Easy Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lbs russet potatoes
• 1 lbs yukon gold potatoes
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 cup Forager Project Cashewmilk
• 1/2 cup Forager Project Vegan Sour Cream or Forager Project Unsweetened Cashewmilk Yogurt
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
• Sea salt + pepper to taste
• 1 ½ cups dried lentils
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• ½ cup diced celery
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons chopped sage
• 2 tablespoons chopped thyme
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• Sea salt to taste

Prep

• Measure out all ingredients to start. Prep a 9x12” casserole dish with cooking oil. You’ll make the mashed potatoes first, followed by the lentil filling.
• Make the mashed potatoes: Fill a large pot with water. Rinse the potatoes, and peel off all of the potato skins. We need the skins off to ensure the mashed potatoes are super creamy. Quarter then dice the potatoes. Place the potatoes into the water, and add in the garlic and salt as well. Cover and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, cook the potatoes until they’re fork-tender and easy to pierce about 15-20 minutes. Make sure that you reserve 1/4 cup of the water used to boil the potatoes. This will help the potatoes become super creamy. Place the potatoes into a large bowl and begin to use the hand potato masher or fork to mash the potatoes. Once they’re a bit more broken up, add in the remaining ingredients (cashewmilk milk, sour cream, potato water, rosemary, and sea salt). Begin to mash again until creamy, about 5 minutes. Set the mashed potatoes aside.
• Preheat the oven: Set the oven to 375F. 
• Cook the lentils: Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once boiling, add in the lentils, and cook on low-medium heat until soft, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Make the lentil shepherd’s pie filling: To the pot, add in the frozen peas, mushrooms, celery, tomato paste, herbs, garlic, and sea salt. Toss together until evenly distributed.
• Assemble the lentil shepherd’s pie: Pour the lentil filling into the casserole dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, and spread to evenly cover the entire dish. 
• Bake: Bake the lentil shepherd’s pie for 20-25 minutes. Then remove the dish from the oven, top with fresh thyme, and set the oven to broil. Place the casserole dish back into the oven to lightly brown for 2-3 minutes. Then remove from the oven again and turn off the oven.
• Serve and enjoy: Serve the lentil shepherd’s pie warm!