My PCOS Kitchen - Low Carb Shepherd's Pie (2024)

October 25, 2016 by Ashley 31 Comments

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The other day, I really felt like eating some comfort food but I didn't want to eat something unhealthy so I decided to switch a family favourite recipe using cauliflower instead of potatoes.

My boyfriend was home that day and I wasn't sure how he would like a cauliflower-based Shepherd's Pie as he's a huge carb eater, but he devoured an entire baking dish (2 portions).

He said he really loved it and never thought you could eat cauliflower that way. Since I am French Canadian, the version that I have eaten all my life is calledPâté chinois, and is usually made with ground beef, kennel and creamed corn, and mashed potatoes.

It's also usually smothered in Ketchup. However, corn, potatoes and ketchup are extremely high-carb so I decided to use different low carb alternatives and make myself a Low Carb Shepherd's Pie!

When I first made this recipe, I wasn't sure if the mashed cauliflowers could replace that potato taste and the ketchup, but I found that adding the cheese to the mashed cauliflower and over it was the game changer.

The flavour of the mashed cauliflower and the meat mixture went really well together 🙂

I think baking it in the oven is necessary to melt the cheese obviously, but also to incorporate the flavour of the beef and cauliflower together.

I decided to use my stick blender to mash the cauliflower as it makes less mess than a blender or food processor and it's less work than a potato masher. I used some some baking dishes and separated the pie into 2 for 4 servings.

Every time my boyfriend comes over, I always need to prepare extra food because he eats so much!!! He's super skinny and yet he eats so much carbs. Japanese people have a carb-heavy diet and remain thin so they must have a different metabolism.

I wish I could have his metabolism, but alas, it doesn't work that way! Fortunately, he doesn't mind eating my low carb food and enjoys it very much, but eats a lot of it.

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5 from 6 votes

Low Carb Shepherd's Pie

A delicious low carb alternative to the traditional one!

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4

NET Carbs 12.44g

calories 538kcal

Protein 34.44g

Fat 37.11g

Cook Ashley

Ingredients

▢ 1 carrot
▢ 3 celery sticks
▢ 1 onion
▢ 2 cloves garlic
▢ 500 g ground beef (or pork)
▢ 1 tsp Himalayan salt
▢ 1 tsp black pepper
▢ ½ tsp garlic powder
▢ 1 tbsp tomato paste (about 18g)
▢ 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mashed Cauliflower

▢ 1 medium cauliflower (about 500g)
▢ 2 tbsp heavy cream
▢ ½ cup mozzarella
▢ 1 tbsp salted butter
▢ ½ tsp Himalayan salt
▢ ½ tsp black pepper
▢ ½ tsp garlic powder
▢ pinch parsley
▢ ½ cup mozzarella

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 210C/410F.
Peel and dice the carrot. Dice the celery sticks and onion, and mince the garlic.
In a large frying pan, heat the oil and add the vegetables to the pan. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until soft, and add the ground beef. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until browned, and add the salt, pepper, garlic powder and tomato paste. Cook for another minute until the seasoning has all been incorporated. Turn off heat and transfer the meat to a baking dish. I used two 6.5x3.5'' baking dishes.
Clean and cut the cauliflower and put them to boil in a large pot until soft, about 6-7 minutes. Drain the water, and add the cream, ½ cup of cheese, butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder to the pot. I used a stick blender to mash the cauliflower, but you could transfer the ingredients to a blender or food processor, or mash really hard with a potato masher.
Spoon the mashed cauliflower over the meat mixture.
Sprinkle the other ½ cup of cheese over the cauliflower. Sprinkle some parsley over the cheese. Place the baking dish into the oven on the highest rack and bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and has a nice golden colour. Take out of the oven and enjoy!

Notes

Get the equipment used here:
White with Tescom stick blender blend cup THM311-W
Set 4 Individual Portion Oven-to-Table White Porcelain Casserole Baking Dishes

Tried this recipe?Mention @mypcoskitchen or tag #mypcoskitchen!

Follow me for more Low Carb Recipes!Mention @MyPCOSKitchen so that I can see all of your goodies!!

Nutrition Facts

Ashley

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Yvonne
June 22, 2020 at 12:49 am

I loved the casserole! I will have to make It again ... real soon.
Reply
Nancy K
April 07, 2020 at 7:51 pm

This was really great! I've been making lots of these types of dishes during lockdown and will make it again.
Reply
Karen
March 22, 2020 at 1:44 pm
This is a great recipe. I substituted some butternut squash for the carrots to cut down on the sugar.
Reply
Jennifer
February 18, 2019 at 1:37 am

I made this today and it was amazing. Couldn't tell it was cauliflower and not mashed potatoes.
Reply
Ringo
January 08, 2019 at 12:31 am

This was delicious! Thank you so much for posting the recipe!!
I was amazed how much the cauliflower tasted like potatoes, Finally, I can have Shepherd's Pie again. 🙂
Reply
Susann Forrest
February 17, 2018 at 4:05 pm
Has anyone tried this with a frozen mash cauli? Like Green Giant? Think i will make this week!!
Reply
See Also
Brie + Cheddar Apple Beer Soup | Half Baked Harvest
- Kelley
  February 19, 2018 at 12:29 am
  
