If you are following a plant-based ketogenic diet or a vegan diet but are watching your carb intake, you will surely love this Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe.
Topped with creamy cauliflower mash, this recipe will remind you of the classic Shepherd’s pie but without the meat and the carbs.
A shepherd’s pie is a dish made with a layer of ground meat, traditionally lamb, and vegetables topped with mashed potato. But this Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe from Heavenly Fan is not only meat-free, it’s also low in carbs since it uses cauliflower mash instead of the usual mashed potatoes.
It tastes so good that even those not following any plant-based or low carb diet will love every bit of it.
Related reading: 5 Top Tips for Getting Started on a Low Carb Diet
Carrots on Keto
You might be wondering about the carrots in this dish because you’ve probably read that carrots are too high in carbs if you are following a keto diet. That is not always strictly true. Depending on the level of carbs you adhere to on your keto plan you may be able to eat some carrots without being kicked out of ketosis.
Related reading: How To Tell If You’re In Ketosis Without Testing?
If you think carrots will make this dish too high in carbs for you then you could use green beans or squash instead.
Plant-based diet
There has been increased interest in the food that people are eating as more began to think about their health during the coronavirus pandemic.
Plants contain high levels of essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals that you can’t get from other foods and are important for keeping you healthy.
Not only can a plant based diet help you lose weight but it can help to lower your blood pressure, improve your cholesterol, help prevent Type 2 diabetes, decrease your risk of cancer and help to prevent dementia.
Eating plant based does no mean however that you have to give up animal protein entirely but many people are cutting down on meat for varying reasons. Even people who have been thinking about following the keto diet are drawn to the plant-based version.
If you want to try some very easy and tasty plant-based recipes that are suitable for a low carb diet then take a look at these Plant Based Keto Recipes
Recipe notes for this Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
I prefer to use avocado oil in place of olive oil for cooking. It has a higher smoke point and some health experts say that you should not heat olive oil more than 180C. It’s hard to tell what the temerature reaches when sauteing vegetable in olive oil.
Related reading: Benefits of Avocado Oil on Keto
As well as this they say that the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil are destroyed when it’s heated. Therefore it’s best to keep it for drizzling over vegetables or for making salad dressings.
While cauliflower mash is a great substitute for potato while following a low carb or keto diet it can be used on any diet. Here’s a low carb Cauliflower Potato Mash Recipe
Tip: I like to add some dried mixed herbs to my shepherd’s pies so you might like to add some extra flavor by doing this too.
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Cauliflower Mash
- Olive oil
- Coconut oil
- 1 organic cauliflower head broken into florets
- Redmond Sea salt
Pie Filling
- 2 onions
- 100 g mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 2 organic zucchini (courgettes)
- 3 to 4 stalks of organic celery
- 2 organic carrots
- 4 to 5 organic tomatoes, chopped into small cubes
- Avocado oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Redmond Sea salt
- Soy sauce (optional)
- Chives, chopped for garnishing
Directions
1. Cook the chopped tomatoes in a little of the oil until softened. Allow to cool then blend into a purée using a blender or food processor.
2. Place cauliflower florets in a pan and hald cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer and poach gently with a lid on until they are just tender. Do not overcook. Drain the water and then process using a handheld blender until very smooth. You could also use a food processor. To make it nice and creamy you can add a generous spoonful of coconut oil and a generous drizzle of oilive oil for taste. Season to taste with sea salt.
3. Chop the other vegetables into cubes of similar sizes.
4. In a large frying pan sauté the onions in some avocado oil until they become slightly translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables and continue to cook until soft. Pour in the tomato puree and leave to simmer. Season with pepper and salt. Add a dash of soy sauce, if you want. Cook until any liquid has evapourated.
5. Transfer the cooked veggies into a deep pie dish then top it with the creamy cauliflower mash spreading it evenly right to the edges of the dish. Use a fork to mark the top in a pattern and drizzle with some avocado oil if you like to give it extra flavor.
6. Bake at 400 – 425°F (200°C – 220°C) for 20 to 30 mins or until the topping develops a nice golden brown texture.
7. Garnish with some chopped chives before serving.
8. Enjoy!
Here’s a video demo of this Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Recipe.
