Paleo Comfort Food: Shepherd’s Pie
What could be more comforting on a cold winter evening than ground beef and gravy topped with mashed potatoes? I’ll tell you what: flavorful ground beef topped with creamy mashed cauliflower!
Cottage pie is a traditionally British or Irish dish made from beef, and it’s a kissin’ cousin to shepherd’s pie, which is made with lamb. The term ‘cottage pie’ has been around since 1791, when potatoes were introduced as an edible food for the poor. (Um… yeah, let’s give the less fortunate poison. That’s a great idea!) Back then, cottage pie was topped not with mashed spuds, but with slices that mimicked the tiles on a rustic cottage roof, hence the name.
Meat topped with potatoes isn’t only found in the U.K. Natives of Quebec enjoy “pâté chinois;” the French eat “hachis Parmentier;” in the Middle East, it’s “Siniyet Batata,” and in the Dominican Republic, they add cheese and call it “pastelón de papa.”
I’m callin’ mine Shepherd’s Pie… help yourself to a big serving of comfort and nutrition. I replaced the potatoes with cauliflower, eliminated the green peas, used coconut products instead of dairy, and replaced the Worcestershire – made with high-fructose corn syrup… boo! – with coconut aminos. This recipe can easily be doubled and frozen, and it’s pretty quick to make – perfect for a weeknight when you want to crawl into something warm and toasty.
Shepherd’s Pie
Prep 30 min | Cook 30 min | Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
Topping:
1 large bag frozen cauliflower florets, defrosted
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt & pepper to taste
paprika for garnishMeat Filling:
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
2 pounds ground lamb
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup beef or chicken broth
1 teaspoon coconut aminos
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3 egg whites
paprika, for garnish
Directions:
1. Make the Topping: Cook the cauliflower according to the package directions until it’s very soft, but not waterlogged. In a microwave-safe bowl or small saucepan, heat the garlic, coconut oil, coconut milk, salt, and pepper, about 1 minute. Meanwhile, purée the cauliflower in the bowl of a food processor, scraping down the sides. Add the coconut milk to the processor, along with 1 tablespoon of chives. Process about 10 seconds. Taste and adjust seasonings; then set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Make the Filling: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes. Add coconut oil and allow it to melt. Add the onion and carrot, reduce heat to medium-low and cover; allow the vegetables to get soft but not brown, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic to the pan and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. With your hands, crumble the ground lamb into the pan and break up large chunks with a wooden spoon. Sauté until it’s cooked through and brown, about 5-10 minutes. Taste, then season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the tomato paste, broth, coconut aminos, rosemary, and thyme to the pan. Stir to combine, then bring to a boil and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Set the pan aside and let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Scramble the egg whites until frothy and blend into the meat mixture.
6. Assemble It: Spread the meat mixture evenly in a 12X6-inch (2.2 quart) baking dish. With a rubber scraper and a light hand, spread the mashed cauliflower on top of the meat. Gently drag the tines of a fork in a zigzag pattern across the surface to create a texture—the peaks and valleys turn a lovely golden brown in the oven. Sprinkle the top lightly with paprika.
7. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top begins to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Note: If you want to up the veggie ante and don’t mind making it even less traditional, chopped greens like spinach, kale, collards, or chard (frozen or fresh) would taste great mixed into the meat.
Tags: beef, British, cauliflower, dino-chow, lamb, paleo
57 Responses to “Paleo Comfort Food: Shepherd’s Pie”
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Like what you've read? Got something to say? Lay it on me!
looks rad. since we're seriously snowed in here in NYC i think we'll make this tomorrow. One question: why the scrambled egg white addition? I got no problem with it, just wondering. thanks
The original recipe called for flour to thicken the meat. I replaced it with egg white to eliminate the grains but still provide some holding power to the meat. When the dish bakes, it firms up like a casserole so you can cut it into squares.
