Shepherd's Pie Recipe with Sweet Potato (Paleo, AIP, Whole30)
This shepherd's pie recipe is the best simple classic fall or winter meal that is paleo, AIP and whole30 compliant. Made with grassfed ground beef and veggies, it's a hearty, affordable and healthy dinner staple.
Ingredients
Filling:
- 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
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
- ½ tsp cumin (omit for AIP)
Topping:
- 2 1/2 cup sweet potato pureed (about 5 medium or 3 large sweet potatoes)
- 2 tbsp chicken bone broth
- 1 tbsp butter (sub coconut oil for AIP)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
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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
Recipe Notes
- 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!
- If your potatoes are a bit more dry, you can add more broth, 1 tbsp at a time to achieve the right texture for the topping. It should be the consistency of thick mashed potatoes.
- If you are on the autoimmune paleo diet (AIP) you'll need to make a few small changes. Omit the peas and use finely chopped cauliflower instead (or cauliflower rice). You'll also want to omit pepper and cumin. Finally for the topping, be sure to use coconut oil instead of butter.
- 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.