It’s that time of year again where vegans who come from omnivore families will inevitably have to answer the “where do you get your protein” question, get made fun of for eating like a rabbit, and explain that “no, you really don’t miss meat”. Yes it’s true, the holiday season is quickly approaching.
When I first went vegan it was in the month of December, so I had just a few weeks of vegan experience before I had to face my entire family at Christmas dinner. I was confronted with all of these questions and jokes and unfortunately wasn’t very informed. I desperately tried to recall facts, and bumble my way through answers. I wasn’t confident and I highly doubt I was at all inspiring. Le sigh…
Fast forward three years and I am happy to say the holiday season will be amazing! Not only is my fam jam used to me being vegan, but I have since recruited awesome family members to the veggie side (hi awesome cousins!) and I have long since figured out how to answer these questions with more information and enthusiasm than any curious individual could possibly handle. Did someone say vegan!?
Whether you are lucky enough to be in a vegan family or not, we all gotta eat. Last year I posted my recipe for Puff Pastry Wrapped Lentil Loaf, which makes a spectacular main dish for the holidays. Hello gorgeous braided dough!
This year, I wanted to give you something a little easier to whip up, but no less delicious or beautiful. Welcome to my Pumpkin & Lentil Shepherd’s Pie. That’s right, I took Shepherd’s Pie and went all fancy pants with it. The bottom layer is a hearty mix of lentils, mushrooms, carrots, and sun-dried tomatoes, and the top layer is garlic mashed pumpkin with maple syrup! Move over potatoes, pumpkin is the new kid in town.
This recipe comes together ridiculously easy and quickly. You can choose to use canned lentils and canned pumpkin so you can whip this dish up in no time, or if you are feeling like really going for it, feel free to cook the pumpkin and lentils from scratch first.
Either way this dish comes out hearty, flavourful, festive, and totally photogenic. Serve this with any combo of traditional vegan side dishes, and you will win the bellies of vegans and omnivores alike.
To make this glorious dish, chop the carrots, onions, slice the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, and finely mince the garlic.
In a large pan sauté the onions and carrots until they start to get tender, about 5 minutes.
Add in the mushrooms and continue to cook until they have decreased in size, about another 5 minutes. Now add the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic and sauté one minute more. So colourful!
Stir in the lentils, vegetable broth, and spices and heat through.
Make the pumpkin mash by melting vegan butter in a pot, and then sauté the minced garlic for a minute until soft and fragrant. Add the mashed pumpkin, maple syrup, salt, and heat through.
Spread the lentil mixture in a casserole dish.
Top with the pumpkin mash and pop it in the oven, to heat it through.
In the meantime toast the pumpkin seeds in a small pan, by putting them over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until the pumpkin seeds brown and start to pop. When the Shepherd’s pie is hot all the way through, remove from the oven, sprinkle the pumpkin seeds across the top and serve hot.
- Lentil Layer:
- 1 Medium Onion
- 2 Medium Carrots
- 8 oz Tub of Mushrooms
- ½ Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes
- 4 Cloves of Garlic
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2, 19oz Cans of Lentils or 4 Cups Cooked Lentils
- 1 Cup Vegetable Broth
- 2 teaspoons Dried Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- Pepper to Taste
- Pumpkin Layer:
- 1 796ml Canned Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!) or 3½ Cups Cooked and Mashed Pumpkin
- 3 Cloves of Garlic
- 3 Tablespoons Vegan Butter (such as Earth Balance)
- 3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- Garnish:
- 2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Seeds (also called Pepitas)
- Preheat your oven to 425F (220C)
- To make the Lentil Layer: Peel and chop the carrots, chop the onions, slice the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, and mince the garlic. Drain and rinse the lentils.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-hight heat. Add the onions and carrots and sauté until they start to get tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms decrease in size, about 5 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic and sauté another minute. Add the lentils, vegetable broth, thyme, chili, salt & pepper, and stir to combine. Heat through until everything is hot and bubbling, about another 5 minutes.
- To make the Pumpkin Layer: Melt the vegan butter in a medium sized pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute until soft and fragrant. Add the pumpkin, maple syrup and salt, stir to combine and health through.
