Paleo Shepards Pie
Take away the cream, butter, sour cream and potatoes. There’s no longer a need for any of that stuff. Brown meat and saute some veggies until soft, caramelize cauliflower, mix it with egg and broil until bubbly, brown. Easy, only two pans to clean and it tastes good too, imagine that.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef, chicken, turkey, pork…almost any ground protein will work
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
- 3 T each FRESH rosemary, sage and thyme (herbs are the flavor maker and must NOT be omitted)
- 1/4 c + 1/4 c chicken stock
- 1/2 head cauliflower, finely chopped
- 2 T oil
- 1 egg
- S&P, Chili flakes
Method
Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
In a deep-sided, oven safe saute pan add the ground beef and saute on medium heat until browned. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and mushrooms and cook until softened. Add 1/4 c chicken stock and use a spatula to pick up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat off and toss in the chopped herbs along with some salt and pepper.
For the cauliflower, melt the oil over medium-high heat in another saute pan. Let the cauliflower caramelize (you want to see brown, don’t stop until that point!) use a spatula to turn it in the pan every once in awhile. Add some salt and chili flakes. Turn the heat off once the cauliflower is done.
In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together the egg and 1/4 c chicken stock. Add the mixture to the cauliflower and working quickly, use a spatula to make sure it’s well combined. Immediately add it to the top of the meat mixture and press into an even layer with your spatula.
Bake in the oven, on the middle rack, for 10 minutes, then turn the oven on broil and cook for another 10 minutes. Once the “pie” has come out of the oven, let it rest a few minutes before serving.



















I found your site over a month ago and I have to say that you have some of the best recipes I have seen in a long time. I will definitely be trying this recipe soon. Thanks for blogging!
that means so much to us. thank you, thank you, thank you!
This one was really good…I was a fatboy and almost ate the whole thing by myself.
My wife made this for my 40th birthday meal. Excellent!
Also, have tried the rosemary cashews and chipotle meatballs- both turned out great. Keep posting:)
happy belated birthday shawn!
I just found your blog and am SO glad I did. I’ve been primal for almost a month now and am in need of some recipes. Your pictures, stories and recipes are all fantastic!
I’m making this one tonight – can’t wait to try it!
and we’re glad you found us too…good luck to ya!
This recipe is simply awesome. I am only dabbling in paleo, but I love how this recipe makes such great use of herbs and vegetables in a meaty, fulfilling meal. The gobs and gobs of fresh herbs make this one even better as leftovers after they’ve had time to permeate the dish. I’ve cooked this recipe twice now. Thank you for the website!
nothing makes us happier than hearing what you just said! herbs, like bacon, make everything better.
After football practice last night, Jack, my oldest, said “Dad, this weekend can you make that shepard’s pie with the cauliflower, I really liked it and want some more”
Thought you guys would like to know that little nugget
Keep up the good work!
oh monroe, that makes me so happy! now you gotta tell jack it’s his night to make dinner. get those kids cookin’ early!
It appeals to all of my senses!!!
I made it and ate half of it myself. Dad says we need to double the recipe next time.
Thank you Mrs. Megan.
you are so sweet and very welcome, jack. i hope you’re in the kitchen with your pop helping him out!
We liked this one. It takes a while, as there are many prep steps and several cooking steps, but it is good. IMO the herbs were WAY TOO STRONG. Next time I make this, it will be with maybe a TEAspoon or two of each instead of 3T, and then see where we are at. I had a feeling it would be too strong and boy was I right – overpowering. But other than that adjustment, I’m a fan.
Thanks!
we like bold flavor around here. cooking the fresh herbs mellows them out a lot.
The cauliflower trick was fantastic, I’ll have to keep that one in mind. The herbs in this recipe really popped too, I absolutely loved it. I will have to disagree with Mike above, I loved the herbage and loaded on the sage especially (cause I LOVE it and have little other use for it). When I took in leftovers for lunch it was drier and reminded me a great deal of stuffing (likely due to the sage).
I’m sure something similar has been done before, but I think I’m gonna take my newly acquired grass-fed flank steak, make a small batch of this (with sausage), and roll it up for a tasty roulade. Actually I guess since it isn’t creamy it’d probably be a meatloaf, but delicious none the less! Thanks for the inspiration!
thank you so, so, so much keith!
One question: About how many servings does this Shepherd’s Pie recipe make (for 2 adults)?
Thanks!
Oh, and side note: your butternut squash lasagna recipe is by far my favorite Paleo recipe yet. I make it in huge batches so it lasts throughout the week. Seriously amazing.
i would say about 4 servings. and thank you for your kind words rebekah!