This sweet potato shepherd’s pie is a delicious and healthy twist on the classic dish. It combines savory flavor-packed meat and veggie filling with the slightly sweet and creamy texture of whipped sweet potato. It’s a hearty, comforting yet affordable meal that the whole family will love. Plus you can make easy substitutions to customize it to your needs and freeze it for meal prep too!
I have made this shepherd’s pie recipe countless times over the years. Since sweet potatoes are in season fall through winter, this is the perfect comfort food to warm you up for the cold weather months.
I love making it when I have company over for dinner because it’s soo tasty and filling. It goes great along with a veggie side like grilled asparagus or garlic brussels sprouts. It also looks really impressive but it’s pretty easy to make.
If you like easy crowd-pleasing recipes, be sure to also check out a few of my other favorites like this juicy chicken tandoori or these lemon herb chicken kabobs.
A Modern Take on the Classic Cottage Pie
Cottage pie has been a British staple for many years. It was called cottage pie because originally this dish had a meat and vegetable base with layered slices of potato which resembled the roof slats of a traditional English cottage. I would imagine the dish is also dubbed cottage pie because it’s a hearty and affordable meal that you would likely find in the English country-side where so many of those charming farm cottages reside.
The cottage pie has morphed into what we now know as the shepherd’s pie with a mashed potato topping which is delicious in it’s own right. However, I love this modern take with a mashed sweet potato topping because the sweet potato adds some sweetness and a depth of flavor that you don’t get with white potatoes.
Why I love this recipe:
- I love the flavor and texture of this sweet potato shepherd’s pie recipe. The filling is flavorful, succulent and hearty while the mashed sweet potatoes add a creamy and rich texture to top it off.
- You can easily substitute almost anything in this recipe to suit special diets or preferences. See the substitution section below.
- All of the ingredients are very affordable. Ground beef is one of the cheaper meats that you can buy that is also filling! Bonus!
- It’s packed with veggies like onions, carrots, peas and sweet potatoes as well as protein so it makes for a complete meal.
- This recipe is whole30 compliant, paleo and suitable for the autoimmune paleo diet (with a few easy modifications)
Special Diet Considerations for AIP, Paleo, Whole30, etc.
- Autoimmune Paleo (AIP)– If you are on the autoimmune protocol, you’re probably wondering about the peas in this recipe. From what I understand, peas are a “gray area food” so they are not a strict yes or no. If you’re avoiding peas, you can omit them and add another veggie like cauliflower rice. You’ll also want to omit pepper and cumin. Finally for the topping, be sure to use coconut oil instead of butter.
- Whole30– This recipe is naturally suitable for the whole30 diet. It’s whole food based without any added grains, legumes or sugar. You’ll just have to make sure to use olive oil or coconut oil in place of butter.
- Paleo– This recipe is completely paleo-friendly since there are no grains, legumes or dairy. Many people use butter on the paleo diet, but if you’re avoiding it, substitute it with olive oil or coconut oil.
- Gluten Free, Grain Free, Nut Free, Egg Free- This recipe does not contain any gluten, grains, nuts or eggs, so it’s the perfect dish if you are avoiding any of those food items.
- Dairy Free- There is a small amount of butter in the sweet potato topping, but it can easily be substituted with the same amount of olive oil, coconut oil or your favorite dairy-free oil.
- Vegetarian & Vegan- Although this recipe does rely on meat as the base, it can be substituted with either imitation ground meat, garbanzo beans or sprouted lentils for a super nutritious plant-based meal. Exchange the chicken broth for vegetable broth. Don’t forget to swap the butter for your favorite dairy-free oil to make it vegan.
Recipe Ingredient Substitutions
This sweet potato shepherd’s pie can be easily customized to suit different tastes and diets. Although I’ve covered a few special diet substitutions in the special diet section above, I’ll go into more detail about additional substitutions here…
- Ground Beef–
- Swap out with equal parts ground lamb, bison or, for a low fat version, use lean ground turkey.
- For vegetarian/vegan use equal parts ground imitation meat, garbanzo beans or sprouted lentils.
- For garbanzo beans use 1.5 cans drained, skip the meat cooking part of the instructions and add in the garbanzos after cooking the vegetables for about 2 minutes. Then let the vegetables continue to cook for a few minutes along with the garbanzos.
- For sprouted lentils use about 2 cups of sprouted lentils. Skip the instructions for meat cooking and add in the sprouted lentils with the vegetables after they are about 1 minute from being done cooking. Sprouted lentils don’t need to be cooked much at all, they only need to warm up a bit.
- Avocado Oil- Can be swapped with coconut oil, olive oil or any cooking oil.
