Easy Vegan Shepherd's Pie With Tofu

This Easy Vegan Shepherd's Pie With Tofu is a hearty and delicious dinner recipe made with pantry ingredients. Simple, easily oil-free and gluten-free.

The Best Ever Vegan Shepherd's Pie 

Whether it is spring or fall, there's always a right time for Shepherd's Pie. And when one tries to eat healthier but has limited fresh ingredients, this Vegan Shepherd's Pie comes in handy. 

There're many vegan Shepherd's Pies or Cottage Pies recipes out there. But all of them have either mushroom or lentils.

With all my love to mushrooms, this time I wanted to create a recipe that doesn't involve them. The recipe, that you can whip up with pretty much pantry staple ingredients.

Unfortunately, mushrooms are perishable and don't last too long. 

Enter tofu. One of the staple foods in vegan repertoire. Rich in protein and other nutrients and there are so many ways to prepare it.

Amazing Meatless Shepherd's Pie Recipe

For this Cottage Pie recipe I tested preparing tofu 2 ways. 

First time I seared it in some Tamari. To my disappointment, Tofu didn't brown as nice and was rather bland. 

For the second time around, I used a simple paste made of Tamari and some spices, rubbed it all over crumbled tofu and baked it. 

Bingo!

Perfectly crispy and savory tofu that's not only Shepherd's Pie worthy but also great for tacos and pretty much anywhere you would normally require ground meat.

Ingredients

To keep the ingredient list in this recipe as short as possible, I sticked to just one source of protein which is tofu. Here's the full list of ingredients:

• Extra-firm tofu - make sure to press it with a few sheets of paper towel. You don't need to squeeze too much, just get rid of the initial liquid and you're good to go
• Tamari - you can sub with a soy sauce
• Spices - Smoked Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Chili Powder, Italian seasoning, Cayenne pepper
• Olive oil - you can sub with vegetable broth
• Vegetables - onion, garlic, potatoes (check out these best Vegan Potato Recipes)
• Flour, tomato paste - for a rich sauce base
• Red wine - I don't recommend to skip it. Wine gives a nice rich flavor to the dish
• Frozen vegetables - any will do. I had frozen peas, carrots, corn and green peas
• Almond milk - for mashed potatoes
• Tahini or Vegan Butter - if you follow WFPB diet, use Tahini. You can even skip this ingredient, it's not essential.

Instructions

Tofu crumbles

1. In a medium bowl combine Tamari, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and chili powder. This should form a thick paste. Finely crumble your tofu and coat into a paste. Spread evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes stirring halfway through.

2. Mashed Potatoes

Add potatoes to a large pot of salted water and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, add garlic, almond milk and Tahini/vegan butter (if you decide to use it). Mash the potatoes until smooth.

3. The Filling. While you cook the potatoes, cook onion until softens and browns. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in tomato paste followed by flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add tofu, red wine and use a wooden spatula to scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add Italian seasoning, broth, frozen vegetables, salt and Cayenne pepper. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.

4. Assemble

• Spread the Shepherd's pie filling on the bottom of a 1 ¼ qt (7.5" x 6") baking dish.

• Evenly spoon the mashed potatoes on top and cook in a preheated to 400 F oven for 15 minutes. If you desire you can dollop a bit of Tahini or Vegan butter on top of mashed potatoes. This will help with the browning.

• Turn to broil and cook for another 5-7 minutes until the potatoes are lightly golden.
• Remove Shepherd's Pie from the oven, sprinkle with some chopped parsley or basil and serve.

Make this ahead of time

If you plan to prepare this ahead of time, here are my suggestions:

• make mashed potatoes and store it separately from the filling. Mashed potatoes will keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. 
• prepare the filling and keep in the fridge in the airtight container for 4-5 days.

When ready to bake, assemble the pie and bake according to the cooking instructions.

Cooked vegetarian Shepherd's Pie will last for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator. Because tofu can change its texture once frozen, I don't recommend to freeze it.

If you make this recipe, please leave me a comment below and rate it. I always appreciate the feedback. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

If you'd like to see a quick overview of the recipe, please check out my Vegan Shepherd's Pie web-story.

Recipe