Oh Wow – I am TOTALLY adding this to my dinner plans for next week
I ordered a "half" of a GrassFed cow a while back, and we've gone through most of the steaks and roasts but have a TON of Ground Beff Left – this looks like the perfect recipe to use some of it up! Thanks for another great recipe!
YUM! YUM! YUM!!!
My husband and I made this last night, and it turned out great! I'm counting the minutes until I can eat some leftovers at lunch. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hooray! I'm so glad y'all are excited about this recipe. And LizzieFriend, happy eating!
Cottage Pie is one of our staples – we also have a ton of ground beef from getting a side of beef. I've taken to using a puree of turnips and/or parsnips for the topping instead of cauliflower.
Chris, turnips sound really good! I'm going to try that next time. Thanks for posting the suggestions!
Hmm… Did this and it was very yummy (I was out of rosemary so I used a dried spice mix with ginger, bay leaves, tarragon, thyme (more thyme, yay), basil, rosemary, cloves, cumin).
But I did have some trouble with the purée. I used a full head of cauliflower since I don't know how much is in a bag of florets and it came out a bit grainy. I don't know if I should have just kept food processing it or added more coconut milk or what.
Also, couldn't one add the egg yolk to the topping? Seems it would make less waste / stuff in your fridge that you really ought to use sometime soon.
Thanks for the recipe!
Morten –> That spice mix sounds awesome. I want to try something similar with lamb… I bet it tastes great!
I've never used fresh cauliflower for the topping, but if you start with fresh, you should definitely steam the florets before pureeing them. A full head should be about right… and yes! I bet you could add the yolk to the topping, or just throw the whole egg in with the meat. I was worried about it tasting too "eggy," so I just used the white. If you try the whole egg, let me know how it goes!
……..IT ROCKED! My first mayo was a total fail but this made up for it bigtime! Had leftovers for lunch which were even better! I am sharing your site with everrrryyyonnnne
Marinating som Ginger-Lime Shrimp as I type this.. YUM!
Melanie –> I'm glad you liked it… hooray! Don't give up on the mayo — it took me a few tries to get it right, and now it's perfect every time. Enjoy the shrimp!
Thanks! The shrimp were rad, too.. and def gonna try that cocoa-toasted cauliflower real soon
This was soooo good Melissa! Thanks for sharing!
I'm making this as I type with sweet potato topping instead of cauliflower. That blend of seasonings makes it one of the tastiest Paleo dishes I've tried.
Thanks for sharing! <3
Mer –> That sounds like a really tasty mod! Nice going, kitchen wizard.
This looks great and will definitely try it this weekend. Any suggestion for an alternative to coconut aminos? (it's not available in Australia)
cpb –> You can replace the coconut aminos with worcestershire sauce if you can find some without any garbage (starch, sugar, soy, etc.) in it. If you can't find that, you could also try balsamic vinegar. Basically, you're looking for something that will add some richness and zing to the meat.
Today is day one of my first 30 day challange and we had this for dinner…IT WAS AWESOME!!! Thank you!
Jenni –> Congratulations on starting your Whole30. I'm glad this recipe helped you get off to a good start!
I made this last night for my family. It was a bit. One change I made though was to not scramble the egg white separately. I whisked it into the meat mixture and it created a creamy sauce. I will have to remember this trick when I need to thicken something where a recipe might call for cornstarch or flour.
Golden –> Pretty cool what an egg can do, right?! I’m curious to try it with other things that need to be thickened to see how it works. If you experiment, let us know!
Hi there,
I would love to reprint a couple of your recipes in a workbook for a new book called Primal Body Primal Mind. I couldn’t find your contact info on this blog so I’m hoping you read this and let me know if it’s ok.
Please let me know the best way to reach you and I can tell you more.
All the best,
Susie
I’m always glad to share my recipes… my email is mel at chancemccoy dot com. Looking forward to hearing from you!
