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    Healthy Shepherd's Pie

    September 19, 2024

    While it’s true that this Whole30 shepherd’s pie is dairy-free, gluten-free, legume-less, and sugar free, much more importantly it just might be the tastiest thing you’ve ever made for dinner.

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    healthy shepherd's pie in a baking dish made with ground beef, onion, carrots, cabbage topped with mashed parsnips
    Photography by Gayle McLeod

    An Easy-Peasy Shepherd's Pie Recipe!

    As much as we’d like to live on cheese and Christmas cookies and prime rib for the rest of our lives, we’re only human. Even us food bloggers eventually have to hit the reset button. One of our favorite ways to do that is by doing the Whole30. This beef-laden homemade shepherd’s pie recipe came into being during a recent experience with Whole30. We wanted something really comforting and hearty, but of course didn’t want to mess up all our hard work.

    Lots of meat and veggies make for a rib-sticking filling, while parsnips give the topping that classic whipped starchiness that is an absolute must when it comes to shepherd’s pie. Dinner doesn’t have to taste like deprivation, even when you’re working hard to eat healthily, and this super satisfying recipe is the tasty, tasty proof.

    ground beef, carrots, onion, cabbage, garlic, crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire, chicken stock and parsnips in prep bowls

    What is Traditional Shepherd's Pie?

    Pure wintery comfort food, shepherd’s pie is a British staple that’s traditionally made with a lamb-based filling and topped with buttery mashed potatoes. In fact, if we were being real sticklers about it, a shepherd’s pie made with beef is usually called “cottage pie”. But we grew up calling it shepherd’s pie and so we’re sticking with that.

    In our healthier version of the recipe, a lightened up parsnip purée stands in for the classic, cream-laced mashed potatoes and is a perfect accompaniment to the rich, tomato saucy beef and veggies below it, making this shepherd’s pie the ultimate bowl of comfort.

    beef, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic cooking in a skillet
    healthy shepherd's pie filling being cooked in a skillet made with beef, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic
    healthy shepherd's pie filling being cooked in a skillet made with beef, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic
    cabbage being added to a skillet of healthy shepherd's pie filling made with beef, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic

    What's in Shepherd's Pie?

    Shepherd’s pie ingredients vary a bit recipe to recipe, as is true of so many humble and traditional recipes like this. People often made it with what they had—shepherd’s pie was traditionally a peasant food, nothing fancy here. Even today, a lot of people see shepherd’s pie as a way to use up what you’ve got—leftover mashed potatoes, or sautée veggies. Even though our Whole30 shepherd’s pie recipe is a bit modern in intention, the ingredients are humble and simple. You’ll need:

    • Onions
    • Garlic
    • Carrots
    • Celery
    • Ground beef
    • Canned tomatoes
    • Tomato paste
    • Chicken stock
    • Cabbage
    • Parsnips
    parsnips being boiled in a pot of water
    boiled parsnips being mashed with chicken stock, salt, pepper and garlic in a food processor
    healthy shepherd's pie filling with ground beef, onion, carrots and cabbage being scooped from a skillet into a baking dish
    healthy shepherd's pie in a baking dish made with ground beef, onion, carrots, cabbage topped with mashed parsnips

    How Do You Make Shepherd’s Pie From Scratch?

    Like all of the world’s best casseroles, shepherd’s pie is all about the ease of a single-pan meal. In other words, you can totally make a shepherd’s pie from scratch, easily, even if you’ve never made one before. Here’s how it’s done:

    1. Brown the beef along with the onions, garlic, carrots, celery.
    2. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken stock, then add the cabbage.
    3. Simmer the shepherd's pie filling for a few minutes to meld the flavors.
    4. Spoon it into a baking dish.
    5. Now make the parsnip purée by boiling the parsnips, then puréeing them with a bit of stock, salt and pepper until they've got the texture of mashed potatoes.
    6. Spread the purée over the beef filling and bake!
    healthy shepherd's pie in a baking dish made with ground beef, onion, carrots, cabbage topped with mashed parsnips
    healthy shepherd's pie in a baking dish made with ground beef, onion, carrots, cabbage topped with mashed parsnips

    Tools You’ll Need:

    healthy shepherd's pie in a bowl made with ground beef, onion, carrots, cabbage topped with mashed parsnips

    More Easy, Beefy Whole30 Recipes To Try

    Feel-Good Food To Feel Good About

    Don’t you just love the idea that you can indulge in your favorite comfort foods while knowing that you’re also feeding your body with the nutrients it needs? It’s a great feeling, and we hope this healthy shepherd’s pie recipe makes you feel good inside and out! If you try it, we’d love to know. Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!

