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Lentil Vegetarian Cottage Pie (dairy free, gluten free)

By: Jenn Sebestyen / Published: / Last Updated:

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Vegetarian Cottage Pie made with lentils, butternut squash, cauliflower and spices in a rich savory tomato sauce and topped off with creamy carrot mashed potatoes. This is comfort food at it’s best, and it’s healthy too! Grab a spoon and dig in!

Scoop of Lentil Vegetarian Cottage Pie on a white plate and stopped with a sprig of parsley.

Cooler temps and and a sun that sets earlier and earlier every day calls for comfort food.

I made this Vegetarian Cottage Pie last winter and remembering how much I loved it, I knew I had to make it again as soon as the weather started to change.

It’s full of healthy vegetables baked in a savory sauce and topped with creamy mashed potatoes with a twist.

Vegan and Gluten Free! Grab a spoon!

Lentil Vegetarian Cottage Pie in a white baking dish. Stack of plates with several forks on top in the background.

What is Cottage Pie?

Cottage Pie is typically made with ground beef, or ground lamb in the case of Shepherd’s Pie, with a crust of mashed potatoes. Generally, you’ll find onion, carrots and sometimes peas mixed in with the beef.

Well, we don’t do meat around here, so I’ve used lentils in my version. I also switched up the veggies to make it more interesting, using butternut squash and cauliflower – two of my faves!

I do love carrots though, so opted to put them in with the potatoes which gives them a slightly sweet element that’s so good!

A spoon taking a scoop of Lentil Vegetarian Cottage Pie out of a baking dish.

Perfect for Leftovers

Cottage Pie was originally created to use up and reinvent leftovers. And it still works perfectly that way today. You could easily make the lentils ahead of time and even the squash and cauliflower. If you make the potatoes in advance, you may need to add some plant milk, heat them, and whip them up to get them fluffy again.

You could even make the entire casserole a day or two ahead and then pop it in the oven when you’re ready for dinner. You’ll need to bake it longer than the recommended 20 minutes if you are starting from cold.

And if you end up with leftovers of this Vegetarian Cottage Pie, consider yourself lucky because I think it’s even better the next day!

Lentil Vegetarian Cottage Pie, topped with a sprig of fresh parsley, on a white plate. Casserole dish and a stack of plates with a pile of forks on top in the background.

 

Lentil Vegetarian Cottage Pie

I hope you enjoy this Vegetarian Cottage Pie as much as we do. If you try it, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback and star rating.

You can also find me on social media. Be sure to tag @veggie_inspired and #veggieinspired so I’m sure to see it.

Enjoy!

Print
Lentil Vegetarian Cottage Pie (dairy free, gluten free)
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
50 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
 
This Lentil Vegetarian Cottage Pie is the ultimate comfort food. Savory and satisfying, it's the perfect meal to warm you up. And you can feel good about it because it's healthy too!
Course: Casserole, Entree
Cuisine: dairy free, egg free, gluten free, refined sugar free, vegan
Keyword: healthy cottage pie, shepherds pie with vegetables, vegan casserole
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 227 kcal
Author: Jenn S.
Ingredients
For the Filling:
For the Potatoes:
  • 4 cups cubed potatoes (preferably Yukon Gold)
  • 2 carrots (diced)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • non-dairy milk to thin (if needed)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
For the potatoes:
  1. Place the potatoes and carrots in a pot of water (enough to cover). Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are very soft. Drain and return to the pot. Add the minced garlic, olive oil and salt. Using a potato masher, mash the vegetables until smooth (the carrots may not get as smooth as the potatoes and that's ok, just do your best to mash them as best as possible.
For the filling:
  1. Place butternut squash and cauliflower in a pot and add enough water to cover the vegetables. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer about 15-20 minutes until tender, but not mushy. Drain. (You can do this step at the same time you are cooking the potatoes and carrots.

  2. In a large pan on the stove, heat 1/4 cup of vegetable broth. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 6-7 minutes. Add more broth 1 tablespoon at a time if they start to stick.

  3. Add the tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, tamari, thyme and salt & pepper. Stir to combine and cook another 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the remaining vegetable broth, lentils and squash/cauliflower mixture and stir to combine. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the mixture is thick, but saucy.
  5. Pour the lentil filling into a 2.5 quart casserole dish and spread flat. Spoon the mashed potatoes over the top and gently spread until even. Be careful not to press down too hard or the potatoes will end up in the filling instead of on top of it. (Alternately, you could let the filling cool first before adding the potatoes to the top, but I'm never that patient.)
  6. Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.
Recipe Notes

*To cook lentils - add 1 cup of dry lentils to 2 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes until lentils are tender, but still a bit firm, not mushy. Leftover lentils work perfectly in this recipe, so make them ahead of time to save time (and pots) on the day you make this Cottage Pie.

