Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
This clean eating shepherd’s pie is a healthy twist on a family classic!
This is the first time I’ve ever made or even eaten shepherd’s pie. I have to admit that the name conjured up images of me tending my flocks of sheep in the meadows somewhere.
I was never really 100% sure about what went in to a shepherd’s pie and to be honest, it didn’t appeal to me based on the name alone.
But I’ve gotten several emails from you all asking for a clean version. So I finally bit the bullet and made my first-ever shepherd’s pie.
All I can say is… DANG, I’ve been missing out!!! The flavors are simple, but it’s one of those dishes that grows on your with every bite.
In fact, I used a casserole dish that was 9X13 inches, and my ex-husband ate HALF of it for dinner! He just could not stop eating it!
Needless to say, he had to pack something different for lunch the next day because there was just none of it left when dinner was done.
So ya, this was yummy, in my humble opinion. I hope you’ll like it too!
More Healthy Casserole Recipes
Clean Eating Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb. ground turkey
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 12 medium garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 large shallot (chopped)
- 1 ½ cups chopped white onion
- 2 cups sliced carrots
- ¼ cup sliced celery
- 1 ½ cups diced zucchini
- 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 3 lb. sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
- ½ cup chicken broth (no sugar added)
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Place your sweet potatoes in the microwave for about 20-30 minutes, or until they are cooked all the way through.
- While the potatoes cook, saute the garlic, shallot and onions together in the oil.
- When the onions are translucent, add in the turkey meat, carrots, celery, zucchini, and balsamic vinegar and continue to cook until the veggies are cooked most of the way. They don’t have to be completely cooked because they will bake more in the oven. Just a bit tender is good.
- When that is finished cooking, transfer everything to a casserole dish. (Mine was 9×13).
- Using a thick towel so you don’t burn yourself, peel the potatoes while they are still hot.
- Place them in a mixing bowl with the chicken broth, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Blend with a hand blender until smooth. A food processor or regular blender will work too.
- Smooth the potatoes over the meat in the casserole dish. Drag a fork lightly across the top to “rough up” the surface a bit for baking.
- Bake at 350 degrees F. for approximately 30 minutes or until it’s nice and bubbly (you’ll see that if your casserole dish is clear glass).
- Cut into 12 sections and allow to cool a bit before serving. The potatoes really hold onto their heat, so be careful.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe from the Gracious Pantry archives, originally posted, 10/4/11.
PP – Nice! Thanks for sharing!
Sgslong – Wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Miriam – Hope you enjoy it!
Kim – Let me know how it turns out!
I make my shepherd’s pie a lot like this. A traditional Canadian Shepherd’s Pie uses creamed corn, which I hate, so I adapted my recipe. In the meat layer, I like a bit of rosemary, and Worchestershire sauce. I’m not sure if Worchestershire sauce is considered clean or not. The last time I made it, I did it with sweet potatoes, like you did here, and LOVED it!
Natalie – Yes! The sweet potatoes are fabulous in this dish. Loved them! There are a couple of brands of Worcestershire sauce that I’ve found that are clean. One is “The Wizards Vegan Worcestershire Sauce” and the other is by Bourbon Barrel. If you can find them, they are both clean and both excellent. Thanks for sharing your fav!
Can’t wait to try this. When we make Shepard’s Pie, we turn the broiler on for about 10 minutes at the end to brown the top of the potatoes a little.
Lisa – Fantastic tip! Thanks!
Irene – No, you didn’t miss it. I forgot it. It’s there now, thanks for letting me know. 350 F.
Andree – Wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Leftovers are a beautiful thing.
Alicia – Haha!! Oh how I wish!!
making this tonight for dinner!!! thanks for the recipe Tiffany!
Trude – You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy it!
well I made this for dinner!! LOVED IT!!! had to make a few changes,(no zucchini in the house used green beans, no balsamic- used worchestershire, and cornstarch to thicken gravy) my family really liked it too. I will make this again.
Trude – Fantastic! Glad everyone enjoyed it!
TLSC – Thanks! I hope you’ll enjoy it!
can you freeze this? if so how? cant wait to try this!
Missy – I don’t see why not! If you’re worried about it, try cutting the recipe in half for the first run and freeze a small portion to see how it does. Honestly, it just didn’t last long enough around here for me to try it. Sorry, wish I could be more help!
Kelly – Fantastic!!!
Sue – Fantastic! I hope you’ll try more of my recipes in the future!
Do you think you could use Textured Vegetable Protein for this instead of ground turkey??
You could, but the meat gives a lot of flavor here. You would have to season it a lot more.
Ashley – Sorry you didn’t care for it! Perhaps the mexican shepherd’s pie would be more up your alley?
Amy – Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
I love garlic, but this was a lot maybe even for me. I used minced and substituted as stated on the jar….do you think that makes a difference or are you all just bigger garlic lovers than me? Thanks for your amazing recipes, I do love this and will just cut that down a bit next time. Love your site!
Jennifer – The substitution may have been a bit much. Just cut back on it as you said and it should be fine. Glad you liked it!