Everything you love about the classic shepherd’s pie in baked potato form. A delicious shepherd’s pie filling of ground turkey, seasonings, beef broth, and veggies gets loaded on top of a soft potato and topped with shredded cheese.
It’s been years since I had shepherd’s pie. I remember eating it as a little girl but now that I think about it, I don’t think I have made it since being married and having kids of my own.
Which is a shame really because shepherd’s pie is so flavorful, warm, and comforting. Throw the meat filling on top of a soft baked potato with some cheese, and you basically have the world’s best comfort food.
The best thing about this recipe is that if you needed to, you can make the shepherd’s pie filling ahead of time and let it warm in the slow cooker until you need it.
If it get’s too thick simply add some additional water or beef broth.
Or, just make the shepherd’s pie filling as the potatoes cook in the oven. You know, cause potatoes take about an hour to cook, so you’ll have plenty of time to make the meat topping and let it simmer.
Just like these turkey taco burrito bowls, you need to let the meat mixture simmer for at least 15-20 minutes so it can get nice and thick. If you try to rush this recipe then it will turn out with too much liquid.
How to make perfect baked potatoes
There are plenty of ways to make baked potatoes. I will share my very favorite way:
- Wash the potatoes.
- Pour some olive oil onto a plate (I use a paper plate for easy clean-up) and place some kosher salt in a small bowl. About 1 tablespoon worth.
- Place a few potatoes at a time onto the plate with olive oil and use your fingers to rub the oil all over the potatoes. Sprinkle on some salt on both sides.
- Wrap the potato in a square of tin foil and then poke it two times with a fork.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour.
You can also just wrap the potatoes in tin foil and poke with a fork, then bake for the 1 hour. I love the olive oil and salt because it adds so much flavor to the potato while it bakes.
Or, bake the potato in the microwave. Depending on the size of your potato it may take awhile. This is how my grandpa always cooked potatoes.
Besides chopping up some veggies for the meat filling, this is a fairly hands off recipe. Let the potatoes cook in the oven and let the shepherd’s pie filling simmer on the stove top. Enjoy friends!
Try these other family favorite dinners too :
- homemade spaghetti meat sauce
- slow cooker beef stew
- slow cooker creamy Italian chicken
- hearty pasta fagioli soup
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 6-8 baked potatoes
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Bake 6-8 potatoes in the oven for 1 hour at 425 degrees. See post above for my favorite way to bake them. Or, just scrub the potatoes and wrap up in tin foil (to keep the skin soft), poke some holes in it and let it bake.
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In a large skillet pan over medium-high heat, cook ground turkey, onion, carrots, garlic, salt and pepper until meat is no longer pink and carrots are crisp tender (about 5-7 minutes). Break up the meat into small crumbles as you cook it. Drain if needed.
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Sprinkle the flour over the meat and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato paste, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, and thyme. Stir to combine and let it come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until thickened.
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Add frozen peas and corn, stir to combine and let simmer for 5 minutes to heat through.
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Open up a baked potato and gently squeeze the ends together to form a bowl shape and to loosen up the potato in the middle. Sprinkle some cheese over the potato, then top with desired amount of shepherd's pie filling, and then top with additional cheese. Serve!
Here is the weird thing about ground turkey: When we lived in Maryland the only size I could ever find was a package of ground turkey that was 1.25 lb (20 oz). Since moving here to Utah, the only size of ground turkey I can find is 1 lb (16 oz). The point is, use whatever size of ground turkey your store carries, because it obviously varies.
I love to use baby carrots for recipes like this. They are already small so it's easier to get thin slices. Plus, no peeling involved.
2 Comments
Heather
August 2, 2018 at 4:47 pm Can this be done in a crock pot?Together As Family
August 13, 2018 at 2:35 pm I've never made it in the crock pot but I think you would be just fine preparing it in the morning and letting it sit on warm all day. Or, make it according to the recipe but don't do the flour part. Just let it cook on low in the slow cooker and then when you're ready to eat, mix up equal parts (like 1-2 tablespoons each) cornstarch and cold water and then stir it into the mixture to let it thicken slightly.