[...] firstly, here is a part made Cottage-flower pie from my favourite blogger “Melicious” over at The Clothes Make the Girl. It’s not [...]
[...] of character for me! I’m going to be making one of my favourite paleo-comfort dishes, using this recipe from you-know-where as a template.I’ll be using lamb mince, lots of spices and I’ll be chucking some mushroom and [...]
[...] firstly, here is a part made Cottage-flower pie from my favourite blogger “Melicious” over at The Clothes Make the Girl. It’s not [...]
Hi I just wanted to say how FANTASTIC this recipe is, even when you make a mistake with the recipe! We accidentally used pork mince, and only had 500g (1lb) of mince so bulked it up with 250g (1/2lb) mashed pumpkin and as you suggested chucked in a handful of spinach. It was seriously so delicous I cannot wait to make it again!! Now I’m going to hunt through your recipes to find another one
That sounds really tasty! Thanks for letting me know you liked it!
[...] Leftovers. This is our big go-to every day, whether it is Mel’s Cottage-Flower Pie or a batch of [...]
[...] Eric and I went on a Whole Foods shopping date where I bought fixins to make Cottage Flower Pie. (Paleo Comfort Food: Cottage-Flower Pie | theclothesmakethegirl) Another huge winner! I will never fail to be amazed by cauliflower. That one will definitely show [...]
[...] ? – Cottage Flower Pie [...]
Had this deliciousness for dinner tonight, used the actual Well Fed recipe to be honest. Same? Not important. What IS important is that my kids were literally crawling on the table to reach over and steal fom their daddy. He, of course, had just stolen from them. I managed to put fussy pants (aka babycakes) down long enough to score my own sliver before looking up and seeing the pot EMPTY!
Um…. So yeah, good recipe here, LOLz
Made it with ground beef and a whole egg, not just the white. Worked great. Thinking this is the front runner for menu selection for Christmas Eve. Cuz I won’t have to worry about leftovers
Love that this might be part of your Christmas celebration!
Yes, this recipe is very similar to the Well Fed version. I re-tested and re-wrote them all, so there might be some little differences, but this one started out pretty solid. Glad that you and your family enjoyed it!
I made this directly from Well Fed last night. I used more cauliflower because all I had was a 9×13 pan. It turned out rock-your-socks good. I’m doing a primal cooking demonstration next month and my “loves mashed potatoes” husband said: “Make this, babe. Even not-so-paleo people will love it.”
Thanks for a great recipe, Mel!
Hooray! I’m glad that you and yours are enjoying it. And yes, I think this is a great one to trick nonpaleo peeps
this evening i warmed some up for my boyfriend, who said, “I can’t believe this is paleo ‘shepherds pie.’” just a great “casserole” to make for comfort and as a favor to help out a friend.
Awesome! I love being able to ‘trick’ people with sneaky-delicious healthy good. Right on!
hey, i was wondering how many this serves? i am doing a paleo challenge with a few co-workers and it’s my turn to bring lunch!
Hey, Jess! The general rule of thumb is about 4 oz. of protein per person… this recipe uses 1 1/2 lbs. of meat = 24 oz. so it should serve about 6 average-sized people. My husband is 6’5″ so he eats about twice the amount of a normal person… so adjust accordingly for your co-workers.
You can easily make this with 2 lbs. of meat instead, if you need to — just increase the egg white to 2 and keep everything else the same.
hey-
just wanted to drop by and say that I tried this and it was fantastic! I completely forgot about the egg but the flavors were awesome anyway. this was the first recipe I tried of yours and I can’t wait to try more. thanks for making my life easier by posting recipes!
Hey, Jennifer! Glad you found my blog — hope you have lots of fine trying out recipes. Stay in touch!
[...] for Shepherd’s Pie using the traditional ground lamb as well as recipe on her blog for Cottage-Flower Pie. My version pulls things from all three recipes and I will have to say it was FABULOUS! This [...]
This meal is “shut-yer-face!” DELICIOUS!!
