Updated Published Oct 25, 2018 By Julia 30 CommentsThis post may contain affiliate links.
Summary:
Shepherd's pie has fantastic flavors and textures, and generally refers to a meat pie or casserole cooked in a sauce with vegetables, topped with mashed potato. To reduce carbs, this recipe replaces the traditional topping with a thick and fluffy cauliflower mash. While ground lamb is used for shepherd's pie, you may substitute with beef.
Shepherd’s Pie
5 from 21 votesPRINT PIN
Prep: 30 minutes mins
Cook: 1 hour hr
Yield: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
Meat Layer:
- 1 pound ground lamb (Note 1)
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced onions
- 1/2 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup beef broth
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 teaspoons
dried rosemary leaves - 1.5 teaspoons table salt
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Mashed Cauliflower Layer:
- 1.5 pounds cauliflower florets (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Optional Toppings:
- shredded cheddar cheese
smoked paprika - olive oil
- chives or parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
Sauté: Heat olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add meat and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes, crumbling with wooden spoon. Add diced celery, onions, carrots, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper to pan. Cook until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Simmer Meat Sauce: Add beef broth and tomato paste to same pan, stirring until paste dissolves. Reduce heat slightly and continue simmering until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. While simmering, start preparing mashed cauliflower in next step.
Cook Cauliflower: Microwave cauliflower florets in large microwave-safe bowl until very tender, about 10 minutes. Spread out florets on paper towels to drain for 5 to 10 minutes, or until steaming subsides.
Purée Cauliflower: Transfer cauliflower to food processor (Note 3). Add cheddar cheese, cream cheese, butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. Purée until mixture has smooth consistency resembling mashed potatoes, pausing as needed to scrape down sides of food processor bowl.
Assemble Casserole: Use slotted spoon (so that any grease is left behind) to transfer meat sauce to 8×8 inch baking dish (Note 4), evenly spreading along bottom of dish. Evenly spread mashed cauliflower over meat sauce. Use fork to roughen cauliflower surface. Optionally, top with shredded cheddar cheese and paprika, and lightly drizzle olive oil on top.
Bake: Bake at 400 F until peaks of mashed cauliflower are browning, about 30 minutes. Optionally, garnish with chives or parsley. Casserole will be very hot; cool in baking dish, then slice and serve (Note 5).
NUTRITION
Makes 6 Servings |
Amount Per Serving: |
Calories 380 (66% from fat) | |
Total Fat 28g | 43% |
Saturated Fat 13g | 64% |
Cholesterol 100mg | 33% |
Sodium 1170mg | 49% |
Net Carb 6.5g | |
Total Carb 10g | 3% |
Dietary Fiber 3.5g | 15% |
Sugars 5g | |
Protein 23g |
Vitamin A 26% · Vitamin C 81% · Calcium 15% · Iron 14%
PHOTOS
NOTES & TIPS
(1) Ground Lamb. The term “shepherd’s pie” is usually reserved for when ground lamb is used for the meat sauce, and “cottage pie” for beef. This recipe uses lamb, but you can substitute it with beef for a similarly delicious result.
(2) Cauliflower. 1.5 pounds = 24 ounces weight, which is the weight of florets you would get from 1 medium-large head. You can use either florets or riced cauliflower, fresh or frozen. The only difference is that the microwave cooking time will vary; the goal is to cook until the cauliflower is very soft and tender. For convenience, I recommend picking up a 24-ounce bag of pre-cut florets or pre-riced cauliflower in the produce section of U.S. grocery stores.
(3) Puréeing. For ideal texture, use afood processor, tabletop or personal blender, orimmersion blender to purée the cauliflower florets until they resemble mashed potatoes.
(4) Baking Dish. I use a glass 8×8 inch baking dish and do not grease or line. If you do not have an 8×8-inch dish, any 2 quart baking dish should work. If you use a metal dish, your baking time may be different from mine since glass transfers heat differently than metal.
(5) Serving. The casserole will be very hot when it comes out of the oven, so let it cool a bit before slicing and serving. This will help the casserole keep its shape better, which means you’ll be able to serve slices that hold together instead of falling apart. If you’re serving this with other Irish-themed dishes for St. Patrick’s Day, I recommend pressure cooked corned beef with cabbage and carrots, corned beef hash, or green vegetable sides like broccoli or green beans.
(6) Suggested Books. This dish reminds me of some of the delicious foods mentioned in fantasy novels. I recommend serving shepherd’s pie while reading these books: (1) The Farseer Trilogyby Robin Hobb, plus all of the subsequent series in the Elderlings realm (seebibliography), (2) The Deed of Paksenarrionby Elizabeth Moon, and (3) Outlanderby Diana Gabaldon. Enjoy!
About Julia
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia is a recipe developer and the founder of Savory Tooth, and lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2015, she has been sharing simple recipes for tasty dishes in a user-friendly format. She typically prefers savory foods over sweet, hence the name of the site. Contact her at julia@savorytooth.null.com.
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newest oldest most voted
Abbey
I usually don’t leave comments. But I’m here to say that this recipe is the exact balance of comfort, delicious, and healthy that I desperately search for on Pinterest. I will never make “normal” Shepard’s pie again. Thank you for your talent and our full bellies tonight!
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4 years ago
TheaMaria
I made this for our St. Patrick’s Day dinner and it was outstanding! Thanks for the great recipe – and the book suggestions too!
