I am so excited that it’s comfort-food season!! As much as I adore the fresh local produce and cool and light dishes of the summer, there is something about the hearty, hot and comforting foods of the winter that are so enticing. A good comfort food meal will leave you feeling like you just got the biggest, warmest hug from your favorite loved one! Even better when it can be healthy comfort food! What’s your favorite comfort food?
Although this isn’t technically a one-pot meal, since it requires some prep, it is in theory and in it’s final state. I love a meal where it’s all inclusive. One big scoop and you are all set. Plus, a meal like this is perfect for leftovers. For some reason, I find meals like this even better as leftovers, I am not sure if it’s because I didn’t spend all the time prepping just before, or if it just really allows the flavors to come together to their fullest.
Please keep in mind, I used what vegetables I had on hand and what I would like best for the filling, but feel free to have some fun and add in whatever you’d like. Other wonderful add-ins for the filling would be squash, cauliflower, corn, green beans, asparagus, peas, lentils, beets, turnips, meat or tofu, etc, etc. The possibilities are endless. You could make this many times, each a totally different way. Another thing to note, you don’t have to roast your vegetables if you don’t want to. You could simply sautee them in a large pan on the stove top, I just personally love the flavor of roasted vegetables. I didn’t exactly accurately measure, so use my measurements below as a guide, but don’t get too hung up on the specifics, there really is no wrong way.
[print_this]Roasted Veggie Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Potato Topping – Vegan + Gluten-free
Serves 4-6
Filling:
(please keep in mind you can really use whatever veggies you would like and prefer, this is just what I had on hand.)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small head broccoli, cut into small florets
- 1-2 cups pearl onions, peeled and halved, if need be (I used fresh, not frozen)
- 1 small bulb of kohlrabi, peeled and sliced
- 2 cups brussels sprouts, halved
- 1 leeks, rinsed very well, slice thinly white and light green parts only
- 2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, thinly slices
- 1 15 ounce can of organic white beans
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Fresh or dried herbs, to your liking – I used both fresh rosemary and fresh thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (or other stock like chicken or mushroom, etc)
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch (potato or corn starch would also work)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
Sweet Potato Topping:
- 4 medium organic sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons oil or butter (olive oil, coconut oil, butter, vegan butter, ghee, etc)
- splash of non-dairy milk (I used a bit of coconut milk)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
Toss all of your vegetables, leaving out the white beans, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes, together with olive oil, fresh herbs, salt and pepper in a roasting pan. Place in the oven and roast for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the veggies are slightly tender and beginning to brown. While the veggies are roasting, quickly sautee the mushrooms with a small drizzle of olive oil over a medium high heat. Take the roasted vegetables out when they are ready and toss in the white beans, sauteed mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes.
Lower the oven temperature to 375ºF.
In a small saucepan heat the stock for your broth plus your herbs, over a medium-high heat, once simmering, carefully whisk in your starch to thicken. To avoid lumps, sprinkle it in lightly a little at a time or add some stock to a small bowl with the starch in and whisk quickly to fully incorporate. Once the veggies are done and all together, pour the sauce over, don’t add it all at once, you may not want it all, depending on how many veggies you have.
Pour the filling evenly into a very lightly greased glass baking pan and set aside. Meanwhile boil the sweet potatoes with the garlic in a medium saucepan full of water over a high heat. Once boiling, continue simmering for about 10-12 minutes until the sweet potatoes are nice and tender. Quickly drain the potatoes and then add back to the pot, add your oil or butter (or vegan butter) and mash with a potato masher, a hand mixer, etc. until smooth and creamy. Add a splash a non-dairy milk if you need a bit more liquid or to give just a hint of creaminess. Salt and pepper to taste.
Smooth the mashed sweet potatoes over the filling, using a spatula to spread evenly. Place in the 375ºF oven and bake for 30 – 35 minutes until the filling is bubbling. If you wish to get a bit of crispy brown goodness on top, place your shepherd’s pie under the broiler for a few minutes.
Let cool for a few minutes then serve while hot.
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14 Responses
I’m excited, too. I LOVE me some comfort food and it’s Indian all the way this year. Curries galore! I love the idea of roasted veggies at the bottom, so smart. I bet one could make this paleo (albeit not vegan) if they added some wild game meat to the bottom too. Grain free casserole for the win!
The win is already in. It’s Vegan form.
I don’t like shepherd’s pie but this looks right up my alley with all the veggies, beans and the creamy sweet potato topping. Looks delicious! With the colder winter, I am definitely craving comfort meals.. lately it has been a lot of simply dals, but I bet I could make this after a grocery run for all the veggies. 🙂
This looks awesome!! I could eat shepherd’s pie every day, I am going to have to try your recipe because it looks amazing. Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes are my 2 favorite foods right now, this might be my new favorite comfort food!!!
Beth, I am on a super restrictive diet right now for Lucy’s sake, and I am having a really hard time finding interesting recipes to make that meet the criteria. But this one is perfect! All I have to do is leave out the tomatoes, and it meets all of my requirements! So- THANK YOU! I’m so excited to make this!
Mandi, so nice to hear from you. Sorry your diet is so restrictive, but I am so glad I can help, even just a little bit. I hope you and baby are well. If you get a minute, email me your food restrictions, I’d love to create a recipe just for you, maybe we can do a little cross-post fun on our blogs! I always love a good food challenge, anyway 😉 xo
Be well!
Mmm comfort food! This is so up my alley, I love it. Smother it in some mushroom gravy 🙂
Comfort food makes me sooo happy! Yum, yes mushroom gravy would be divine.
I made this and used a very generous amount of vegetables and herbs (i used italian seasoning, fennel, dill, fresh rosemary, cayenne, thyme) especially plenty of broccoli, and it was AMAZING. I added some nutritional yeast to the potatoes to add some cheesiness, and I omitted the pearl onions. My husband cursed when he tried it, which is a good thing in my house. 😉 Next time, more carrots!
Hi Beth! Thinking about making this for Thanksgiving. Do you see any reason that it can’t be assembled the day before and baked the day of? Thanks, Denise
Hey Denise. I have actually done that myself plenty of times. It works great. I am actually making it for a get together at our place this weekend!! Enjoy.
I made this last night for my annual Friendsgiving. I used pumpkin instead of sweet potato and it was a hit!! However, I struggled with the sauce because the tapioca flour just clumped up. I had to take out the big clumps and essentially just pour in the broth and herbs. My understanding is that tapioca starch and flour are the same thing? Did I do something wrong?
Samantha, did you just dump the tapioca right to the broth or did you sprinkle it in? Many times I will add some of the stock (1/2 – 1 cup) to a small bowl or large cup then add the starch in and whisk quickly to fully incorporate and get rid of all lumps before I add it to the pot. Sorry that happened to you. Hope that helps!
I always go to comments to see how people rate the recipe, not to see how excited people are about making it. Thank you to the people who posted after you made it. Those thoughts helped a lot.