This Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato is the perfect comfort food. It's an all-in-one meal that takes just 15 minutes of prep and can be made ahead of time!
Jump to:
🥧History of Shepherd's Pie
Shepherd's Pie is a classic comfort food dish. Traditional Shepherd's pie recipes use lamb and mashed potatoes. It's a dish that originated in the UK and Ireland and was composed of ground meat cooked in gravy with vegetables and a potato crust.
This is an easy but flavorful and delicious meal the whole family will love. I switched it up by using ground beef and mashed sweet potatoes. The sweet potato mash adds a beautiful color and the perfect amount of sweetness to the dish.
🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Great weeknight dinner. This sweet potato shepherd’s pie recipe is made with lean ground beef and fluffy mashed sweet potatoes, making it the perfect hearty meal the whole family will enjoy. If you're looking for more easy sweet potato recipes, check out my Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup and Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes.
- All-in-one meal. This ground beef mashed potato casserole is a complete meal in one dish. There is no need to think about cooking any additional sides.
- Great for meal prep. You can easily make this healthy Shepherd’s pie with sweet potatoes ahead of time or double it and freeze it to enjoy during a busy week!
🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
This tasty Shepherd’s pie uses simple, healthy ingredients and can easily be tweaked to use whatever you have on hand.
- Mirepoix- this is diced onion, carrot and celery. You can chop the vegetables yourself or you can buy a Mirepoix mix at most grocery stores. This is more expensive but also more convenient and saves you time.
- Tomato paste- this adds a richer flavor. You can use ketchup if you don't have tomato paste.
- Worcestershire sauce- helps to add a nice savory flavor to the ground beef. It enhances the flavor. I highly recommend not skipping this ingredient.
- Beef broth- if you only have chicken broth or vegetable broth at home, you can use that instead.
- Flour- the flour helps to thicken up the beef mixture and turns it into a rich gravy sauce. For gluten intolerances, use arrowroot powder or cornstarch instead.
- Sweet potatoes- any kind of sweet potatoes will work for this, you need 1 ½-2 pounds. You are also welcome to use white potatoes or red potatoes. Prepare them as you would the sweet potatoes.
- Herbs- I recommend fresh herbs over dried herbs but you can use them in a pinch.
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
📖Variations
- Add extra vegetables to the meat mixture. This recipe simply uses mirepoix, but peas, corn, mushrooms, bell peppers and/or green beans would be great additions.
- Use ground lamb or lean ground turkey instead of ground beef. Ground bison would also be delicious in this easy recipe. If you like turkey, you’ll love my turkey pot pie with puff pastry as well!
- Purple sweet potatoes will add a beautiful and unique color to this dish. Check out this guide to sweet potatoes to learn more about the different varieties.
- Make this Shepherd’s pie with sweet potatoes gluten-free. Use arrowroot powder or cornstarch instead of flour. You will also have to check the label of your Worcestershire sauce. Substitute it with coconut aminos, soy sauce or balsamic vinegar if necessary.
🔪Instructions
Step 1: Make the sweet potato topping. Boil the potatoes until they are tender. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes with butter and beef broth. Set aside.
Step 2: Next, add the diced onion, carrot and celery to a large skillet with oil. Season with salt and cook until soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 3: Add the ground beef and cook over medium heat until browned.
Step 4: Season the vegetables and beef and mix everything to combine
Step 5: Add in the flour and simmer for a few minutes until gravy-like.
Step 6: Add the pie filling to a casserole dish and top it with the mashed potatoes. Bake and serve.
💭Recipe FAQs
Traditionally Shepherd's pie is made with lamb and Cottage pie is made with beef. However, the terms are used interchangeably these days. If you love lamb, definitely use this instead of beef. Either way, this recipe is delicious!
Yes! It can be made a day or two in advance. Just store in the fridge and heat in the oven before serving.
Originally the pie was made with a crust in Scotland but as the recipe made its way to Ireland, the crust was replaced with a potato topping.
I recommend a 12-inch round casserole dish or a 9x12-inch rectangular baking dish. I prefer ceramic but a glass pan will also work.
For this Shepherd’s pie with sweet potato mash, you need 1 ½-2 pounds of sweet potatoes. The number of potatoes depends on their size but you will probably need anywhere from 2-4 sweet potatoes to make this recipe.