- Garish: Toast the pumpkin seeds by heating them in a pan over medium-high heat. When they start to pop and get golden brown, remove from heat and set aside.
- To assemble the Shepherd's Pie: Scoop the lentil mixture into an oven safe casserole dish and spread into an even layer. Scoop the pumpkin mixture on top and spread to cover evenly. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the Shepherd's pie is heated through. Serve hot!
Bon Appetegan!
Sam
I used this concept and subbed in ingredients I had last night and it was -epic-. White potato spread in place of the pumpkin spread, bell pepper instead of mushrooms, canned diced tomatoes instead of sundried, water because I didn’t have broth and no syrup. It was more similar to the traditional Shepherd’s flavor, I guess. Thank you, thank you for the inspiration!
You’re very welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it and were able to make it your own 🙂
This looks delicious! I’m thinking about making this sometime next week, but I’m wondering what size of dish I should use? I have an 8×8 dish, and I don’t know if it will be large enough…
Hi Alyssa,
Can’t believe I didn’t include that in the post! Silly me. My dish was 9″ x 9″ and 2″ deep. So 8 x 8 may be a little tight. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Found a larger casserole dish and made it tonight – it was absolutely delicious! I was never a fan of traditional shepherd’s pie, but this was amazing! I’ll definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh yay!! So happy you loved it Alyssa 🙂
Served this up at a Thanksgiving meal on Oct.12. It was sooooo yummy and super easy using canned pumpkin. I tried to be extra mindful of the amount of maple syrup since I didn’t want it to taste like dessert. It’s hard… maple syrup is AWESOME and I wonder if one can ever have too much! 🙂 Anyway, rave reviews from the vegans and omni’s alike. I served it with your stuffing and quick onion gravy (which was SUPER SIMPLE!). Thanks for the inspiration, Sam.
Yay!!! So happy you loved it and so did your dinner guests. That sounds like a delicious dinner feast, and I agree, can you EVER have too much maple syrup? This Canadian says no. Haha
Hi
Made this dish yesterday, it formed the basis of a family dinner today. Used half a huge ‘Crown Prince’ squash (oven roasted) as the pumpkin part of the dish, and Puy lentils in the base. It was super-savoury (the way I like it).
Bought the squash at a pumpkin festival yesterday.
Thanks for the recipe inspiration,
Jim
That’s great! So happy you loved the recipe Jim, and that you were able to make it your own. 😀
Thank you for the site – only discovered it two days ago, lots of good looking recipes to try and I like your style.
You’re most welcome! So happy you are enjoying it so far 😀
Just cooked it again, these are the UK metric versions of ingredients that I’ve used:
Lentil Layer:
1 Medium Onion
2 Medium Carrots
250g punnet of closed cup mushrooms
25g Sun-dried Tomatoes
4 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2x400g cans or 450g cooked lentils
250ml of vegetable stock
2 teaspoons Dried Thyme
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
½ teaspoon Salt
Pepper to Taste
Pumpkin Layer:
500g cooked and mashed butternut squash (half a big one)
3 Cloves of Garlic
3 Tablespoons Vegan Butter
3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
½ teaspoon Salt
Garnish:
2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Seeds (also called Pepitas)
Thanks for sharing Jim!
Hi, Sam!
(It’s me again! jaja)
If I’m sincere, I have to admit I’ve never eaten pumpkin before, even in desserts. First, because pumpking isn’t a ingredient we usually use in mexican food and because I never look for new recipes, but this is a great opportunity to cook a different sauce and share it with my family.
And, I’m completely agree with you about “Where do you get your protein?” question. I repeat; I’m not vegan, I’m vegetarian, but still the “curiosity” from people (sadly, most of them don’t change their mind, didn’t get pleased with my answer and think I’m crazy).
Greetings!
-S
Hi Samantha!
Oh, I love pumpkin, both savoury and sweet!
Haha, yes my family thought I was crazy too, some of them still probably do, but they don’y say so when they are devouring my dishes! Woo ’em with deliciousness. 😉
All the best! Sam.
Hi Sam,
What an interesting idea. I have only ever used pumpin to make desserts. And I love lentils. I will certainly try this. thank you!
Take care,
Anne
Thank you Anne! I love pumpkin in savoury dishes! I hope you enjoy 🙂