Healthy shepherd’s pie. Yes, there is such a thing! Lean turkey and vegetables, simmered in a rich gravy and topped with mashed potatoes blended with some secret cauliflower. It’s a 21 Day fix dinner to love! Now with Instant Pot directions! This post contains affiliate links for products I’m obsessed with.
Confession #60 – I consider this one of my biggest wins to date.
Regular readers of my blog know that my husband isn’t the easiest guy to “fool” with my fixed recipes.
Like the time I made faux mashed potatoes with cauliflower and thought they were delicious.
No. They taste healthy, he reminded me as he made a face.
Whatever. More for me.
Anyway, I have been dying to make a healthy shepherd’s pie dinner for us now that Fall is in full effect. Plus it’s one of my husband’s favorite meals.
I knew I could easily fix the meat part, but could I make a healthier mashed topping that tasted great? Straight cauliflower was obviously out. And so, like the good wife I am, I decided to compromise with my husband and use both cauliflower and mashed potatoes in the topping instead of going for just straight cauliflower.
And then I lied about it.
I waited until he gobbled up more than half of the pie and declared it “Thanksgiving on a Plate” before I broke the news to him.
I’ll tell you one thing – hearing about the secret cauliflower didn’t stop him from loving another helping. This was damn good.
And so, another win for me! But who’s counting?
Oh – that’s right. I am.
Enjoy this 21 Day Fix, healthy shepherd’s pie recipe!
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Healthy Shepherd’s Pie {21 Day Fix}
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This healthy comfort food dinner is just as hearty and satisfying as traditional Shepherd’s Pie. Made with lean turkey and mashed cauliflower “potatoes”, this dinner is 21 Day Fix approved!
Ingredients
- olive oil or coconut oil cooking spray
- 1 cup of diced carrots
- 1 cup of diced celery
- 1/2 of an onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup of reduced sodium chicken broth (1 1/3 cup for IP)
- 1 tsp of Himalayan salt
- 3 Tbsp of tomato paste
- 1 lb organic lean ground turkey
- 2 cups of chopped cauliflower
- 2 cups of red potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 2 Tbsp of butter, vegan butter, olive oil, or ghee
Instructions
Stove-Top/Oven:
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and add in potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, then add in cauliflower. Boil for another 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, spray pan with cooking spray and cook veggies on low for 10 minutes or until they begin to soften, adding a few tablespoons of water to help them steam, if necessary.
- Add in turkey and cook through.
- Stir in chicken broth, 1/2 tsp of salt and tomato paste and continue to cook until the sauce thickens a bit.
- Preheat your oven to 350.
- When potatoes and cauliflower are finished, drain them well, then place in a food processor or mixer. Add in 1/2 tsp of salt and 2 T of olive oil, ghee or vegan butter and mix. If necessary, add in a tablespoon or two of chicken broth.
- Spray pie pan with cooking spray and fill first with the meat mixture, then with the potato/cauliflower mix. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
- Enjoy!
For the Instant Pot
- Set Instant Pot to saute and spray well with cooking spray. Add in ground turkey and brown until cooked through. Add in veggies and mix together well, cooking an additional two minutes.
- Remove meat and veggies from Instant Pot and transfer to a heat safe dish that fits into your IP. Stir in 1/3 cup of broth, tomato paste, and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp of salt. Cover with foil.
- Add cauliflower, potatoes, and 1 cup of broth to the bottom of your Instant Pot. Place trivet on top of potato and cauliflower mixture and place the dish with the turkey on top of the trivet. Cover and lock Instant Pot.
- Cook for 7 minutes on manual/pressure cook. Quick release and carefully remove the pot using the handles of the trivet or the foil sling.
- Drain the potato mixture, reserving the cooking broth. Mash right in the Instant Pot, or transfer to a Food Processor to blend. Add in 1/2 tsp of salt and 2 T of butter, olive oil, ghee or vegan butter and mix. If necessary, add in a tablespoon or two of cooking broth.
- Top turkey mixture with potatoes and broil for a few minutes to brown the top, if desired. **If your dish isn’t broil safe, bake at 350 instead.
Notes
Makes 4 servings
21 Day Fix: 1 YELLOW, 1 GREEN, 1 RED, 1 1/2 TSP (per serving)
WW link for personal points: Shepherd’s Pie
Keywords: oven, poultry, comfort food, shepherd's pie, casserole, potatoes, vegetables, main dish, dinner, gluten-free, grain-free, turkey, high protein
Check out my Etsy Shop for 21 Day Fix eBooks with full grocery lists, prep tips, and easy to follow recipes!
Whitney says
This was AMAZING!!!
Nancylynn says
You just made my day!! Thank you!!
Brandi says
Can you use lean ground beef? I’m not a fan of ground turkey.
Nancylynn says
Yes!!
Heather says
Do you happen to have the nutritional information?
Nancylynn says
Hi! Just plug the link into my Fitness Pal for the most accurate info…
Elisa says
This was so good, thank you!
Nancylynn says
Oh, Yay! You are SO welcome! Thank you for taking the time to let me know!
Christine says
This is delicious! My favorite 21day fix meal ever! Thank you so much. Perfect for St. Patrick’s day
Nancylynn says
Awesome!!! This made my day – thank you so much!!!
Christine says
This is my favorite 21 day fix recipe ever! Perfect comfort food that doesn’t even taste healthy! I could eat this every day and so could my kids which is an even bigger win. So happy I found your site.
Nancylynn says
I’m so happy to hear that!! This is such a favorite of ours, too – picky kids, picky husband all approved :). Thank you for the great note and hope the blog continues to help you in your journey! <3
Hillary says
This was amazing! My whole family loved it.
Nancylynn says
YAY! This makes me so happy to hear!
Edy says
This is so so good! My kids 6 and 3 scrapped their plates clean, when does that ever happen?! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Nancylynn says
YES!! That’s a HUGE win!!
Monica says
Made this today and it was soooo good. Didn’t have turkey so I used ground beef , beef broth and added some garlic. Picky daughter and husband both approved. Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes.
Nancylynn says
Oooh – that sounds delicious!! So glad it was a hit!!
Ashley says
Made this last night and I have a HUGE complaint. It was so good there are no leftovers. LOL another home run!!!!
Nancylynn says
HA!!!! I get it!!! SO happy to hear. <3 <3
Elise says
Is it possible to freeze this recipe?
Nancylynn says
Yes!
Rasha says
Hi! Do you have an instant pot version of this?
Nancylynn says
I have one planned!
Michele Astone says
HI!! What is a serving size of this?
Nancylynn says
You can eat 1/4 of the pan for one serving!
Stacey Petrikas says
Love shepherd’s pie, and this sounds amazing! I’ve been tinkering with my own recipe to make it healthier, but I’m trying your version next time. Quick question, since my family loves the cauliflower mash: if I were to use just cauliflower mash with no potatoes, how much cauliflower would you recommend, and what would the container counts be? I fall into the A bracket for fix and only get 2 yellows, so saving those for other meals (like your delicious banana bread) would be awesome if straight cauliflower would work!
Nancylynn says
I would double it! And I apologize for taking so long to respond!
Kary L Hartmann says
I used 3 cups of cooked cauliflower with 1 cup of cooked turnips for rustic taste, cut back on the butter to 1 tbsp cause it thins the cauli out, dont know the container counts but turnips are a vegetable on this plan
Nancylynn says
Thank you!
Brittany says
This is really good. I made the Instant Pot version and it turned out perfect. Got my hubby to eat cauliflower WiNNING!
Nancylynn says
FANTASTIC!!!!!
Tiina says
Made this tonight with beef and beef broth. This was SO good! Even my picky junk food junky hubby liked it!
Nancylynn says
Oooh! I need to try it with beef – YUM!
Karen says
I love Shepards Pie, but have never put tomato paste in it. Can’t wait to try this!
Nancylynn says
I hope you love it!!!!
Kristen says
I cannot stand meat. I don’t even like ground turkey. Could I make this with just veggies? Would I need to double anything or include additional root veggies? Help please!
Nancylynn says
I would make it with lentils!
tara johnson says
Can you make this without the potatoes? Also, how many cups are you allowed per serving?
Thank you!
Nancylynn says
Divide your pan into 4 equal servings! And yes – just double the cauliflower!
Amy says
Love this recipe but stove top is a lot of work for a week night. In the future if I were to make two batches on the weekend and freeze would I follow all steps then freeze or would I do all the steps except oven time and freeze? Thanks! Ps have loved every recipe of yours I have tried!
Nancylynn says
I understand and I think that’s a great plan! I would do everything except bake like you said and freeze. Perfect idea!
Julie Lease says
Even my pickiest little one loved this!!! It was so good, and I’ve got to say I was a little wary while I was making it because there weren’t many spices. It was absolutely delicious. Huge win!
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
This is the BEST! Thank you so much for the fabulous review and rating…you made my night! Love any and all picky kid wins!
Sue says
This was delicious! Thank you Nancy!
Karla Gonzalez says
Your blog would be even more amazing without all the same and ads. Reading a recipe is really complicated when stuff keeps popping up non stop.
Nancylynn says
Are you using the jump to recipe button?
Stefanie says
I don’t have a food processor, can I use a blender?
Nancylynn says
You can try it! Let us know how it goes!