Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie
By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by The Mushroom Council and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.
The first time I had Shepherd’s Pie, I was hooked – I mean – what’s not to love about saucy meat and vegetables blanketed by cheese and hearty, buttery, garlic infused mashed potatoes?
Zilch – right?!
But…this Runnin Srilankan has a hard time running after a dinner of indulgent Shepherd’s pie! That heavy, weighed down feeling stays with me for at least 24 hours; slowing me down and making me feel tired -and I am not a huge fan of being tired! So…much like the way I healthy-fied these Chocolate Scones, I set out on a quest to healthy-fy Shepherd’s Pie.
After experimenting with versions using ground chicken, cubed eggplant and smooshed tofu (my daughter threatened to go on a hunger strike if I made her eat more than a bite of that latter version); I found a winning version using meaty portabella mushrooms.
My daughter is my main guinea pig taste tester and if she doesn’t give a recipe a thumbs up, it doesn’t make it here on the blog. There have been many times when she has taken one bite and has given me a look that doesn’t require her to actually say the words “trash it”- like last week, when I made quinoa muffins with mango puree and applesauce!
But then, there are other times when her tastebuds are ignited and her teenage appetite makes it’s debut and what I thought was enough to last us 4 dinners, ends up vanishing in one?!
And that’s what happened when I made this Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie! After I cut a piece of it to photograph, I went to find my camera and when I got back – the plate was empty! When I fished for an explanation – her justification was that I asked her to taste it – my math skills must be rusty because I don’t remember a teaspoon equaling a whole piece?
Though, I cannot really blame her – this version was insanely, epic-ally, dopingly, fantabulous!
With a meatless base loaded with meaty portabella mushrooms, garlic, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, and ginger, and a topping of cauliflower, red potatoes and garlic mash separated by a layer of cheese, this healthy-packed-with-flavor version of Shepherd’s Pie is well worth a try!
As a member of Recipe Redux, I had the opportunity to enter my Shepherd’s Pie into the “Trend is to Blend” contest sponsored by the Mushroom Council, who are also sponsoring another contest on Facebook (open to all), titled “The Swap It or Top It Contest“! Please check out their page and enter to win 5 big ones! My math skills are not off on that one – you read right – it’s 5 BIG ones!
Ingredients
For the base
- 1 onion chopped
- 6 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 inch piece of ginger chopped
- 2 portabella mushrooms chopped
- 1 carrot chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 3 sweet peppers chopped red/orange
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- salt and pepper
- 3/4 cup Cheddar/Monterrey cheese or cheese of your choice
For the topping
- 1 cauliflower head boiled - for 30 mins
- 4 red potatoes boiled - for 30 mins
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
For the base
- Saute the onion, garlic and ginger till onion caramelizes (about 30 minutes on a low/medium flame - it takes a while, but the flavor combined with the mushrooms is well worth the time)
- Add the mushrooms and saute about 5 more minutes
- Then add the peppers, celery, carrot, canned tomatoes and salt and pepper
- Layer this in a baking glass/pyrex dish
- Layer the cheese on top of the mushrooms/veggies layer
For the topping
- Pulse the boiled cauliflower, potatoes, garlic and coconut milk in a blender or food processor
- Add salt and pepper to taste
- Then layer this on top of the cheese and mushrooms and veggies
- Bake for 30 mins at 375
- Serve warm with a side salad
I love how you made a healthier Shepherd’s Pie using all mushrooms! Mushrooms add so much meaty flavor – I love blending them into meat sauces, meatloaf and more to get my kids to eat them.
Thanks so much Jeanette – my daughter loves mushrooms but doesn’t love beef, so I kinda do the opposite of what you do 🙂
I gotta say, mushrooms are still a pretty new thing for me. (I had an issue with the texture for the longest time…but now I’m over that!) This shepard’s pie looks like it needs to appear in my kitchen soon!
I am so glad you got over your mushroom-hating! Mushrooms are some of my fav food items – using them -specially the bellas- adds to much meaty texture – I made some mushroom and lentil burgers lat night and my daughter ate 4 and I gotta add, yesterday was her 4th day after having her wisdom teeth removed!
Love the idea of filling the shepherd’s pie with veggies! Yumminess! And, I am a big mushroom lover!
Thanks so much Julia!
This looks so delicious! I love shepherd’s pie! And what a great idea to add mushrooms! I LOVE mushrooms 🙂
Thanks Cailee – I love shepherd’s pie AND mushrooms too 🙂
I love shepherd’s pie too. It’s such a great family meal and very warming and comforting on a winter’s night. I’ve never tried it with mushrooms though but what a great idea xx
Thank You Charlie! This would be good on a winters night – I am one of those crazy few that that loves to bake year round, so we enjoyed this pie in the middle of summer here 🙂
This vegetable filled Shepard’s pie looks so good!!!
Thank you bunches, Zainab
The original Shepherds pie was never meant to be so heavy, it was a leftover dish. I guess somehow, over here its turned into a meat laden, cheese laden, potato laden nightmare. I agree with you, you can’t move if you eat that! I always try to make it with leftovers, traditional way. This way is great too, I love the mushrooms and I love the cauliflower topping. I adore mashed cauliflower and potato and always sneak those in instead of just mashed potatoes. This is great redux recipe! Good luck!
Thanks so very much Nazneen – I so appreciate your kind words! But, I was not aware that it was originally a leftovers dish – I learned something new about shepherd’s pie – thanks to you 🙂
Looks fantastic Shashi, Shepherds Pie is great comfort food. Love this recipe.
Thanks so much Suzanne!
I’m not sure if I’ve ever eaten Shepherd’s Pie. I hope that we can still be friends:)
Yes, we can most definitely be friends!!! When you come to visit – I will make you shepherd’s pie – deal? 🙂
What a fabulous and much lighter adaption of Shepherd’s Pie! Well done 😀
This looks fantastic! What a great idea to replace meat with portabella mushrooms! Delicious!
Thanks so much Mary!
Thanks so much Lorraine!
These pie looks delicious! I love that it’s all vegetarian 🙂 but still has a nice meaty feeling.
Thanks so verymuch Jessica – portabella mushrooms are so good at “beefying” up a dish!
What a fantastic idea to make shepherd’s pie with veggie and lighten it up.
Love everything about this recipe!
Thanks so much Daniela
I am a big mushroom lover so I get pretty excited when I see a recipe with them featured in! This pie looks incredible, a must have for upcoming dinner!
Thanks bunches Pamela!
What a great twist on Shepard’s pie!!
Thank you Ashley!
This is freaky. Today I just bought the ingredients to make Shepherd’s Pie tomorrow, and I was looking at the big container of mushrooms in my fridge wondering if they would taste weird in it. It’s weird because I haven’t made Shepherd’s Pie in about four years!
Tara – its insane how psychic some us bloggers can be! 🙂
So did you use mushrooms in yours? how did you like it?
I agree with you…What’s not to love about shepherd’s pie?! It is so comforting and this one made with mushrooms must taste divine. It is one of the best meat subs that I know…
Thanks so very much Denise! This was good – and didn’t leave me feeling weighed down like I had eaten stones! 🙂