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    Healthy Shepherd's Pie

    Updated on September 19, 2024

    • Serves:  8
    • Prep Time:  20 min
    • Cook Time:  1 hr 10 min
    • Calories:  358
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    Ingredients

    • 2 ¼ pounds parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices
    • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    • 2 pounds 90/10 ground beef
    • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
    • 2 large carrots, finely diced
    • 3 celery ribs, finely diced
    • 4 garlic cloves, minced
    • 3 ½ cups chicken stock
    • 2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder
    • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
    • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, optional
    • 3 teaspoons sea salt
    • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
    • 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
    • 4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
    • Minced fresh parsley, for serving (optional)
    • Minced fresh chives, for serving (optional)

    Method

    1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

      ground beef, carrots, onion, cabbage, garlic, crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire, chicken stock and parsnips in prep bowls

    2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the parsnips and cook until very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly.

      parsnips being boiled in a pot of water

    3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is glistening, add the beef, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the beef is browned and the vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes.

      beef, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic cooking in a skillet

    4. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the chicken stock and the cornstarch. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the beef mixture, along with the tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons of the salt, 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of the pepper. Stir to combine well, then add the cabbage. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until the sauce thickens and the cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large baking dish or Dutch oven.

      cabbage being added to a skillet of healthy shepherd's pie filling made with beef, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic

    5. Place the parsnips in a food processor. With the motor running, slowly add the remaining 1 cup of chicken stock and blend until the mixture is completely smooth. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder and blend again to combine. Spread the puréed parsnips over the meat mixture creating small swoops with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

      boiled parsnips being mashed with chicken stock, salt, pepper and garlic in a food processor

    6. Bake the shepherd’s pie until the top is beginning to brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and chives, if desired. Spoon onto plates and serve.

      healthy shepherd's pie in a baking dish made with ground beef, onion, carrots, cabbage topped with mashed parsnips

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 358
    • Protein 28 g
    • Carbohydrates 26 g
    • Total Fat 15 g
    • Dietary Fiber 9 g
    • Cholesterol 70 mg
    • sodium 605 mg
    • Total Sugars 13 g

    Healthy Shepherd's Pie

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Janet

      Can you freeze uncooked? When you cook would it change cooking time?

      We haven't tested this. It would probably need to bake longer or you'd need to thaw it before baking.

    • Janet

      Can you cut the recipe in half? How would it affect cooking time?

      Sure! Check it after 25 minutes to see if it has browned.

    • Laurel

      Is there a veggie version. I know, Irish eyes are rolling.

      We don't have a vegetarian version, sorry Laurel!

    • Nancy

      Can you freeze this in portions to be eaten later?

      Sure!

    • Karen

      Can I make this recipe ahead of time keep in refrigerator until ready to bake?

      that should work fine, hope you enjoy Karen!

    • Allison

      Excellent. The prep time needs to be updated because it took me 2 1/2 hours before this dish hit the oven for the final 35 minutes.

      I will say - make sure you are using a large skillet pan to make this! I had to move the ingredients to another pan once I realized my pan was going to overflow. Also added about 1/2 a tsp more of salt, Worcestershire and a few sprinkles of oregano and thyme.

      Definitely worth the time spent. Ladies, make this for your husband while he's at work! :)

      Wonderful! So glad to hear you enjoyed this dish!

    • Elvin

      I was on a cleanse And this recipe fit the bill! I halved the recipe and still had so much! It’s a bit labor intensive but so worth it and satisfying.

      Thanks Elvin, so happy you loved it!

    • Kari

      Very cool recipe, so healthy, many, many thanks! 😊❤✌💚🕊

      Thanks Kari, so glad you love it!

    • Ashley

      This is such a delicious recipe! I’ve made it several times for guests and everyone loves it. You don’t miss the potatoes at all. I love being able to make it ahead of time and just plan to take it out of the oven when dinner is ready. Highly recommend this recipe and I will be making it many more times!

      Thank you Ashley, we are so happy you and your guests always love it! Thanks so much for coming back to it time and time again!

    • Tia

      This turned out delicious. I loved the addition of cabbage which I would not have thought to put in Shepherd's Pie. I used ground turkey in place of ground beef and the flavor combo turned out perfect with the veggies and roots. Thanks for something different!

      Great! So glad you liked it!