Healthy Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

Classic comfort food

St.Patrick’s Day usually comes with celebration and delicious food! A classic Shepherds Pie is one of those dishes. Are you someone who loves classic comfort food recipes like this BUT wish there was a healthier version? Well, you’re in luck because that’s exactly what we do here. This Healthy Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie recipe will give you all the feels of a cozy comfort food but with healthier ingredients and more nutrition.

Don’t get me wrong, the classics are often the BEST versions! But with many of us having specific dietary needs or just wanting to eat healthier, we have to have options. The best way to do that is to look at the parts of a recipe where healthier swaps can be made. With this version, it was literally the meat and potatoes.

Shepherd’s Pie or Cottage Pie?

This Healthy Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie recipe is obviously a little different from the original ingredients you’d find in a traditional Shepherd’s Pie. Often times you’ll find this term interchangeable with a Cottage Pie. But what is the difference?

The Shepherd’s Pie originated in Scotland, later becoming popular in Northern England and Ireland. Traditional Shepherd’s Pie uses ground meat, more specifically ground lamb, in addition to vegetables. However, the Irish were the first to use potatoes instead of a pastry topping.

Cottage Pie traditionally uses beef and vegetables, and is topped with sliced potatoes. Mashed potatoes can be used as a substitute. There are many ways you can make your own version of Shepherd’s Pie including a variety of spices, vegetables, potatoes and meats.

There’s no rule where it says for certain you have to make it one way or another. Recipes are meant to adapted, especially for dietary needs or just plain preference. Cooking should be a reflection of you!

The use of one word or another is really besides the point. For more information on the differences of these two and ideas on how you can make it your own, check out this article by Teachable HERE.

Easy recipe swaps

For this Healthy Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie, the two most obvious swaps I made from the original was the meat and potatoes. I usually avoid most red meat these days due to a more anti-inflammatory diet.

An easy swap for red meat in a lot of recipes is using ground chicken or ground turkey, depending on how lean you want to go. To add a little more of a “meaty” beef flavor, I also added some mushrooms. This tends to give it a more similar texture to the original recipe. Any mushroom would work.

Another swap is using sweet potatoes instead of traditional white potatoes. Both are delicious! Sweet potatoes tend to have more nutritional value and can be a bit more flavorful in my opinion.

The main thing is properly seasoning your potatoes. They tend to need a bit more salt than other ingredients, but make sure to taste along the way to ensure you aren’t adding too much.

I also love adding garlic powder (not as potent as garlic cloves) to my mashed potatoes in addition to unsalted butter, almond milk and pepper. As simple as it may sound, mashed potatoes only need a few ingredients to be delicious!

Recipe Tips:

-Invest in a good Iron Skillet! These are the best oven-safe pans to have. Not to mention the healthiest. Other non-stick or oven safe pans can have coatings on them that contain toxic synthetic ingredients. Do your research before buying one. I recommend the Lodge Iron Skillets that come in many sizes. You can find them HERE.

-Taste your food as you cook! You’d be surprised how many people don’t do this. It will help you to ensure everything is properly seasoned before serving.

-When making mashed sweet potatoes, only add a little milk at a time. Sweet potatoes tend to have more water than white potatoes so a little milk goes a long way. You don’t want to end up with a mushy mess.

-Dice all of your vegetables. You’ll be adding frozen peas later in the recipe and you want all of your veggies to be roughly the same size.

-Swap out any ingredients as needed and play with your own version of Shepherd’s Pie. Cooking should be fun and a reflection of you!

Social Media

Be sure to follow me @motivate.educate.repeat on Instagram HERE to stay up to date on my latest blog posts and healthy recipes. You can also use the hashtag #MotivateEducateRepeat when posting and sharing you recipes on social media. I’d love to see your creations.

I hope you enjoy this Healthy Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie recipe as much as I do! Whether you celebrate St.Patrick’s Day or not, experiment with some Irish dishes throughout the year. The food is so flavorful and would be a great addition to any healthy meal plan.

I believe variety is literally the spice of life! Trying new cuisines from all around the world can make cooking a lot less boring. There are a lot of delicious flavors just waiting to be discovered.

More recipes like this…

If you want to try another healthy comfort food recipe, check out my Gluten Free Pasta Bake recipe HERE. You can also use the menu or search bar to browse all of my recipes.