This Mashed Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie is the ultimate low carb comfort food! It uses ground beef, cheese, cauliflower mash, and a few pantry items to form sheer perfection. Head over to the Keto-Friendly section of the blog to check out all of the other great low-carb recipes!
Hey, y'all! I had my parents over for dinner last week and I wanted to prepare something St. Patrick's Day-ish in honor of the holiday weekend. My dad is a meat and potato guy so I decided to make the ultimate meat and potato dish- Shepherd's Pie.
Traditionally, Shepherd's Pie is prepared with ground lamb and is topped with mashed potatoes. When you prepare this dish with ground beef, it's actually called a Cottage Pie but let's be real, nobody calls it that around here.
Using ground beef instead of lamb isn't the only rule I broke when I created this dish for my parents. I also swapped out the carb-heavy mashed potato topping for a mashed cauliflower "potato" topping and I added a bit of cheese. Oh yeah, I'm wild.
I guess the biggest rule I broke when preparing this dish was serving my father, Mr. Meat and Potatoes, mashed cauliflower. I knew it was ballsy but I was pretty sure I could get away with it. Ashley and I have been eating the hell out of cauliflower mashed "potatoes" for the last couple of weeks and I was confident he'd like it- if he gave it a shot.
By using cauliflower instead of potatoes, you get all the comforting goodness of a Shepherd’s Pie, but in low carb casserole instead. If you're not worried about the carbs, pile on the potatoes and this dish will be just as delicious!
So I bet you're wondering what my dad thought about this dish, aren't you? Lemme tell you, homeboy went back for seconds! Seconds! Even after I told him I used cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes he went back for more. He said he would "definitely eat it again" and he "didn't miss the potatoes". That my friend, is huge coming from my old man. If he liked this dish, surely your crew will too!
Kitchen Essentials:
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, diced 1 pound ground beef 2 cloves garlic, minced 14 ounce can diced tomatoes 1/4 cup beef stock 3 small carrots, grated or finely chopped 1/2 can peas 1 small head cauliflower 1/4 cup butter 2 tablespoons heavy cream salt and pepper, to taste 1/2 cup shredded cheese
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Cook the oven until softened, but not quite browned. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.
3. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Drain off the excess grease.
4. Stir in the beef stock, diced tomatoes, carrots, and peas. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes uncovered to allow the mixture to thicken.
5. Meanwhile, place 1 cup of water in a 6 qt Instant Pot. Set the trivet inside of the Instant Pot and rest the cauliflower on top. Cook for 15 minutes on the steam setting. Once finished, do a quick pressure release as soon as the Instant Pot beeps. Open the lid and allow the cauliflower to rest for 10 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower to a mixing bowl with as little liquid from the pot as possible. Mash the potatoes with butter, and heavy cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Place the meat mixture in the bottom of the skillet. Top with cauliflower mash and sprinkle cheese on top.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown.
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