The ultimate British comfort food - a hearty vegan Cottage Pie topped with colcannon mash. A crowd-pleaser for all the family!
I promised you easy vegan comfort food, and you can't get much more comforting than this cosy Colcannon-topped Vegan Cottage Pie. We often have this as a Sunday lunch for all the family, served with green peas and tenderstem broccoli.
Why not make a batch and freeze in individual foil trays, so you have some standby suppers for weeknights when you don't have time to cook?
If you haven't heard of Colcannon, it is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes with either kale or cabbage, and onion. The brilliantly-named 'Rumbledethumps' is a similar Scottish equivalent, as is the English 'Bubble & Squeak'.
Perhaps its no surprise that the same ingredients make up such traditional dishes in all three countries - the ingredients are cheap, plentiful and easy to grow, taste great and go together really well. What better way to top a vegan shepherds pie?!
I'm not sure I've met anyone who doesn't like Cottage Pie, so this is a great crowd-pleaser to serve up to non-vegan friends and family, and the colcannon topping makes it just that bit more special.
I used a piping bag with a wide nozzle to make the top look super-pretty, but if you're in a hurry just spread the mash with a knife and use a fork to make a criss-cross or zig-zag pattern instead.
👩🏽🍳 Mash Variations
If you don't have the time or inclination to make the Colcannon Mash, you could instead try topping the pie with:
- Sun-dried tomato mash - just stir a few tablespoons of sun-dried tomato paste through the mash
- My creamy Butter Bean Mash recipe - for an extra protein-boost
- Cheesy Mustard Mash - stir a spoon of wholegrain mustard and a handful of vegan cheddar through the mash
- Pesto Mash - you guessed it - a tablespoon of pesto stirred through
- My microwave Cauliflower Mash recipe - so easy and creamily good!
...or come up with your own flavour combinations!
❄️ Freezing
This freezes really well - I use foil trays, either large trays for a family meal, or individual trays to serve one or two. You can then either defrost before cooking, or else cook from frozen for an hour, (cover with foil for the first 40 minutes so that the top doesn't get too dried out).
📝 What you need
You will need:
- Large saucepan
- Large lidded frying pan or casserole
- Colander / sieve for draining
- Ovenproof pie dish
- Potato masher
- Mini-chopper / blender (optional)
Shopping List:
- carrot
- sweet potato
- onion
- potatoes (600g)
- curly kale
- spring onions
- tin cannellini beans
- tin green or brown lentils
- tin chopped tomatoes
- vegetable stock powder (check it is vegan)
- gravy granules (check they are vegan)
- dairy-free milk
- dairy-free margarine
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🍽 If you liked that...
.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:
Vegan Cottage Pie with Colcannon Mash
Ingredients
For the Pie Filling
- 1 large carrot
- 1 sweet potato
- 2 tbsp rapeseed or sunflower oil
- 1 onion
- 400 g tin cannellini beans
- 400 g tin green or brown lentils
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp vegetable stock powder (check it is vegan)
- 2 tbsp gravy granules (check they are vegan)
For the Colcannon Mash
- 600 g potatoes
- 60 g curly kale
- 3 spring onions
- 50 ml dairy-free milk (soya, oat or nut milk)
- 20 g dairy-free margarine
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Meanwhile, peel the carrot and sweet potato and cut them into dice. Boil for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large lidded frying pan or casserole dish, then peel and chop the onion and add to the pan, frying over a gentle heat for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften.
- Drain and rinse the cannellini beans and lentils and add them to the pan with the onions, followed by the tomatoes, stock powder and gravy granules. Refill the empty tomato tin with water to about two-thirds full, then add this to the pan.
- When the carrot and sweet potato have just cooked through, remove them with a slotted spoon and add them to the pie filling, (don't drain the water away just yet!). Stir and cover, and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper if required. If the mixture gets too dry, just add more water - this should have the consistency of a thick gravy. (And if it seems too runny, just cook with the lid off for a few more minutes).
- Keep the saucepan of water simmering whilst you peel the potatoes for the mash, cut them into dice, then add them to the saucepan and boil for 10-15 minutes until soft.
- Meanwhile, chop the kale and spring onions as finely as possible, (I used a mini-chopper/food processor). When the potatoes are ready, drain them, return to the pan then add the kale, spring onions, milk and margarine and mash until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper if required.
