Description
Savory gluten free and vegan Shepherd’s Pie. The filling consists of Impossible Burger, green peas, mushrooms, walnuts, onion, garlic, and carrots. Topped with mashed potatoes, sprinkled with paprika, and baked to perfection.
Overview
Shepherd’s pie is a classic comfort food dish that originated in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This vegan and gluten free version is a hearty meal that consists of a savory plant-based meaty filling and creamy mashed potatoes.
The only special equipment required for this dish is an oven safe skillet or Dutch oven. Once the filling is cooked the mashed potatoes are added to the top, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with paprika. It is baked for 30 minutes at 375ºF. In the sections that follow we break down this process step by step.
Cooking Notes
Prep Work
Begin by rinsing the potatoes, parsnips, and mushrooms with water to remove any debris. Then use a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Fill a mixing bowl with fresh water and set on your work surface. Use a peeler to remove the skins from the potatoes and parsnips and place them in the bowl of water.
Peel the skin off of the garlic and remove the ends with a sharp knife. Then mince the garlic and place in a medium mixing bowl. Next, chop the onion and slice the carrots and place both in the mixing bowl. This mixture will be sautéed together to give the carrots as much time as possible to become tender.
Place the mushrooms on a cutting board. Slice the end off of the stems and discard. Then roughly chop the the mushrooms into medium size pieces. Put the chopped mushrooms in a separate bowl and set off to the side.
Veggie Stock
Admittedly, this step is a bit of a choose your own adventure. For this recipe we used Better than Bouillon mixed with a cup of warm water. Alternatively, you can use store bought vegetable stock or broth in its place.
During this phase we also added the tomato paste, soy sauce, and thyme to the veggie stock. This is optional and the dish will taste the same if you choose to add those ingredients piecemeal during the cooking process.
We decided to take advantage of the warm broth to dissolve these ingredients. But as long as all the ingredients end up in the dish the end result should be the same. Once the veggies are sliced and diced, and the broth is prepared, we can move forward with cooking the meal.
Cooking the root vegetables
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drain the bowl of water the root vegetables are in by using a colander. Then carefully place the root vegetables in the boiling water, a few at a time, until they are all added. Set a timer for 30 minutes and cook until the time has elapsed. Perform this process in parallel with cooking the veggies and filling.
Towards the end of the cook time use a fork to pierce a few of the root vegetables. Adjust your cook time based on how tender they are. When they are done carefully empty the contents of the pot over a colander in the sink to drain the water. Then move ahead with making the mashed potatoes.
Sautéing the veggies and Impossible Burger
Bring an oven safe skillet, or Dutch oven, up to medium high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Then add the onion, garlic, and carrots. Sauté until the onion starts to turn translucent.
Next, add the mushrooms and cook until they start to brown. Use a silicone spatula to periodically stir and fold the mixture to prevent anything from sticking to the pan. While the mushrooms are cooking take the Impossible Burger, or crumbles of choice, out of the freezer and open the packaging.
Once the mushrooms are browned add the Impossible Burger. Place the lid on the pan to help the crumbles defrost. Use a silicone spatula to flip the Impossible Burger and stir the filling every few minutes. Repeat until the crumbles are fully incorporated into the filling. Continue to cook the Impossible Burger until it starts to brown.
Add the peas, walnuts, and broth followed by the cornstarch and water. Bring the mixture back to a simmer and continue to cook until it starts to thicken.
Mashed Potatoes
In a large mixing bowl add the drained root vegetables that were cooked in a previous step. Add the olive oil and oat milk. Using a garlic press add the clove of garlic to the bowl. Then use a potato masher to combine the ingredients.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the mashed potatoes are on the thicker side, add a tablespoon or two, of oat milk at a time and incorporate it into the mashed potatoes until you reach the desired consistency.
Assembly and Bake
While the oven is cool set the rack height to allow enough room for your oven safe pan or Dutch oven. Then preheat the oven to 375ºF. Use a silicone spatula to add the mashed potatoes to the top of the filling. Once all the mashed potatoes are added use the spatula to smooth the top. Drizzle some olive oil over the potatoes, evenly sprinkle with paprika, and then transfer to the oven.
Bake the shepherd’s pie for 30 minutes. Use pot holders, or oven mitts, to remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack. If you are using an oven safe skillet with a handle I recommend draping an oven mitt or pot holder over the handle to prevent accidentally grabbing the handle while it is hot.
Serve the shepherd’s pie with a large serving spoon to a plate or bowl of your choice. Optionally, you can garnish with fresh cracked pepper or your favorite hot sauce. Enjoy! 🙂
Storage
Place any remaining leftovers in your storage container of choice. The leftovers should keep nicely for up to a week in the refrigerator before the freshness starts to taper off.
If you like this recipe be sure to check out our other recipes below:
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion or 1 yellow onion, chopped
3/4 cup carrots, chopped
8 ounces white mushrooms, chopped
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 cup water plus 1/2 teaspoon of Better than Bouillon or 1 cup of vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp. of water
1 ( 12 oz. ) package of Impossible Burger
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1/4 cup ground walnuts
3 cups mashed potatoes ( see below )
1/4 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
Mashed Potatoes
1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 small sweet potato, peeled and quartered
2 small parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 to 1/2 cups oat milk
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips. Cook for 30 minutes or until they become tender. Drain the water and then add them to a mixing bowl. Add the pressed garlic, olive oil, and oat milk. Using a potato masher to incorporate the ingredients.
- While the potatoes are cooking, bring an oven safe skillet or Dutch Oven up to medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, and carrots and cook until the onion starts to turn translucent. Then add the mushrooms and cook until they start to brown. Next, cook the Impossible Burger.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. When the Impossible Burger is cooked add the tomato paste, thyme, vegetable stock, green peas, walnuts, soy sauce, cornstarch dissolved in water, and stir to combine. Return the mixture to a simmer.
- Use a spatula to add the mashed potatoes evenly to the top. Drizzle some olive oil over the top, sprinkle the paprika, and then transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes then use pot holder remove the skillet and place on a wire rack. Serve immediately and enjoy! 🙂