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This easy vegan shepherd’s pie recipe is the perfect main course for fancy holiday dinners and weeknight meals alike. You can also make it ahead, or in an Instant Pot for maximum convenience. It’s rich and savory, healthy and full of wonderful winter flavors. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself making this easy vegetarian shepherd’s pie multiple times per week!
How To Make This Easy Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe (Best Tips and Tricks)
1. What are the best herbs and spices for vegan shepherd’s pie?
The key to making vegan cooking feel hearty and rich is enhancing the earthy flavor of plant-based foods with deeply flavored herbs and spices such as rosemary, thyme, and oregano.
These herbs are hearty and woody, so the best way to extract the flavor is by simmering in liquid to infuse a sauce or stew.
As opposed to things like parsley or cilantro, which are finishing herbs, these heartier herbs are meant to give your dishes a depth of flavor.
They really shine in this easy shepherd’s pie recipe, making the naturally meaty mushrooms even heartier.
Spices like smoked paprika, chili powder, and cumin are some other great additions to this vegan shepherd’s pie, making it mimic the flavor of real meat.
The seasonings you use all depend on the flavor profile you are going for.
Cumin and chili powder give dishes a savory, hearty vibe and work well in Latin inspired dishes, while smoked paprika adds a sweet smokiness, for an Eastern European feel.
The key is adding the spices early on so that the raw flavor cooks out, and they infuse the gravy with toasty, warm flavor.
2. What are the best mushrooms for vegan shepherd’s pie?
While you can use any mushroom in this easy shepherd’s pie recipe, it’s best to use big, meaty varieties such as portobello, cremini, button, porcini, or king oyster mushrooms.
These guys have a steak-like texture and flavor compared to more delicate varieties, which tend to fall apart easily.
To give your healthy shepherd’s pie the best texture, chop some of the mushrooms more finely, while leaving the others in larger pieces. This will allow the smaller pieces to soften more, infusing the gravy with their flavor, while the larger ones provide texture.
3. Best Way To Make A Healthy Shepherd’s Pie
As mentioned earlier, you can achieve an easy vegan shepherd’s pie in a variety of ways.
In the traditional method, the stew and mashed potatoes are made on the stovetop, before assembling the casserole and transferring it to the oven.
This method is best if you are making no more than 4-6 servings because everything readily fits into a pot, and you can babysit the stew with ease.
One of the key components to this easy homemade shepherd’s pie recipe is the vegan mashed potatoes. I bet you didn’t know you could make mashed potatoes just as delish without any dairy, did you?
Well, there are a couple of tricks to make mashed potatoes taste wonderful without all of that fattening milk and butter.
First of all, I like to use Yukon gold potatoes to make a healthy shepherd’s pie because they have a naturally creamy texture compared to russet potatoes, which are starchier and drier. This allows you to use less butter, keeping the dish nice and light.
Secondly, swap out traditional cow’s milk and butter with coconut or almond milk and use vegan butter. You honestly will never know the difference.
4. How to flavor it
Another key to making a vegetarian shepherd’s pie taste meaty and hearty is infusing the gravy with aromatic veggies like onions, carrots, and celery, as well as adding a bit of red wine. This will give the gravy more depth, and a bit of flour will thicken up the juices.
When assembling the mashed potatoes over the stew, feel free to have some fun with it! If you have some peaks and jagged edges, rather than a completely smooth top, your easy homemade shepherd’s pie will get some extra brown and crispy bits. Yummm!
The time and temperature to cook this vegan shepherd’s pie is 350°F (180°C) in a preheated oven, for about 10 minutes, or until everything is bubbly. Broiling for another 2-3 minutes helps the topping form the golden-brown crust.
That concludes my tips and tricks for easy vegan shepherd’s pie. Now that you know how to make it, the hard part’s over!
Please let me know how you like it.
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