Whole30 Shepherd's Pie (gluten-free, dairy-free)
This Whole30 Shepherd's Pie is hearty and healthy comfort food! A savory ground beef and vegetables mixture is topped with mashed potatoes and baked until hot and bubbly. Plus it's gluten-free and can be dairy-free!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 449kcal
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds yellow potatoes peeled and quartered
- 3 tablespoons ghee (or palm shortening for dairy-free) divided
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as necessary divided
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or ghee
- ½ cup chopped onion, yellow or red
- 1 pound ground lamb or lean ground beef
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot flour/starch
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ cup frozen peas and carrots not thawed
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°.
- Add the peeled and quartered potatoes to a saucepan and cover with water (there should be about an inch of water between the potatoes and water's surface). Place over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to bring it down to a simmer. Simmer the potatoes for 15 minutes, or until a knife easily slides through.
- Drain the potatoes, reserving a half cup of the cooking water.
- Return the potatoes to the saucepan and mash until chunky. Then add the water, 1 tablespoon ghee, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Keep mashing or whip with a wooden spoon or spatula until blended and fairly smooth. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, while the potatoes are cooking, add 1 tablespoon olive oil or ghee to a medium, 10" heat-proof skillet and place over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally until soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the ground beef or lamb and break it up as it cooks, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes.
- While the onion and meat cook, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the beef broth, coconut aminos and arrowroot. Set aside.
- Once the meat is browned, add the thyme, rosemary, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Add the ½ cup of frozen peas and carrots and stir everything together. Cook until the peas and carrots are warmed through, about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Give the broth mixture another whisk then pour it into the skillet and stir everything together.
- Turn the heat up to medium high to bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let it cook until thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Spread the potatoes on the meat mixture. Distribute 2 tablespoons of ghee in little dabs over the potatoes.
- Bake until the pie is hot and bubbly around the edges, about 30 minutes. Let rest for at least 10 minutes, then dig in!
Notes
Nutrition note: The nutrition info was calculated using 95% lean ground beef.
Substitutions
- Per the recipe, you can use either lean ground beef (technically making it a cottage pie) or ground lamb.
- You can also use ground turkey instead of beef or lamb.
- You can use ½ cup chopped shallots instead of an onion.
- You can use one tablespoon fresh chopped thyme instead of dried.
- You can use ½ tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary instead of dried.
- You can use chicken broth instead of beef broth.
- You can use tapioca flour/starch instead of arrowroot.
- You can use either all frozen peas or all frozen carrots.
Nutrition
Calories: 449kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 971mg | Potassium: 1213mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1676IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 5mg