30-Minute Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s pie comes in many shapes and forms. It’s one of those easy recipes that you can’t really mess up. You can make it as healthy or as sinful as you want. You can also experiment using different kinds of chopped veggies. Do you have a kitchen full of random ingredients and no idea what to feed your family that night? Chances are you can whip up some variety of a Shepherd’s pie. This is a great recipe for beginners who want to slam together a tasty one-dish meal. This was a part of our St. Patrick’s Day dinner, but this dish isn’t only for Irish holidays. It’s a hearty dinner that is good any day, any time!

Link to original recipe: right here!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Author: Adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 large egg yolk
½ cup chicken broth (cream can be used for a richer version)
Salt & pepper, to taste
1¾ pounds extra-lean ground beef
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
½ cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon ground paprika
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions

Boil potatoes in water with salt until tender, 12-15 minutes. Drain.
In mixer bowl, combine sour cream, egg yolk, salt, pepper, and chicken broth (or cream) with potatoes. Mash until smooth.
While potatoes boil, brown and crumble ground beef in a skillet coated with cooking spray. Season with salt and pepper. Season meat with salt and pepper. Drain excess fat from pan.
Add chopped carrot and onion to the beef. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
In another small skillet over medium heat melt butter and add flour until a roux is formed. Whisk in beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy for 3-5 minutes.
Add gravy to meat and vegetable mixture. Stir in peas.
Preheat broiler to high. Fill a glass casserole dish with meat mixture and cover with potatoes.
Top potatoes with paprika and broil until potatoes are brown.
Remove dish from oven, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Healthy alternatives:

Use ground turkey instead of beef, light sour cream, and chicken broth instead of cream! Different veggies can be used in the meat mixture, such as green beans or corn.

Richer alternatives:

Use extra virgin olive oil instead of cooking spray for browning the meat, lamb instead of beef, heavy cream in the potatoes, stir in some cheese to the potato mixture, or sprinkle it over the top at the end!