It’s not St. Patrick’s Day without shepherd’s pie. This low-carb slow cooker version of the Irish classic is not just healthy (paleo, whole30) but easy too.
St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. This is my favorite St. Patrick’s Day recipe. I prefer it to corned beef & cabbage and beef stew.
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There are a lot of different versions of ‘traditional’ shepherd’s pie. To me, this is one of those recipes that you should tweak to your liking or dietary need. I recommend using ground lamb if you can get your hands on some. If not, ground beef will do just fine. Don’t like thyme? Use rosemary. Don’t eat red meat? Use ground turkey. Technically if you use meat outside of mutton or lamb then it’s cottage pie not shepherd’s pie. But it still tastes good so who cares. Since peas are not whole30 or paleo, I used diced zucchini!
While this is a relatively easy dish to make in the slow cooker, it is a 2-part recipe. The mashed cauliflower is added during the last 30 minutes of cook time.
Mashed cauliflower replaces potatoes for a low-carb alternative.
You can also swap out mashed cauliflower for mashed sweet potatoes or a mixture of the two. My husband doesn’t care for mashed cauliflower because they’re a tad ‘too runny’ for him. A great way to thicken up ‘runny’ cauliflower is to mix in a sweet potato or potato depending on your dietary needs.
Since there’s no cheese and it’s not cooked in the oven, don’t be surprised if your mashed topping doesn’t crisp on top like you’re used to with a regular shepherd’s pie.
PrintSlow Cooker Shepherd’s Pie (Whole30, Paleo)
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 5 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
Pie:
- 1 lb lamb (ground or chopped)
- 1/3 cup low-sodium broth
- 1/2 cup carrots, diced
- 1/2 lb zucchini, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Mashed Cauliflower:
- 1 lb cauliflower
- 1 tsp ghee
- 2–3 tbsp almond milk (or more)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Brown ground lamb in a skillet over medium heat. Drain grease.
- Add browned ground lamb and all other ingredients to the slow cooker.
- Stir to mix well.
- Cook HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8.
- Cook cauliflower using your preferred method until tender.
- Add cauliflower, ghee, almond milk, salt and pepper to a food processor.
- Pulse until smooth, adding more almond milk if necessary.
- Pour mashed cauliflower on top of pie filling.
- Cook an additional 20-30 minutes.
I steamed my cauliflower in my Oster food steamer and then pulsed it in my food processor with the remaining mashed cauliflower ingredients until smooth.
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I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
OMG….this was AMAZING! I did the full head of cauliflower and whole large sweet potato since I like a thicker mash, and it was so good. This is going to become a regular rotation! Next time totally making a double batch to freeze. 🙂
If I were to add sweet potatoes, how much should I add and would I cut back on the cauliflower?
About 1/2 lb sweet potatoes. Since the cauliflower is a little wet/runny you don’t need to cut back on the cauliflower, just add in the potatoes. Enjoy!
Ok, so I saw this when it posted and just came back to it after finding ground lamb at the store. So I have all the ingredients except for Thyme or Rosemary, is there any other spice I could substitute or are those really the best for a more authentic taste? Thanks!
I apologize for the delay, I’m traveling at the moment. You can pretty much substitute any herb whether it be basil, oregano, rosemary or thyme. While it might not have the exact same taste, it should still turn out good:-)
Can’t wait to try these
Wow. Looks yum. I love slow cooking recipes. I don’t eat meat. But would love to share it with friends who do!
Could you swap in sauteed Portabella mushrooms for the meat? I am trying to make a vegetarian keto dish for a potluck.
Absolutely. That sounds fantastic. Enjoy!
How it looks super yummy! Need to make at home.
Happy Thursday! Kisses,
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This is the recipe to beat all recipes. I love shepherd’s pie! I would really love it more fixed in a slow cooker. I absolutely love this recipe!
Omg can we say yum?!?! I just love Shepards pie!!!! I will have to give your recipe a try!!!
This looks so good! I want to make it at home. I will be saving this recipe for sure!
This is right up my alley because I’m always looking for quick meals and I love a good Shepard pie!
Confession: I’ve never had Shepherd’s pie! I’ve also never found a successful mashed cauliflower recipe, so I’m so excited to try yours out!!!! This looks absolutely delicious! We did a 30-day Paleo challenge over on the blog, and this would have been an awesome recipe to use! Thanks so much for sharing the details!!!
This looks wonderful and I’m sure my family will love it!
I love Shepards Pie. We normally eat it year round.
YUM! This looks so delicious, I make a version of this, but LOVE the idea of doing it in the crockpot!!
shepherd’s pie is one of my mums all time favorite dishes! She used to make it a lot as a kid but never in a slow cooker so I will have to show her this recipe!
I never would have thought to make this in my slow cooker!!! I am pinning this to try asap! My husband loves Shepherds’ Pie!
Oh my! That looks so delicious and so simple to make too. I am saving this so I can try to make this soon.
Belle | One Awesome Momma
I love your very simple yet delicious recipe! I can do this! I often try to find wonderful recipes to try using my crock pot because I often lack the time to make dineer. So this is added to my list!
Yum this look delish. It such an easy meal to make. xx
This looks so great! I tried Whole 30 and it was just too hard for me but I didn’t have this! My mom follows the Paleo as part of her lifestyle so I’ll share this with her.
I love shepherd’s pie! I love your recipe even more because it’s paleo! Anything healthy is an A-OK for me! Thanks for sharing!
This looks absolutely delicious! Love me a good pie! I really need to get a slow cooker, I don’t even understand how I’m living without one haha x
What a perfect meal for this month and St. Patrick’s parties! And it’s healthy! Pinned.
This looks so filling and yummy. I love that it is Paleo and Whole 30 but doesn’t seem that you are giving up anything.
I had no idea that Shepherds pies were a traditional Irish dish but I like the sound of your version. I am intrigued to try the mashed cauliflower as well!
I’m a fan of shepherd’s pie AND of slow-cookers, so I’ll give this a try. Your photos are fantastic! I just want to reach through the screen and take a bite! Shouldn’t have looked at this at lunchtime on a snow day…
This looks delicious! I love a good Shepherd’s pie, but have never tried it in a slow cooker. I will have to try this out one night soon!
There’s really nothing quite like Shepherd’s pie. It’s a staple in my house not just because I’m broke but because it’s so good and it can go such a long way! Perfect cozy winter food!
Oh I love shepherds pie it is really good with the sweet potatoes on top. I would’ve never thought to switch out the potatoes for cauliflower I’m not exactly sure my husband would go for the cauliflower either.
Love how you made this traditional St. Paddys recipe in a Paleo form. The changes that you made would be barely noticed and you get the healthy benefits!
Surprisingly I’ve never had Shepard’s Pie before, my husband was telling me I’d like it so I think I’ll give this recipe a try!
Oh wow this looks awesome!! My hubs doesn’t really like melted cheese, so I love how this doesn’t have it!!
This looks so delicious! What a good idea for a st. Patrick’s Day meal that my whole family would enjoy. Thanks for sharing it!
Oh yum! I love shepherd’s pie! It is one of my favorite winter meals. I have never tried it in the crock pot before, but I can’t wait to try your recipe!
This looks so yummy and hearty. We are expecting a blizzard tomorrow and this looks so good and perfect for a snow day!