Vegan Shepherd's Pie Recipe

🥧Vegan shepherd's pie ingredients 

The Tofu

Extra-firm tofu brings the meaty texture to this otherwise meatless banger. It's prepared using pretty much the same method I use for tofu chorizo, vegan picadillo, and my tofu tacos-when you give it enough time and a little TLC, it develops a shockingly beefy texture. Not a soy boy like me? No problem. You can swap the tofu-beef portion of the recipe with ground seitan, Beyond Meat, or Impossible Beef. Just sauté it with the same seasoning mix.

Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional yeast isn't just for your hippy uncle's popcorn anymore. I use it in all kinds of cheesy wizardry, from my vegan nacho cheese to my dust-it-on-everything vegan parmesan. It adds an important savory power to the tofu marinade. Flakes or powder both work just fine in this recipe. Otherwise, if you can't get any, you should just leave it out rather than find  a substitute.

Vegan Beef Bouillon Paste

Vegan beef bouillon paste loads in the "beefy" character without a single, highly kissable cow (don't judge me). I really like the Better Than Bouillon brand-their No-Beef Base is the move, but honestly, the No-Chicken Base or Seasoned Vegetable Base also hit the mark nicely in this recipe. Can't get your hands on any of that? A crumbled vegan bouillon cube, or a small spoonful of vegetarian oyster sauce, will also be yummy in this.

Vegan Butter

While you can get away with olive oil if you avoid margarine, vegan butter is a more traditional-tasting fat for both sautéing and mashing. You can use your favorite brand. Mine is Earth Balance buttery sticks, but Trader Joe's also has a decent and more affordable one.

If you're curious about making your own, I break it all down in the vegan dairy crash course, where I teach how to whip up your own butter and more from scratch.

The Mushrooms

Cremini mushrooms (aka baby bellas) add even more umami and meaty texture to the filling. But don't freak out, pretty much any mushrooms you've got will play nice here: white button, portobellos, lion's mane, or oyster mushrooms all bring their own thing. 

Lion's mane shreds into meaty fibers like I rock in my vegan fajitas, while oyster mushrooms soak up flavor like big time. They are a godsend if you're already hooked on my vegan shawarma or Japanese curry.

Red Wine

Use a dry red wine you'd actually drink, like Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Cabernet Sauvignon, no judgment if it's from a box. But come on, you aren't allowed to use old expired boxes of Boku that you bought in the 90s. Not being a drinker myself, I usually just grab whatever's cheapest and save the rest of the bottle to splash into vegan bolognese or a round of tiramisu.

If it matters to you (it should!), make sure the wine is actually vegan. Some bottles are filtered with animal-based ingredients like isinglass (from fish bladders), egg whites, milk protein, or gelatin (usually from pigs or cows). Plenty of winemakers skip that stuff now and use bentonite clay or charcoal instead, but the label almost never tells you. Luckily, you can look it up on Barnivore, which is a crazy helpful resource if you cook with booze.

Vegan Cream Cheese

Vegan cream cheese makes the mashed potatoes taste like they hired a private chef for their summer home in the Hamptons. I use my own 4-ingredient vegan cream cheese recipe for this, but Tofutti is my personal fave as far as store-bought options go. If you're out, sub with vegan sour cream, unsweetened plant yogurt, or just more butter.

Vegan Gravy

Vegan gravy brings everything together at the finish line. Whether you go with my vegan brown gravy, mushroom gravy, onion gravy, or even vegan sausage gravy, you're gonna want to drown your slice in something rich and silky. Sometimes I use mushroom bourguignon as a gravy, and if that's a crime, lock your boyo up in the clinker, I guess. 

📖 How to make vegan shepherd's pie

Feeling hangry enough to eat the screen? (Please don't.) Go ahead and scroll down to the recipe card for the speed-run version. But if you want the full backstage pass-complete with flavor drama and hot tips-keep reading.

Step One

There Will Be Spud: 

Peel and chop potatoes into large chunks. Place in a pot of room-temperature water, bring to a boil over high heat, and cook for 6-8 minutes longer until fork-tender. Drain well.

Want something less carby but still awesome to top your pie with? You can absolutely cover this with a batch of my lightly garlicky parsnip puree.

Step Two

Mash Rules Everything Around Me: 

Use a food mill, potato ricer, or masher to process the potatoes until smooth. Stir in vegan butter, cream cheese, plant milk, garlic, and salt until creamy and free of lumps. Set aside.

If you are using a ricer or food mill, you can and should add the butter, cream cheese, milk, garlic, and salt before mashing so that you don't have to mix the mashed potatoes much afterwards. That will keep them light and airy.

Step Three

Tofu Wong Fu: 

Press the tofu dry and crumble it into small bits.

Step Four

Sautébraham Lincoln: 

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. After 90 seconds, add the tofu. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and crispy in some spots.

Step Five

Nooch Kids On The Block: 

In a small bowl or cup, whisk together the nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, tomato paste, molasses, bouillon, tamari, and water. 

Step Six

Pour Decisions:

Pour the mixture over the tofu and cook another 5-6 minutes until evenly browned and caramelized. Transfer the tofu mixture to a bowl.

Step Seven

Sautéder Night Fever:

In the same pan, melt the vegan butter over medium heat. Add the onion and mushrooms, sautéing 6-7 minutes until tender and lightly golden.

Step Eight

Give Peas a Chance: 

Stir in the carrots, celery, garlic, peas, sage, oregano, and thyme. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant.