This Shepherd’s Pie is not only flavorful but filling! Packed with all the heartiest veggies like onions, celery, a carrot (just one!), and mushrooms and cooked in beef stock.
This cauliflower shepherd’s pie is not only low carb but easy to put together! We love serving it alongside some roasted radishes for the perfect meal.
© Easy Low Carb.com
Low Carb Shepherd’s Pie
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What is Shepherd’s Pie?
Shepherd’s Pie is made with ground lamb. Some make it with ground beef and call it shepherd’s pie but with beef it’s actually called cottage pie. The meat is mixed with an assortment of vegetables and then topped with mashed potato. Sometimes a layer of grated cheese is sprinkled over the mashed potatoes and baked.
This keto shepherd’s pie transforms the traditionally one-pot entrée into a nutritional, fiber-filled favorite that everyone will ask for again and again!
Ingredients & Variations
MEAT Lamb is the traditional meat, but any kind of minced or ground meat will do. Beef and turkey are great substitutes as well.
VEGGIES If it’s a low carb vegetable, it can go into this keto shepherd’s pie recipe.
Onions, celery, mushrooms, even broccoli, peas or green beans make for a colorful entrée.
TOPPING Beef stock, tomato paste, and garlic give the base for this pie some depth but what really makes this recipe a standout is the mashed cauliflower topping!
Mashed with cheddar and cream cheese then seasoned with butter and onion powder. Not only is it filling, but filled with nutrients too!
How to Make Shepherd’s Pie
Making this baked pie is an easy two-step process.
Make the Cauliflower Topping:
- Steam cauliflower and process in a food processor until pureed (per recipe below).
TIP: If you don’t have a food processor, use a potato masher. You want to get a ‘mashed potato’ consistency.
- Mix with the remaining topping ingredients and set aside.
Make the Shepherd’s Pie Mixture:
- Brown meat until well done.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Stir and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
To Prep the Final Dish:
Place the meat mixture on the bottom of the greased casserole dish and top with the cauliflower mash and extra shredded cheese. Bake until the top is golden and bubbly. Mmmm!
What to Serve with Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower Mash
Because this baked pie is a meal in itself, a good low carb side dish would be a crisp salad, or a delicious helping of roasted radishes or green beans. Low carb has never been so satisfying!
More Low Carb Main Dishes
- Keto Chili – packed with hearty goodness
- Keto/Low Carb Chicken Zucchini Soup – great comfort food
- Low Carb Pork and Cabbage Skillet – 3 easy steps
- Low Carb Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce – ready in 30 mins
- Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry! – simple 4 ingredients sauce
Easy Low Carb Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground lamb or beef
- 1 onion diced
- 2 stalks celery finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 4 oz mushrooms finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Cauliflower Topping
- 1 head cauliflower washed and chopped
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
Cauliflower
- Steam cauliflower until tender and drain well.
- Place in a mesh strainer and press to remove as much liquid as possible.
- Using a food processor (or blender) puree cauliflower. Stir in cream cheese, onion powder, butter and 3/4 cup cheddar cheese. Set aside.
Shepherd's Pie
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook beef, onion and garlic until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Add mushrooms, celery, carrot, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and beef stock. Stir and simmer uncovered about 5-7 minutes or until most of the liquid is evaporated.
- Place meat mixture in the bottom of a 2 qt casserole dish. Top with mashed cauliflower and finally remaining cheese.
- Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Rest 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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REPIN this Delicious Low Carb Recipe
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious–full of flavor and very satisfying. I made it in my cast iron skillet so I didn’t have to use a separate baking dish–one less thing to wash afterwards.
Maybe my cauliflower was small, but I could have easily used two for the topping.
This is going in my personal recipe collection and dinner rotation.
I just found this site and made my week’s dinner menu all from recipes I found here. I’m looking forward to new things for dinner the rest of this week 🙂
Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed this recipe Jeanett. Also, I am all for one less dish to wash, great idea!
I am anxious to try this recipe this weekend, but I am curious as to where the 17 grams of carbs comes from. I found many other recipes with fewer carbs, but they have the same ingredients.
The onion has a total of 10g carbs, carrot has 6g, mushrooms have 4g, tomato paste has 6g, and a large cauliflower has 29g (there are a few other places that there are carbs but those are the main ones). This information is and estimate from the program that I use to calculate nutrition. Perhaps other sites have smaller portions or use less of the carby portions of the recipe.
I am curious how many servings this recipe is suppose to make.
This recipe makes four servings. You’ll find them listed at the top of the recipe card on all of our recipes :).
Didn’t get a photo, and now the leftovers look all mangled. But this was one of the best low carb recipes I have ever tried!
It was so easy and so delicious! True comfort food on this rainy St. Patrick’s Day. I’m going to put this on rotation for our fall and winter dinners.
Used ground Turkey breast, instead of lamb or beef. Didn’t have tomato paste, so used the 3:1 ratio for tomato sauce, and then just ended up using leftover pizza sauce instead. Ran out of cheddar cheese halfway through, so used cheddar cheese for the mashed cauliflower, but used mozzarella for the topping. Also, I felt like the meat mix could use some seasoning, so I sprinkled a pinch of garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in the meat. Next time, to make it even healthier, I’m going to swap out the cream cheese for Greek yogurt.
Anyway, I otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I finely diced the carrots, celery and mushrooms the night before (just to save time). And soaked them overnight with the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauce. That’s not necessary, I just like to work ahead. The mashed cauliflower was wonderful and so flavorful!
Like I said, we really enjoyed this, and it was so easy! I also liked that it made a small 8×8 pan. Some recipes make a large casserole, but this was the perfect size for 2 with leftovers. I served it with low calorie, low carb, sugar free Keto bread and butter.
So happy you enjoyed it, Tara! Thanks for sharing your substitutions, glad they turned out so delicious!
Mine was tasteless. I thought about adding salt and pepper but opted to follow directions and maybe next batch can be tweaked. Other than that it was great, held together good and everything cooked properly.
Glad you enjoyed it, Itap. We look forward to hearing the modifications you make to the flavor of this recipe!
We have made this recipe numerous times and it is always a fan favorite!! We use ground turkey instead of beef and it is just as flavorful. Also, to kick it up the heat, we used a Serrano pepper in the cauliflower when processing the other ingredients. Sooooo good!!!
So happy to hear this recipe is a hit with your family, Kate!