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5 years ago
Jane R
Fab recipe! I’ve also made this using cauliflower cheese as a topping (a UK ‘thing’) – basically cauli florets in a rich cheese sauce browned on top, instead of mashed cauli. Also mashed swede (rutabaga??) works well, but the meat base here is the real deal! Thanks also for making the point about a beef version being called cottage pie – I am sure that I’m not the only Brit who is applauding you right now!!
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3 years ago
Laura Ledoux
This recipe is delicious! I’ve made it 2x so far and I use ground lamb.
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4 years ago
Rachel
Thank you for such a delicious, easy and tasty low carb meal, the whole family licked their plates clean!!! Will be making this often 🙂
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5 years ago
Christine Culver
Do you think this is freezable?
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5 years ago
Julia
It might. I haven’t tried freezing this, so unfortunately I can’t say for sure.
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5 years ago
Mémé
Made this recipe as written last night. I have to say, the meaty base was spot on delicious, so delicious that I found my husband eating it for breakfast with hash browns (he’s not Keto) this morning. The cauliflower topping, however, was a bit overpowered by the addition of the raw garlic. Next time I might gently saute the garlic to tame its powerful flavor, or try using a bit of garlic powder instead for a more subtle garlic-mash effect. Better yet, I might put the garlic in the meat mixture and leave it out of the cauliflower mash altogether…All-in-all…this one is a keeper…
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5 years ago
Gaiaslave
Made this for my family of 5, everyone loved it! My husband and 13yr old son had multiple helpings! We didnt even miss the taters, and the beef mixture was delicious! The beef mixture would also make a great bolognese sauce! Will definitely make this again!
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5 years ago
Michelle
This is delicious!!!! We made it with mozzarella instead of cheddar since we had that on hand and we loved it. I used my Vitamix for the cauliflower topping and it was off the charts delish. Definitely making this again. Thanks!
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5 years ago
Connie
Excellent flavor! We used the ground beef. Would definitely make again.
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3 years ago
Jan
This casserole was absolutely delish! I used ground beef and swapped out the rosemary for basil. Hubby ate 1/2 the dish lol.
Christina
Absolutely loved this! A bit time consuming to prep but well worth it! I didn’t have beef broth on hand, subbed chicken broth and still delicious. Added some extra butter into the cauliflower mash for creamier consistency.
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3 years ago
Sandibuc
I made this for my keto friends, it was a hit. As me and my husband are not keto, I doubled the recipe and topped one with cauliflower mash and one with traditional mashed potatoes. And then I cooked it again…..and again.
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3 years ago
SHIRLEY MIKLUSICAK
This is a very good recipe. My husband even enjoyed it as well. So that was a win for me. LOL I will be definitely be making this again.
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4 years ago
Becca
This is terrific! I make my own cauliflower rice by running uncooked cauliflower through the food processor and then freezing it (uncooked) in Zip’n Steam microwave bags.
I defrosted a couple of bags and then used a tea towel to squeeze the excess moisture out. Worked great!
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4 years ago
Marti
I’m commenting because of the books… I just purchased The Deed of Paksennarrian, because if you liked the other two, this series must be great too! And also, I love the recipes. Have you read Patrick Rothfuss?
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4 years ago
Julia
Funny you mention Patrick Rothfuss, I just finished his Kingkiller Chronicle books and greatly enjoyed them. Now, if only he would get around to publishing the rest of the series…
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4 years ago
Jazmin Meyers
Hi I was just wondering if you can use frozen califlower rice instead of fresh?
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5 years ago
Emily
🙋🏼♀️ I use frozen cauliflower rice. I vent the bag and stick in the microwave for 4mins and then let it stand once it’s done cooking. Works great!
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3 years ago
Nicola Johnson
Fantastic – again!! I’m slowly working my way through your recipes and can thank you enough for sharing them
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5 years ago
Julia
Thank you Nicola!
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5 years ago
Amanda
Made this last night for an early St Paddy’s Day get together. It was so good!
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5 years ago
Michealee
So please tell me what the actual serving size is. I measure all my food to make sure I don’t go over the amount. For the meat I measured 6 oz and the topping 3oz altogether. Making it approximately 9 oz. I liked it but the sodium is high.I’m new at this so counting carbs is hard to figure out.
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2 days ago
Jannette
I’ve been making this with ground Turkey and it’s a staple weeknight recipe. It’s so delicious. The cauliflower mash is perfect. You forget it’s not mashed potatoes.
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1 year ago
kazy
Just want to share this little bit of information. Shepherd’s Pie is traditionally made with ground lamb, hence the name Shepherd, someone who tends and rears sheep while Cottage Pie, is made with ground beef. That’s it. Some people are sticklers for the difference, but most people just call either version Shepherd’s Pie. Also Shepherd’s Pie originally comes from Scotland. Hope to try this recipe next week.
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2 years ago
Deborah
OMG best shepherds pie ever! The cauliflower mash was so delicious. Thank you.
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2 years ago
Sharon
Wonderful recipe, easy to make and even easier to devour. I ran out of celery so I finely diced zucchini and used that. Friends I had over didn’t know it was keto.
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2 years ago
Carol
Hi Julia,
Thanks so much for the great recipe, and I really like the addition of books you recommended to go along with the meal. You take the experience to a whole other level!
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5 years ago
Julia
Haha thanks Carol. Hope you get a chance to try out the recipe.
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5 years ago