Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie – 6 WW Freestyle SmartPoints

Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

I’ve never made (or eaten) shepherd’s pie before, but this vegetarian version really sounded good to me.

Shepherd’s pie (aka Cottage pie) is a meat pie topped with a crust of mashed potatoes that originated in the UK and Ireland. Historically the term “shepherd’s pie” meant the same as “cottage pie” and was used interchangeably.

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

More recently though, “shepherd’s pie” is more commonly used to describe the dish when made with lamb, as opposed to beef.

As found on Wikipedia, some interesting cottage pie recipe variations include:

• “Cumberland Pie” that is made with breadcrumbs on top
• “St. Stephen’s Day Pie” that is made with turkey and ham
• “Shepherdless Pie” (which I guess includes this version) is vegetarian
• and “Fish Pie” when made with… fish

This version of “Shepherdless Pie” uses lentils and broccoli in place of ground beef (or lamb) and boosts the healthy flavor of the potato crust by mashing sweet potatoes and cottage cheese with redskin potatoes.

Making Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

The Skinny on Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

You can easily use dried lentils for this dish since they cook up rather quickly and easily. But I cheated a little and used Trader Joe’s steamed lentils which only required a quick reheat before they were ready to go.

This recipe makes 4 generous servings and each serving provides about 391 calories and *9 Weight Watchers PointsPlus. It’s high in fiber thanks to the broccoli and lentils.

Under the new Weight Watchers Program for 2018, this has decreased to *6 Freestyle SmartPoints.

It’s a very filling dish by itself and at most you may only want a small green salad with it. We’ve already had it as leftovers, it holds up well and tastes just as great the second time around 😉

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Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie Recipe

A lighter version of the traditional meat-filled Shepherd's pie thanks to the addition of broccoli, lentils, savory sweet potatoes and cottage cheese.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 20 mins

Servings (adjustable): 4

Calories: 391

Author: Peter | Simple Nourished Living

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 pound redskin potatoes, thoroughly washed and chopped
• 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
• 3 crowns broccoli, florets only (about 4 to 5 cups)
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 6 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 400F degrees. Spray a 11x7-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
• Fill 2 large sauce pans with water, halfway and bring to a boil. In one pan, add the sweet potatoes and redskin potatoes. Cover and reduce heat to medium-high. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in the second pan, add the lentils then cover and reduce heat to medium-high. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, add the broccoli to the lentils and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, drain and set aside.
• After 10 minutes, drain the potatoes and return back to pan. Add the cottage cheese, stir in the egg and mash by hand with a potato masher until smooth.
• In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
• Stir in salt, thyme and sage and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Remove pan from the heat and stir in the lentil and broccoli mixture. Season to taste with black pepper.
• Spoon the mixture into prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
• Drop spoonfuls of mashed potatoes over the top and smooth with your spoon.
• Place dish in oven and bake for about 40 minutes, until the edges of crust begin to brown.

Recipe Notes

Weight Watchers PointsPlus: *9

Weight Watchers Freestyle SmartPoints: *6

Nutrition Facts

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 /4th recipe)

Calories 391 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Carbohydrates 66g22%

Fiber 21g84%

Protein 24g48%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: Main

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Source: Clean Eating Weeknight Meals Magazine – Winter 2015

*PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT Weight Watchers Zero Points fruits and vegetables using the WW Recipe Builder.

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