Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
I’m very happy to announce that we raised $7,234 dollars (and climbing!) for the Japan Disaster Fundraiser!! I am absolutely blown away and touched by your generosity. I never dreamed that this much money was possible in just over a day’s time. This money is going to help many in need!
I’m currently working on the Excel document for the giveaway (it’s taking me longer than planned!) and I will be sure to update this post later today when I have the winners selected, so be sure to check back.
UPDATE: The winners can be found on this page.
To me, St. Patty’s Day is the final hurrah of comfort food for the Winter season. Spring is right around the corner (4 days, but who’s counting?), and after today, we will gradually shift to lighter fare in hopes that the weather follows suit.
We are actually being blessed with beautiful Spring weather too! I’m hoping the snow will be gone by tomorrow.
But, today, it’s all about the warm comfort food to bid farewell to Old Man Winter.
Last night we paid tribute to our Irish roots with this delicious vegan shepherd’s pie with gravy. I wonder what our Irish relatives would think of a vegan shepherd’s pie? I’ll have to make it for them if we make it to Ireland this year! Eric was actually happy to have a vegan version because he is not a fan of ground meat, which is traditionally used in this dish.
It was not only the first time I have made a vegan version of this classic dish, but it was also the first time I have ever made a shepherd’s pie, period! It turns out that it isn’t so scary after all, unless of course you are afraid of using a knife. I’m not going to sugar coat this, this recipe requires a lot of peeling and chopping so be warned.
But, it was worth the effort, resulting in an extremely comforting and delicious dish.
Vegan Shepherd's Pie with Gravy
Yield
6 generous servings
Prep time
Rest time
10 minutes
Cook time
Total time
Adapted from Choosing Raw.
Ingredients
For the mashed potatoes
- 3 lb. potatoes (I used a bag of organic red potatoes), peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp Earth Balance, or equivalent
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp non-dairy milk (I used soy)
- 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
For the vegetable filling
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 medium carrots, peeled & small dice
- 2 parsnips (or other root vegetable), peeled & small dice
- 4 celery stalks, small dice
- 1 cup, full sodium vegetable broth (or more as needed)
- 1/4 cup red wine (or more broth)
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2-3/4 tsp kosher salt, to taste + black pepper
- 3 tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and lightly oil a 2.5 quart/2.3 litre casserole dish. Place peeled and chopped potatoes into a large pot and add water, 2 inches above potatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for about 30 minutes until very tender.
- Meanwhile, prepare the vegetable filling. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and add to a skillet along with the oil. Cook on low for about 5-7 minutes. Now add in the chopped carrots, parsnip, and celery. Cook on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes.
- When the potatoes are done cooking, drain and add back to the pot. Add the Earth Balance (or butter), milk, and seasonings and mash well. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the liquid ingredients (broth, red wine (optional), thyme, and flour). Add this liquid mixture to the vegetables in the skillet and stir well. Add your salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or so until thickened. Season to taste.
- Scoop vegetable mixture into casserole dish. Spread on the mashed potato mixture and garnish with paprika, ground pepper, and Thyme. Bake at 425°F for about 35 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Mixture will be very hot in the middle so be careful! I suggest serving this with All-Purpose Vegan Gravy.
Tip:
Suggestion: Serve with All-Purpose Vegan Gravy
I adapted this recipe from the lovely Gena over at Choosing Raw. Her version is a bit different than mine, using mushrooms. I didn’t have any mushrooms on hand (grocery store was out of them!), so I made do without.
Again, lots of chopping for this recipe…but keep your eye on the prize! You could always make this process go faster by using a food processor too.
Add the the oil, onion, and garlic into the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes on low heat.
Now add in the carrots, parsnips, and celery and cook on low for about 10 minutes or so.
Make the boozy broth. It wouldn’t be a St Patty’s Day meal with out a little booze!
After mixing the seasonings, flour, broth, and wine together in a bowl, add it into the veggie mixture and cook on medium for another 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, make the mashed potatoes and set aside.
By this point, your veggie filling will have thickened up nicely. It shouldn’t have too much liquid in it at this point. If for some reason your mixture is dried out, you can add a bit more broth as needed.
Pour it into a 2.5 quart/2.3 litre casserole dish.
Spread mashed potatoes on top and garnish with paprika, Thyme, and black pepper.
Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden, at 425F. The veggie mixture will bubble around the edges!
And it will be SUPER HOT, so please cool for about 10-15 minutes before serving…tongues will burn. Trust me on this one. ;)
I highly recommend making the vegan gravy to go along with it as it complemented this dish really well.
I think this was a good first attempt at making a vegan shepherd’s pie. When I make it next time, I might add in a layer of my ‘veggie meat’ made with mashed beans, chopped walnuts, and seasonings, similar to the one used in my taco salad. I think it would give it a great texture!
Tonight we enjoy leftovers!
I’ll leave you with some fun Irish proverbs to kick off St. Patty’s Day…
Never bolt the door with a boiled carrot. (hahah)
Man is incomplete until he marries. After that, he is finished.
It is sweet to drink but bitter to pay for.
Don’t break your shin on a stool that is not in your way.
If you dig a grave for others, you might fall into it yourself.
May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.
THIS WAS DELICIOUS :) i used sweet potato instead of parsnip, and didn’t even make the gravy and it was amazing. my carrot hating, vegan-suspicious husband loved it. thank you for allowing me to give him some vitamins!
