This Paleo Whole30 Shepherd's Pie is comfort food that is perfect for chilly days. A layer of lamb and veggies is topped with creamy mashed potatoes and baked together for one hearty meal. Everyone will love it! It's gluten free, dairy free, and low fodmap.
I made a shepherd's pie a few years ago. It was actually a cottage pie since it used beef and it had a sweet potato topping. It is good, but I wanted a more traditional one and I made this one low fodmap so I'm excited about that. This actually comes together pretty quickly since I the topping and filling cook at the same time. Of course it's great for the weekend as well when you have a little more time to spend on cooking.
Ground lamb is the base which is traditional for Shepherd's Pie. If you can't find ground lamb or prefer ground beef, feel free to use that. It has green beans and carrots and lots of fresh herbs. Don't skip the fresh herbs because they add much needed freshness to this heavy dish. A little bit of tomato sauce and coconut aminos round out the meat mixture.
For the mashed potato topping I used my Instant Pot method which I'll write out again below. (CLICK HERE for the stove top version.) It's super easy and mostly hands off. One thing I did a little different was use an immersion blender to get it smooth since I didn't want it too lumpy for the top. The potatoes have garlic oil for flavor and ghee for butteriness. They are so good!
I used a deep dish pie plate for this mainly for pictures. I was cutting it close to not actually fitting. I recommend using a 13x9 so there's no spill over or close calls.
This is a low FODMAP version, which means no onions or garlic. If you can tolerate those then use them.
You will love this healthier Shepherd's Pie. It is hearty, comforting, and so flavorful!
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Paleo Whole30 Shepherds Pie
Ingredients
Potato Layer
- 3 pounds organic yukon gold potatoes, cut in fourths
- 1 cup water
- 1 ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup ghee
- 1 tablespoon garlic oil*
Meat Layer
- 1 tablespoon garlic oil*
- 1 ½ cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped green onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pepper
- 2 pounds ground lamb
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 cup strained tomatoes*
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 10 oz frozen green beans
Instructions
- Place potatoes in the bottom of the Instant Pot, cover with 1 cup water, cook on high for 14 minutes. Hit the "cancel" button, release the pressure and drain. Add back to the pot, add almond milk, ghee, and salt and mash. Stir in garlic oil. Use an immersion blender to get smooth if needed.
- Preheat oven to 375° and grease a 13x9 or deep dish pie plate.
- While the potatoes are cooking, make the meat mixture. Over medium heat, cook the garlic oil, carrots, green onions, salt and pepper for 5 minutes. Add the lamb and cook about 5 minutes, breaking up as needed, then drain the fat. Add in tomato puree, rosemary, thyme ,coconut aminos, and green beans. Cook another 5 minutes.
- Pour into prepared pan, spreading as evenly as possible.
- Top with potatoes and spread evenly.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
Notes:
Nutrition Information
Danielle says
This shepherds pie is so good!!!!
We love the potatoes so much that we use this recipe every time we make mashed potatoes 😁
Jessica DeMay says
Thank you so much, Danielle! I'm so glad you enjoy this recipe and potatoes as well 🙂
Kate says
I just made this recipe tonight and it is so delish!! Thank you for sharing!!
Heidi says
Adding this to my rotation. Everyone went for seconds - easy recipe and great comfort food. I didn’t have enough potatoes so used 2 sweet potatoes in addition to the white potatoes and my kids thought they were cheesy potatoes. I’m looking forward to the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Erin says
We LOVE this recipe! Even my toddler loves this, it's super good. You don't even know there aren't some of the traditional ingredients for shepherd's pie, its that good.
Jessica DeMay says
Thank you, Erin! So glad it's enjoyed! Thanks for the great feedback!
Rebecca says
Thank you for this recipe! It was very delicious and my Husband said it’s his favorite version. I used organic grass fed beef instead of the lamb and tomato sauce.
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks for trying it, Rebecca! I'm so glad your husband likes it!
Victoria Contreras says
Would this work by substituting lamb with ground turkey?
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Victoria- yes, definitely! Enjoy!
Anne-Ashley Black says
Would it be good if I left out the tomatoes??
Jessica DeMay says
Yes, I think that will work. Enjoy!
Lee Ann says
How many servings does this recipe make? It looks delicious.
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Lee Ann- I'd say about 6-8 servings. I hope you love it!
Cheryl says
I made this for friends last night and everyone loved it! My husband went back for seconds after everyone left.
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks for trying it, Cheryl! So glad it was enjoyed!