Description
This Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie is a hearty and nutritious twist on the classic comfort food, featuring a savory ground beef or lamb filling loaded with vegetables and topped with a creamy sweet potato mash. It’s a balanced, flavorful meal that’s perfect for warming up any dinner table, with the option to freeze for busy days.
Ingredients
Scale
Filling
- 1 pound ground beef or lamb
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 small green pepper, diced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary or dried herb of choice
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup water
Sweet Potato Topping
- 2 large sweet potatoes (about 12 ounces each), peeled and cubed (~6 cups cubed)
- 1 tablespoon butter (may substitute ghee or coconut oil for Whole30)
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare sweet potatoes: Preheat your oven to 375℉. Steam diced sweet potatoes in a steamer basket over boiling water for about 15 minutes until tender, or alternatively, bake whole sweet potatoes until fork tender, about 45 to 60 minutes.
- Sauté the filling: In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef or lamb along with diced carrots, green pepper, onion, mushrooms, and minced garlic. Continue cooking until the carrots become soft, about 12-15 minutes.
- Make the sweet potato topping: While the filling cooks, place the peeled steamed or baked sweet potatoes in a food processor or blender with butter, chili powder, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy. For white potatoes, mashing by hand is recommended to avoid pastiness.
- Finish the filling: Stir the tomato paste, chili powder, dried rosemary, salt, black pepper, and water into the cooked vegetable and meat mixture. Mix well and let it simmer briefly while preparing the topping.
- Assemble and bake: If not using an oven-safe 10-inch cast-iron skillet, transfer the filling to a casserole or 9×9 inch baking dish. Spread the sweet potato mash evenly over the meat filling. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and chili powder for extra flavor.
- Bake and serve: Bake the assembled shepherd’s pie in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm.
Notes
- This meat- and vegetable-packed shepherd’s pie is a nutritious, filling meal perfect for any occasion.
- The dish freezes very well, making it ideal for meal prepping—double the recipe and freeze one portion for later.
- You can substitute regular potatoes for sweet potatoes if preferred, though the topping preparation might differ.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 395
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 26 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
