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Paleo Shepherd’s Pie

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Paleo Shepherd’s Pie

Paleo shepherd’s pie made with a yummy sweet potato crust. It’s comforting and is gluten free and dairy free.

I love cooking & baking and it forces me to attempt so many dishes. One of those dishes was something that I always turned my nose up at when I was a kid, Shepherd’s Pie. 

I was a picky eater and I still am. I’m one of those people who forbid my food from touching other food on a plate. 

For example, at Thanksgiving my cranberry sauce cannot touch the turkey, instead, the turkey must be dipped into the cranberry sauce. 

I would love a set of dishes with those t.v. dinner grooves in them that prevent each food group from touching. 

Eating paleo shepherd’s pie is a huge leap for me. So many textures intermingle, it’s overwhelming. 

Paleo shepherd's pie in a baking dish.

Gluten Free Shepherd’s Pie

I decided to be brave and make a paleo-friendly shepherd’s pie with a secret ingredient. 

Regularly Shepherd’s Pie contains Worcestershire sauce. 

Worcestershire sauce isn’t gluten free. 

Worcestershire sauce provides that depth of flavor that is needed so I replaced it with barbecue sauce. 

Note – most barbecue sauces contain Worcestershire sauce so you need to pick one with as many “clean” ingredients as you can find and devoid of gluten. Read more about gluten free condiments.

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

I used sweet potatoes to make the topping for this delicious Shepherd’s pie but you can use regular potatoes or mashed cauliflower to make it keto.

The sweet potato gave it a comforting taste. Mashed sweet potatoes taste so good!

Dairy Free Shepherd’s Pie

This gluten free Shepherd’s Pie is dairy free. If you don’t need to avoid dairy, I highly recommend adding some butter to the mashed sweet potato for added flavor.

Paleo shepherd's pie in a baking dish with a scoop missing.

Paleo Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients

  • sweet potato
  • raw ground beef
  • a carrot
  • onion
  • celery
  • a garlic clove
  • beef broth
  • barbecue sauce, (replaces Worcestershire sauce)
  • Generous amounts of sea salt & ground pepper

How to Make Paleo Shepherd’s Pie

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the sweet potato in a pot of salted water. Turn to a boil and cook until tender. *You can easily put a fork through the sweet potato.

Drain and mash the sweet potato. I always use a hand blender to make my mashed sweet potatoes silky smooth. Make sure to add some salt to the mashed sweet potato for added flavor.

While the sweet potato is cooking make the filling.

On medium heat, in a frying pan, sauté carrots, onions, and celery. Cook until the onions are translucent.

Add the ground beef and garlic, and sprinkle generous amounts of salt and pepper.

Cook until the beef is cooked.

Add the broth and barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 10 minutes.

Place everything in a 6 x 8 oven-proof dish.

Putting it all together.

Drop spoonfuls of the sweet potato over the beef mixture. Then spread it all over. *I used a fork to create an artistic swirl in the topping.

Bake for 30 minutes. Broil on high for 5 minutes.

Serve warm.

Paleo shepherd's pie on a plate

Are Potatoes Paleo?

Yes! At first, they were not… then people in the Paleo community started to question why coconut flour pancakes are “Paleo” but a potato isn’t?

Even Whole30 made an announcement that it was okay to eat a potato! If you prefer your Paleo Shepherd’s Pie to have a white potato topping go right ahead 🙂

I suggest you use russet potatoes and after boiling them until soft, use a potato masher NOT a hand blender to mash them. Potatoes can get gluey if they are over-mixed.

Can you freeze Shepherd’s Pie?

Yes, you can freeze shepherd’s pie either uncooked or cooked. Freeze the Shepherd’s Pie in an airtight container. Remember to cook it longer if you are cooking it from frozen.

Reheating Shepherd’s Pie

You can easily reheat Shepherd’s Pie in a variety of ways. If you are reheating a large portion you can place it in your oven at 400 F and bake it for 20 minutes or until warmed throughout. Place aluminum foil over the top if it looks like it is getting burnt.

