This easy and tasty Vegan Breakfast Shepherd's Pie takes no more than 20 minutes to put together, and another 25 minutes in the oven. You can tweak it to the ingredients you have on hand. And although it's perfect to start your day with, you can also have it for lunch or dinner. A nut-free and gluten-free recipe, can be soy-free.
Weekend breakfasts in our home have to be special, like this vegan breakfast casserole. But they also have to be quick because who wants to spend all morning in the kitchen? A dish like this Vegan Breakfast Shepherd's Pie is exactly what I love to make at times like these.
I sprained my ankle last Friday by slipping on the front stoop while tending to our small group of outdoor kitties who stop by every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It wasn't the funnest thing to happen, but looking from the glass-half-full perspective, I didn't have anywhere to go.
Unfortunately, cooking--my indoors stress reliever--wasn't much fun either when I had to stand with most of my weight on one foot. But I got this recipe cooked and ready with a minimal amount of elbow grease--or ankle pain. And it was a big hit.
It's delicious, nutritious and extremely kid-friendly, so you'll be ticking all of the boxes at once. Try it, and come back for more.
How to make vegan breakfast shepherd's pie
- Since we are cooking with what we have on hand now most of the time, I designed this recipe to be eminently tweakable. You can substitute practically any ingredient in here, including the mashed potato layer on top, and get a delicious result.
- The veggies I used were a leek and half a giant red bell pepper that I had left over. You can substitute with onions and, if you want to add more, with any quick-cooking veggie like scallions, zucchini, mushrooms, butternut squash, spinach, green beans, green peas, corn, cauliflower (riced or cut into small florets).
- For the meaty part of the filling I used vegan sausage (I LOVE chipotle sausage in this), but you can substitute lentils for equally tasty results. Here's a recipe for my vegan Irish shepherd's pie where I did exactly that.
- What makes shepherd's pie particularly irresistible and extremely kid-friendly, is that thick, creamy layer of mashed potatoes on top. If you want to make this dish even healthier, go with mashed sweet potatoes. But if you do this give some thought to the veggies you already added to your filling and if they complement the sweet taters. I wouldn't, for instance, use them if I use butternut squash in the filling--I'd just stick with the potato.
- You can make all of the recipe in one pot if you have a cast iron griddle or any griddle that transfers from the stovetop to the oven. I won't claim this is a one-pot recipe overall, because you do have to cook and mash the potatoes separately.
More vegan breakfast casserole recipes
- Vegan Spinach, Sausage and Cheese Casserole
- Vegan French Toast Casserole
- Vegan Hash Brown Casserole
- Vegan Tater Tot Casserole
- Vegan Croissant Casserole
Vegan Breakfast Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 leek (cleaned of all grit and thinly sliced)
- 1 small bell pepper (any color, diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (smashed and minced)
- 14 oz vegan sausage (any flavor, crumbled into small bits. You can also do this in a food processor. Use Beyond meat or any gluten-free sausage if tailoring for such diets. Meatless crumbles are fine here too)
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- ½-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, and leave out if the sausage is already spicy, like if you're using chipotle sausage)
- 2 tablespoon gluten free all purpose flour (or regular all purpose flour)
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoon tamari (or liquid aminos or soy sauce. It adds great umami, but leave out if soy-free)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
For the mashed potato topping:
- 2 pounds russet potatoes (cooked until tender)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup nondairy milk
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- To make the filling, heat the vegetable oil in a 10-inch or bigger cast iron skillet.
- Add the leeks and bell peppers, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the leeks are wilted and tender, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sauté for a minute.
- Add the crumbled sausage and continue to saute another couple of minutes, then add in the rosemary, red pepper if using, tamari and flour.
- Saute, scraping up any bits that stick to the bottom, for another two minutes. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for another five minutes. Add more salt if needed. Turn off the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
Make the mashed potato topping:
- Place the peeled and cooked potatoes in a bowl along with the other ingredients and mash until smooth.
Assemble and bake the casserole:
- Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the filling in an even layer. Use the tines of a fork, if you wish, to trace decorative patterns on the potatoes.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake 25 minutes or until the filling is bubbling up the sides and the potatoes are just beginning to color.
- Let stand five minutes outside the oven, then serve hot.
Casey
I’ve been looking for a one pot savory breakfast like this!
Great idea! Making in the morning
Vaishali
Awesome!
Steve
I noticed whilst making the recipe that Garlic and tamari are listed in the ingredients but they aren't mentioned in the directions so I added them at the end of the "frying stage". The product was still delicious!
Vaishali
So happy you enjoyed it. Sorry about the garlic and tamari — it’s clarified now!
Suee33
I just made this tonight for dinner. We are isolating at hone, I have the groceries delivered, they were able to add a leek to my order!! However lots of other stuff was not available, ha
This recipe is is really quite good, I had fresh spinach so I added it and that was a great way to use some of the spinach and added a bit to the dish. I did not have enough fresh potatoes so I used some flakes,that worked just fine. I will keep this recipe. Thank you
Vaishali
So happy to hear! Great idea to add spinach and to sub with potato flakes--it's all about using up what's on hand. 🙂