This healthy and hearty cottage pie is a delicious plant-based twist on a classic British meal. Made from lentils, seasoned with Indian-inspired spices, and topped with sweet potato mash. A high protein, affordable meal that’s perfect for winter.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This is a delicious, modern, veggie packed and mildly-spiced Indian twist on a classic English dinner. Plus it’s completely vegan.
- Comforting and hearty, perfect for cold winter nights, this cottage pie is the ultimate wholesome comfort food. It’s filling and balanced, with lentils as a source of protein and sweet potatoes for carbohydrates.
- Freezer-friendly and reheats well. This is a great vegan-friendly recipe that keeps for up to 3 months in the freezer and can be reheated easily in the microwave or in the oven.
- Budget friendly, made with canned lentils and hard vegetables like sweet potato and onion, this is a generous and hearty dinner to feed the family affordably.
Ingredients
Made mostly from pantry staples, this cottage pie is a simple and affordable recipe that’s straightforward to make. Don’t be put off by the length of the ingredients list – it’s mostly spices and comes together quickly. You can find all the exact measurements for each ingredient in the recipe card at the bottom of this post:
- Olive oil
- Onions (yellow)
- Celery
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Brown lentils (canned)
- Soy sauce
- Tomato paste
- Vegetable stock
- Chopped tomatoes (canned)
- Sweet potatoes
- Vegan margarine
- Miso paste
- Nutritional yeast
- Milk (I use soy)
Spices
- Cumin
- Smoked paprika
- Ground coriander
- Garam masala
- Salt
Instructions
Making this Vegan Cottage Pie is very straightforward and similar to how you’d make a traditional cottage pie, but with some extra spices and using lentils for protein. Here’s how to make it:
Step One: Sauté onions, celery, and carrots in olive oil until softened. Add garlic, cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, and cook until fragrant.
Step Two: Add lentils, tomato paste, and soy sauce, then chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock.
Step Three: Simmer until reduced and sauce has thickened.
Step Four: While cooking the lentil filling, prepare the topping. Boil sweet potatoes until tender.
Step Five: Drain, then mash with vegan margarine, miso paste, nutritional yeast, and plant-based milk. Season with salt to taste.
Step Six: Transfer the lentil mixture to an ovenproof dish, or keep in the same pan if oven-safe.
Step Seven: Top with sweet potato mash, smooth it down, and fluff the surface with a fork.
Step Eight: Bake until the top is golden and bubbling. Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving.
Substitutions
Lentils: If you’re not a fan of lentils, you could use a plant-based mince meat substitute or rehydrated textured vegetable protein.
Sweet Potatoes: If you’re not a fan of sweet potatoes, you could use regular potatoes instead.
White Miso Paste: Miso paste adds a delicious umami and slightly cheesy flavor to the sweet potato mash. You can find it in most major supermarkets in Australia, but depending on where you live you may need to go to your local Asian grocer or order it online. If you can’t find miso though, you can omit it from the recipe and add extra salt to taste. It won’t have quite as rich a flavor but will still be tasty.
Variation
If you’re making this on a weekend and have some extra time on your hands, try roasting the sweet potatoes instead of boiling them. This concentrates their natural sweetness and gives the mash a richer taste. Halve the sweet potatoes before roasting, coat in a light drizzle of olive oil and roast cut side down for 30-40 minutes until tender. Scoop out the roasted flesh, then mash with the other ingredients as usual.
Storage
Refrigeration: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave until warmed through.
Freezing: This cottage pie freezes really well. After baking, let it cool completely, then slice into pieces and transfer to an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or on the defrost setting in the microwave, then reheat completely in the microwave or in the oven.
FAQs
Yes! You can make it up to two days in advance, then bake when ready to eat. You may need to extend the baking time by an extra 5 minutes if baking from chilled.
Absolutely! Once baked, let the pie cool completely, then slices into pieces and transfer to an airtight container. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or in the microwave on the defrost setting before reheating.
As written, the recipe is not gluten free because it is made with miso paste and soy sauce which both contain gluten. If you omit the miso paste and swap the soy sauce for tamari, you could make it gluten free.
Serving Suggestions and More Recipes
I love to eat this Cottage Pie with some simple greens on the side, like steamed peas, green beans or even a leafy salad.
If you’re looking for more hearty vegan dinner recipes, then you should try my Cauliflower Korma (it’s made in just one tray in the oven – so easy!), or my cheesy baked Cannellini Bean Gratin. If you’re looking for more budget friendly meals to feed a family or a crowd, then my Egyptian Koshari with Lentils is another delicious, mildly spiced choice.
I hope you enjoy this recipe – I have tried so many casseroles since going vegan, and this is one of the most delicious and hearty. You can leave a star rating and comment below the recipe to let me know what you think, or you can tag me in your photos on Instagram @glowdiaries___. I would love to see how it turned out for you and if you tried any variations.
Spiced Vegan Cottage Pie with Sweet Potato Mash
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 onions diced
- 4 celery sticks finely sliced
- 4 carrots peeled and diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 (400g can) brown lentils drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3.5 cup vegetable stock hot
- 800 g chopped tomatoes
Sweet potato mash
- 1.5 kg sweet potato peeled and chopped
- 3 tbsp vegan margarine
- 2 tbsp white miso paste
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup milk I use unsweetened soy
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 360°F.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan or dutch oven. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook on medium heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring.
- Add the garlic, cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add lentils, tomato paste and soy sauce, stir for a further 1-2 minutes.
- Add vegetable stock and chopped tomatoes, stir and then leave to simmer for 25-30 minutes until reduced.
- Add chopped sweet potato to a large pot, cover with salted water then bring to to the boil. Boil for about 10 minutes until softened. Drain, then return to the pot. Add margarine, miso paste, nutritional yeast and milk. Mash until smooth, taste and season with salt if desired.
- If you used a pan to cook the veggies, transfer them into an ovenproof dish, then top with sweet potato. If using a dutch oven, simply add the sweet potato mash on top. Smooth the mash down then run a fork over the top to fluff the surface. Brush or spray some olive oil over the top and sprinkle with a little salt. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling.
Notes
Nutrition
If you’re looking for another classic English meal then make sure to try my friends Dan and Jess’ Vegan Coronation Chicken with Jackfruit recipe.
Janet k. says
Delicious
sarah says
sarahsmith2021678@gmail.com
Hong Nguyen says
Gonna try this, looks awesome!