Need to feed your family or a small crowd? Want to cook once and eat healthy for a week? If you answered yes to either question, you must make this lightened-up turkey shepherd’s pie. It’s delicious and nutritious.
As soon as I caught Carla Hall whip up the dish on The Chew, I was immediately compelled to recreate it (with a Two of a Kind twist). The result? A super satisfying meal packed with flavor, thanks to the addition of a whole head of roasted garlic in the topping and plenty of fresh herbs in the filling.
Lightened-up turkey shepherd’s pie is the perfect entrée to serve on a cold winter day – and leftovers are exquisite. It freezes well, too, which means you can prepare and enjoy the food at your convenience.
Recipe adapted from The Chew.
- 1 head garlic
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 small head orange cauliflower, stems removed and florets cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
- ½ cup reduced-fat sour cream
- 8 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess moisture
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1¼ pounds ground turkey
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 teaspoons tomato paste
- 2½ tablespoons brown rice flour (see notes)
- 1¼ cups chicken broth
- 2½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1¼ cups frozen peas
- 8 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess moisture
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut about ¼ inch off the top of the head of garlic. Place garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and fold to enclose. Bake for 1 hour and then remove from the oven. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out roasted garlic and transfer to a small bowl.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cauliflower and potatoes and cook, uncovered, until tender, 12-15 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.
- Transfer cooked cauliflower and potatoes to a large bowl. Add ¼ cup reserved cooking liquid and purée until smooth. If necessary, add more reserved cooking liquid to loosen the purée.
- Add sour cream, spinach, roasted garlic and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey, breaking it into bite-size pieces with a wooden spoon, and cook until browned.
- Add onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste begins to darken, about 3 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, thyme and rosemary and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Add peas and spinach and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer mixture to a 12" pie plate. Spread the cauliflower and potato purée topping over the mixture.
- Broil for 5-7 minutes to brown top.
