Shepherd's Jacket Potatoes — a plant-based British recipe by BOSH!
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Shepherd's Jacket Potatoes

Honestly, this one is up there with our all-time comfort food hits. A proper shepherd's pie filling, rich with lentils, mushrooms and herbs, piled inside a fluffy baked potato. It's the kind of meal that makes you genuinely excited to sit down after a long day. The filling is deeply savoury, the potato is soft and pillowy, and together it's just... perfect. Make this tonight, trust us.

Cook: 60 min
Serves 2

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Large baking tray
  • Potato masher
  • Large mixing bowl

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil - plus a little extra
  • 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
  • 3 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tbsp plant-based butter
  • gravy
  • garden peas
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 250ml vegetable stock
  • 120g pre-cooked puy lentils
  • 150g chestnut mushrooms
  • 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 celery stick
  • 1 white onion
  • 2 large baking potato

Method

1

Bake your potatoes

  • Until they're as soft as you like them
  • Then take them out the oven (or microwave) and put them to one side to cool
2

Make the filling

  • Finely chop the vegetables, herbs and garlic
  • Put the onion, carrots, celery & garlic in a pan & soften in heated olive oil
  • Add the mushrooms, lentils, herbs, soy sauce & tomato puree, stir & cook for 10 minutes
  • Pour the gravy into the pan & simmer until the the liquid is quite thick, set to one side to rest
3

Arrange the potatoes

  • Take your cool baked potatoes, carefully cut a hole in the top of them & scoop out most of the insides
  • Mash the insides of the potatoes in a bowl with plant-based butter
  • Fill the hollowed out potatoes with the filling, cover the top with the potato you scooped out & bake in the oven for 25 minutes
  • Take out the oven, serve with gravy & garden peas

Tips & Variations

  • Get ahead on the filling: The shepherd's filling actually tastes even better the next day once everything has had time to meld together, so don't be afraid to make it in advance and just reheat when you're ready.
  • Crispy skin trick: Rub your potatoes with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt before baking and you'll get that proper crispy skin that makes every bite so much better. It's a small thing but it makes a big difference.
  • Load it up: We love topping ours with a little dollop of vegan sour cream or a handful of grated vegan cheese melted on top. Henry always sneaks in some extra black pepper too.

Why This Works

The trick here is building the filling low and slow so the lentils really soak up all that herby, umami-packed gravy. The soy sauce and tomato puree are the secret weapons. They add a real depth and richness that makes this taste like it's been cooking for hours even when it hasn't.