Ground Turkey Shepherd’s Pie is such a great comfort food dinner. Ground turkey is mixed with carrots, peas, beef broth, red wine and lots of herbs & seasonings then is topped with super flavorful creamy mashed potatoes. It all gets baked up in one skillet. It is a great family dinner that everyone will LOVE!!
Some other great family recipes that use turkey are Turkey Pot Pie, Turkey Chili, Tetrazzini, or Turkey Meatloaf Muffins.
Jump to:
- Why Itโs SO Good!
- Ingredients
- Mashed Potatoes
- Step by Step Picture Instructions
- Listen To The Full Recipe
- Serving
- Side Dishes
- Recipe Tips
- Top Tips
- More Delicious Comfort Food Dinners
- Did you make this recipe?
- Ground Turkey Shepherdโs Pie Recipe + Video
- More recipes you will love
- Leave a comment and rate this recipe!
Why It’s SO Good!
- The potato topping has it’s own delicious flavors of butter, sour cream and a little garlic.
- Fresh rosemary lends amazing fresh flavor.
- Ground sage adds just a hint of “holiday” that goes perfect with the turkey.
- Red wine makes the filling deep and rich with flavor.
- Using beef broth instead of chicken broth gives the filling a robust flavor.
This is the absolute BEST cottage pie recipe Iโve ever tried. It is moist, not at all dry inside with the perfect balance of flavors. Iโm thrilled to have found this new family favorite. Thank you so much! Its a winner. – Diane
Ingredients
Pictured are the ingredients that you need to make Turkey Shepherd’s Pie, plus some helpful tips on a few ingredients:
Ground Turkey – When you cook with ground turkey it is always good practice to use 93/7. It has enough fat to be flavorful and juicy. The 99% lean is to be avoided at all cost!
You can absolutely use ground beef, ground pork or ground chicken if that is what you have in your fridge/freezer.
Red Wine – I HIGHLY recommend that you do not skip the red wine! If you do not want to buy an entire bottle just grab a carton or small “airplane” sized bottle. You only need ยฝ cup, but it makes all the difference.
Beef Broth – It may seem funny to use a beef broth in a turkey dish, but believe me it works! The beef broth adds a deepness of flavor that a chicken broth won’t. However if you are making this because you don’t eat beef, you can absolutely sub chicken broth.
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes are the very best topping for Shepherd’s Pie. There is a great recipe included below for the mashed potatoes. However, you could also use one of these options:
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Frozen Mashed Potatoes (Trader Joe’s has a great one!)
- Leftover Mashed Potatoes
- In a time pinch you can use potato flakes
- Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes could even work!
Step by Step Picture Instructions
- Boil the Russets and make the mashed potatoes. Set aside until assembly.
- In a large oven safe skillet, sautรฉ the onions, carrots, and celery in the oil, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and ground turkey and crumble while cooking through.
- Now add in the rosemary, sage, salt, pepper, onion powder, flour and tomato paste.
- Deglaze the pan with the red wine and let it reduce for about 5 minutes.
- Finish with the beef broth, frozen peas, Worcestershire and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2-3 mins.
- Remove from the heat.
- Dollop the mashed potatoes over the meat filling. Smooth it to the edges. To get nice browned bits on the top make swoops in the mashed potatoes.
- If using a 10 inch skillet place it on a rimmed baking sheet to catch spills.
- Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Listen To The Full Recipe
Serving
Serve the Turkey Shepherd’s Pie right in the skillet. Scoop out portions making sure to get a good filling to mashed potato topping ratio on each plate.
Side Dishes
The nice thing about Shepherd’s Pie is it has everything in one – starch, protein and veggies – so it can really be served by itself.
But if you want to make it more of a dinner experience you can serve it with dinner rolls, a roasted veggie or side salad.
Recipe Tips
Top Tips
- If you have leftover mashed potatoes this makes a great recipe to use them up!
- Make Swoops in the mashed potatoes topping, the peaks brown beautifully in the oven.
- Don’t skip the red wine! It lends amazing depth of flavor to the Turkey Shepherd’s Pie.
- If rosemary isn’t your jam, sub in fresh thyme.
- If you like a soupier filling, add ยผ-1/2 cup of beef broth.
- Pick a red wine you will like to drink. You only need ยฝ cup so you can enjoy the rest of the bottle.
- Do not use 99% lean ground turkey. Go for the 93/7!
- If you use a 10 inch skillet, place a rimmed baking sheet underneath to catch spills in the oven.
- If ground turkey isn’t your thing you can absolutely use ground beef, ground pork, or ground chicken in this recipe.
