the most time to be cooked, then zucchini and eggplant.
Cook the veggies until soft - Contrary to vegan pot pies, you shouldn't cook them until they are soft as pot pies need time in the oven to get the top crust baked. However, with Shepherd's Pie, we recommend cooking the veggies until they are soft and only broiling the top of the mashed potatoes in the oven.
Thickening the stew - If you feel that your stew has too much liquid, you can thicken it, starting with one Tablespoon of flour or starch and repeat if needed. It can happen if the zucchini releases much water or you add other veggies that behave similarly to mushrooms.
Extra safety - As the stew is bubbling up, we usually put a sheet pan below the oven-safe pot to capture any liquid pouring over the sides. Easier to clean the oven as you only have to wash the sheet pan, not your entire oven.