Shepherd’s Pie:

Since I could remember every year after Thanksgiving my mom would make us shepherd’s pie with all of our Thanksgiving leftovers.  It was a tradition she created for us that we looked forward to every year. I don’t think Todd had ever had a shepherd’s pie until he started dating me. Now he request it every year and it makes me happy that he is now in on our Thanksgiving tradition. The way that my mom would make her shepherd’s pie is by layering all of our thanksgiving leftovers into an 8×8 baking dish, topping with mashed potatoes, and baking until a nice crispy crust formed on the potatoes. Try it this year with your leftovers, I know you all will love it.

How to make it year round:

Just because my mom would make it with the leftover thanksgiving food doesn’t mean you are limited to just having it once a year. So I came up with this delicious Paleo, grain free, gluten free, dairy free, and with an option to make it Whole30 approved shepherd’s pie.

What you will need:

1. Any type of ground meat you like, I used ground lamb. But you could also make it vegetarian or vegan by substituting sautéed mushrooms or your favorite plant based meat substitute.
2. Carrots
3. Onion
4. Mushrooms
5. Jalapeno
6. Tomato paste
7. Bonafide Provisions chicken or turkey bone broth (you can substitute vegetable broth if making vegetarian or vegan)
8. Fresh rosemary
9. Japanese sweet potatoes (white sweet potatoes) or any type of potatoes you like
10. Optional add in: Peas (if you are doing Whole30 please omit)
11. Salt and pepper to taste

Prep ahead:

Now in order to get this meal done in no time, you want to multitask in the kitchen. I like to make sure I have everything chopped and ready to go before starting. Once I have that done I will start with preparing my steam instant pot sweet potato mash.

Preparing instant pot sweet potato mashed potatoes:

I first add my bone broth and water to the pot, add the trivet, place my potatoes on top of the trivet, close my instant pot, seal valve, and steam 10 minutes on high pressure. Once done I do quick release of pressure, I strain about 1/2 of the water and bone broth so that the potatoes are not too watery. Then with my immersion blender I blend up the potatoes. You could also transfer to a blender or use a potato masher to mash up the potatoes.

Preparing stuffing:

While my sweet potatoes are steaming in my instant pot I will begin preparing the stuffing. I will add my bone broth to a pan along with jalapeno, onions, rosemary, salt + pepper to taste. I will saute for 5-7 minutes or until nice and caramelized. Then add in the the lamb and cook until no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes. Add in the tomato paste, mushrooms, carrots, peas (if using), and cook for 10 minutes.

Putting it all together:

Now you are going to add your stuffing to a greased 8×8 baking dish and top with the sweet potato mashed potatoes. Bake 400 F for 15 minutes and then to get the nice crispy edges on top broil for 5 minutes.

Great for meal prepping:

This meal makes for a great item to meal prep ahead of time. I typically will make during my Sunday meal preps and wait to bake on the night we plan on having. It also freezes well if you want to prep an extra one and save for another week you don’t feel like cooking.

Print Recipe

Paleo Shepherd’s Pie

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground lamb Substitute: any type of ground meat or to make vegetarian/vegan substitute sautéed mushroom or plant based meat substitute
• 2 carrots
• 1/3 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1 cup peas Omit if doing Whole30
• 2 Tbsp diced jalapeño
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup Bonafide Provisions chicken or turkey bone broth Reserve 1/2 for filling other 1/2 for mash and substitute vegetable broth if making vegetarian or vegan
• Fresh rosemary to taste
• Salt + pepper to taste
• 2 large Japanese sweet potatoes peeled and chopped substitute russet potatoes or regular sweet potatoes

Instructions

Sweet Potato Mash:

• To instant pot, add 1/2 cup bone broth + 1/2 cup water to instant pot.
• Insert trivet and add sliced sweet potatoes on trivet.
• Set to manual and cook 10 minutes and once done release pressure.
• Remove trivet and with an immersion blender, blend potatoes with bone broth.

Shepherd's Pie Filling:

• Add 1/2 cup of bone broth to pan with jalapeño, rosemary, onion, salt + pepper, and sauté for 5-7 minutes.
• Add ground lamb with salt + pepper and cook for 5-7 minutes.
• Add in tomato paste, mushrooms, peas, carrots, and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add filling to 8x8 and top with mash, bake 400°F for 15 minutes and broil for 5-7 minutes.