Nutrition Facts
Lentil Vegetarian Cottage Pie (dairy free, gluten free)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 227 Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g 5%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Sodium 1603mg 67%
Potassium 1223mg 35%
Total Carbohydrates 52g 17%
Dietary Fiber 10g 40%
Sugars 8g
Protein 12g 24%
Vitamin A 148%
Vitamin C 85%
Calcium 8%
Iron 26%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.


More Savory Comfort Food:

Mushroom Pepper Steak

Vegan Mushroom Pepper Steak

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Butternut-Squash-Mac-and-Cheese

Sloppy Lentil Sandwiches

Sloppy Lentil Sandwiches

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Comments

    • Jenn S. says

      09/25/2017 at 8:19 pm

      Hi, Alexis. I haven’t tried freezing it, but I think it would work just fine. Let me know if you try it!

      Reply

  2. Bella says

    01/12/2017 at 2:34 pm

    I liked this! While we are definitely not a no-meat family, I am trying to cut back significantly on the amount of meat we eat. As have others, I adapted this to my family’s tastes, cutting the lentils in half and adding an equal volume of ground meat. I changed the vegetable to the ones I normally put in Shepard’s pie (green beans or broccoli), but I did use the carrot mash, excellent idea! Next time around I am thinking of putting in ground turkey and see if that will go over well.

    Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      01/12/2017 at 8:22 pm

      Perfect! So happy to hear this, Bella! By all means, adjust to your tastes. I love the sweetness the carrots bring to the mashed potatoes…glad you enjoyed that! Thank you so much for stopping by!!

      Reply

  3. Floortje says

    11/22/2016 at 3:47 pm

    another fantastic recipe! I edit some baked mushrooms to the filling ? Thank you it was delicious!

    Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      11/23/2016 at 7:35 am

      Thank you!! Mushrooms would be excellent in this! My kids are finicky about those so I don’t use them too much, but I would love that! Great suggestion! I’m so glad you liked it! As always, thank you for stopping by to leave your feedback. Much appreciated! Have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving!

      Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      11/21/2016 at 9:38 pm

      Thank you so much, Mary Ellen! It’s going down as one of my favorite meals ever. I can’t stop eating it! I just keep making it again when we run out!! LOL!

      Reply

  8. Sarah says

    11/20/2016 at 10:32 pm

    Lentils are a perfect stand in for ground meat! I make a shepherds pie with hash browns on top—gotta try it with your mashed potatoes! Looks delicious!

    Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      11/21/2016 at 8:25 am

      Oh, hash browns are an amazing idea! I bet they get super crispy on the top. Yum!! Thanks, Sarah!

      Reply

  13. Mandy says

    11/18/2016 at 11:14 am

    I feel like I’ve learned a lot from you this year…so many recipes I hadn’t heard of and now cottage pie! This totally speaks to my savory loving soul! YUM! What a hearty, comforting dish and I love that you added the carrots to the potatoes. This look fabulous!!!!

    Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      11/18/2016 at 2:37 pm

      Awww, thank you so much! I love hearing that. I think cottage pie is an English dish, but it’s pretty common here in the States too. Probably better known as Shepherd’s Pie around here, but they are really interchangeable. It’s so cozy and comforting – I can’t get enough! Enjoy!

      Reply

  14. Ingrid says

    11/18/2016 at 7:20 am

    There seems to be some information missing in the “Potatoes” part – it says “1/4 – 1/2”, but not of what ingredient…Can you please let me know what it is?
    Thanks! Looking forward to trying this recipe!

    Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      11/18/2016 at 9:22 am

      Thanks for catching that, Ingrid! Those numbers shouldn’t have been there at all. Even double checking multiple times before hitting publish sometimes isn’t enough. Ha! Thanks again. I hope you enjoy this one!

      Reply

    • Jenn S. says

      11/18/2016 at 7:19 am

      I think the words are used interchangeably these days, but they did start out different. 🙂 Thanks, Rebecca!

      Reply

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My name is Jenn. This is my blog where I share delicious plant based recipes for the whole family. I love to cook; I can read cookbooks like novels; and I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen by making standard American favorites healthier.

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