Healthy Sweet Potato Turkey Shepherd’s Pie
This healthy twist on classic shepherd’s pie combines much-loved flavors to create the ultimate cozy dinner – Sweet Potato Turkey Shepherd’s Pie will be your family’s favorite this fall!
Cozy meal alert!
Healthy Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie with caramelized pecans and sage. Can we talk about all the fall-feels for a moment?!
Sweet potato, sage, cloves, cinnamon, pecans, maple syrup … your house will smell like the ultimate autumn-scented candle.
Shepherd’s pie is the ultimate comfort food that’s been around for a veryyy long time. It’s an easy and pretty basic dish that comes together in no time. Traditional shepherd’s pie is made with minced lamb and mashed potatoes. It is very similar to cottage pie, the only difference is that cottage pie is usually made with beef.
This dish is made lighter with turkey instead of lamb or beef. And I’m calling it a shepherd’s pie because it’s what I’ve always called it, so I’m sticking with it.
Ok, let’s talk about the actual recipe for a bit. It’s seriously delicious. No joke. I always know a recipe is a hit when it is gone quickly and that’s what happened when I made this. Literally gone within minutes. Steve deemed it the “best thing every” and ate half of it for lunch and the remaining scraps for dinner.
As I mentioned before, I used ground turkey for the pie. For the veggies, I decided to go with red pepper and zucchini. A mix of frozen veggies like peas, carrots, corn, and green beans will also work wonderfully in this recipe. I then flavored the filling with coconut aminos, a little coconut sugar, ground cloves, thyme, and sage. The end result is incredibly flavorful and tasty!
The topping is mashed sweet potatoes seasoned lightly with some salt and pepper. To make sure my sweet potatoes are fluffy and light, I whip them with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes. This is totally optional though.
Then comes my favorite part – CARAMELIZED PECANS made with coconut sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Oh my god they’re AMAZING. I might have picked a bunch off the top while I was shooting pictures.
Is it just me, or do you want to face plant straight into this dish?!
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Lemon Chicken and Sweet Potatoes – easy and simple no-fuss meal.
Grilled Flank Steak with Baked Sweet Potato Fries – loaded with so much savory goodness.
One Pot Turkey Sweet Potato Chili – perfect for a quick weeknight meal!
Honey Mustard Chicken and Potatoes – a family favorite!
Spicy Harissa Potato Salad – lightened up with Greek yogurt and loaded with lots of fresh flavors
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Healthy Sweet Potato Turkey Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes about 2 lbs, peeled and cubed into 1 1/2-in pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4-5 sprigs fresh sage
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tbsp flour*
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos**
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar**
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Pecan Topping
- 1 cup pecans
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar**
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Add cubed sweet potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Once cooked, drain water and whip with an electric mixer or mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium in a heavy bottom saucepan. Add sage and cook 1 minutes until crisp. Remove and place on a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
- Add ground turkey to saucepan and cook 5 minutes. Add diced onion and cook until onion softens and the turkey is cooked through. Add minced garlic, zucchini, red pepper, and ground cloves. Cook about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
- Sprinkle in flour and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Mix in tomato paste, coconut aminos, coconut sugar, stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. The mixture should thicken slightly. Stir in thyme.
- In a small bowl, combine pecans, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Mix well to coat pecans.
- Transfer turkey mixture to 9x15-inch casserole dish. Spread mashed sweet potatoes over meat. Sprinkle pecans in the center.
- Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and top with fried sage. Serve immediately.
Notes
** You can substitute coconut aminos with soy sauce and coconut sugar with brown sugar.
