Keto Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s Pie is the ultimate comfort food, but it’s not the most low carb friendly. Maybe it’s because the classic version has a thick layer of creamy mashed potatoes on top. Most recipes for keto shepherds pie are topped with mashed cauliflower. If you are disgusted with the way cauliflower has been behaving in your food or you are tired of it always being the hero, then you should try topping your casserole with mashed turnips instead. Turnips are a better substitute for potatoes than mashed cauliflower since they tastes more like a potato!

Why this recipe beats the rest

• Doesn’t use cauliflower – I do love cauliflower, but it’s can’t always be the solution to replace high carb ingredients – especially a potato. Cauliflower and potatoes aren’t even in the same family! If you want to find a replacement for starchy potatoes, you have to at least a vegetable that is in the tuber family. Luckily, the turnip and rutabaga are low carb vegetables that are in the tuber family. They cook similar to a potato and you don’t have to squeeze out all the moisture like you do when making mashed cauliflower. The result is a keto mashed potato recipe that looks like the real thing and tastes like potatoes!
• Easy – The beef filling mixture doesn’t take long to cook. Since making mashed turnip is the same process as making mashed potatoes, this keto shepherd’s pie recipe doesn’t take any longer than a traditional cottage pie. It’s actually less effort compared to if you were making mashed cauliflower since you don’t have to spend time trying to squeeze as much moisture out of the cooked cauliflower as possible.
• Classic flavor – Cooking the ground beef, carrot, green bean and onion in a hearty sauce that serves to bind the components together but also infuses the dish with depth and warmth.
• Low carb – Using a turnip to replace the potatoes, keeps this comfort meal low in carbs with only 6.7 grams net carbs per very generous serving. If you wanted to try to get 10 servings out of this casserole (you could it would just be a smaller portion), the net carbs would be 4 grams.

To make this creative and nutritious variation of the traditional, I like to focus on each layer – the mashed turnips & beef filling. To save time, the turnips can be boiling while you prepare the savory beef filling.

Mashed turnip layer

1. Boil the diced turnips. Peel & dice the turnips into small chunks. Then boil in a mixture of chicken broth, water and a half of potato until tender. The half of a potato is added to neutralize the bitter flavor of the turnips. Once tender, drain and return the cooked turnips to the pan to cook the remaining moisture off.
2. Puree until mashed. Add cooked, diced turnips to a blender, along with heavy cream, salt, butter, black pepper and cheddar cheese. Blend until smooth.

Beef filling

1. Sauté the vegetables. Cook the celery, carrot, onion, and green beans in butter until tender. Then season with garlic and dried herbs.
2. Brown the ground beef until cooked through.
3. Add flavor components. Stir in tomato paste, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt and pepper. 

Assemble & bake

1. Pour beef mixture into a casserole dish first. Spread until even.
2. Spread dollops of mashed turnips over the top of the beef filling.
3. Bake at 375 °F for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown on top.