Mashed Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie

3.54 from 75 votes

Mashed Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie

Enjoy this lighter take on a traditional shepherd's pie recipe by making it with mashed cauliflower. This Mashed Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie is very filling and most importantly very DELICIOUS!

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie, Mashed Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie, Shepherd’s Pie

Servings: people

Author: Olivia Ribas

Ingredients

For the Cauliflower

1 large head cauliflower cut up into florets
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
Salt and pepper

For the filling

½ tablespoon olive oil
½ onion chopped
3 carrots chopped
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 lb ground turkey
1 cup tomato sauce
¼ cup tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth
½ cup peas
1/2 cup can of corn drained
1 teaspoon thyme

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
In a big pot, bring water to a boil and add cauliflower.
Cook until tender.
Drain in a colander.
Place the cooked cauliflower in a food processor, add 1 tbsp olive oil and garlic and blend until smooth.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high and sauté onions until translucent.
Add carrots, salt, and pepper. Cook until softened.
Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
Add the ground turkey and use a wooden spoon to break up into chunks and cook until it is not pink anymore.
Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and ½ cup chicken broth.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir occasionally for 10 minutes.
Add peas, corn, and thyme. Stir well to combine and cook for two minutes.
Once the mixture has thickened, give it a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Spread the mashed cauliflower over the turkey mixture.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the edges of the mashed cauliflower are browned.
Rest the pie for about 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

Feel free to swap the ground turkey for another ground meat such as ground beef.
When buying the cauliflower, make sure the head is firm, tight, and do not have yellow patches.
If you don't have a cast-iron skillet, you can transfer everything into a casserole baking dish.
To store: Store leftover shepherd's pie in the fridge tightly wrapped for up to 4 days.
To reheat: You can reheat leftovers in the oven or microwave.
To freeze: You can tightly wrap up the mashed cauliflower shepherd's pie and freeze it for up to 2 months. As usual, make sure the dish is at room temperature before freezing. If you plan on freezing the whole casserole, I recommend baking it in a foil pan as they're much lighter to freeze.

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