For week #49 of my 2018 challenge to try one new whole-food plant-based (WFPB) recipe each week, I made this shepherd’s pie. The inspiration came from this recipe by Cathy Fisher (creator of straightupfood.com). I tried her vegan mashed potatoes (which I found on the Forks Over Knives website) a few weeks ago. Then I saw that she had a delicious-looking shepherd’s pie recipe too! Mine is definitely an adapted version, based on personal taste preferences and what I had on hand.

What I like about this recipe:

• It’s hearty.

• It contains a variety of nutritious plant-based whole foods.

• It’s versatile. You can switch up ingredients in the filling, depending on your taste preferences.

What I ended up using/doing:

Note: This is a large recipe. If you don’t want to make as much, simply half the recipe.

Ingredients

For the mashed potatoes:

• A 5-pound bag of potatoes. I used Yukon Gold variety.

• 10 cups water

• 2 tsp. garlic powder

• 1 tsp. onion powder

• Salt and pepper to taste

For the filling:

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 2 ribs celery, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tsp. dried thyme

• 2 tsp. paprika

• 1½ cups water

• 2 tsp. Better Than Bouillon seasoned vegetable base.

• Two 12-oz. bags of frozen mixed vegetables. (The kind I used contained carrots, peas, green beans, and corn.)

• Half of a 16-oz bag of dried brown lentils, boiled according to package instructions and drained. (I had previously cooked a bag of dried lentils, used half of them for another recipe, and had the remaining half in the freezer. So for this I thawed the frozen lentils. You could also use 1-2 cans of lentils if you prefer, or just stick to mushrooms.) 

• One 4-oz package of fresh mushrooms, minced

• Mashed potatoes (used to thicken the filling)

Steps

1. I started by making this simple mashed potato recipe, which I shared a few weeks ago.

2. For the filling, in an over-sized saute pan or a pot, combine the first 7 ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer until the onion and celery have softened.

3. Add the frozen mixed veggies and simmer until cooked to your liking.

4. Add the lentils and mushrooms and simmer until the mushrooms have cooked to your liking.

5. Once all veggies in the filling have cooked, add some mashed potatoes to the mixture to thicken as needed.

6. Season the filling with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Pour the filling into a 10x15 glass baking dish, or into a couple smaller-sized glass baking dishes.

8. Cover the mixture with the mashed potatoes, spreading them evenly over the top.

9. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees, or until the potatoes are lightly browned on the high spots.

10. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. (It will thicken as it cools.)

11. Enjoy!