Vegan Mushroom and Pumpkin Shepherd’s Pie

A real seasonal favourite – this mushroom based vegan shepherd’s pie is great for a holiday meal or any time you need a good comfort food meal. It is more of a special dinner kind of recipe, needing about an hour from start to finish – not all active time – so it may be best saved for the weekend. Luckily, it makes enough for at least a couple of meals and leftovers are great.

I’ve included a little red wine for richness with the mushrooms, some fresh herbs (or dried), and a pumpkin and potato topping. Those are the stars. There are lentils for protein and lots of spices for flavour, too. This is a great recipe to make for picky eaters – it’s almost universally liked (by adults, at least, I’m not sure about kids).
This is not one of my go-to seasonal depression meals but if you have the energy and drive for it, this is truly very well worth it. It’s a nice thing to get lost in for an hour or so and focus on the task at hand.

There are always some unhappy people with veg versions of shepherd’s pie (‘but it needs lamb!’), but I did ask Aimee from Twigg Studios about shepherd’s pie versus cottage pie and she said if it’s vegan it doesn’t matter what it’s called. So I’m going with a vegan shepherd’s pie for the sake of familiarity.

Scroll to the bottom of the post or click “skip to recipe” above to see the recipe card with full ingredient measurements and instructions.

Ingredients

Method

In a large, heavy bottomed pan, oven safe if possible, heat the oil over medium. Add the mushrooms and sear for 5 minutes. Avoid stirring. Add the onions and cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until softened and fragrant. Stir in the garlic, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper, and cook for an additional minute.

Add the red wine and stir to release any spices stuck to the bottom of the pan. Pour in the vegetable broth and increase the heat to high to bring to a rolling boil. Add the lentils and reduce the heat to medium-low, then simmer for 20-25 minutes, covered, or until the lentils are cooked. Make the topping in the meantime.

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Peel the pumpkin if necessary and cut it into small chunks, about 4cm (1.5 in.). Wash and chop the potatoes to the same size. Place both into a medium pot, cover with water, and add a good pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer, covered, until the vegetables can be easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.

Drain the water, reserving a cupful, and let the potatoes and pumpkin dry in the pot for a few minutes before mashing. Use a potato masher to mash the vegetables before adding half of the reserved water, oil, salt, and pepper. Add more water as needed to get a smooth, spreadable consistency. If it’s too thick it’ll be difficult to spread over the mushroom filling.

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Taste and season the filling if needed. Whisk the arrowroot powder into the 2 tablespoons of water and then stir it in to the filling. It should thicken immediately. Remove from the heat and set aside.

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Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). If you used an oven safe dish, simply spread the topping in an even layer over the mushroom base. If not, spoon the filling into a baking dish and top with the potato pumpkin mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and the sauce has started to bubble up around the edges. Serve hot.

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Tips and Notes

That tiny bit of smoked paprika adds a nice depth and very subtle meatiness to the dish, and alongside the mushrooms and wine, brings a truly excellent flavour here. It’s widely available, but if you don’t have it, don’t worry! It’ll still taste great without, or using sweet paprika instead.

Since this cooks for about an hour total, there will still be traces of alcohol from the wine present in the final dish. As there’s just 60ml in the whole thing and it is cooked, it’s highly unlikely that anyone would be affected. If this is a concern for you, or you avoid alcohol completely, use balsamic vinegar as noted below.

Using the cooking water from the potatoes and pumpkins for mashing has two positives. One, it’s already there, so you don’t need to worry about warming milk. Two, the starch in the water makes for a silky smooth, perfect mash. A range is offered for the amount needed because it’ll vary depending on the types of potato and pumpkin used.

If you want to make this ahead of time, make both the filling and topping, then refrigerate for up to a couple of days before baking. Leftovers freeze well.

Substitutions

No worries if you don’t drink wine. A tablespoon of balsamic vinegar will add a similar depth of flavour and makes a good substitution. Make up the liquid difference with an extra splash of vegetable broth.

If you prefer a more classic pie, feel free to leave the pumpkin out of the topping and go all potato. I love the sweetness half pumpkin brings, but I get the desire for that traditional, nostalgic taste, too. You may need to increase the amount of liquid slightly.

I used black lentils purely for practicality here – they’re the least expensive where I’m living right now. Black, green, and brown lentils are all appropriate here in terms of texture, though brown will give you the most typical kind of colour you expect from a shepherd’s pie. Don’t use red lentils.

Any kind of mushroom can be used. White mushrooms are easiest, of course, but also the least flavourful – for a bigger punch, use brown, portobello, or a mix with shiitake or oyster mushrooms.

You can substitute a tablespoon of herbs du provence for the fresh herbs, or a teaspoon each of dried oregano and rosemary.

More Comfort Food Dinners

Lentil Bolognese
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Holiday Pie with Hot Water Crust
Lentil Potato Stew
Roasted Vegetable Pie with Puff Pastry

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