You can reheat it in your toaster oven or air fryer at 400 F for about 15 minutes or until warmed through.

You can reheat Shepherd’s Pie in your microwave. Simply microwave a piece for about 2-3 minutes.

Paleo shepherd's pie in a baking dish.

More Paleo Dinner Recipes

Here are all of my gluten free dinner recipes. Below are a few easy weeknight ones.

Paleo Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Yield: 4

Paleo Shepherd's Pie

Paleo Shepherd's Pie

Paleo shepherd's pie made with a yummy sweet potato crust. It's comforting and is gluten free and dairy free.

Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled & diced
  • 1 pound ground beef, raw
  • 1 cup carrot, finely chopped , (about 1 carrot)
  • 1 cup onion, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup celery, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup beef broth
  • 1 tsp barbecue sauce, replaces Worcestershire sauce
  • sea salt
  • ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Topping

  1. Place the sweet potato in a pot of salted water. Turn to a boil and cook until tender. *You can easily put a fork through the sweet potato.
  2. Drain and mash the sweet potato.

Filling

  1. While the sweet potato is cooking, make the filling. On medium heat, in a frying pan, sauté carrots, onions, and celery. Cook until the onions are translucent.
  2. Add the ground beef, and garlic and sprinkle generous amounts of salt and pepper.
  3. Cook until the beef is cooked.
  4. Add the broth and barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 10 minutes.
  5. Place everything in a 6 x8 oven proof dish.

Putting it all together

  1. Drop spoonfuls of the sweet potato over the beef mixture. Then spread it all over. *I used a fork to create an artistic swirl in the topping.
  2. Bake for 30 minutes. Broil on high for 5 minutes.
  3. Serve warm.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

4 Servings

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 282

Did you make this recipe?

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DISCLOSURE: Not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations is at the choice and risk of the reader. Ditch the Wheat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. I only endorse products that I believe in.

Gluten Free Resources

Do you need help with gluten free meals?
I recommend this meal-planning app. It makes cooking gluten free dinners extremely easy and family-friendly.
What gluten free snacks can I eat?
Lots! I have a ton of practical gluten free snack recipes in my cookbook.
How can I eat dessert on a gluten free diet?
You can 100% eat dessert while eating gluten free. Try my dessert cookbook for easy gluten free dessert recipes.
How do I know what is gluten free and what isn’t?
I have a whole section is it gluten free?
How do I make substitutions?
If you need substitution advice I created a ton of resources here.

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22 Comments

    1. Hi Carol,
      Thanks for the Shepherds Pie recipe! But mostly thanks for sharing that you are still a picky eater, like me, and that you hate for your foods to touch, like me…I feel so free now! Looking forward to more of your creations! ~Stella

  1. I tried this recipe last night! What a hit! My boyfriend said it was the best Shepherdโ€™s pie he every had. Thank you!!!!!

  2. My Worcestershire is GF, but since I’m on the AIP I can’t have nightshades and would therefore need to make my own BBQ sauce, so…I’ll just use Worcestershire. I’ll be making this later this week. I’ll let you know how it goes ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire sauce is gluten free and is labeled as such on the bottle. ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. It never would have occurred to me in a million years to make Shepherd’s Pie with mashed sweet potatoes. I can’t wait to try it!

  5. Recently made this recipe and we loved it! If you were to make this individual ramekins would you bake at the same time and temp?

      1. I’ve probably made this a dozen times now, and those herbs really seem to complete it — even without BBQ sauce or a sub! I’m off to make it again right now!

  6. This was fantastic! I doubled the recipe and added some non-dairy milk, butter, salt, and pepper to the sweet potato topping. My hubby said it was the best shepherd’s pie he’s ever had!!!! I shared on facebook ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks so much for the recipe!

  7. Instead of sweet potato for the topping I usually use butternut squash. Sometimes the aweet potato is too sweet for the dish and when I have company, the butternut squash is a hit!!

Comments are closed.