Shepherd’s Pie

Think about the best meal you’ve ever eaten. Soo good, right?

Now, think about that meal being trumped by an amazing dish you didn’t know existed. For me – that experience happened with this shepherd’s pie.

Shepherd’s pie and I have no previous history. Growing up vegetarian and remaining so throughout college left me uncultured in the gloriousness of flavors that accompany traditional multi-meat dishes like the pie of shepherds. In fact, I had no clue what it was until spotting a photo of a shepherd’s pie dish on Instagram about a year ago. Bacon, ground meat, and potatoes… and more bacon?

It was love at first sight.

Thanks to social media, I’ve successfully found my “last meal before you die” dish. It also makes a great “make your husband (or wife) happy” dish when, ahem… you’d like a little favor in your own direction.

Please note, this is my personal whole foods approach to making Paleo Shepherd’s Pie. This is not, by any means, a recipe that’s been passed down for centuries and has traditional ingredients. It’s just real, good, food.

Since this dish is cooked on the stove top and finished in the oven, you’ll need to use an oven-safe cooking pan like a cast iron skillet. For this recipe, I use my 10-inch cast iron skillet which is the appropriate size for the ingredients below. If you’re using a smaller or larger pan, simply adjust the vegetables and beef accordingly.

This shepherd’s pie recipe uses a special kind of sweet potato known as Japanese sweet potatoes for the topping. Because these sweet potatoes are more starchy, they give the pie a creamy texture that meshes incredibly well with the contents of the pie. Learn about Japanese sweet potatoes here.

Have it Your Way

Short on time? Nix the bacon and cook vegetables in coconut oil instead. Don’t have all the ingredients on hand? Sub in different vegetables, or use a different variety of potatoes.

Questions about how to making this shepherd’s pie recipe? Don’t hesitate to ask below!