Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

Written By Site Owner

Shepherd’s Pie is an Irish staple and one of my favorite dishes my mom made growing up. I’ve changed it here and there to suit my tastes, but one thing that remains the same is the brand of Worcestershire sauce I use. Lea & Perrins can be found at any major grocery store and is the original Worcestershire sauce made since 1835. Their quality of ingredients is unmatched by any other brand, in my opinion. Lea & Perrins is cholesterol-free, gluten-free, and fat-free! It also has 80% less sodium than traditional soy sauce. Most of all, it’s delicious and the key ingredient in this recipe. Shepherd’s Pie traditionally uses lamb; however, using ground beef is fine. Using ground beef technically changes it to Cottage Pie, but who actually cares? It’s just semantics. I have also provided Vegan, Diabetic, and Colitis sensitive alternatives to the recipe below. The original recipe is naturally gluten-free. I sometimes swap peas for fire-roasted corn (any brand from the freezer section) because that’s what hubs and kiddo prefer.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil (olive oil works too)

  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

  • 2 lb ground beef or lamb - your choice.

  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, de-stalked and chopped

  • 1 sweet onion, diced

  • 4 large carrots, diced

  • 2 tablespoons butter or ghee, if you prefer (see notes below about ghee)

  • 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

  • 1/2 tablespoon celery salt

  • 1/2 cup dry, red wine (cabernet sauvignon works well), or 100% red grape juice substitute, or alcohol-free dry, red wine.

  • 1 12-ounce can tomato paste

  • 3 tablespoons Lea&Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

  • 1/2 cup chicken broth

  • 4-5 large sweet potatoes, approximately 6 cups, mashed

  • 1 egg, beaten

Instructions

  1. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into 4 quarters. Place them in pot with water and bring to a boil. Allow to boil until soft and mashable, approximately 20 minutes. Drain, mash, stir in 1 tablespoon butter or ghee, 1/2 tablespoon of celery salt, and 1/2 tablespoon of garlic powder. Once thoroughly mixed, set aside.

  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  3. Sauté carrots with avocado oil in a deep skillet until slightly tender, about 4 minutes.

  4. Add onions, black pepper, thyme, butter or ghee, and peas. Sauté for additional 4 minutes.

  5. In a separate bowl, mix tomato paste, chicken stock, wine (or grape juice), and Worcestershire sauce. Add to vegetable mix in skillet and mix thoroughly.

  6. Remove from heat and set aside.

  7. Take ground beef or lamb and break a part and crumble slightly with hands. Add it to vegetable mixture and mix throughout with cooking spoon.

  8. Grease a large 9×13 oven proof dish (glass works best) with butter or ghee. Pour half of the meat/vegetable mixture in to glass pan. Then add a layer of sweet potato. Add the remaining meat/vegetable mixture before adding the top layer of sweet potato. I prefer layering because it helps hold everything together nicely when you cut portions to serve. Sppon the sweet potato, spreading it as evenly as you can over the top.

  9. Brush the top of the mash with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with a bit of salt to taste.

  10. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Notes:

  • Ghee: a form of butter that honors a traditional Indian method. Butter is slowly cooked to remove water and milk solids. The result is a casein-free butter that contains no salt, is lactose-free, has 0mg of oxidized cholesterol per serving, and has zero trans fatty acids. Ghee is available at most major grocery stores. It is more expensive but may be a good alternative for those who are severely lactose-intolerant or who have a casein allergy.

Quicker Recipe Alternative:

If you’re pressed for time, feel free to use any bag of frozen mixed veggies and add 1/2 tablespoon of onion powder instead of chopping and sauteeing onions. This should save you about 15-20 minutes of prep time. You can also skip the tomato paste part and squeeze in a little spicy brown mustard instead (about two tablespoons worth). The flavor is different but equally delicious and less time-consuming. You can also use canned yams instead of boiling and mashing sweet potatoes, which will save you 20-30 minutes of prep time.

Vegan Alternative:

Replace beef or lamb with crumbled vegan beef.

Replace chicken broth with vegetable broth.

Replace butter and egg wash with avocado oil.

Follow the recipe with these replacements.

IBS/Crohn’s/Colitis Sensitive Alternative:

Replace beef or lamb with ground turkey.

Replace butter with margarine.

Omit black pepper and replace with 1 teaspoon celery salt.

Use grape juice alternative instead of wine.

Site Owner