WW Recipe of the Day: Healthy Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
(391 calories | 10 6 2 myWW *SmartPoints value per serving)
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
Making Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
The Skinny on Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie Recipe Notes
This gluten-free version of meatless "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.
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.
How Many Calorie and Weight Watchers Points in this Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie?
This recipe makes 4 generous servings and each serving provides about 391 calories and
10 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
6 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
2 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
9 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
It's high in fiber thanks to the broccoli and lentils.
What to Serve with this Meatless Shepherd's Pie?
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 😉
If you've made this Vegetarian Low Fat Shepherd's Pie, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- ½ 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
- ¼ 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
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 each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More favorite Weight Watchers Vegetarian Recipes
- Easy Slow Cooker Back-on-Track Soup
- Spinach-Feta Quiche
- Crock Pot Ratatouille
- Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
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Hi, I'm Martha. Simple Nourished Living chronicles the easy and delicious Weight Watchers friendly recipes, tips & hints that help me balance my love of food and desire to be happy, healthy and slim. 
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