👩🏻🍳Chef Tips
- Cut the sweet potatoes into equal-sized pieces to ensure they cook evenly.
- The sweet potatoes can also be microwaved to save time. Pierce each potato 3-4 times with a fork. Place them on a microwave-safe plate and cook for 5 minutes, turning halfway through. If they are still hard, continue microwaving in 30-second increments until fork-tender. Allow to cool for a few minutes then mash.
- Use a cast iron skillet or another oven-safe pan instead of a casserole dish so you have fewer dishes to wash.
🥗What to Serve with Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
This recipe is great on its own but you may want to serve it with extra veggies including Roasted Broccoli, Arugula Pear Salad and frozen Brussels sprouts in the air fryer.
Serve my Dutch Oven Apple Crisp or Sweet Potato Pie Bars for dessert!
Storage and Reheating
- Store sweet potato cottage pie in the fridge for a few days covered or in an airtight container to have as leftovers. The pie can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for a few months.
- Defrost the pie in the fridge overnight. Reheat in the microwave for about 2 minutes or in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes.
🥩More Beef Recipes You May Like
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating & comment below to let me know how it came out. Thanks for visiting!
🍳Recipe
Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato
Equipment
Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes
- 1 ½-2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons butter, optional to make the potatoes creamy
- ⅓ cup beef broth
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Shepherd's Pie
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 celery stick, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, see notes for dried herb quantity
- 1 sprig fresh thyme, see notes for dried herb quantity
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon flour, cornstarch or arrowroot powder
Instructions
Sweet Potatoes
- Add sweet potatoes to a large pot with water, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-high, remove the lid and cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender enough for a fork to easily slide in and out.
- Drain the water and mash the sweet potatoes with salt, black pepper, paprika and broth. Set aside.
Shepherd's Pie
- While the potatoes are cooking, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add diced onion, carrot and celery. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and cook until soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add ground beef, black pepper, another ½ teaspoon salt, garlic cloves, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and mix, breaking up the ground beef.
- Add in the thyme, rosemary, nutmeg and beef broth. Stir and cook the beef mixture for 6-8 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of flour, cornstarch or arrowroot powder to thicken, cook for 2 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add the mixture to a baking dish. I used a round dish but a 9x13 inch baking dish will work.
- Spoon mashed sweet potatoes over the beef in a baking dish, careful not to mix the two. It helps if the filling is slightly cooled for this step. Using a fork make a zig-zag design. Top with a sprinkle of paprika.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Broil for a few minutes on high if desired.
Notes
- Cut the sweet potatoes into equal-sized pieces to ensure they cook evenly.
- The sweet potatoes can also be microwaved to save time. Pierce each potato 3-4 times with a fork. Place them on a microwave-safe plate and cook for 5 minutes, turning halfway through. If they are still hard, continue microwaving in 30-second increments until fork-tender. Allow to cool for a few minutes then mash.
- Use a cast iron skillet or another oven-safe pan instead of a casserole dish so you have fewer dishes to wash.
- If using dried herbs, use ½ teaspoon as dried herbs are much more potent than fresh herbs.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Grey Eyes Reviews says
I just had oral surgery a week ago and I've been getting tired of regular mashed potatoes. I have to say that this recipe REALLY hit the spot. This was so incredibly flavorful! Thank you for sharing!
Sarah Holt says
Hi, I'm so happy you enjoyed it!! I love the addition of the sweet potatoes here🙂
Nina says
Omg! So amazing with sweet potatoes! We decided that we like this version better than the original shepherds pie. Thank you so much!!
Sarah Holt says
Hi Nina, so happy you enjoyed it! I love the combo of the beef and the sweet potato so much!!
Ashley stuart says
Made this tonight and it’s amazing! Easy to make, healthy, and delicious!
Sarah Holt says
One of my favorites, happy you loved it!
Joanna says
This looks delicious. I've never thought about topping my shepherd's pie with sweet potatoes - what a great idea!
Sarah Holt says
I love it with sweet potatoes, adds great flavor! Thanks so much
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
What a great family recipe for warming up on a cold autumn day! Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare 🙂
Sarah Holt says
Thanks Midge, one of my favorite fall recipes!