I LOVE comforting casseroles. I’m not even from the midwest, but casseroles are still a way of life for me. I love eating them straight out of the fridge when they are freezing cold, I love eating them for breakfast, I just love them. And I am so surprised that after 8 years of writing this blog, I’m JUST NOW creating a Shepard’s Pie recipe…how is that possible? This casserole is as old as time…probably. I should have grown up on it, but I didn’t. So I never really thought about it until someone asked where they could find my Shepard’s Pie recipe. Well, no where Karen, because I have failed you as a recipe creator. Now I finally have an answer for Karen. Normally Shepard’s Pie is made with a sh*t ton of potatoes on top, but I made mine with cauliflower to make it a little more carb-friendly. So then you can eat more without feeling like you’re going to explode. But before you go freaking out on me – this recipe has peas in it. GAAAASSSSPPP OMG NOT PEAS!! I love peas and I really don’t see an issue with them. They may not be strict paleo, but I’m not either so f*ck it!
Let’s move away from Shepard’s Pie talk, ok? Yesterday was a hot mess of a day. I cried three times for absolutely no reason, I gave about 15% effort in the gym, and I ate frozen yogurt for dinner so I woke up throughout the night since my body was going through a sugar panic. Sugar is becoming like alcohol to me – my body doesn’t know how to process it and it’s pissed when I consume it. But unlike consuming multiple drinks in a night, a huge bowl of frozen yogurt is worth the restless sleep to me. Frozen yogurt > alcohol any day. But since I had salted caramel frozen yogurt for dinner last night, instead of this casserole, I didn’t sleep at all. I kept waking up every hour so I finally just went to the couch so I could cuddle with Jackson. He’s a big fan of the couch snuggle. Was the frozen yogurt worth the restless sleep? 10000%. Absolutely. I definitely wasn’t crying when I ate that froyo!
Wanna know something I haven’t even told my friends yet? We found a house we love and put down an offer. It’s not even worth mentioning yet, as many of you know if you’ve purchased a home, but I can’t hold on to any secrets. It’s not in my DNA. It could still be easily taken from us from someone who walks in with a cash offer, since people somehow have money like that, so I’m trying to not get my hopes up. I already got my hopes up twice and those dreams came crumbling down. So now we wait to see if they accept. That waiting game is a real nail biter. Luckily I have acrylic so I’m good. I may stress eat this casserole, though. Keep your fingers crossed for us!! If you need me today, I’ll be glued to my phone waiting for the call. Which is really know different than any day. Kimnervousloveyoubyyyyyyye.
Shepard’s Pie
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 5-6 1x
Ingredients
For the topping
- 32 ounces frozen cauliflower
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg
For the ground beef mixture
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1/2 yellow onion, minced
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 16 ounces frozen peas & carrots
- 10 ounces frozen mushrooms
- 16 ounces beef bone broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 3 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven 400 degrees F. Grease large baking dish (9×11 or something similar).
- Steam cauliflower until fork tender. Add to a high speed blender and blend until combined. Then salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and egg. Blend once more until smooth, set aside.
- While the cauliflower is cooking, place a large (deep) sauté pan over medium heat. Add ghee and onion then sauté for 5 minutes. Add ground beef then use a wooden spatula to break into small pieces. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and cook until no pink remains. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add in the peas & carrots, mushrooms, broth, thyme, rosemary, tomato paste, coconut aminos, and 1 last teaspoon of salt then mix until completely combined. Cover to steam the veggies and bring mixture to a low boil. After about 8 minutes, remove the lid and add it the tapioca flour 1 tablespoon at a time, completely dissolving the tapioca flour before adding the next tablespoon. Once combined, taste to see if the mixture needs any more salt, then add the black pepper and mix once more.
- Pour into greased baking dish and smooth throughout. Pour the cauliflower mixture on top and use a spoon to evenly spread throughout the dish. Place in oven to bake for 40 minutes.
- Let rest for 10 minute before serving. Top with chopped parsley then eat up, hunny bunny!
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More Casseroles to Love:
Chicken Pot Pie Cornbread Casserole
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I can’t find frozen mushrooms ANYWHERE!! (K, 2 stores). Can I use fresh? Can I omit? Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks!
yes and yes.
I made this shepherd’s pie this arvo and had to bastardise the recipe (used mashed sweet potato on top and different veges) and it was delicious! Thanks a lot!!
I always come here for this recipe and I can’t find it because Shephard should be Shepherd – haha. I pinned it though so I am set! So good – thank you!