Vegetarian Cottage Pie with Mixed Beans

A Vegetarian Cottage or Shepherds Pie is a great mixed bean recipe and makes a delicious comfort food and tasty healthy dish. The vegetables and beans are cooked in a rich tomato sauce and topped with creamy mashed potato which is both filling and satisfying. For an easy version that uses Quorn Mince, check out my Quorn Cottage Pie

It feels a bit weird calling this a Cottage Pie or a Shepherds Pie since one contains beef and the other lamb. However, this is a delicious vegetarian or vegan alternative and a great swap for Meat Free Mondays. It's also much cheaper to make than a meat version, full of nutrition and also freezes well.

Other Delicious Meat Free Swaps

Recipe Tips and Variations

You can make a vegetarian cottage pie with mixed beans or with lentils. I've chosen to make it with beans. 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.

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.

I've added some cheddar cheese to the top of this cottage pie. 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 cheese, or just leave it out.

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.

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.

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.

How to Serve

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.

How to make it

1. 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, 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. Set to one side. If you're not going to add grated cheese at the end, you might like to add a little butter to the mash. This isn't necessary with the cheese.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and carrots and gently cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and fry for a further minute.
4. Add the Italian seasoning, worcestshire sauce, tinned tomatoes and stock. Stir together and season with salt and pepper. You could also add a little red wine if you wish.
5. Bring to the boil, then add the beans, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Everything is cooked so just needs to heat through.
6. 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.

How to Store

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.

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