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Shepherd’s pie is pure comfort food and hits the spot on a cold blustery day. This lightened casserole dish is made with lean ground turkey and vegetables mixed with gravy and topped with mashed cauliflower. It’s a hearty and flavorful main dish that can be served by itself or with a side dish.
It’s easy to customize this recipe to cater to your individual preferences. I have made it with lean beef on occasion and it is equally good. Celery, onion, corn and peas are my vegetables of choice but you can toss in others such as carrots or mushrooms. Mashed potatoes is one of my trigger foods so I use mashed cauliflower instead. If you don’t like cauliflower then stick with the mashed potatoes or use a combination of mashed potatoes and cauliflower.
Shepherd’s pie is a crowd pleaser and kid friendly. It can easily be scaled up and is great as a potluck take along for a church social or gathering of friends.
Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.
Ingredient Round Up
Meat Filling
- Lean ground beef or turkey – I used 93% lean ground turkey.
- Onion
- Celery
- Frozen peas
- Frozen corn
- Salt & pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Olive oil
Gravy
- Unsalted beef broth
- Cornstarch
- Gravy master
- Salt & pepper
Mashed Riced Cauliflower
- Frozen riced cauliflower
- I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter light (ICBINB)
- Grated Romano cheese
- Garlic powder
- Salt & Pepper
Making the Shepherd Pie
Meat Mixture
- Chop the onion and celery and then sauté them in olive oil until tender in a dutch oven. Transfer them to a small mixing bowl and set aside.
- Crumble the ground turkey or beef into the dutch oven. Add a small amount of water to start the cooking process along with the onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Mix every thing together as you cook the ground meat making sure to stir often to keep the meat crumbled.
- Transfer the cooked meat to a strainer to drain off any grease. Rinse with cold water and after the meat is well drained, transfer it to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sautéed onion and celery to the mixing bowl with the ground meat.
- Place the frozen corn and peas into a microwave bowl and partially cook on high. Add the microwaved peas and corn to the meat mixture and mix it in.
- Place the meat and veggie mixture into a greased casserole dish.
Gravy
- Make a slurry of cornstarch and cold water and set aside.
- Add the beef broth to the dutch oven along with the gravy master and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch slurry to the broth as you are stirring the broth. Continue to cook the gravy until it boils again and the gravy thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Riced Cauliflower Mash
- Cook the riced cauliflower in the microwave according to the package directions.
- Drain the riced cauliflower and transfer it to a food processor. Add the ICBINB, grated Romano cheese, garlic powder and salt and pepper. Run the food processor to purée all the ingredients together.
Finishing the Casserole
- Ladle the gravy over the top of casserole.
- Use a fork to incorporate the gravy into the ground meat and veggies.
- Spread the cauliflower mash over the top of the casserole. Sprinkle some black pepper and Romano cheese over the top of the casserole. Place in the oven and bake for 30 min.
- Remove the casserole from the oven when done and let it rest briefly
- Spoon up the casserole and enjoy.
Serving Ideas
- Shepherd pie is a hearty casserole that can be served for dinner with a side salad, dinner roll or garlic bread.
- A smaller portion of shepherd pie along with some fruit makes for a satisfying lunch.
- A shepherd pie is perfect to take to a potluck or church get together.
WW 3 (2.6) pt per 1/5 of casserole, 3 (3.25) pt per 1/4 of casserole, 13 pt entire casserole
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 298.2kcal
Equipment
- strainer
- bowl for strainer
- coffee filter
- small microwaveable bowl
- larger mixing bowl
- small bowl
- Dutch oven
- wood spoon
- Cutting board
- Chef knife
- measuring spoons and cups
- casserole dish
- food processor
Ingredients
Meat Mixture
- 16-20 oz ground 93% lean turkey - beef or chicken can be substituted
- ⅔ c chopped onion
- ⅔ c chopped celery
- ⅔ c frozen corn
- ⅔ c frozen peas
- ½ tsp salt - add ¼ tsp at a time
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ c water
Beef Gravy
- 3 c unsalted beef broth
- 1 tsp gravy master
- salt & pepper to taste
- ¼ c cold water
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
Riced Cauliflower Mash
- 18 oz frozen riced cauliflower (1½ packages)
- 2 tbsp I Can't Believe It's Not Butter light
- 2 tbsp grated Romano cheese
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
Meat Mixture
- Sauté the chopped onion and celery in olive oil in a dutch oven until they are tender. Transfer the sautéed onion and celery to a small ball and set aside.
