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This dairy-free shepherd’s pie is the ultimate comfort food for cozy nights. It’s like a mashed potato casserole, but it’s vegetarian, plant-based, vegan, gluten-free, and can be whole30 if you omit the vegan butter. Trust me, the sheep would want you to eat this cruelty-free version of cottage pie.

This recipe makes 6 large servings.

Table of Contents

(click the links below to skip to the section you’re looking for)

• Mashed Potatoes Recipe
• Filling Recipe
• Video
• Ingredient Substitutions
• Nutritional Information
• Contact Me with Questions
• Similar Recipes

Vegan shepherd’s pie is a vegan version of traditional shepherd’s pie. Loaded with veggies, and topped with mashed potatoes, it has the perfect balance between healthy and delicious. Since shepherd’s pie and cottage pie typically have no cheese and no egg, all we have to do is replace the meat, milk, and butter with vegan alternatives.

To make this a vegan gluten-free shepherd’s pie recipe, I use kidney beans in place of the meat. You can use any legume or lentils. Or if you don’t like beans, you can use plant-based meat. Sometimes, I even use both.

I’ve made this using my stovetop and oven or my instant pot and oven. Either way, it’s an easy way to make 6 meals if you like meal prepping or having leftovers.

Ingredients for the Mashed Potatoes for the Shepherd’s Pie

(jump to the substitutions section to see ingredient details and suggestions for substitutions)

• 2 ½ pounds (~1.1kg) potatoes
• 3 (33g) tablespoons vegan butter or margarine
• ¼ cup (55g) unsweetened, unflavored non-dairy milk
• ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
• ½ teaspoon (1g) pepper

How to Make the Fluffy Mashed Potato Topping for Dairy-free Cottage Pie

prep time: 10 min | cook time: 25 min

Peel potatoes. Peel 2 to 2 ½ pounds (~1kg) of potatoes, cutting off any bad spots.

Cut the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into one-inch cubes, and place them in a pot. Cover them with water.

Boil the potatoes. Boil the potatoes on high heat. Once the water starts to boil, reduce heat to medium, and set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, they should be done, but you can make sure by piercing the biggest chunk with a fork and it should slide through easily.

Prepare for mashing. Drain the potatoes in a colander in the sink. Transfer the potatoes back to the pot if you plan to mash them by hand. Or if you plan to use an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, transfer them to a mixing bowl with tall sides.

Add vegan butter, salt, and pepper. Add 2-3 (22-33g) tablespoons vegan butter or margarine, ½ teaspoon (3g) salt, and ½ (1g) teaspoon pepper.

Mash the potatoes. Mash with a potato masher or whip with an electric mixer. I’ve even seen someone mash them with the back of a spoon so don’t let your lack of kitchen utensils stop you.

Add non-dairy milk for creaminess. Drizzle the ¼ cup (55g) unflavored non-dairy milk slowly into the mashed potatoes until the potatoes are a nice creamy consistency and then STOP adding. You don’t want to add too much, because you still want it to be scoopable (um yes, of course scoopable is a word).

Ingredients in this Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Filling Recipe

(jump to the substitutions section to see ingredient details and suggestions for substitutions)

• 1 teaspoon (5g) avocado oil
• 1 diced (60g) onion
• 4 diced (160g) celery stalks
• 6-8 cloves (21g) garlic, minced or finely chopped
• 8 oz (226g) sliced mushrooms
• 2 cups (260g) diced carrots (3 large or 4 medium or 5 small)
• 1 cup (~150g) peeled and diced parsnips (1 large or 4 small)
• 1 ½ cups (265g) cooked and rinsed kidney beans (15oz/425g can)
• 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
• ¼ teaspoon thyme
• ¼ teaspoon rosemary
• ½ teaspoon (1g) pepper
• 2 teaspoons (10g) vegan gluten-free worcestershire
• 1 tablespoon (17g) miso paste
• 1 ½ cups (355g) water

How to Make Gluten-Free Cottage Pie

prep time: 10 minutes | sauté time: 30 minutes | bake time: 25 minutes

Sauté the diced onion and celery (if using celery) in ⅛ cup olive oil, stirring frequently over low-medium heat until translucent (about 5-7 minutes) and then add the garlic. If using an instant pot for this recipe, use the sauté button for this step.

Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté 3 more minutes.

Add carrots, parsnips or turnips, and celery root and sauté 5 more minutes.

Add the 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon thyme, ¼ teaspoon rosemary, ½ teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon miso paste, water, optional vegan meat, and kidney beans.

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Boil, lower heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon the mixture into a lasagnapan or oven safe casserole dishes or bowls. Leave some room at the top for the mashed potatoes.

Top with mashed potatoes. If you want it to brown on the top, score it with a fork and spray it with oil before baking. Normally, people will score it lengthwise in vertical lines, but I of course had to make hearts with my fork.

Place onto baking sheet before placing into oven (to catch overflow).

Bake at 350º for 25 minutes or until the mashed potatoes start to turn a little bit brown on top.

Serve in bowls.

Video

Here’s a youtube short of me making one.

Substitutions

• Potatoes: You can use any kind of potatoes, but if you want your dairy-free mashed potatoes to be as creamy as possible, yukon gold and russet are the best. If you want a purple shepherd’s pie, use purple potatoes (see the picture below for how it turns out).
• Vegan Butter: I like the organic whipped Earth Balance. If you want to make this recipe soy-free, buy the soy-free Earth Balance. If you follow a WFPB diet, omit this ingredient or replace it with avocado oil.
• Nondairy Milk: If you don’t have any or you follow a whole30 diet, replace the unsweetened, unflavored dairy-free milk with ¼ cup (55g) veggie broth. I make my own veggie broth using Better Than Bouillon vegetable base mixed with water.
• Avocado Oil: You can use any oil in this recipe, as long as it’s vegan: coconut, olive, safflower, sunflower, vegetable, or even canola if you must.
• Veggies: All the veggies in this recipe are negotiable. Some of these root veggies can be expensive or seasonal, so feel free to use whatever you have in the fridge to save money. If dicing a lot of veggies is tiring for you, you can use a food processor fitted with an S blade. In place of celery, you can use celery root. In place of parsnips, you can use turnips. If you’re making this for a mushroom hater, you can omit those and add extra of something else. I like to use frozen peas and corn when I haven’t gone shopping in awhile and I don’t have any fresh produce. It’s also a way to make this meal more affordable.
• Kidney Beans: In place of the kidney beans, you can use any cooked beans or lentils. You can also replace them any plant-based beef. If you’re gluten-free, I recommend Switch or Impossible or Beyond meat. If you don’t avoid gluten, my favorite is Field Roast sausage.
• Garlic: In place of the 6-8 cloves of minced garlic, you can use a teaspoon of garlic powder.
• Vegan Worcestershire: I use Edward & Son's The Wizard Vegan GF Worcestershire because it’s gluten-free. If you don’t have any, you can use Braggs liquid aminos in place of the vegan worcestershire sauce. If you avoid soy, use coconut aminos.
• Miso: It doesn’t matter which miso you use. I usually just buy the cheapest one. If you avoid soy, find the miso made from chickpeas instead of soybeans.

Nutrition Facts

• Servings: 6
• Calories per serving: 329
• Calcium per serving: 101mg
• Cholesterol per serving: 0mg
• Dietary Fiber per serving: 10g
• Folate per serving: 73mcg
• Iron per serving: 2mg
• Potassium per serving: 1,065mg
• Protein per serving: 10g
• Total Carbohydrate per serving: 60g
• Total Fat per serving: 7g
• Total Sugars per serving: 8g
• Sodium per serving: 932mg
• Vitamin A per serving: 405mcg
• Vitamin B3 per serving: 4mg
• Vitamin B5 per serving: 1mg
• Vitamin C per serving: 22mg
• Vitamin D per serving: 4mcg
• Vitamin K per serving: 32mcg

Comments or Questions?

If you make this healthy vegan shepherd's pie recipe, I would love it if you’d snap a pic, post to instagram, and tag me @vegandollhouse. It seriously makes my day/week/month!

Please message me (instagram or email) if you have any questions or feedback about the recipe.

Similar Recipes

If you like cruelty-free comfort food, you might also like this other vegan casserole recipe.

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I mostly cook with organic ingredients, but only specify organic when it’s necessary to ensure the item is vegan.

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