A Vegetarian Cottage or Shepherd's Pie with mixed beans is delicious comfort food and a tasty alternative to a meat version. The vegetables and beans are cooked in a rich tomato sauce and topped with creamy mashed potato, which is filling and satisfying. It's gluten-free and suitable for vegans. For an easy version that uses Quorn Mince, check out my Quorn Cottage Pie
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It feels strange to call this a Cottage Pie or a Shepherd's Pie since one contains beef and the other lamb. However, vegetarian or vegan alternatives are popular and a great swap for Meat Free Mondays. It's also much cheaper than a meat version, full of protein, and freezes well.
Mixed beans are an easy swap for meat in this cottage pie. For more recipes that use mixed beans, try my 5 Bean Chilli or Hungarian Bean Goulash.
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Ingredients
A vegetarian Cottage Pie uses simple ingredients.
- Mixed Beans - use ones in water rather than brine.
- Potatoes - any potatoes that mash well such as Maris Piper, Kind Edward, or in the US try Yukon Gold.
- Red Onions - these should be firm.
- Carrots - any variety, carrots should be firm.
- Worcester Sauce - these adds umami to the sauce. If you are vegan, be sure to use a vegan version as the regular version contains anchovies.
- Italian Seasoning - a mixed Italian seasoning typically containing rosemary, basil, and oregano.
- Vegetable Stock - use any vegetable stock. I use a stock cube for convenience.
- Cheddar Cheese - this is optional but adds more flavour to the topping. For a vegan version, you can leave it out or substitute it with a vegan cheddar cheese.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to a boil, add the potato, and cook for around 10 minutes until soft. Drain, your potatoes and mash them then leave to steam dry. This helps reduce the water content which will mean your potatoes won't sink into your filling.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and carrots and gently cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat.
Add the garlic and fry for a further minute.
Add the Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, tinned tomatoes and stock. Stir together and season with salt and pepper. You could also add a little red wine if you wish.
Bring to a boil, then add the beans, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Everything is cooked so just needs to heat through.
Place in an oven-proof dish. Using a dessert or tablespoon, carefully spoon the mash evenly over the top. Start at the outside of your dish and work inwards towards the middle. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake in the oven for 30 minutes until crisp and golden on top. You can pop it under the grill/broiler for a few minutes at the end to make the topping extra crispy if you like.
Hint: To make sure your mash doesn't sink into the filling, let your cooked potatoes steam for a few minutes. This helps dry them out a little. Watery potatoes will weigh heavy and will seep into the filling.
Substitutions & Variations
Lentils - You can make a vegetarian cottage pie with mixed beans or with lentils. If you prefer to use lentils, replace the mixed beans with 250g of ready-to-eat (pre-cooked), green or brown puy lentils. Red lentils will not work very well in this recipe.
Sweet Potato - Another variation is to swap the mashed potato topping for a sweet potato topping. Use the same amount of sweet potato and mash together with a little butter. Sweet potatoes are highly nutritious and high in vitamin A.
Cheese - I've added some cheddar cheese to the top of this cottage pie. Cheddar cheese or sharp cheddar has a nice strong flavour. The cheese melts together with the creamy mash and is just delicious. If you want a Vegan Cottage Pie, you should replace the cheddar cheese with a vegan cheddar, or just leave it out.
Serving Suggestion
A Vegetarian Cottage Pie is a one-pot dish but I always like to serve some green vegetables on the side for added colour and nutrition. Mostly, I go for garden peas, but you could also choose cabbage, kale, or broccoli. Alternatively, red cabbage also goes well, or some people like pickled red cabbage. If you're looking to make it go a little further, a nice crusty bread to help mop up the sauce is a good choice.
Equipment
- Large Pan - to boil the potatoes.
- Stove top casserole dish or large pan.
- Oven-proof dish.
- Measuring jug.
Sustainability Tip
Meat-free meals can help reduce your carbon footprint. The United Nations advises that we all look at ways we can reduce the amount of meat we eat and incorporate more plant-based foods into our diets. A Sustainable Diet is good for us and the planet.
Storage & Reheating
You can keep this vegetable and bean cottage pie in the fridge for 2 - 3 days. It also freezes well for up to 2 months. It's best if you defrost it before cooking, but you can cook it from frozen. To cook from frozen, cover the dish with foil and cook for 1 hour - 1 hour 20 minutes at 160°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Uncover for the last 20 minutes and turn the temperature up to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 so that it can crisp on the top.