- Onion- White, yellow or red onions will work. The onion is pretty central to adding savory flavor to the dish. However, if you are on a low-FODMAP diet or prefer not to use onions, you can add in fresh chives for flavor and add in more of another vegetable in the dish to make up for the bulk lost from omitting onions.
- Garlic- You can omit the garlic if desired, but the dish may lose some of the flavor. You may want to add in a bit more chives or add in some coconut aminos or worcestershire sauce for the savory taste.
- Veggies (Mushrooms, Peas and Carrots)- You can swap out any of the veggies for another vegetable of your preference. Peas can be swapped for cauliflower rice (or finely chopped cauliflower). Mushrooms can be exchanged for thick chopped zucchini, but make sure you add the zucchini to the veggie mix last since it doesn’t need to cook as long as the other vegetables and may get soggy if overcooked. Bell peppers can be swapped in place of carrots.
- Herbs (Oregano, Sage, Marjoram and Thyme)- You can simply omit one or two of the herbs without it losing too much of the flavor. You can also swap some for rosemary or tarragon.
- Chicken Broth- For vegetarian/vegan use vegetable broth instead. You can also use water instead of broth if needed, but you may want to add in a little onion or garlic powder to make up for some flavor loss.
- Spices (Black Pepper and Cumin)- If you are on the autoimmune paleo diet (AIP) you’ll want to omit these spices and swap in some onion and/or garlic powder.
- Sweet Potato- You can swap out sweet potatoes for skinned russet or red potatoes. You can follow the same instructions to roast them, but they may need to cook longer until they are completely soft. You can also boil skinned potatoes until they’re soft, drain the water and blend as instructed in the recipe. For a keto low-carb shepherd’s pie, you can substitute the sweet potato topping with a pureed cauliflower topping.
- Butter- You can substitute it for olive oil, ghee, coconut oil or your favorite dairy-free butter substitute.
Storage, Freezing and Reheating for Meal Prep
One thing that I love about this shepherd’s pie is that it keeps great for leftovers or meal prep. I think it tastes even better the next couple days! Below are a few tips on storing and freezing…
How long will it keep?
- It will keep in the refrigerator for about 3-5 days. It will keep frozen for about 1-2 months.
Freezing:
- You can either freeze the leftovers or even make a double recipe and save an entire shepherd’s pie in the freezer for easy meal prep later.
- If you decide to make an extra pie for freezing, follow the recipe as normal except skip the final oven bake. Let it cool to room temperature then wrap the entire pie with the dish in plastic wrap or foil so it’s as air tight as possible. You can also transfer the pie to an airtight food storage container. Keep in the freezer for about 1-2 months or less.
- If you’re freezing the leftovers simply transfer to an airtight food storage container. Keep in the freezer for about 1-2 months or less.
Reheating:
- Reheating from the refrigerator:
- You can microwave leftover single portions for about 1.5-3 minutes depending on the power of your microwave.
- To reheat a large portion of the pie, set the oven to 375°F and cook for about 25-35 minutes until the center is warm.
- Reheating from frozen:
- If you’re reheating an entire pie, allow it to defrost and come to room temperature, then heat the oven to 375°F and cook for about 20 minutes, then bring the oven to 425°F and cook for another 10 minutes.
Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie Recipe Tips:
- To get the creamy smooth sweet potato topping it’s easiest to bake the sweet potatoes first with the skin on, then after it cools the skin easily comes off. Adding the butter or coconut oil to the puree really helps to smooth it out too.
- You can use either fresh or dried herbs for this recipe. I find that the flavor is a bit better with fresh, but dried is still good. I’ve done it both ways and they are both good!
- Sometimes depending on substitutions or freshness of ingredients, the filling can get watery or soggy for some people. If you cook the filling and it seems a bit too watery or soggy you have two options while the veggies are still in the pan before you transfer them to the pie dish.
- The first is to continue sautéing so that some of the liquid evaporates, but keep in mind this will continue to cook the vegetables and make them even softer.
- The second option is to add corn starch or arrowroot starch to thicken the liquid into a more gravy like texture. Add in 1 teaspoon while it’s still warm and stir it for a couple minutes, if you want it thicker add in another teaspoon until it reaches your desired consistency.
How to Make This Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie Recipe:
Start by heating the oven to 400°F and baking the sweet potatoes for about 45 minutes or until soft and fork tender. Let the sweet potatoes cook while you work on the filling. When the sweet potatoes are done cooking turn the oven to 425°F.
While the sweet potatoes are baking gather the vegetables and herbs.
Chop all the vegetables and herbs (if using fresh herbs), then set aside.
