It’s that midway point in March where everyone is ready for spring to start but then we have that late winter Nor-easter. The past couple days have been cold, blustery, and snowy.
With the sudden return of winter, and St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, I was craving comfort food and something healthy so I raided my pantry and refrigerator and came up with my version of Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie. Easy to make, very adaptable to what you have in your fridge, and YES, healthy!
If you have a cast iron skillet, this can be a one-pan meal. I chose to prep the filling in the skillet and transfer to a casserole dish. This dish reheats really well and is perfect to take for lunch!
How to Make Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash sweet potatoes and poke several times with a fork. Place on a baking sheet and bake for one hour until tender.
While the sweet potatoes are baking, prepare the shepherd’s pie filling.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Sauté the ground turkey, breaking it up, until browned and cooked through. Add in the carrots, leeks, shallot, and frozen peas. Cook for another 8-10 minutes until carrots are tender.
Stir in the tomato paste, Worchestire sauce, chicken Better than Bouillon, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix in well. Add the fresh herbs and stir through. Turn off heat and set aside.
Take the sweet potatoes out of the oven and let cool enough to handle. Scoop out the flesh into a medium bowl. Mash well and add the sour cream, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Blend.
Grease an 8×8 pan or 2.5 quart casserole with olive oil. Turn the ground turkey filling into the dish. Top with the sweet potato mash. Swirl the top with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the top with a pinch of salt and dust with chili powder.
Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Want to speed up dinner?
- Peel and cut sweet potatoes into cubes. Steam in the microwave.
- Substitute 3 cups of frozen mixed vegetables for the carrots, leeks, and peas.
- Use ½ cup of chicken broth instead of the water and bouillon.
- Substitute 2 tsp. dried herbs for the fresh (Parsley and thyme are good choices!).
Meat Options
Shepherd’s pie is traditionally made with ground lamb. I used ground turkey for this recipe. Any protein would work great – feel free to use what you have available. Ground beef and plant based meat crumbles are awesome choices!
Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
Ingredients:
Sweet Potato Topping:
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 1 Tbsp. sour cream
- ½ tsp. Cumin
- ½ tsp. Chili powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Shepherd’s Pie Filling:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 cup carrots diced small
- 1 cup leeks thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 shallot diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp. organic Better than Bouillon chicken flavor
- ½ cup water
- 2 tsp. Smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. Chili powder
- ½ tsp. Cumin
- ½ tsp. Salt
- ¼ tsp. Pepper
- 2 Tbsp. fresh herbs minced (parsley, thyme)
Instructions
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash sweet potatoes and poke several times with a fork. Place on a baking sheet and bake for one hour until tender.
- While the sweet potatoes are baking, prepare the shepherd’s pie filling.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil. Sauté the ground turkey, breaking it up, until browned and cooked through. Add in the carrots, leeks, shallot, and frozen peas. Cook for another 8-10 minutes until carrots are tender.
- Stir in the tomato paste, Worchestire sauce, chicken Better than Bouillon, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix in well. Add the fresh herbs and stir through. Turn off heat and set aside.
- Take the sweet potatoes out of the oven and let cool enough to handle. Scoop out the flesh into a medium bowl. Mash well and add the sour cream, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Blend.
- Grease an 8×8 pan or 2.5 quart casserole with olive oil. Turn the ground turkey filling into the dish. Top with the sweet potato mash. Swirl the top with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the top with a pinch of salt and dust with chili powder.
- Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy!
This is fabulous! I added smoked paprika and canned green beans. So delicious with the sweet potato!