I’m in love….
Teeny time saver suggestion though:
Once the meat is browned and ready to simmer with it’s extra ingredients, THEN start the cauli-topping. As I spent time boiling and mashing my substituted parsnips and I could have saved me ten minutes off the prep time if I’d done them while waiting on the meat…
Good reason for me to read through recipes before I dive in!
Thank you so much!
I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Have a happy day!
HA! #1 rule of cooking: Read the whole recipe first. #2: Change it anyway you want so it works for you
So glad you enjoyed it! Do you have my cookbook Well Fed? There are a bunch of variations in the cookbook that are INSANELY good.
Ha ha! Yes, I was way too excited to cook it and didn’t read it…
I just got your cookbook for my birthday, definitely gonna try out the variations in there!
Thank you Mel, the magic meal lady!
[...] for dinner(s) this week: TexMex CrockPot Carnitas, Italian Meatballs, Deconstructed Gyro Salad, Cottage-Flower Pie, and Chicken Salad a la [...]
[...] my life and is good on salads, dips and a key ingredient to her Paleo Pad Thai as well. In fact her Sheppard’s Pie is the first meal I cooked on our Paleo journey and it hooked my husband [...]
Um, yummmm. Two weeks into a whole30, pmsing, and needed something quick, filling and comforting. Followed the well fed recipe, but I added two teaspoons of anchovy paste and I used water instead of broth. Also added a pinch of cinnamon and corriander. The anchovy paste plus coconut aminos might as well be worcestershire sauce, fyi. Your recipes are just incredible. Haven’t been this inspired in the kitchen in years. I am using your weekly cool up method and am amazed by the meals we are.eating.
Congrats on two weeks of Whole30-ing! Sorry about the PMS… that does make food choices tricky. Good on you for turning to paleo comfort food. YAY! Thanks for letting me know Well Fed is making kitchen time fun. I’m really glad!
[...] kill him: I plan to put it to the test. The interesting additions are a simplified version of Mel’s Shepherd’s Pie and Nom Nom Paleo’s Damn Fine Chicken. And the best thing is that I can prepare most of it in [...]
[...] Cottage Flower Pie [...]
I like to cook for the week, so can I make this ahead and bake it in a couple of days? If not, I was thinking of just doing the meat and then the cauliflower mash when I got home from work
You have a few options that will work:
1. It tastes better on the second and third days, so you can bake it, cover with foil, and refrigerate for a day or two, then re-heat in the oven, covered with foil, for about 45 minutes when you’re ready to eat it.
2. Make the whole thing but don’t bake it, then bake when you’re ready to eat it.
3. You an also make all the components in advance, then assemble and bake when you’re ready to eat.
My recommendation is option #1.
One (secret) thing that this recipe is missing is “trotter mess.” This is a euphemism for pork gelatin that I picked up from a british cookbook I read a few years ago, before I went paleo. This is kind of a secret ingredient around my house that makes so many things taste good, but it really does wonders for things like shepherds pie. You can make it with pig’s feet [hence, trotter mess], but other parts of the pig that you might ordinarily discard (skin, bones, gristle) work well, as do neck bones and those parts forward of the neck as well. It takes a while and smells up the kitchen, but fortunately the end result keeps for a long time in the fridge, and you should only have to make it every few months or so, even if you use it regularly. Pigs are just loaded with gelatin, so if you take the parts and cover them with water, and boil for several hours, you will start to get that very gelatinous broth that we all know is so good for us. Then, if you strain the broth, and keep going, you will eventually get to the point that you have a very gooey mess, that comes up from the spatula like caramel. At this point, you can put it into a mason jar, and if you put enough salt in it, it will keep in the fridge for long time. It hardens up to the consistency of fudge, so you have to pry chunks of it out with a spoon, but it will melt into any sauce and adds a great, thickness, richness and mouthfeel that you really can’t get from anything else. (And no, that porkrindsdiet.com blogsite is not up yet. Look for it soon.) Thanks for all you do.
