This caveman keto shepherd’s pie is packed with low carb vegetables: onions, carrots, zucchini, celery, in a creamy and yummy sauce. A healthier take on this amazing comfort food dish – perfect for those chilly fall or winter nights! Its perfect to batch cool, meal prep, or make ahead for dinner or work lunches.
This has been my go-to recipe for Sherperd’s Pie for so many years- I remember making this 15 or so years ago for my family, and they still request that I make it when I am back home. Its rich, creamy, smokey, flavorful, and best of all – packed with tons of veggies!
Dietary Modifications
- While this recipe is keto, if you aren’t following a low carb diet you can use regular mashed potatoes instead of cauliflower.
- This can easily be made vegan by subbing out the meat for lentils or meatless ground beef, and the cream for a cashew cream.
This caveman keto shepherd’s pie recipe is great because it makes a TON of shepherd’s pie – so there is plenty for leftovers… although its so tasty it will go quickly! I love making this for Sunday Meal Prep, so we can enjoy it for a few nights during the week.
As always, if you make caveman keto shepherd’s pie be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me on Instagram so I can feature you. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Smokey Shepherd’s Pie (Paleo, Whole30, Keto, Vegan Option)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef or a mix of ground beef pork, and lamb (alternatively, 2 cups of Vegan ground beef or lentils)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic diced
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 4 carrots diced
- 1 large zucchini diced into small cubes
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 cup light cream or Cashew Cream for vegan option
- 4 cups mashed cauliflower or mashed potatoes for a non-keto option to top.
- Paprika for garnish
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, brown the meat, drain the grease, and set the meat aside in another bowl.
- Over low heat ddd the olive oil to the bottom of the dutch oven scraping any browned bits of meat from the bottom. Sauté the onion and garlic for 5 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the celery, carrots, zucchini, and frozen peas. Stir to combine. Add the vegetable stock, paprika, and chili powder and simmer the vegetables on low minutes for 15 minutes.
- Add the meat back into the dutch oven, and stir in the cream to combine.
- Add the mashed cauliflower to the top of the shepherd’s pie in an even layer.
- Set your oven to ‘Broil’ (I set mine to high) and brown the top for 5 or 10 minutes (always watching, so its doesn’t burn!) of the mash until it becomes crispy on top, and the shepherd’s pie is bubbling around the edges. I add a little paprika to the top for color as well.
