St. Patrick’s Day Meal: Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

“Top of the Mornin’ to ya…”  Hello St. Patrick’s Day filled with fun, friends, family and most importantly food.  Everyone knows that one of the best ways to celebrate any occasion is with a good meal, and for those who didn’t now you do. How about a meal that will keep you full and satisfied to enjoy the day’s festivities?  A good ole’ Shepard’s Pie ought to do the trick, but with a healthy twist.  Typically, this can be a heavy meal but with a few touches to the ingredients you and your family should be able to have the energy for a couple of St. Paddy’s day parades.  Now let’s waste no more time, let’s get started on your St. Patrick’s Day meal right away.

St. Patrick’s Day Meal: Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

Whole Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

Image via:  Pikachakula

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 55 min

Ready Time: 1hr and 15 min.

Servings: 6

Ingredients

For the Mashed Potato Layer:

5 Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 cup of Vegan Mayonnaise

½ cup of Soy Milk

¼ cup of Olive Oil

3 tablespoons of Vegan Cream Cheese Substitute (Like Tofutti)

2 teaspoons of Salt

Vegan Shepard’s Pie

Image via:  Vogue Vegetarian

For the Bottom Layer:

1 tablespoon of Vegetable Oil

1 Large Yellow Onion, chopped

2 Carrots, chopped

3 Celery stalks, chopped

½ cup of Frozen Peas

1 Tomato, chopped

1 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning

`               1 Garlic clove, minced

1 pinch of Black Ground Pepper

1 (14-ounce) pk of Vegetarian Ground Beef Substitute

½ cup of Shredded Cheddar style Soy Cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven for 400 degrees F.
2. First you are going to want to do is cook the potatoes in a pot of cold water over a medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. After the water has begun to boil, then turn the heat down to a medium-low heat and let the potatoes become tender which should take about 25 minutes, then drain them.
3. Next, begin to stir in the vegan mayonnaise, soy milk, olive oil, vegan cream cheese and salt into the pot of potatoes, then mash the mixture together with a potato masher until it becomes smooth and fluffy. Then set the potatoes aside for later.
4. Spray or oil down a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray or some of the Olive oil.
5. Then for your St. Patrick’s Day meal, you are going to want to heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over a medium heat, start to stir in the onion, carrots, celery, frozen peas and tomato until the mixture once again becomes softened and this process should take about 10 minutes. Afterwards stir in the Italian seasoning, garlic and pepper.
6. Turn down the heat to a medium-low and crumble the vegetarian ground beef substitute into the skillet with the vegetables that you were previously cooking with. Stir the meat while it is cooking and break it up to help it evenly lay within the mixture; this should go on for about 5 minutes.
7. Now you are going to take the vegetarian meat and spread it into the bottom of the oiled baking dish, and add a layer of mashed potatoes then smooth both into an even layer. Sprinkle the potatoes with the shredded soy cheese. Then stick the entire concoction into the oven and let it bake for 20 minutes.

St. Patrick’s Day is filled with so much of everything but one of the main important items that encourages the fun on this day is food. This recipe is has all of the fulfilling ingredients that will keep your tummy happy and the rest of your body energized for rest of the day.  So take a look above and get cooking me laddies for your St. Patrick’s Day meal.  Also, Stagetecture readers do you have any recipes that you like to cook for St. Paddy’s Day?