My Friendsgiving gatherings are just as important as Thanksgiving dinners with my family. They started five years ago, when I was in law school in D.C., and I couldn’t afford a plane ticket to San Francisco to be with my family. Like four homeless kids, a couple of my friends and I crashed my roommate’s Thanksgiving dinner with her family. It was so much fun to be with my friends and to let them know how much I appreciated having them in my life. Since then, I have made an effort to organize a gathering with my friends around Thanksgiving.
This year, my Friendsgiving dinner is on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and I’m still trying to figure out what entrée dish to bring. After two failed attempts to make the best baked mac and cheese ever, I’ve settled on this shepherd’s pie. There’s probably going to be more meat dishes than we can handle at our gathering, so I decided to make this shepherd’s pie with lentils instead of ground lamb or beef. This dish is so flavorful and filling that I don’t think anyone will miss the meat in here!
COOKING NOTES FOR VEGETARIAN SHEPHERD’S PIE
- Browning: You’ll definitely need your broiler to get nice browning on the mashed potatoes. You can probably use a blow torch, too, but I’m guessing that most of us don’t have one lying around the house. My oven could be a bit wonky, but I had to stick the shepherd’s pie in the broiler for about 20 minutes to get the browning that you see in the photos.
- Meat Version: This recipe works well with a pound of ground lamb or lean (85%) ground beef. If you are making a meat version, skip the olive oil. Start cooking the meat on a hot pan, and cook the vegetables with the fat released from the meat.
- Use Frozen Vegetables to Cut Down on Prep Time: This recipe works well with frozen vegetables, too! Aim to use about 3 to 3 1/2 cups of frozen vegetables.
- Using Ghee: Ghee is clarified butter that’s shelf stable, and it helps make the BEST mashed potatoes. It makes the potatoes taste rich, and a little bit of ghee goes a long way. Of course, you can always use butter instead of ghee for this recipe.
Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with Cajun Spice
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes
- 2 large russet potatoes, about 1.5 lbs/700g, peeled and chopped to 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/3 cup (80ml) low-fat milk (I used 2% milk)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives, optional
Lentil Filling
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 cup (135g) chopped pepper
- 1/2 cup (80g) yellow corn kernels
- 2 cups (340g) cooked lentils
- 2 tablespoons double-concentrated tomato paste
- 4 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Place chopped potatoes into a pot and fill it with just enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring water to boil. Keep the water boiling for about another 10 minutes, or until the potato cubes can be easily pierced with a fork.
- Drain water from the pot and mash potatoes using a potato masher or a large fork. Stir in milk, ghee, egg yolk, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, and chives.
- While the potatoes are boiling, Turn on your broiler. Next, start working on the lentil filling. Heat a large sauté pan with the olive oil over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the onions and let them cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until they start to brown. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until they start to turn fragrant.
- Stir in chopped carrots, zucchini, and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes. Add corn kernels and lentils and stir for a minute. Mix in tomato paste, cajun seasoning, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper. Cook for another 2 minutes. Pour vegetables into a 2.5 qt baking dish. The dimensions of my baking dish are 10.5″x7.5″.
- Spread mashed potatoes on top of lentil filling evenly. If you want to create ridges on the mashed potatoes like I did, use the back of a spoon to create indentations.
- Place the dish into your broiler for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mashed potatoes get a nice golden brown color. Let the shepherd’s pie rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container.
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
Oh my gosh that cajun spice! I need to try this.
Lisa says
Thanks, Rachel!!
Erin @ The Almond Eater says
I can get on board with anything cajun flavored–this sounds so, so good. If I were having a Friendsgiving this year (which needs to be a tradition I start ASAP), I would be inspired by this to bring something cajun-y.
Lisa says
Friendsgivings are so fun! Definitely worth doing next year! Thanks, Erin!
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom says
I love this vegetarian take on shepards pie 🙂 Also love how you are focusing on kindness and compassion. I wish more people would do it!
Lisa says
Thanks, Kristen!
Annie says
I can’t believe this is vegetarian! I didn’t eat meat for almost 10 years so I really love a good hearty meatless dish! This is perfect for Meatless Monday! 🙂
Lisa says
Thanks, Annie!!
Danae @ Recipe Runner says
This looks like the perfect dish to bring to a Friendsgiving! I love the idea of doing one of those!
Lisa says
Thanks, Danae!
Rakhee@boxofspice says
Oh that’s gorgeous! I love it when someone makes a vegetarian version and especially with lentils! Wow just wow!
Lisa says
Thank you so much, Rakhee!!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
I’ve always wanted to do a Friendsgiving. I feel like they’d be a bit more fun than the family version 😉 Absolutely love this veg version of sheperds pie. No need for the meat when you have the turkey anyway 🙂
Lisa says
Friendsgivings are the best, Gina! They’re usually rowdier and more drunken!! 😉
Rachel @LittleChefBigAppetite says
This looks DIVINE! Oh my gosh, feed me now!
Lisa says
Haha, thanks, Rachel!
Kelly // The Pretty Bee: Allergy Friendly Eats says
This looks so hearty and good! And you are right – we all need a little more kindness in the world these days.
Lisa says
Thanks, Kelly!
Heidi @foodiecrush says
I don’t know that I’d even want turkey after tasting this. Food is just one thing to bring us all together, I hope the world can realize there’s a lot of other reasons too.
Lisa says
Thank you so much, Heidi!
Liz says
Wow, I love everything about this dish! Shepherd’s Pie just screams holiday to me— and it’s such a crowd-pleaser that I’m sure it’d go great on any Friendsgiving table 🙂
Lisa says
Thanks, Liz!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
What a lovely vegetarian entree for Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving or any other night. Looks super comforting. And I think we all could use a little comfort food right about now. Wish we were enjoying a Friendsgiving together!
Lisa says
YES! Wish we were doing Friendsgiving together! I could use some of that lovely tart of yours!
Heather says
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I used beans instead of lentils and it was still really good. Thanks!
Lisa says
Heather, thank you SO MUCH for trying out the recipe and for letting me know how it turned out!! So glad you enjoyed it!!
Gina Nolleti says
I tried this recipe and loved it! I mashed half the lentils to make it a little creamier. I also had a couple of parsnips to use up so I cooked them up and mashed them with the potatoes for the topping and my family were none the wiser! Delicious!
Lisa Lin says
Thank you for trying out my recipe, Gina! Mashing the lentils sound like a great idea, and I love the parsnip addition! I will try that next time!