Savory vegetables and plant-based mushroom gravy baked with golden mashed potatoes on top–this stick-to-your-ribs shepherd’s pie with garlic mashed potatoes is hearty comfort food at its finest.
Here’s my vegan interpretation of the classic British Isle “pie” known as shepherd’s pie, a casserole of vegetables mixed with gravy and baked with mashed potato topping.
In shepherd’s pies of old, dibs and dabs of (usually leftover) meat were mixed into the gravy, being an economical way to use up what’s left from dinner the night before.
The “meat” stand-in in this shepherd’s pie with garlic mashed potatoes is little 1/4-inch cubes of baked tofu, an easy high-protein addtion to the vegetables and gravy mix. I buy the seasoned and marinated savory baked tofu premade, like this one.
Besides the tofu bits, you’ll find carrots, cauliflower, and peas mixed in with the savory gluten-free mushroom gravy. You can add or substitute in other vegetables too, like celery or corn kernels.
The garlic-infused vegan mashed potato crust is made with a bulb’s worth of garlic! You steam the garlic in the same pot as the potatoes, and then mash them together with fruity olive oil and salt. When you cook garlic cloves until they’re nice and soft, the garlic takes on a whole new personality–mellow and gentle on the palate.
Check the recipe card below for full quantities and information on ingredients.
Make your shepherd’s pie ahead of time:
- Any or all of the three components in this vegan shepherd’s pie–the gravy, the vegetables, and the garlic mashed potatoes–can be made days or hours ahead.
- You can also assemble the pie earlier in the day, cover and refrigerate, and then bake it for dinner.
How to make the garlic mashed potatoes:
Either in a steamer or Instant Pot pressure cooker, cook an entire bulb of garlic along with the potatoes. While the potatoes fall apart, the garlic seriously mellows. Mash them together with olive oil, salt, and some of the cooking water–ta-da! Creamy potatoes with incredible flavor!
If you wish, roast the garlic instead of steaming, like in this (also vegan) recipe for roasted garlic mashed potatoes.
Ideas:
- Try garlic mashed potatoes on top of thick stews or chili–yup–you’ve got your own version of shepherd’s pie!
- Instead of the pastry crust, bake garlic mashed potatoes on top of any vegetable pot pie filling.
Be sure to check out this other mushroom gravy that’s served over baked polenta and cannellini beans.
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Shepherd’s Pie with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Vegan Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
For the garlic potato topping:
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes well-scrubbed or peeled if desired
- 1 whole bulb garlic (6 to 8 cloves), peeled
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon sea salt
For the mushroom gravy:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound fresh mushrooms sliced
- 3 tablespoons arrowroot starch or whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1 ½ teaspoons dried sage
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme or 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried marjoram
- 2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 or 4 carrots diced in ½-inch cubes about 1 ¼ cups
- ½ small cauliflower broken into florets about 2 cups
- ½ cup hot vegetable broth
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 8 ounce package baked tofu any flavor, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce
- 2 pinches cayenne pepper
- Olive oil and paprika for top
Instructions
Make the garlic potato crust:
- Cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Place the potatoes and peeled garlic cloves on a steamer rack in a large saucepan. Steam about 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender. (My Mom always cooked her potatoes in the pressure cooker—see notes below for Instant Pot pressure cooked mashed potatoes.) Remove from steamer, reserving cooking water. Mash the potatoes and garlic with the olive oil and some of the cooking water, until smooth. (see note) Season with salt. Taste, adding more salt if you think it’s needed. Set aside.
Make the mushroom gravy:
- Heat the oil in a large skillet on high heat. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are dry and deep golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium and stir in the arrowroot or flour. Stir until the mushrooms are coated with the flour. Add the hot vegetable broth, stirring continuously. Add the sage, thyme, and marjoram. Season with tamari soy sauce and lemon juice. If you think it needs a little more salt, add it. Set aside.
Make the filling:
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and carrots, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the cauliflower and ½ cup of vegetable broth. Cover and reduce the heat; let simmer until the cauliflower is almost tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add the peas and tofu cubes and cook, uncovered, until the peas thaw, about 3 minutes. Stir in the mushroom gravy, tamari, and cayenne. Season to taste with salt.
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly oil the serving dish: one (12-inch) cast iron skillet, or a 9 x 13-inch casserole pan. Spread the vegetables and gravy in the pan. Spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the veggies. (I use my fingers.) If you wish, decorate with a sage leaf and sprig of thyme. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika. Bake about 20 minutes, until gravy bubbles around the edges.
- Switch the oven to broil. Broil until the potatoes are golden brown on top.
Notes
- For Instant Pot garlic mashed potatoes: Place the potatoes and garlic in a steamer basket in the cooking pot. Add 1 cup of water. Lock the lid in place with the vent in the sealed position. Use the manual setting and set an 8 minute cooking time. Allow to natural pressure release. When the valve drops, remove the lid.
- Non-vegan option: Mash the potatoes with milk in place of cooking water, and butter, in place of olive oil.
- For gluten free shepherd’s pie, thicken your gravy with arrowroot or cornstarch.
- I own some cute (6-inch) cast iron skillets and used them for large individual servings.
Nothing beats Shepard’s pie during the colder months! And I love that you made them in individual skillets. So cute! · 6 November, 2017
Thanks Liz! I’m really having fun with the skillets! · 6 November, 2017
I love that quote about tofu and the mind! So funny (and true!) Yummy recipe Letty. Love the addition of garlic in the potatoes. · 6 November, 2017
Thank you Katie! Totally true tofu! I’m not afraid. 😉 · 6 November, 2017
Love it when economical meals that somehow turn into the most flavorful ones. This sounds like the perfect vegetarian comfort food to me! · 6 November, 2017
I love that you steam a whole bulb or garlic in with your potatoes! I’m going to have to start doing that! This looks delicious 🙂 · 6 November, 2017
And my husband the garlic lover didn’t detect the secret flavor. I mentioned garlic and he said that would be a good idea. He was surprised to hear garlic was already in the potatoes he tasted! · 8 November, 2017
I am so not a fan of traditional Shepard’s pie but you’re selling me on this vegetarian version. I’ve been so into mushrooms lately, too! · 9 November, 2017
Hi Letty…! am also reads your posts but this is one of my favorite recipe. and its looks so yummy and delicious. Thanks for sharing….! · 15 November, 2017
Thank you Satyakam! · 15 November, 2017
This is a WONDERFUL recipe! We are vegans and made this for other vegan friends who have quite a few dietary restrictions. The recipe was easy to follow and even doing a few steps out of order did nothing to diminish its deliciousness. I will say that the sauce didn’t begin to bubble up until we broiled it, but again not an issue – plenty of sauce and super delicious! We’re going to make it again next weekend and take it camping with us. · 10 August, 2020
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear this from you! Have fun camping! · 10 August, 2020