  I did tonight and it turned out great! I'm no good at making my own mashed cauliflower, and I'm lazy lol. I used Birds Eye, and one tray was enough for us but if you like a lot of "potatoes" then I recommend using two.
  Reply
Lisa
February 13, 2018 at 1:42 pm
17.84 g carbs. seem high for a low carb dish. i mean i only get 20g a day and eating this will be only thing i get for the day. why so high??
Reply
- Mira
  February 13, 2018 at 1:47 pm
  Hi Lisa, that would be because this dish is a low carb one (0-100g carbs) and not a keto one (0-20g carbs). This dish has 17g of carbs but 5 of those are fiber so it’s 12g net carbs. You’d still have 8g of net carbs for the day which is very doable even with two meals. If you want less carbs, just leave out the onion and carrots and it’ll lower the carb count.
  Reply
Donna
December 26, 2017 at 11:12 pm
Is the serving size really 1 gram? That seems a awfully small amount for so many calories. It sounds yummy and offers a lot of protein
Reply
- Mira
  December 27, 2017 at 1:35 am
  No sorry that’s a typo! Serving size is 1 and it makes 4 portions.
  Reply
Lori
November 28, 2017 at 5:58 pm
This sounds delicious and I can't wait to try! I just wonder if I can sub the ground beef with small chunks of stewing beef or something? I'm just not the biggest fan of the texture of ground beef. I'm a weirdo lol
Reply
- Mira
  November 28, 2017 at 11:01 pm
  Yes, of course.
  Reply
- Mollyann C Hesser
  September 03, 2018 at 12:19 am
  
  I used leftover pot roast the first time, then repeated this recipe with leftover smoke brisket!
  I added a celery stalk, six radishes and used 1/2 smal onion and 1/2 a carrot, lowering my carbs. Great flavor and very filling!
  Reply
Debbie
November 08, 2017 at 4:19 pm
Do you think this recipe is one that you could freeze before the baking step?
Reply
- Mira
  November 08, 2017 at 11:04 pm
  I think so because the baking is just to melt the cheese. But the cauli mash may be a bit watery once unfrozen.
  Reply
  - Kim Quinn
    November 20, 2017 at 1:45 pm
    I agree. I find that no matter how long I leave food to cool COMPLETELY before putting in the freezer, it always is watery upon thawing. I cannot see how to post a comment but I have a question. I loved mashed cauliflower so I agree it's a great option. Last night I baked Delicata squash for the first time. Was intrigued because you can eat the skin and all, very tender skin. The flesh reminded me much of potato when baked. Could it also be an alternative? This way you can swap out ingredients from time to time. Would appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thank you!
    Reply
    - Mira
      November 20, 2017 at 1:59 pm
      Yes, you can totally use it instead of cauliflower! Any type of squash like that, (eg kabocha) is really yummy when mashed!
      Reply
Luella
October 30, 2017 at 8:12 pm
Could I make this earlier in the day and then heat it up for dinner?
Reply
- Mira
  October 31, 2017 at 2:31 am
  Yep, it's just in the oven to melt the cheese really.
  Reply
Veronica Taylor
October 11, 2017 at 10:09 pm
Try this really nice follow recipe with no change will make again
Reply
Sue
October 07, 2017 at 10:05 pm
My hubby makes this with lamb, and instead of garlic powder puts in a spoonful of whole grain mustard. We use cheddar cheese. In fact he's just made one for tomorrow's lunch. It's delicious every time.
Reply
- Sherry Hoster
  October 23, 2017 at 12:41 pm
  I use lamb also and put in some dill weed. Delish.
  Reply
Heather
September 22, 2017 at 3:19 am
This was delicious, thank you!
Reply
Blondie
September 08, 2017 at 10:59 pm
This sounds great and I will try it, but for the love of food, this is a COTTAGE pie, not SHEPHERD'S pie, as that is made with lamb and no other meat, ever. Cottage pie can be made of any meat (including lamb....cottage pie came first!), but it is a travesty to call a pie without lamb a shepherd's pie, because a Shepherd raises what? SHEEP!
Sorry, this just peeves me to no end after 13 years in England.
Reply
- Mira
  September 09, 2017 at 8:41 am
  Hi. This recipe is based on what we eat in Quebec. In Quebec we call it pate chinois, which means Chinese pie, but in English we call it Shepherd's pie. Our pate chinois is always made with ground beef or pork. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A2t%C3%A9_chinois
  Reply
Heather
August 31, 2017 at 8:50 pm
I completely agree with cheddar; sheoards pie needs cheddar to be shepards pie for me but it looks amazing can't wait to try
Reply
Jill Cherlin
August 21, 2017 at 4:29 pm
This was delicious and the cauliflower tasted like mashed potatoes! I think next time I will try cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella. It will definitely return to this recipe often!
Reply
- Mira
  August 21, 2017 at 11:09 pm
  Cheddar also sounds delicious!! Thanks for making it 🙂
  Reply

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