Vegetarian cottage pie with lentils

4.84 from 6 votes

Vegetarian cottage pie with lentils

This vegetarian cottage pie with lentils is a hearty, satiating meal, and the perfect option for a meatless dinner. We make a lovely lentil stew, and top it with fluffy mashed potatoes before cooking it in the oven until it’s perfectly golden. Cottage pie is a very traditional dinner in the UK, and this vegetarian version is an excellent alternative

Prep Time5

Cook Time35

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: British

Keyword: carrot, celery, lentils, potatoes, vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 349kcal

Author: Tonje

Cost: Cheap

Ingredients

200 g cooked lentils
200 ml vegetable stock
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 onion
2 celery sticks
3 medium carrots
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Mashed potatoes

1 kg potatoes
2 tablespoon butter
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon salt
50 g cheddar cheese optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 210°C / 200°C fan oven / 410°F.
Saute finely chopped onion and garlic in a pan until it’s soft and translucent. Add finely chopped carrots and celery, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and stock, and cook until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the lentils, stir it all to combine, then transfer the mixture to a casserole dish.
Meanwhile, peel and dice potatoes, and boil them in water until soft. Drain off the water, and use a potato masher to mash them together. Add butter, salt and nutmeg, and optionally grated cheese. Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the lentil mix, and bake it in the oven until the top of the mashed potatoes are golden on the edges.

Notes

This recipe makes 4 large servings. If served with a side dish, the recipe makes enough for 6 servings of cottage pie.

Use leftover vegetables

This recipe is a perfect opportunity to use any leftover vegetables. Add cooked or finely diced raw vegetables to the dish along with the carrots and celery, and make sure they are cooked through before transferring the lentil sauce to the casserole dish.

What to do with leftover cottage pie

Cottage pie with lentils can be frozen for up for 3 months. I like to freeze it in portion sizes for easy dinners at a later point. You can also store leftovers in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat the cottage pie in the microwave or oven until piping hot throughout.

Nutrition