Hi, I’m trying to make this recipe and having trouble with the cauliflower. You’re just supposed to defrost the cauliflower, not cook it and then puree it? Is it supposed to be grainy or smooth? It’s so thick; I can’t get it to puree without adding more coconut milk. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks!
If your cauliflower isn’t soft enough after defrosting, you can cook it according to the package instructions, then proceed.
It should be pretty smooth when you puree it. Without being in the kitchen with you, I don’t know what’s going wrong — but you also can’t mess it up if you (a) cook the cauliflower and (b) add a little extra coconut milk, water, or broth to get the cauliflower smoother.
Thanks for your help. I didn’t end up getting the cauliflower smooth, but the texture was fine. Next time I’ll know what to do! My family definitely enjoyed the recipe. Thanks again!
[...] Shepherd’s Pie and Paleo Mayo (I love it) [...]
[...] (without sweeteners) isn’t readily available so I suggest Trader Joe’s almond butter. http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/12/28/paleo-comfort-food-cottage-flower-pie/ - I was a bit skeptical but this is TASTY! [...]
What is the calorie count on the Cottage Pie if you use Lamb?
I love your recipes and I’m new to Paleo but I’m having a hard time tracking my calories. Thanks!
One of the greatest benefits of eating paleo is that it eliminates the need to count calories. None of my recipes include calorie counts — this recipe makes about 8 servings, so if you eat an eigth of it at a meal, you’ll get adequate calories and nutrition without going overboard.
I know this is a hard concept with which to get comfortable when you come from a calorie-counting background (I did, too.), but paleo is a great way to set yourself free from that habit.
You might like this video:
http://youtu.be/U36XJaETbh8
I took your Well Fed advice and did my veg chopping and pre-cooking on Sunday and the result was that it took less than 15 minutes to put dinner together every night after a long day at work. There are odds and ends of vegs and some leftover cooked chicken, so I am turning it all into Chicken Shepherd’s Pie for dinner tonight. Thanks for the Idea.
Right on! Glad that technique is working for you! I haven’t been able to do it recently because I’ve been cooking food for Well Fed 2 photography, and I miss Hot Plates so much. They’re so easy and so satisfying — looking forward to getting back to that. Love the idea of chicken shepherd’s pie — hope it was awesome!
[...] Aminos: You’ll see this ingredient pop up in a lot of paleo recipes. It’s essentially being used as a soy sauce replacement. It’s derived from the sap of a [...]
[...] Aminos: You’ll see this ingredient pop up in a lot of paleo recipes. It’s essentially being used as a soy sauce replacement. It’s derived from the sap of a coconut [...]
How much garlic am I supposed to put in the cauliflower mash?
ooops! Sorry for the typo — 1-2 cloves!
I have wanted to make this recipe since I got my copy of Well Fed last year, but my daughter was resistant to mashed cauliflower (which is weird, because she eats non-mashed cauliflower!). Eventually she got over whatever it was, and I made this for dinner, as written. Not a single bite left for lunches! My husband, six-year-old daughter and I polished the whole thing off for dinner. To be fair, my husband ate most of it after a ten mile run, but still! Super, super meal, and I have since started making a double recipe so we can have leftovers. Thanks, as always!
I’m so glad you were able to give it a try and that it was a hit… yay! Double batch is definitely the way to go!
Dumb question – can you taste coconut at all?
Not a dumb question at all! I personally don’t think you can taste the coconut, but if you’re super sensitive to coconut taste or don’t like it… I’m not sure. If you’re in doubt, replace the coconut oil with clarified butter (ghee) and use chicken broth or water instead of coconut milk. The topping won’t be as creamy, but it will still taste really good.
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[...] The fabulous Melissa of The Clothes Make the Girl, and the author of Well Fed, shared her Paleo Sheperd’s Pie [...]