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WW Recipe of the Day: Healthy Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
I have 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.
More recently though, “shepherd’s pie” is more commonly used to describe the dish when made with lamb, as opposed to beef.
- “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
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 WW Points in this Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie?
This recipe makes 4 generous servings and each serving provides about 391 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
10 SmartPoints (Green plan)
6 SmartPoints (Blue plan)
2 SmartPoints (Purple plan)
9 PointsPlus (Old plan)
This dish is 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
Equipment
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 (affiliate link)
- 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 11×7-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 (affiliate link) 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.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 10 SmartPoints (Green plan) 6 SmartPoints (Blue plan) 2 SmartPoints (Purple plan) 9 PointsPlus (Old plan) 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Source: Clean Eating Weeknight Meals Magazine – Winter 2015
