Shepherd's Pie with Sweet Potato

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!

Jump to:

• 🥧History of Shepherd's Pie
• 🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
• 🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
• 📖Variations
• 🔪Instructions
• 💭Recipe FAQs
• 👩🏻‍🍳Chef Tips
• 🥗Serving
• 🥩More Beef Recipes You May Like
• 🍳Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

🥧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

1. 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).
2. 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).
3. Season the filling. Season the vegetables and beef and mix everything to combine. (See photos 4 and 5).
4. Assemble the pie and bake. Add the filling to a casserole dish and top it with the mashed potatoes. Bake and serve.

💭Recipe FAQs

👩🏻‍🍳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!

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🍳Recipe