Curried Chickpea Shepherd’s Pie
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This chickpea shepherd’s pie recipe, featuring a curry-like spice blend, is the ultimate comfort food! With lentils, chickpeas, carrots, mushrooms, and a sweet potato top, it’s a hearty main that’s perfect on the holiday table or as a family-friendly meal. It’s simple to make and it’s ready in just over an hour!
Calling all comfort food lovers! As the temperatures drop, we naturally start craving cozy dishes and this chickpea and lentil shepherd’s pie is as delicious as it gets.
This plant-based casserole is packed with lentils, chickpeas, and vegetables cooked in a curry-like spice blend, making it both filling and full of flavor. It’s also ridiculously easy to make.
If you’re planning a holiday dinner party, this is a great make-ahead meal that’s suitable for the vegans and vegetarians around the table. It’s a hearty dish, so all you need to complete the meal is to serve it with some bread and a simple side salad. Voila, dinner is served.
Chickpea Lentil Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients
Don’t let the longish list of ingredients shy you away from making this cozy, comforting casserole. Most of the ingredients you’re likely to have in your kitchen so you may not even need to head to the store.
Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Dried brown lentils – we use dried lentils, but you could also use canned lentils to skip a step.
- Sweet potatoes – for the fluffy mashed potato topping, with a sweet potato twist!
- Coconut milk – makes the mashed sweet potatoes rich and creamy.
- Onion, garlic, and ginger – this aromatic mix is sauteed in coconut oil and is the perfect complement to curry.
- Vegetables – we use a classic mix of carrots, celery, cremini mushrooms, and frozen peas.
- Spices – cayenne, garam masala, chili powder, cumin, and sea salt
- Tomato paste – adds rich tomato flavor to the vegetable mixture and sauce.
- Chickpeas – for more toothsome texture.
Variations
While we love this shepherd’s pie recipe as-is, it’s really flexible in terms of making substitutions to suit your tastes or to use what you have on hand. Here are a few easy swaps that come to mind:
- Frozen (or canned) corn might not be a classic ingredient but it works great and we always seem to have some in the cupboard or freezer.
- Don’t like chickpeas or have some canned beans you’d rather use? Other beans like white beans, black beans, or kidney beans work as well. You could also simply use more lentils.
- Not a fan of sweet potatoes? Go the classic route with regular mashed potatoes using russet potatoes or yukon gold potatoes.
- Add fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary to the potatoes.
What to serve with lentil shepherd’s pie
This lentil shepherd’s pie recipe will make enough to feed a small crowd so it’s perfect as a vegetarian main for the holiday table at Thanksgiving or Christmas.
We also love it as a cozy, hearty meal on weeknights. It leaves us with lots of leftovers for quick lunches or to freeze for later.
Festive salads that taste great with this shepherd’s pie
- Late Autumn Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
- Baby Kale Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Spicy Candied Pecans
- Roasted Beet and Kale Salad with Maple Candied Walnuts
Recipe FAQs
Can I substitute the coconut milk?
Yep, you can. The coconut milk makes the potatoes extra creamy and gives a subtle coconut taste, but you can use regular milk or your favorite dairy-free alternative instead.
Can I prepare it in advance?
Yes, this is a great dish to prepare in advance. You can assemble it up to 2 days in advance and store it in the fridge. When the time comes, uncover it, and bake it in the oven as directed.
Can I freeze it?
Yes! If you’re planning on freezing it, we recommend baking it partway (about 10 minutes). Allow it to cool completely, then cover it and freeze it for up to a month. You can also freeze the leftovers.
How long do leftovers keep in the fridge?
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until warmed through.
Curried Chickpea Shepard’s Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup dried brown lentils (or 1 cup cooked)
- 1 lb sweet potatoes (about 2 medium, peeled and chopped)
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ½ cup water
- A pinch of cayenne
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 medium onion (minced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 inch piece of ginger (minced)
- 3 medium carrots (diced)
- 2 stalks celery (diced)
- 5 crimini mushrooms (diced)
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon EACH: chili powder, cumin, and sea salt
- 5.5 ounce can tomato paste
- 19 ounce can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Add the lentils to a small pot and cover with a few inches of water. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. Drain any remaining liquid.½ cup dried brown lentils
- Add the sweet potatoes, coconut milk, water, and a pinch of cayenne to a pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the sweet potatoes are soft. Mash the sweet potatoes with the leftover cooking liquid and salt to taste.1 lb sweet potatoes, 1 cup coconut milk, ½ cup water, A pinch of cayenne
- While the lentils and sweet potatoes are cooking, heat the coconut oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until transparent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, carrots, celery, and mushrooms to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and starting to brown, about 10 minutes.1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1 medium onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1 inch piece of ginger, 3 medium carrots, 2 stalks celery, 5 crimini mushrooms
- Add the garam masala, chili powder, cumin, and sea salt to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and let it caramelize for about 3 minutes, or until it has darkened slightly and is sweet smelling. Remove from the heat and stir in the chickpeas, peas, and cooked lentils.1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon EACH: chili powder, cumin, and sea salt, 5.5 ounce can tomato paste, 19 ounce can chickpeas, 1 cup frozen peas
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Transfer the lentils to a casserole dish and top with the mashed coconut sweet potatoes. Bake the Vegan Shepherd's Pie for 20-25 minutes, or until hot and bubbling at the edges.
Video
Nutrition
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What size pan is best to use for this casserole?
We use a standard 9×11 inch pan.
I made this for Easter dinner and it was amazing. At first I thought the mashed sweet potatoes were a little too moist/mushy but after it cooked it came out of the oven great. Hubby loved it too. Will definitely make again.
That is so wonderful to hear, Maryann!
Looks so delicious! Can I make this a day ahead (for Thanksgiving) or will it be too dry?
You could definitely assemble it the day before. 🙂
Made this recipe and it is a keeper!! My husband and vegan daughters loved it as it combined creamy sweet topping with a hearty and rich filling. I used black beans and chickpeas in the filling, and didn’t use lentils as one daughter is sensitive to them. Thanks for the great flavour combination!
You are very welcome!
Made this tonight, and it was great! Terrific flavors and balance. The only thing I changed was to add a little liquid to the pot when I added the tomato paste. Otherwise made completely as written and enjoyed it very much! Next time I’ll serve with fresh cilantro and perhaps slivered almonds as garnish.
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit!
Made this for hubby tonight & got serious brownie points – thanks! The curry seemed too dry & the sweet potato mash too sloppy but it all worked out when put together. ??
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit!
Hello
Can this be frozen?
It freezes well!
Absolutely delicious!! Thanks for the recipe.
You are so welcome!!
I assume the 1c coconut milk is meant to add to the sweet potatoes when mashing?
Sorry about that confusion! It’s actually added to the sweet potatoes with the water when cooking. I’ve updated the recipe. 🙂
You might want to add that you need to drain the sweet potatoes. Otherwise you’d end up with sweet potato soup! I would also use a half can of tomato paste. Otherwise, the recipe is great!
Why add the coconut milk together with the sweet potatoes during cooking? Wouldn`t it be better to remove the water first after cooking them before adding the coconut milk, or else there is too much liquid. Anyways, loves the recipe!
I did it this way because there is just the right amount of liquid to cook the sweet potatoes. None of it gets drained. 🙂