Vegan Shepherd's Pie Baked Potatoes

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potatoes, loaded with lentils and vegetables, are the comfort food you've been craving! Serve them for dinner on chilly weeknights! This easy recipe is vegan and gluten-free.

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

I love vegan shepherd’s pie! It’s one of my favorite cold weather comfort food dishes, and I make it often during the winter months. I already have a few recipes for it here on my blog, and I have another that uses sweet potatoes that I haven’t shared yet. As much as I love to make shepherd’s pie, I know it’s a little time consuming to prepare. Potatoes have to be cooked and mashed, the filling needs to be cooked, and then it all gets baked together in a casserole dish. The good thing about it, other than the delicious taste of course, is that most recipes for shepherd’s pie make a large amount of food, and there will enough to last a few days.

What is Shepherd’s Pie?

Recipes for shepherd’s pie vary greatly, but it’s traditionally a meat pie with a mashed potato crust. Customarily it was referred to as cottage pie when it contained beef and a shepherd’s pie when it contained lamb meat. The meat is usually cooked in gravy with vegetables, and the dish was a way for people to use up leftovers.

“Shepherdess pie” is the name that’s traditionally given to a vegan or vegetarian version of the recipe, but I don’t know too many people who call it that. As a vegan, I like to make my shepherd’s pies with lentils or mushrooms. They both have “meaty” textures, and they both make a great filling – either on their own or combined together.

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potatoes

I recently had a hankering for shepherd’s pie, and but I didn’t feel like cooking and mashing potatoes. What’s a girl with a craving to do? Improvise! Instead of boiling and mashing potatoes and baking everything together in a casserole dish, I baked potatoes and then loaded them up with a filing made with lentils and vegetables. I baked the potatoes in my air fryer, which gives them a deliciously crisp crust, but, of course, they can be baked in an oven as well. I cooked the filling while they were baking. The meal took much less time to cook that a full shepherd’s pie would, but it was just as tasty.

These Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potatoes are kind of a like an easy upside-down casserole. A baked potato takes the place of mashed potatoes, and a hearty lentil-based “filling” is piled on top. Shepherd’s pie has become a favorite for St. Patrick’s Day, since the dish is usually associated with Ireland. These baked potatoes are the perfect meal to celebrate the holiday with, but they’re great for just about any day of the year, too!

How make Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potatoes

Don't let this long list fool you - this recipe is super easy to make!

• If you’re cooking the potatoes in your oven, preheat it to 425°.
• First you wash and dry the potatoes, and prick them a few times with the tines of a fork.
• Then you rub each one with a little oil and sprinkle one salt and pepper.
• If you’re cooking the potatoes in the oven, you can either place them directly on the oven rack or on a baking rack. Cook them for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and they are fork tender.
• If you’re cooking the potatoes in your air fryer, cook them on 400° for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and they are fork tender.
• While the potatoes are cooking, you can make the vegetables. Heat the remaining oil in large pan over medium-high heat. You add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until it begins to brown and turn translucent.
• Then you add the garlic, mushrooms, carrots, and a pinch of salt, and continue cooking until the mushrooms have released their liquid.
• Next you whisk together 1 cup of vegetable stock, Worchestershire sauce, tomato paste, and cornstarch.
• Now you add the stock mixture to the pan along with the lentils and peas. Turn down the heat and simmer until the mixture has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
• Then you stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Once the potatoes are baked, you cut them open and drizzle each with a tablespoon of stock. Fluff the insides with a fork
• Finally, you divide the vegetable mixture among each potato and top with more parsley, if desired. Serve hot.

Cooking Lentils

Most stores carry canned lentils, and sometimes you can also find packages of cooked lentils in a shelf-stable packages. I've also seen cooked lentils in the produce area of some grocery stores. I like to pick them up at Trader Joe's. If you're buying precooked lentils for this recipe, you'll need a 15-ounce can or a 17-ounce package. It's not necessary to have a precise amount.

If you're cooking your own lentils, you'll need ¾ cup of dry lentils and 2 cups of water. I like to use brown lentils for this recipe.

• Lentils don't require presoaking, but you should look them over fir small stones and debris and then rinse them before cooking.
• Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Lower the heat to medium-low and allow the pot to simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the lentils are soft.
• Drain off any liquid that remains.