- Crumble the ground turkey or ground meat of your choice into the dutch oven. Sprinkle the garlic powder, onion powder pepper and ¼ tsp of salt over the meat. Add the water to the pan and begin to cook the meat. Use a wooden spoon or meat masher to stir and break up the meat as it cooks. Cook until the meat is done. Taste the meat. Add another ¼ tsp of salt if you think it is needed.
- Pour the meat into a strainer and let the excess water and fat drain away. Pour cold water over the meat to rinse away any fat that may remain.
- Transfer the drained meat into a large mixing bowl. Add the sautéed onion and celery to the cooked meat and toss to mix together.
- Place the frozen corn and peas into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 90 sec. Remove the peas and corn from the microwave and transfer them to the bowl with the meat mixture. Toss to mix the peas and corn into the meat.
- Transfer the meat and veggie mixture into a casserole dish and spread out into an even layer. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of the grated Romano cheese over the meat layer.
Beef Gravy
- Add the cold water and cornstarch to a small bowl. Mix until you have a smooth cornstarch slurry. Set aside.
- Place the beef broth into the dutch oven. Add the gravy master to the broth and begin to heat the broth over medium heat.
- When the broth begins to simmer and small bubbles break the surface, add the cornstarch slurry in a constant slow stream as you stir continuously. Continue to heat the gravy until it once again begins to simmer and cook for an additional 1-2 min. The gravy will thicken as it cools.
Cauliflower Mash
- Cook the packages of frozen riced cauliflower in the microwave on high according to the directions on the package.
- Removed the cooked riced cauliflower from the microwave and drain it. Transfer the riced cauliflower to the food processor bowl. You will need 1½ packages of riced cauliflower (18 oz). Put the leftover riced cauliflower in a bowl and refrigerate for later use.
- Add the ICBINB light, garlic powder and Romano cheese to the food processor bowl. pulsate until all the ingredients are combined and the riced cauliflower is puréed and smooth. Taste the cauliflower mash and add salt and more garlic powder if needed.
Making the Casserole
- Transfer the meat and veggie mixture to a casserole dish and spread into a even layer. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of the grated Romano cheese over the top of the meat mixture.
- Ladle the gravy over the meat mixture. Use a fork and mix in the gravy and then smooth it out into an even layer again. I used about 2½ c of the gravy.
- Spread the cauliflower mash over the meat layer, smoothing it out as best as you can. Sprinkle the last tbsp of Romano cheese over the top of the cauliflower mash. Also lightly sprinkle some black pepper over the top as well.
- Place the casserole into the oven and bake at 350℉ for 30 min. Remove from the oven when done and let rest for 5 min.
- Serve and enjoy. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. They reheat well.
Notes
I used 93% lean in this recipe but you can easily substitute ground beef or chicken.
Salt is a personal preference. I use it sparingly and tend to under season. I ended up using a 1/2 tsp to season my ground turkey.
I like using grated Romano cheese in many of my dishes which adds to the flavor profile but adds to the salt load. For those not gung ho on Romano cheese, you can eliminate it all together and up the salt - let your taste buds guide you.
The recipe as written comes in at 536 mg sodium per serving. If you need to lower your salt intake, you can decrease the amount of salt you use in the meat mixture to 1/4 tsp which will lower the sodium to 420 mg.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 298.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.8g | Protein: 27.2g | Fat: 12.6g | Saturated Fat: 3.8g | Sodium: 536mg | Fiber: 3.6g | Sugar: 1.8g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
