Cottage Pie with Sweet Potatoes
Yield: 4 Generous servings / Level: Easy
Prep time: 30 minutes /Cook time: 1 hour / Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
It’s getting cold outside which means cozy comfort food season is here. Cottage pie, or Shepherd's pie, is one of the top comfort foods in my opinion. Cottage pie is just Shepherd's pie, but with beef instead of lamb, both being delicious! I swapped white potatoes out for sweet potatoes to add a lower GI starch and I love the bright orange color it adds to this dish. This hearty meal kept me full and satisfied for hours while leaving me feeling energized and nourished.
Sweet Potato Topping Ingredients:
3 medium size sweet potatoes.
2 Tbsp unsalted butter.
1 tsp pink Himalayan salt, or your preferred salt.
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper.
Cottage Pie Base Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef, I used 90/10 grass fed organic beef.
1 medium yellow onion, diced.
3 carrots, diced.
2 large garlic cloves, minced.
2 Tbsp avocado oil, or any high heat oil.
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce.
1 cup low sodium beef stock.
3 Tbsp tomato paste.
2 cups frozen peas, I used frozen peas and carrots because that’s what I had on hand.
1 tsp pink Himalayan salt.
Sweet Potato Topping Method:
Peel and rinse your sweet potatoes.
Chop sweet potatoes into 2 inch cubes roughly all the same size to ensure even cooking.
Place your sweet potato cubes into a medium size pot and fill with cold water.
Bring pot to a boil and cook potatoes until you can stick a fork through the cubes easily.
Drain potatoes in a colander and return to the pot.
Add 2 Tbsp butter, salt and pepper. Using a fork or a potato masher, smash the potatoes until they are a smooth and creamy consistency.
Cottage Pie Method:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a cast iron skillet heated to medium high heat, add in the ground beef. You can use any large sauté pan or skillet pan you have, just make sure it is oven safe.
Cook ground beef making sure to get that dark brown color, not grey, on the beef so you get that delicious seared meat flavor.
Add the 2 Tbsp of avocado oil, diced onion, diced carrot, salt and pepper to the pan.
Continue to cook until onions and carrots start to get soft.
If you are wondering what the yellow diced vegetable in the picture is, it’s carrots! I had some cute yellow carrots and thought this would be a great way to use them.
Add in the Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste, stir until it’s completely mixed and melted into the other ingredients.
Add in the beef stock and cook mixture until the liquid reduces and you are left with a thick, not runny, filling.
Add the frozen peas and stir them into the hot filling.
Remove cast iron skillet from heat.
Spread sweet potato topping over the meat mixture making sure to cover every bit of it.
Place your cottage pie into a preheated oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until the edges start to get slightly brown and crispy.
Enjoy!