Now that summer time is around the corner, we try to not use our oven at all costs. It heats up the house way too much, and we need all the help we can get living in central California. I had Shepherd’s Pie from Skinny Taste on the menu last week, but I couldn’t bear the thought of turning on the oven on a 90+ degree day. So I decided to turn it into a skillet recipe. Another bonus is that it didn’t take as long to make, since it skipped the oven time!
If you aren’t familiar with Shepherd’s Pie (I wasn’t until I married my husband and he requested it for dinner!), it has a base of ground beef and veggies. Then the beef mixture is topped with creamy mashed potatoes. It’s like a full meal in one skillet! We like to enjoy ours drizzled with ketchup (because we are fancy! HA!). An additional thing to love is that this recipe makes enough for leftovers. The macros for a very generous serving are rounded to 11F/36C/28P.
You’ll notice when you compare her original recipe to mine, I use more ground beef, more potatoes, and more of some of the other ingredients. These are suited to my taste, but feel free to add more or less of certain ingredients (tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, etc.) to fit yours. The macros are calculated for the ingredients I used below.
Skillet Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
Beef Mixture
- 1.5 lb lean ground beef (macros for 91/9)
- 1 medium onion, diced (245 g)
- 3 stocks celery, diced (100 g)
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 5 tsp tomato paste
- 3 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp beef stock granules + 1 cup of water (or 1 cup of beef stock)
- 12 ounce frozen peas and carrots
Mashed Potatoes
- 3 potatoes, peeled and scrubbed clean (784 g)
- 1 tsp chicken stock granules + 1 cup of water (start with 3/4 cup of water, increase until desired consistency is reached) (or 1 cup of chicken stock)
- 2 tbsp light sour cream
- garlic salt, to taste
- paprika, to taste
- dried parsely, to taste
Instructions
For the Potatoes
- Bring a pot of water to boil over high heat. While it is heating up, dice the potatoes into evenly sized chunks. No need to be perfect! Add the potato to the water once it begins boiling and cook them until fork tender. Drain the water.
- To the drained potatoes, add about 3/4 cup of the prepared chicken stock and the two tablespoons of light sour cream. Mash until the potatoes are smooth, adding additional chicken stock as necessary. Season with garlic salt to taste, set aside.
For the Beef Mixture
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef, crumbling as you cook, until no pink remains. Remove the cooked beef from the pan and set aside on a plate.
- To the skillet, add diced celery, onions, and minced garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the veggies are translucent. Then add to the vegetables the frozen peas and carrots, 2 tablespoons of flour, garlic salt, thyme, rosemary, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and beef stock. Mix everything well and then bring to low heat. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
To Assemble
- Once the beef mixture and the potatoes are ready, evenly spread out the beef mixture in the skillet.Then, top with the mashed potatoes and spread them evenly over the beef mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and dried parsley. To get a crispy crust on the potatoes, you can place them under the broiler in the oven for a few minutes, or until potatoes are beginning to brown. Serve and enjoy!