In a pan, heat 2 tbsp oil until hot. Then add the diced onions and stir occasionally for about 3-5 minutes. Then add the diced garlic and herbs. Cook until the onions are almost translucent and starting to brown a bit.
Add in the ground beef and break up into small pieces. Add in the salt, pepper and cumin and stir occasionally until all the meat has browned.
Once the meat has browned, add in the carrots, mushrooms, peas and broth then stir. Cover with a lid and allow to cook. Stir every few minutes until the carrots have softened.
Remove the filling mixture from the heat and set aside. Once the sweet potatoes have cooled enough to handle, remove the skins from the cooked sweet potatoes and place them in a bowl.
Add the broth, butter and sea salt, then mash with a potato masher, immersion blender or food processor until smooth.
Get a 9 inch pie dish or baking dish and pour the filling mixture in. Evenly place the sweet potato mixture over the filling and spread to cover. Bake the shepherd’s pie at 425°F for about 20 minutes.
Let cool and serve!
What to serve along with this sweet potato shepherd’s pie
Although this shepherd’s pie is pretty hearty and filling on it’s own, it’s always nice to have some extra sides especially if you’re having company over. A nice light salad is a great option to bring in some crunch. My grain-free flax bread or southern style biscuits would be a great addition to soak up all of the delicious juices. Some creamy roasted vegetable soup may also be a good side on cold winter nights.
Did you like this Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below.
This sweet potato shepherd's pie is a delicious and healthy twist on the classic dish. It combines savory flavor-packed meat and veggie filling with the slightly sweet and creamy texture of whipped sweet potato. It's a hearty, comforting yet affordable meal that the whole family will love. Plus you can make easy substitutions to customize it to your needs and freeze it for meal prep too!
- 2 tbsp avocado oil (ghee or refined coconut oil)
- 1 medium onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 cup cremini mushrooms chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas (sub with finely chopped cauliflower for AIP)
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried sage
- ½ tsp dried marjoram
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
- ½ tsp cumin (omit for AIP)
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Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place all of the whole sweet potatoes on a baking sheet with the skin on in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft and fork tender. Set aside to cool.
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Once the potatoes are done, bring the oven to 425°.
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To make the shepherd's pie filling, chop the onions, garlic, mushrooms and carrots.
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Add 2 tbsp of oil to a pan on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot add in the onions and sauté for about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the garlic, oregano, thyme, marjoram and sage and sauté for a couple more minutes until the onions are almost translucent and starting to brown a bit.
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Add in the ground beef in small chunks then sprinkle with salt, pepper and cumin. Stir and break up the beef with a spatula. Sauté until the beef is browned on all sides.
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Then add in the carrots, mushrooms, peas and 1/4 cup of broth and stir. Put a lid on the pan and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots have softened. Then, turn off the heat and set the pan aside.
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Once the roasted sweet potatoes have cooled enough to handle, remove the skin and place the potatoes into a separate bowl and add 2 tbsp chicken broth, 1 tbsp butter and sea salt. Use a potato masher, immersion blender or regular blender to puree the mixture until smooth and creamy.
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To assemble the shepherd's pie, place the beef and vegetable mixture in a 9 inch pie dish or an 9x9 baking dish. Place the sweet potato purée on top of the beef and vegetable mixture in the pie plate and smooth evenly over the beef and vegetables.
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Cook at 425°F for 20 minutes. Let cool and serve.
Recipe Video
- To get the creamy smooth sweet potato topping it's easiest to bake the sweet potatoes first with the skin on, then after it cools the skin easily comes off. Adding the butter or coconut oil to the puree really helps to smooth it out too.
- You can use either fresh or dried herbs for this recipe. I find that the flavor is a bit better with fresh, but dried is still good. I've done it both ways and they are both good!
- Sometimes depending on substitutions or freshness of ingredients, the filling can get watery or soggy for some people. If you cook the filling and it seems a bit too watery or soggy you have two options while the veggies are still in the pan before you transfer them to the pie dish.
- The first is to continue sautéing so that some of the liquid evaporates, but keep in mind this will continue to cook the vegetables and make them even softer.
- The second option is to add corn starch or arrowroot starch to thicken the liquid into a more gravy like texture. Add in 1 teaspoon while it's still warm and stir it for a couple minutes, if you want it thicker add in another teaspoon until it reaches your desired consistency.Â
- For more tips on special diets, substitutions and freezing/meal prep see the detailed info above the recipe card.Â
This sweet potato shepherd’s pie recipe was originally posted in September of 2017, but has been republished in March of 2023 to include new tips on special diets, storage, meal prep and substitutions.