If your Cottage Pie is already defrosted, it will need less time to heat through. To check if it's hot in the middle, insert a fork, leave for a few seconds then test on the back of your wrist. If the fork is hot then your pie is heated through.
Top tip
When adding the mashed potatoes, use a dessert or tablespoon and spoon it on one spoonful at a time. Start at the edges and work inwards towards the middle.
Related
Looking for other recipes with mixed beans? Try these:
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📖 Recipe
Vegetarian Cottage Pie with Mixed Beans
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Ingredients
- 1 kg potato organic, peeled and cut into 1cm chunks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil organic, fairtrade
- 2 red onions organic, peeled and diced
- 2 carrots organic, scrubbed and diced into 1cm cubes
- 1 garlic cloves organic, peeled and crushed
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning or dried mixed herbs
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce organic
- 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes organic
- 200 ml vegetable stock (if using beans) organic
- 1 dash salt
- 1 dash black pepper organic, fairtrade, freshly ground
- 800 g tinned mixed beans organic
- 150 g mature cheddar cheese organic, grated (optional) Or use a vegan cheese.
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the potato and cook for around 10 minutes until soft. Drain and mash then let the potatoes steam. Set to one side.1 kg potato
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and carrots and gently cook for 5 minutes.1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 red onions, 2 carrots
- Add the garlic and fry for a further 1 minute.1 garlic cloves
- Add the Italian seasoning, worcestshire sauce, tinned tomatoes and stock. Stir together and season with salt and pepper.1 teaspoon italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce, 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes, 200 ml vegetable stock, 1 dash salt, 1 dash black pepper
- Bring to the boil, then add the beans, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes800 g tinned mixed beans
- Place in an oven proof dish, spoon the mash evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.150 g mature cheddar cheese
Notes
Ingredient Notes
- Mixed Beans - use ones in water rather than brine.
- Potatoes - any potatoes that mash well such as Maris Piper, Kind Edward or in the US try Yukon Gold.
- Red Onions - these should be firm.
- Carrots - any variety, carrots should be firm.
- Worcester Sauce - these adds umami to the sauce. If you are vegan, be sure to use a vegan version as the regular version contains anchovies.
- Italian Seasoning - a mixed italian seasoning typically containing rosemary, basil and oregano.
- Vegetable Stock - use any vegetable stock. I use a stock cube for convenience.
- Cheddar Cheese - this is optional but adds more flavour to the topping. For a vegan version you can leave it out or substitute with a vegan cheddar cheese.
Tip & Variations
You can make a vegetarian cottage pie with mixed beans or with lentils. If using lentils, replace the mixed beans with 250g of ready to eat (pre-cooked), green or brown puy lentils. Red lentils will not work very well in this recipe. Swap the mashed potato topping for a sweet potato topping. Use the same amount of sweet potato. Use a vegan cheese on top for a Vegan Cottage Pie. Let your cooked potatoes steam for a few minutes to help dry them out and avoid watery mash which is heavy and will sink into your filling. Add the mashed potatoes with a dessert or tablespoon and spoon it on one spoonful at a time. Start at the edges and work inwards towards the middle. The best potatoes to use for mash are Desiree or Maris Piper potatoes in the UK and Yukon Gold in the US. Finish the dish off under the grill/broiler for a few minutes if you'd like it extra crispy on top.Storage
Store in the fridge for 2 - 3 days. It also freezes well for up to 2 months. It's best defrosted before cooking, but you can cook it from frozen. To cook from frozen, cover the dish with foil and cook for 1 hour – 1 hour 20 minutes at 160°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Uncover for the last 20 minutes and turn the temperature up to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 so that it can crisp on the top.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
Barb
Great recipe but what do you mean by steaming the potatoes? Do they need to have the lid on the pot? Should they be on a low heat?
REALMEALDEAL
Glad you enjoyed the recipe. Once the potatoes are cooked, mash them, then leave the mash in the pan without a lid so the steam can escape. This will allow the potato mash to dry off a little. There is no need to keep it over a low heat as once assembled, the cottage pie will go into the oven. Allowing potatoes to steam means water escapes which makes your mash lighter. This helps as the mash is less likely to sink down into the filling of the cottage pie as it will not be so heavy.
Sharon
So easy and so tasty. My young kids really liked it. 2nd time I made this some leek and broccoli went in as well to use it up👍👍
REALMEALDEAL
So pleased your young kids liked it and a great idea to add in other veg that needed using up.
Eea
This is a very tasty dish.
The three of us ate 1/3 of it. I think it serves 6 people easily.