More Delicious Comfort Food Dinners
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Ground Turkey Shepherd’s Pie Recipe + Video
Equipment
- 10-12 inch oven safe skillet (cast iron works great)
Ingredients
Mashed Potato Topping
- 2 โ 2 ยฝ lbs. Russet potatoes - โ peeled and cut into 1-2 inch chunks
- ยผ cup sour cream
- 5 Tbsp. butter
- 2 Tbsp. whole milk or half and half
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1 fresh garlic clove - minced
Ground Turkey Shepherd's Pie Filling
- 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
- 1 small onion (yellow or white) - diced
- ยฝ cup celery - diced
- ยฝ cup carrot - peeled and diced
- 3 garlic cloves - โ minced
- 1 pound ground turkey - โ 93% lean (93/7)
- 1 tsp. (heaping) fresh rosemary - chopped (could sub fresh thyme)
- ยผ tsp. ground sage
- 1 ยฝ tsp. Kosher salt
- ยฝ tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 ยฝ cup beef broth
- ยฝ cup red wine - (Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec would all work!)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mashed Potatoes
- Place the potato chunks into a large pot and add cold water to cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium low and simmer uncovered until the potatoes are fork tender (about 15 minutes).2 โ 2 ยฝ lbs. Russet potatoes
- Drain the potatoes and return to the pan. Smash the potatoes using a hand held mixer or a potato masher. Add the sour cream, butter, milk and salt.ยผ cup sour cream, 5 Tbsp. butter, 2 Tbsp. whole milk or half and half, 1 tsp. Kosher salt, 1 fresh garlic clove
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Set the mashed potatoes aside until assembly.
- Can also use a store-bought refrigerated mashed potato, not instant potato flakes! Just boost the flavor with sour cream, butter, cream cheese and a garlic clove!
Ground Turkey Filling
- For the filling, heat oil in a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet (or oven safe pan) over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.1 Tbsp. Olive oil, 1 small onion (yellow or white), ยฝ cup celery, ยฝ cup carrot
- Add the ground turkey and garlic, and crumble/cook until browned, about 5 minutes.3 garlic cloves, 1 pound ground turkey
- Stir in the rosemary, ground sage, salt, pepper, onion powder, flour and tomato paste and cook 1 minute.1 tsp. (heaping) fresh rosemary, ยผ tsp. ground sage, 1 ยฝ tsp. Kosher salt, ยฝ tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. onion powder, 2 Tbsp. tomato paste, 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- Deglaze the skillet with the red wine and reduce, about 4-5 minutes .ยฝ cup red wine
- Stir in the beef broth, frozen peas and Worcestershire and bring to a boil. Simmer filling for 2-3 minutes.** If you like your filling a little soupier you can add ยผ-1/2 cup beef broth at this point and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.1 ยฝ cup beef broth, 1 cup frozen peas, 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Assembly & Baking
- Dollop the mashed potatoes evenly over the filling in the cast iron skillet. Using a spoon or spatula, spread the potatoes evenly over the filling and all the way to the edges of the skillet.Pro Tip: Make some swoops in the potatoes, the peaks will brown nicely in the oven!
- Transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Pro Tip: If using a 10 inch skillet you may want to put a baking sheet or foil under the skillet to catch any drips as it is very full
- You can place under the broiler for 5 minutes at the end if you want the top to be golden brown.
- Let the Shepherdโs Pie rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Tips and Notes:
- If you have leftover mashed potatoes this makes a great recipe to use them up!
- Make Swoops in the mashed potatoes topping, the peaks brown beautifully in the oven.
- Don’t skip the red wine! It lends amazing depth of flavor to the Turkey Shepherd’s Pie.
- If rosemary isn’t your jam, sub in fresh thyme.
- If you like a soupier filling, add ยผ-1/2 cup of beef broth.
- Pick a red wine you will like to drink. You only need ยฝ cup so you can enjoy the rest of the bottle.
- Do not use 99% lean ground turkey. Go for the 93/7!
- If you use a 10 inch skillet, place a rimmed baking sheet underneath to catch spills in the oven.
- If ground turkey isn’t your thing you can absolutely use ground beef, ground pork, or ground chicken in this recipe.
Michelle says
This was absolutely delicious!
Susie Weinrich says
So glad you loved it!!
Kelly LaPointe says
One of my favorite meals!!! I also added broccoli, kale, fresh corn, and carrots – only cooked to al dente. I doubled it and made two pans. Hoping it will freeze well if wrapped sufficiently. SO good!!!
Susie Weinrich says
It should definitely freeze well. Love the customizations you made.
Tiff says
Delicious!!! I also really appreciate that you provide the measurements in each step for ingredients. โฅ๏ธ
Alicia says
This was so good! My family loved it. I did not have sour cream so I subbed greek yogurt for the sour cream and that worked. Will definitely make again! Delicious.
Susie Weinrich says
Wonderful! Greek yogurt is the perfect sub.
Emery says
I made this tonight and it was so good! I doubled the recipe so that we’d have leftovers, and used half ground beef and half ground turkey. I recommend doubling it, but just be aware it makes several steps take a little longer.
Kelly S says
I didn’t have any beef stock, but I added a tablespoon of oyster sauce to kick up the umami, and wow. This recipe rocked the house. Thanks.
Susie Weinrich says
YES!! Wonderful. Love the substitution of oyster sauce and I am assuming water or chicken broth?