When I think of hearty meals – Shepherds Pie is one that comes to mind. It’s jam packed full of meat, veggies and potatoes. I wouldn’t say it was the best thing for you, but definitely not the worst. I’ve also taken it upon myself to lighten it up a little bit and add a ton more veggies. I present to you: Healthy Shepherd’s Pie!
If this isn’t your thing – try this loaded hummus! You will not be disappointed.
What is Shepherd’s Pie?
Shepherds Pie is traditionally known as a leftover meal. It was something you could make with leftovers or scraps you had left in your fridge. I’ve kind of taken that same idea but wanted to make it more nutritionally dense, so I loaded it with every veggie I could find.
Grocery List
Meat: I think everyone’s natural “healthier” step here would be to reach for the ground turkey. I have to be honest, I hate ground turkey. I stuck with ground beef on this one. You can either use 85%-15% or 90%-10% (meat to fat ratio)
Veggies: Obviously the possibilities are endless here. The traditional route is peas, carrots and maybe some sauteed onion. I also strongly dislike peas, so I skipped out on that one. I added carrots, peppers, black beans, shiitake mushrooms, onions and lacinato kale. The lacinato kale is way sturdier and won’t just turn to mush. If you’re going to put any green in here, I highly suggest that kind!
Olive Oil: Super important ingredient you probably don’t even think twice about. This essentially creates all of your flavor from your food in the pan. You want something mild, that won’t be ruined by the heat. O-LIVE is one of my favorites. I used the ‘Everyday’ in this recipe.
Corn Starch: This is to thicken the stock you add and make it more of a ‘gravy’. You can also use flour.
Vegetable Stock: Since we are veggie themed here, and I didn’t swap out the beef we’re goin’ with veggie stock.
Tomato Paste: This adds to the richness of the dish!
Spices: Kept it pretty simple with salt, pepper and garlic to let all of the veggies shine.
Mashed Potatoes: I also wasn’t going to completely take the potato away even though I don’t hate mashed cauliflower. I just used my favorite white sweet potatoes. Mixed with some almond milk and chives.
How to Make Shepherd’s Pie
The Easy Way
- Make the Mashed Potatoes
Put these in the microwave until for tender. You can also boil them if the microwave isn’t your thing. Smash and mix with almond milk, chives and salt until well combined.
- Saute the Veggies
Add O-Live olive oil to the pan and throw in all of your chopped veggies, cook until softened.
- Brown the Meat
Add the ground beef to your pan of veggies. You can remove the veggies if your pan is not big enough, but I did this in a 12in frying pan. Cook until it’s not pink anymore. Strain the grease out.
- Thicken it Up
Your meat and veggies are in the same pan now and you are sprinkling the corn starch over top, mixing it until it’s incorporated. Add the veggie stock and nudge the heat up higher. Stir occasionally until thick.
- Layer it
Add the thickened veggie and meat mixture to an 8×8 baking dish and spread the mashed potatoes on top. Drizzle a bit of O-Live olive oil on top.
- Bake
Bake in the oven on the center rack at 350F for 20 minutes.
Thank you so much to O-LIVE for supporting me, my dreams and this Healthy Shepherd’s Pie!
Healthy Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp O-LIVE "Everyday" Olive Oil
- 1 cup Mushrooms diced
- 2 cups Kale torn into bite sized pieces
- 3 Mini Sweet Peppers
- 1 Small Onion sliced
- 1 Carrot diced
- 8 oz Canned Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 1 tbs Tomato Paste
- 4 Small White Sweet Potatoes cooked and mashed
- 1 lb Grass-Fed Ground Beef
- 1/2 cup Veggie Stock
- 1 tbs Corn Starch
- 1/2-1 cup Almond Milk
- 2 tbs Chives chopped
- 2 tbs Sea Salt
Instructions
Mashed Potatoes
- Peel potatoes and boil or microwave until fork tender – about 6 minutes in the microwave
- Mash the potatoes, mix in O-LIVE olive oil, almond milk, chives and 1 tbs sea salt. Set aside
Beef Mixture
- Add O-LIVE Olive Oil, onions, carrots, mushrooms, peppers, and kale to a pan on medium heat. Cook until softened about 5 minutes. Add ground beef. Cook until no longer pink. Drain fat.
- Add mixture back into the pan on medium heat
- Add 1 Tsp Corn starch sprinkled on top and cook until evenly distributed, add veggie broth and cook until thickened (about 5 minutes)
- Pour the mixture into an 8×8 baking dish and spread the mashed potatoes on top. Drizzle some olive oil on top and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.