I have been stalking your blog for a few weeks now and have made some recipes but this one came out tops. It was so delicious everyone at home loved it…..needless to say we’ll be seeing it on the table again.
This recipe is amazing! I always read comments to these recipes and I think it’s great when people are excited to cook them but I always want to hear from someone who’s actually made it. Which is why I had to post this. This is by far the best dish I have made. It’s incredible and perfect for a cold, windy night. The flavors were incredible and you can add whatever veggies you have on hand. I will definitely be adding this to my favorite meals and have already shared it with my family!
Oh my goodness, this was amazing!!!! Even my 14 year old (omni) brother gobbled it up. Now I have leftovers for the whole week!
I just made this tonight, and it was amazing. As a veggie, I haven’t had shepherd’s pie in years. I ate so much, and the wine was an excellent touch!
Thanks for the recipe! :)
That’s so great to hear!
Well I’m giving this a try for a Thanksgiving dish…I just finished chopping the veggies and realized that my definition of “small dice” is much smaller than what the picture shows. I hope it turns out okay! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Made this for brunch today. Was a success. Used turnips instead of parsnips. I’m not a great chopper of raw veg so I put the whole carrot, whole celery and turnip (chopped into big chunks) in the water with the potatoes. Just took all veg out (left potatoes) in about 15 mins. and chopped up the soft veg and added to the onion and garlic in pan. Used the liquid from the boiled veg/potato for the broth. My daughter really liked the way the potatoes browned and the paprika and thyme sprinkled on top. Your recipes are foolproof!
Thanks again for recommendation on what to do w/leftover mashed potatoes. It’s a keeper!
This recipe is CRAZY good. And I’m so glad that I made the gravy, too. It’s full of flavor, and my very much non-vegan boyfriend gobbled this up like nobody’s business.
Made this again for my daughter and she enjoyed equally as well as the 1st time. This time substituted broccoli for root veg and put in a few pieces of sweet potato pieces as well. She loved it. Think will make again tomorrow night with whole new veg choices. Seems like any combo works equally well with this great recipe. Thanks Angela!
Made this today and served it with a vegan mushroom gravy…delicious. I’m so very happy to have discovered your blog!
I added some frozen peas and corn to add a bit of texture and some more veggie goodness. I’ve made this several times now, and it is officially in the repertoire (especially if I’m having meat eaters over for dinner…they love this! )
When you say Earth Balance what do you mean? They seem to have a variety of products so I am a tad confused.
You can use any kind of EB you wish. :) I use the soy-free spread.
So it is like a spread as in butter …margarine? Trying to get what the ingredient is that i am supposed to be putting in i feel a bit silly! Thank you for your help hehe..
Also were can I find EB in Canada?
I just made this recipe and it was delicious! i just added some beans and cherry tomatoes.. i think i will be making it again in the fall or winter.. do you know if it freezes well?
I’m not sure about freezing it, but let me know if you try it out. :)
This was NOM. We added sweet potatoes as our root veggie. NOM NOM. Seriously awesome. Thank you so much!!!!!!
This was delicious! Your recipes never let’s down. Didn’t realize I was out of celery until it was too late. So I skipped it, but added mushrooms and my leftover green beans. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Big hit with the hubby!
haha for a second, I thought I was reading a comment on my pink power smoothie post and I was like whaaa? then I realized it’s for shepherd’s pie…hah makes much more sense now!
Hi there,
Just wanted to thank you for the recipe!! I made it last night and it was soooo delicious (and the gravy, mmm). And finally I have something I can serve to my meat-and-salt-eating Austrian friends. :)
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Thanks for the great recipe. Made it for dinner last night with a few variations. My daughter is vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, and goitrogenic food-free. So I’m always looking for great recipes. I substituted ex. virgin ex. light olive oil for the vegan marg and used coconut milk for the potatoes (and left red skin on, too). Left out the parsnips and added a small can of portabella mushrooms. Served it with a lentil/pecan loaf and can’t wait for tonight’s leftovers.
Just bought all the ingredients to make this! Question – if I wanted to make in advance, should I assemble and wait to bake until right before serving, or bake in advance and then pop in the oven to reheat before serving?
Hey Faith, I haven’t tried either method, but you could probably do it either way? I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. I would probably assemble it in advance and then cook it later.
Thank you!!
Tried this recipe and also added in red and golden beets, celery root, and mushroom. I roasted these separately before adding these in to be sauteed.
I found the recipe too thyme-y for my taste, and I should have added the lentils that I had purchased but forgot to throw in. Otherwise, it came out more as a sidedish feel (and lots of more starch-feeling than I had planned! Maybe some spinach would have helped, too).
However, the vegan gravy was delish and saved the day. Now, I’m just left eating the entire dish to myself because my semi-meat-eating mother did not like it that much. Not that terrible, but still. I’m going to gain weight from this if I don’t moderate! Maybe try something spicy to get me to stop snacking on it. Next time, will also try a curry or cumin version of this dish.
Served this along with your excellent wild rice pilaf at our belated Canadian Thanksgiving dinner and it was a hit! Even the most skeptical meat-eater at the table – who was originally going to bring meat filled leftovers as a backup plan (!) loved it and wiped his plate clean. Thank you for sharing such delicious recipes with us!