Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie is hearty and delicious — without the meat! This cozy version combines mushrooms, earthy parsnips, vegetables, herbs, stout beer, and buttery mashed potatoes.

This is your official invitation to comfort food season. Welcome!

This vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie is from my cookbook, The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook.

In fact, it’s the very first recipe I tested for the entire book.

I make this meatless dish all of the time — especially in the winter. There is something deeply comforting about a cozy, piping hot Shepherd’s Pie on a chilly night.

Especially one that is a bit healthier (but just as hearty) and loaded with nutritious veggies.

How to Make Shepherd’s Pie Vegetarian

There are a few ways to make this comfort food staple plant-based. While many use a meat substitute or lentils, I like to rely on hearty, earthy vegetables.

You’ll find the usual additions here — carrots, celery, peas, onion, and garlic — alongside parsnips and two types of mushrooms.

Earthy mushrooms, both chopped and sliced for texture, add “meatiness” to this pie while rich Irish stout takes it to a whole new level.

To make a great vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie, you need to build a lot of robust, savory flavors. To achieve this, we use tomato paste, vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, Irish stout beer, and vegetable stock that is thickened with a slurry. Plenty of fragrant herbs such as rosemary and thyme also have their rightful place.

Notes on this Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

Looking to save some time? Using leftover or store-bought mashed potatoes is perfectly acceptable! If using store-bought, use fresh (refrigerated) prepared mashed potatoes and not instant or frozen. Throw a few knobs of butter atop your leftover or store-bought potatoes and make sure they’re room temperature before broiling.

Not a fan of mushrooms? You can leave them out and double up on the other veggies here, or using cooked lentils, tofu, or a plant-based ground “meat” would be delicious!

Prefer not to use beer? You can replace the beer with more veggie stock, mushroom stock, or red wine. 

How to Make Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie: Video

What are your favorite cold weather comfort foods? Let us know in the comments below! We hope that you enjoy this Mushroom Stout Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie. Be sure to check out our other vegetarian recipes!

Mushroom Stout Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie is hearty and delicious — without the meat! This cozy version combines mushrooms, earthy parsnips, vegetables, herbs, stout beer, and buttery mashed potatoes.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Potatoes

• 2 1/2 pounds gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
• ½ cup milk
• 6 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Filling

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 carrots, peeled and medium diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 parsnip, peeled and medium diced
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 portobello mushroom caps, diced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup Irish stout, such as Guinness
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• ¼ cup cold water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper, to taste

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Instructions

1. Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Salt the water and bring the potatoes to a boil. Cook until fork-tender, about 20 minutes.
2. While the potatoes cook, prepare the filling. Add the olive oil to a 12” preheated cast iron (or other oven-safe) skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, and parsnip and cook 5-7 minutes more until slightly softened. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add in all of the mushrooms and continue cooking until the mushrooms are softened and release their moisture, about 8 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and vegetarian Worcestershire sauce and cook 1 minute before adding in the beer and stock. Scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half, 10-15 minutes.
5. While the filling is simmering, drain your cooked potatoes. Warm the butter and milk. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes slightly and add in the warm butter/milk mixture and salt and pepper. Continue mashing until smooth.
6. Stir the cornstarch and cold water together to make your slurry. Stir the slurry, peas, rosemary, and thyme into your filling. Let simmer 2 minutes or so until thickened. Taste your filling and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
7. Top the filling with your mashed potatoes and spread the potatoes evenly on top. Place the entire cast iron pan in a preheated broiler and heat until the potatoes are golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Enjoy!

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Notes

Want to save some time? You can use either store-bought or leftover mashed potatoes here if you’d like. You’ll need roughly 4 cups of prepared mashed potatoes for this recipe.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 405
• Sugar: 9.7g
• Sodium: 136mg
• Fat: 17.1g
• Saturated Fat: 8.3g
• Carbohydrates: 52.4g
• Fiber: 9.5g
• Protein: 8g
• Cholesterol: 32mg