This Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato is the ultimate comfort food, a ground beef and vegetable casserole topped with fluffy sweet potatoes. It's perfect for meal prep and freezes well to be enjoyed later!

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🥧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 potatoes add a beautiful color and the perfect amount of sweetness to the dish.
🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Comfort food at its finest. Perfectly seasoned ground beef and fluffy mashed sweet potatoes, this is the perfect comfort meal. If you're looking for more sweet potato recipes, check out my Slow Cooker Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup and Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes.
- All-in-one meal. Casseroles are great because they contain an entire meal in one dish. There is no need to think about cooking any additional sides.
- Freezer-friendly. You can easily make this meal ahead of time or double it and freeze to enjoy during a busy week!
🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
- 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 or vegetable broth at home, you can use that instead.
- Flour- the flour helps to thicken up the beef mixture and makes it more gravy-like. For gluten intolerances, use arrowroot powder or cornstarch instead.
- Sweet potatoes- any kind of sweet potatoes will work for this. You are also welcome to use golden potatoes or red potatoes. Prepare them as you would the sweet potatoes.
The full ingredient list and quantities are listed in the recipe card below.
📖Variations
- Add extra vegetables to the beef mixture. This recipe simply uses mirepoix, but peas, corn, mushrooms and/or green beans would be great additions.
- Use ground lamb or ground turkey instead of ground beef. Ground bison would also be delicious in this shepherd's pie.
- Purple sweet potatoes will add beautiful and unique color to this dish. Check out this guide to sweet potatoes to learn more about the different varieties.
🔪Instructions
- Cook and mash the sweet potatoes. Using a Dutch oven or large pot, boil the potatoes until they are tender. Mash the potatoes using butter and beef broth. Set aside. (See photo 1).
- Sauté the vegetables and ground beef. Cook the vegetables and ground beef in a large skillet until softened and browned. (See photos 2 and 3).
- Season the filling. Season the vegetables and beef and mix everything to combine. (See photos 4 and 5).
- Assemble the pie and bake. Add the 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 potatoes.
👩🏻🍳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 potatoes 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 then mash.
- Use an oven-safe skillet instead of a casserole dish so you have fewer dishes to wash.
- Use arrowroot powder or cornstarch instead of flour if you are gluten-free. You will also have to check the label of your Worcestershire sauce. Substitute it with coconut aminos if necessary.
- Store 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 it in the fridge overnight. Reheat in the microwave for about 2 minutes or in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes.
🥗Serving
This recipe is great on its own but you may want to serve it with extra veggies including Roasted Broccoli and Air Fryer Frozen Brussels Sprouts.
Serve my Gluten-Free Apple Crisp with Cranberries or Paleo Sweet Potato Pie Bars for dessert!
🥩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 or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 sprig fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 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 potatoes 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 then mash.
- Use an oven-safe skillet instead of a casserole dish so you have fewer dishes to wash.
- Use arrowroot powder or cornstarch instead of flour if you are gluten-free. You will also have to check the label of your Worcestershire sauce. Substitute it with coconut aminos if necessary.
- Store 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 it in the fridge overnight. Reheat in the microwave for about 2 minutes or in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes.
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!