This ground turkey shepherd’s pie uses shortcut ingredients like frozen vegetables to make weeknight dinner or meal prep a breeze. Leave your cutting board and knife in storage, because you won’t need it today!
Thanks to extra lean ground turkey and a few other calorie conscious ingredients, every serving of this pie is packed with 24 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and only 345 calories. And there are plenty of tweaks you can use to make this even more macro friendly, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Ingredients for an Easy Shepherd’s Pie
Seasonings aside, you only need seven things to make this recipe:
- Ground Turkey – It’s hard to make a shepherd’s pie with ground turkey without it! I used 99% lean ground turkey since the creamy sauce and other ingredients provide plenty of moisture and flavor to account for the lack of fat in the turkey.
- Onion and Garlic – To save time, I used frozen chopped onion and crushed garlic. Fresh works perfectly fine, but I wanted to keep this a zero-prep recipe.
- Condensed Soup – While my chicken shepherd’s pie uses more of a traditional tomato-based sauce, I wanted to go with a creamy pie filling here. Fat free cream of chicken soup is one of the easiest shortcut ingredients for a lower calorie creamy dish like this.
- Frozen Mixed Vegetables – I used a blend of green peas, green beans, carrots, and corn.
- Mashed Potatoes – I used a shortcut ingredient in pre-made mashed potatoes, but you’re welcome to make your own. There are healthy options using lower calorie ingredients like Greek yogurt. You can also use mashed cauliflower (like my keto cottage pie) or a blend of cauliflower and potatoes (like my mashed potatoes with hamburger gravy) to reduce the calories.
- Cheese – This provides a small amount of flavor but seriously helps give the shepherd’s pie a golden brown and crunchy crust.
And that’s about it. Other than the ingredients above, you’ll need a bit of salt and pepper, olive oil, and optional ground nutmeg and thyme. Some shepherd’s pie recipes call for seasoning blends, but in my experience, keeping it simple is best.
If you have a question about an ingredient or substitution, feel free to leave it in the comments section at the bottom of this post.
How to Serve and Use for Meal Prep
While this pie already has more vegetables than you can count on one hand, you may want to throw together a simple side salad or veggie side to round out your plate.
If you’re going to use leftovers for meal prep, I would place the servings in containers with something like roasted green beans or brussels sprouts. That way you can take your pie on the go and just pop it in the microwave.
I’d love to hear how you end up using this ground turkey shepherd’s pie, whether it’s about your side choices or meal prep pairings. Let me know in the comments or in a recipe review. I always appreciate reviews, feedback, and new ideas!
Ground Turkey Shepherd's Pie
Creamy ground turkey and mixed vegetables with a crispy potato crust.
Ingredients
- 1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound Ground Turkey
- 1 Onion, diced*
- 2 cloves Garlic, crushed or minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Thyme
- 1 can Fat Free Cream of Chicken, Mushroom, or Celery Soup
- 12 oz bag Frozen Mixed Vegetables
For the Crust
- 4 cups Mashed Potatoes**
- 1 oz Grated Parmigiano Reggiano, Gruyere, or Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375ºF.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ground turkey and brown one side for 3-4 minutes before breaking apart and adding the onion. Mix everything together and cook until the turkey is fully cooked and the onions have softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the garlic and seasonings. Cook for about 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the can of soup and frozen vegetables and stir everything together. This should cool the mixture, making it thick enough to add the mashed potato crust without chilling. (If your filling is too slack, you can chill in the refrigerator or transfer to another baking dish to cool faster before adding the potatoes.)
- For the crust, microwave the mashed potatoes for 3-4 minutes before adding in an even layer on top of the ground turkey filling. Top with the cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Top with freshly chopped parsley and grated parmesan. Let the pie rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Notes
*I used 6 ounces of frozen chopped onions. Freshly diced onion works just fine.
**I used a 32-ounce container of Bob Evan's refrigerated mashed potatoes. You can make your own mashed potatoes (use a recipe with Greek yogurt for a lower calorie version) or even use something like mashed cauliflower as a lower carb alternative.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1/6 of pieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 345Total Fat: 12gCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 4gProtein: 24g
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