Sweet Potato Lentil Shepherd’s Pie : vegan & gluten-free

Season of comfort-food – welcome back.

When it comes to food, this is the best time of the year to indulge in delicious comforting dishes like this Sweet Potato Lentil Shepherd’s Pie… I let my cravings go wild this season and turn to foods and flavours that I naturally crave. With the great reviews of my Lentil Shepherd’s Pie, I was inspired to take this already delicious recipe and make another version ~ that do I dare say, is even healthier?!

This Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie is truly the perfect dish that makes your tummy happy. There’s so much goodness in there… from flavours to healthy ingredients ~ hello turmeric. This is a must-make dish that you and your family will LOVE (I promise!)

SWEET POTATO LENTIL SHEPHERD’S PIE

{HEALTHY, VEGAN, GLUTEN FREE AND LOW-GLYCEMIC RECIPE}

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 cup sweet peas (frozen are fine)
• 1/2 cup frozen organic corn
• 1 large can of lentils (or 1 cup dried lentils, cooked)
• 2 tablespoons of gluten-free soy sauce or vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon dried paprika
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• grapeseed oil for cooking
• 2-3 sprigs of green onions for serving

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DIRECTIONS:

Peel and cut the potatoes into quarters (so they cook faster). Heat water in a large pot, and cook the potatoes in 1 teaspoon salted water. 

In a large pan, saute the chopped onions and carrots and cook until golden. Add the frozen peas and corn and cooked lentils and cover to cook for a few minutes. Add a bit of water if these veggies start to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add in the soy sauce, and season with cumin and turmeric, salt and pepper. Keep covered, turn down the heat to low.

Your potatoes should be boiled by now, drain and mash them with a potato masher. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

NO BAKE option : 20 minutes total time 

To make this dish really quick, I like to scoop the hot lentil veggie mixture at the bottom of a ramekin or serving dish, then top with the hot sweet potato puree. Top with green onions and pepper and serve.

BAKING OPTION : 50 minutes total time

Scoop the lentil veggies mixture on the bottom of an oven-safe dish or ramekins (for individual sizes) and top with the mashed potatoes. Cover and bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

NOTES : both baked and no-baked options are great it all depends on the timing and how quickly you would like this dish to turn around. If you’re making this as a casual dinner on a busy evening forgo the baking and enjoy a quick delicious comforting meal. If you’re making it as a large family dinner or say Thanksgiving dish and waiting for company. Then I would do the baking version just because you can keep it in the oven until it’s ready to be served and keeps it out of the way until you’re ready. 

+ The lentil veggie mixture is great to make in advance AND it’s also great to eat as a stand alone dish! Yum!! 

Say hello to your new favourite meal!! :)

As a final note…. did you know that sweet potatoes are healthier than white potatoes? That’s because they are lower on the glycemic chart and do not raise your blood sugar the same way white potatoes do. BUT they actually taste sweeter. This is a really great ingredient and this Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie is the best way to eat them quite possibly :)

 

Actually there’s a few other amazing recipes that use Sweet Potatoes ~ especially my Guilt-free Sweet Potato Chocolate Brownies. Just cook extra potatoes and make these for dessert :)