Ground Turkey Shepherd’s Pie is made with a mashed cauliflower topping, ground turkey, and fresh herbs for a comforting low-carb ground turkey recipe.  It is Whole30 and Ketogenic diet approved and can easily be made into a Paleo shepherd’s pie!

Paleo Ground Turkey Shepherd's Pie with carrots and peas in a casserole dish.

Ground Turkey Shepherd’s Pie Inspiration

Recently I have discovered my love for mashed cauliflower.

If you add in a bit of butter/oil, some fresh herbs, and tons of roasted garlic, there’s no way you can tell you’re missing potatoes! –> See for yourself with this Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower recipe here.

A close up picture of Ground Turkey Shepherd's Pie being served with a wooden spoon.

A few weeks ago we had a bit of a cool front come through and it made me start craving all things Fall.

While most recipes that we make in the Fall are loaded with fat and starch, I wanted to take the classic shepherd’s pie and lighten it up a bit.

Gluten-free turkey shepherd's pie in a casserole dish with a wooden spoon to serve.

Ground Turkey Paleo Recipe

This ground turkey shepherd’s pie is loaded with good-for-you vegetables and is super low in carbs and calories.

One serving of this turkey shepherd’s pie comes in at only 319 calories and 15 net carbs per serving.

Also, you can easily make this ground turkey recipe Paleo by leaving out the peas!

Paleo shepherd's pie in a dish with a blue napkin ready for a delicious dinner.

What are the Health Benefits of Cauliflower?

Cauliflower is part of the cruciferous vegetable family (think of broccoli, kale, cabbage).

This delightfully tasty and super transformative vegetable is full of anticancer properties.

Little did you know that with each bite of your ground turkey shepherd’s pie are lowering your risk of colon, prostate, lung and breast cancer!

Shepherd's Pie using ground turkey recipes ready for a healthy dinner.

How can You Evolve this Turkey Shepherd’s Pie?

This ground turkey shepherd’s pie is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, Ketogenic & Whole30 diet-approved and can easily be made into a Paleo shepherd’s pie.  A few ways you can evolve it to make it slightly healthier include:

  • Use a 99/1 ground turkey (instead of the suggested 93/7) for a recipe that is lower in fat.
  • Leave out the peas for a completely Paleo ground turkey recipe.
  • Add more vegetables to the ground turkey layer to increase your antioxidants even more.

Tap stars to rate!

4.28 from 22 votes

Ground Turkey Shepherd's Pie

Ground Turkey Shepherd's Pie is made with a mashed cauliflower topping, ground turkey, and fresh herbs for a comforting low-carb dinner recipe.  It is Whole30 and Ketogenic diet approved and can easily be made Paleo!
Yield 6 servings
Prep 30 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Total 1 hour

Ingredients 

  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 c. carrots finely chopped
  • 1 c. bell pepper finely chopped
  • 1 c. onions finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 lb. ground turkey 93/7
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. pepper
  • 1 ½ tsp. sage* fresh, finely chopped
  • 1 ½ tsp. rosemary* fresh, finely chopped
  • ¾ c. green peas**
  • 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • ½ c. chicken broth
  • 5 c. cauliflower florets fresh or previously frozen
  • ½ c. almond milk
  • 3 Tbsp. butter or ghee, melted
  • 1 clove garlic crushed
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. pepper
  • 1 egg yolk

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • In a large skillet over medium heat combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, carrots, and bell peppers. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add onion and garlic and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes.
  • Push vegetables to the side of the skillet and add ground turkey, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
  • Cook turkey for 8-10 minutes, or until completely cooked through.
  • Use a meat tenderizer to crumble turkey completely.
  • Add herbs, peas, tomato paste, and broth. Stir to combine, cover, and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add cauliflower and boil for 10-12 minutes, or until cauliflower becomes tender.
  • Drain water and dry cauliflower completely.
  • Add cauliflower, almond milk, butter, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, 1 clove garlic, and egg yolk into the bowl of a food processor.
  • Process for 2-3 minutes, or until cauliflower is completely smooth.
  • Spray a 9x9 inch square baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and layer the ground turkey/vegetables. Spread the mashed cauliflower on top of the ground turkey.
  • Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. Broil for 5 minutes on Hi.
  • Serve immediately and enjoy!

Tap stars to rate!

4.28 from 22 votes

Notes

*You can interchange fresh thyme for the rosemary or sage.
**Leave out peas if you would like to make this recipe Paleo.

Nutrition

Calories: 319kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 90mg, Sodium: 772mg, Potassium: 894mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 8370IU, Vitamin C: 132.2mg, Calcium: 94mg, Iron: 2.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Made this recipe?Leave a comment below!

Want more recipes like this Ground Turkey Shepherd’s Pie?

Paleo Slow Cooker Beef Teriyaki

Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

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Cilantro Lime Chicken Stuffed Zucchini

 

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Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Just made this recipe tonight. 4 thumbs up! Tasty. I chopped the carrot tops and garnished since I didn’t have fresh parsley. Thank you for this Whole30 recipe.

    1. Absolutely, Alena!! So so happy you enjoyed it. And what a great idea with the carrot tops! Thanks for the rating and review 🙂

  2. Any suggestions or advice for making this a day or two ahead of time? Totally whipping this up for some keto friends on the weekend. Looks absolutely delish and I so appreciate the soy-free aspect!

    1. Oh I think they’ll love it! You can go ahead and make the ground turkey mixture and cauliflower topping a day or two in advance, assemble it, and then cover it until ready to bake. I would lean just a little more towards a day in advance since cauliflower tends to go bad more quickly than ground turkey! Can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you!

      1. 5 stars
        This recipe was a total hit across the board! A solid recipe that easily scales up for more people. We doubled it for a bigger group, and it worked out perfectly. We were at a cottage in the dead of winter, working with a less than equipped kitchen and still managed to pull it off – will be putting this into the weekly rotation for sure!

        1. Yay!! So so happy you all loved it. I bet that was a great way to warm up in a cozy cottage 🙂 Thanks so much for the rating and review!!

  3. 4 stars
    Hi! Trying your recipe tonight and it looks delicious. I couldn’t find an actual temperature to preheat the oven to in your recipe so I just used 350. I also noticed in the comments you said you could top it with more thyme and rosemary like you used in the recipe. In the recipe you use rosemary and sage, no mention of thyme.

    1. Hi Megan! Thanks so much for the question, and so sorry for the confusion! The oven should be preheated to 400 degrees. I have just updated the recipe to reflect this! As for the herbs, I have tried all three (rosemary, sage, and thyme) they all turn out great, but I did use sage and rosemary in the recipe. Can’t wait to hear how it turns out!

    1. Absolutely, Monica! You can also use any type of oil that you would like, too. Ghee would definitely have the best flavor, though!

    1. In these pictures, I used parsley… primarily as a pretty garnish, but it also adds a bit of a fresh flavor. Also, feel free to top it with more of the fresh rosemary and thyme that was used in the dish!

      1. 5 stars
        ok thanks for the tip. I made this a couple of nights and it was absolutely delicious!! I will definitely be making this dish again!!

          1. HI London
            I just found your site and so excited to embark on a new way of cooking. It is my desire to try the Keto way of eating to help with weight loss and hopefully get. Healthier!! Looking forward to trying your recipes
            Cynthia

          2. Yay, Cynthia! So excited to hear about your new way of cooking and that you found the site! Best of luck with your healthy eating endeavors 🙂