This Shepherd’s Pie recipe is arguably one of family’s favorite go-to recipes when we are low on time.
My Shepherd’s Pie recipe has ONLY MAIN 6 INGREDIENTS, which makes this the perfect dish to make when you haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping. It pairs well as the main dish with my Refreshing Cucumber and Dill Salad or Tomato Salad with Sweet Onions,
A little back story… Shepherd’s Pie actually originated in Ireland around the 1700s. During the time, money was tight and people could not afford to let any food go to waste. And so, through basically mixing all the ingredients families could find in their home, the Shepherd’s Pie was born!
Shepherd’s Pie is to Ireland, like Borscht is to Ukraine or Pizza is to Italy!
This is specifically why I love Shepherd’s pie so much! Since it was created when people just mixed the ingredients they already had in their home, we can take the same approach when making our own Shepherd’s Pie. I sometimes like to add one or two new ingredients or substitute certain ingredients with others to see how the recipe will turn out.
For the protein, you can also use ground beef or chicken. If you are vegetarian/vegan, you can use cubed tofu instead (just make sure you drain it well)!
For the vegetables, celery, peas, beans, corn, and cabbage would also work well in this recipe.
Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients
- Yukon Potatoes – 3 lbs
- Ground Turkey – 1 lb
- Carrots – 2 large
- White Onion – 1 small
- Hot Milk – 1 cup
- Ketchup – 5 tbsp
- Dried Basil – 1 tsp
- Dried Parsley – 2 tsp
- Salt – to taste
- Olive Oil – 1 tbsp
Quick FAQs
What kind of potatoes are best to use?
While you can use any potatoes for this recipe, Yukon potatoes provide the best taste because of their natural sweetness. I’ve tried this recipe with different potatoes (red, russet) and Yukon proved to pair the best with the carrots and ketchup.
The combination of these three ingredients provides a gentle sweetness to the recipe that you just can’t achieve with other potato sorts.
Can I substitute or add to the vegetables?
Shepherd’s pie is a little like pizza. You mix what you have to create a delicious combination of ingredients. Other vegetables that would work well in this recipe are celery, peas, corn, sweet onions, garlic and dill.
If you’d like, you can also add some shredded Parmesan cheese to the mashed potatoes to make them more hearty.
Shepherd’s Pie Made Easy
This Shepherd’s Pie recipe has only 6 ingredients, which makes this the perfect dish to make when you haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping. It's the perfect comfort food to make after a long day at work because it is so easy to make and yet so warm and delicious!
Servings 4
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 40 minutes mins
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Yukon Potatoes
- 1 lb Ground Turkey
- 2 large Carrots
- 1 small White Onion
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- 5 tbsp Ketchup
- 1 tsp Dried Basil
- 2 tsp Dried Parsley
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425F. As the oven is heating up, put a pot of water to boil.
Peel and cube the potatoes and place them carefully in the pot of boiling water.
Peel the onion and carrots and cut into small cubes. Heat up a frying pan with olive oil and fry the onions until they are tender and beginning to brown on the edges. Add in the carrots once onions are halfway done.
Once the carrots are about 50% tender, add the ground turkey. Fry the mixture until the turkey is about 90% done.
Stir in the ketchup, dried basil and parsley and salt. Let this mixture sit under low heat for about 3 minutes or until the ketchup begins to bubble. Then take off the heat.
Once the potatoes are easy to poke through with a fork, drain them. Meanwhile, heat up a cup of hot milk.
Begin to mash the potatoes while gradually adding the milk. Add salt to taste and mix thoroughly.
First, grease the sides of an 8-ounce ramekin with olive oil. I recommend keeping the ratio between potatoes and the ground turkey mixture 50-50. Add enough ground turkey mixture to fill the ramekin halfway and then add the mashed potatoes on top.
Put the pies in the oven. If you are using ramekins, you can keep the pies in the oven for about 10 minutes.
The dish is ready once you see the ground turkey bubbling from under the potatoes.
Cut up some fresh parsley or chives for garnish. Enjoy
Cost: $$
Course: Main Course