- Tip the pie filling into a large ovenproof dish, then top with the mashed potato. I used a piping bag to create a pretty topping, but you can just spread it with a knife and use a fork to create a pattern if you prefer).
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the topping is just turning golden brown, and the filling is bubbling.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Nutrition
Free 4-Week Vegan Meal Plan
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For more quick and easy vegan recipes take a look at my latest book Vegan in 15.
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Is this recipe suitable for freezing?
Yes this freezes really well. Enjoy!
Hi Kate, loving your website and I've downloaded the 4 week vegan meal planner, bought the ingredients for Week A and had the first meal tonight (I shop on a Friday so that's the start of my week). Excellent spaghetti and pesto recipe and as an sporty couple, my wife and I thought the generous portions were spot on!
One small point - wherever on the site I click the link for the Sunday Sausage casserole, the link keeps pointing to Saturday's shepherd's pie. I don't think it's my phone so thought I'd flag it - especially as I'm supposed to be cooking it in 48 hours!
Best wishes for a happy new year.
Doug
Hi Doug, that's great - glad you are enjoying it so far. Thanks for flagging the incorrect link - I'll sort it now, but it is working OK on the page itself (links at the bottom of the article): https://www.thevegspace.co.uk/four-week-vegan-meal-plan-and-shopping-list/ or else here's the link for the sausage casserole: https://www.thevegspace.co.uk/recipe-bangers-borlotti-bean-stew/ Enjoy! Kate x
Made this tonight, was delicious thank you! We have leftovers and I can tell it’s one of those recipes that will taste even better the next day. I had thyme, courgette and mushrooms in the fridge, so I put them in too.
Brilliant, so glad you liked it.
Could I use sweet potato as the topping? I have loads in the fridge and want to sue them up. x
use them up! Not sue them! 😀
Definitely! The green colour might not come through quite so strongly but it will taste delicious!
This looks beyond delicious. I love shepard's pie (especially in cold winter days) but this takes it at a new level. Your food is always an inspiration. Making healthy food accessible. Must try this out 🙂
Thanks, enjoy! X
Vegan Shepard’s pie? I never would have imagined! It certainly looks tasty though.
This looks amazing!
I just showed this recipe to my boyfriend and initially he thought colcannon was a made up word! He's going to have to get used to it as we are off to Ireland in a few weeks. This is the perfect recipe to start him off with lol! Looks fab.
Haha! I promise I didn't make it up!! Ooh have fun in Ireland - gorgeous country xx
Oh Mandy that looks really delicious and I say that as a meat eater! I would definitely put this dish on my family table. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
This looks amazing! Great idea to sneak in loads of delicious veg too 🙂
I love comfort food like this Kate. It just looks wonderful. Shared!
Ooh, you can't beat a deliciously comforting shepherd's pie, can you? I love that you top yours with colcannon - I often have bubble and squeak on ours. Great minds thinking alike! xx
This has to be the prettiest Shepherd's Pie I've ever seen. One of my favourite meals and I love your Colcannon take on it.
Ah thanks Choclette - one of my favourites too!
Well even the meat lover in me would find this dish totally delicious. We try to go "meatless" several times a week. This would be perfect for dinner, and leftover for lunch would be great too.
Oh I hope so! Lots of people seem to be doing a couple of veggie or vegan days a week at the moment. And yes leftovers are even better!
That colcannon mash looks incredible Kate, definitely going to make this. YUM
Thanks Mandy! X
Oh my son will go nuts over this and it looks marvelous!
Ha! I wish my two did - noses turned up as usual, haha!!
What a beautiful looking Shepard's pie! And plus it vegan too????☝️ love the greens you added in the top layer!
Thanks Soniya - yes the green really makes it pop! And tastes great too!
OMG this sounds like the perfect dish! I love comfort food like this 🙂 I've never made shepards pie but I think I'm going to have to now!
Thanks Danielle! x
Your shepherd's pie looks even more hearty and beautiful than the traditional meat version. I could eat that all day long!
Thanks Lisa - me too! x
This sounds absolutely gorgeous and the colcannon mash on the top makes it the prettiest shepherd's pie I've seen in a long time too. Thank you so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!
Thanks Corina! Yes the splash of green is so pretty, and tasty too!