Veggie filled sweet potato shepherd’s pie with ground turkey, black beans, tomatoes, spinach, and sweet potatoes. So hearty, so good! And made in one pan too.
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Turkey Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
Hearty and healthy black bean and sweet potato shepherd’s pie just might be the best thing to cozy up to.
It’s a tex-mex inspired veggie filled pie with ground turkey, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, spices, and black bean and corn salsa. Topped with cheesy sweet potato mash and baked until bubbly hot.
Serve it with a dollop of sour cream and avocado for an ultimate satisfying one-pan dinner.
Ingredients for Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
- Sweet potatoes – buy pre-chopped to save time!
- Milk
- Butter
- Ground turkey
- Onions
- Black beans
- Canned tomatoes
- Salsa – look for black bean and corn salsa (I love Newman’s Own brand)
- Spices – chili powder, cumin, oregano
- Spinach
- Monterey jack cheese
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- Fresh chopped cilantro
How to Make Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Prepare the sweet potatoes as you would for mashed potatoes. Cook your sweet potatoes until fork tender. Drain. Add milk, butter, salt, and pepper. Mash until creamy consistency.
Next, heat a large oven-safe sauté pan over medium heat. Cook turkey and onions until meat is no longer pink. If you have a lot of pan grease/juice, drain some of that liquid before adding in the rest of the ingredients.
Stir in black beans, tomatoes, salsa, and spices. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until heated through. Lastly, stir in spinach.
Top with sweet potato mash. Bake in 400 degrees F oven, uncovered, 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until the cheese is melted. Let the pie rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
How to Bake a Shepherd’s Pie
There are two ways you can bake shepherd’s pie.
First, you can use an oven-safe sauté pan, such as cast-iron. It’s great because you can entirely prepare the shepherd’s pie in one pan (except the sweet potatoes) with fewer dishes to clean at the end.
Another option is to use a baking dish. Prepare your turkey filling in a skillet, then transfer into a baking dish, top with sweet potatoes, and bake.
What is a Good Side with Shepherd’s Pie?
Any type of creamy salad will pair great with this turkey sweet potato shepherd’s pie. Here are a few favorites:
Extra Tips for Making Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
- To save on prep time, buy pre-chopped sweet potatoes.
- Look for fire-roasted diced tomatoes, they add a great smoky flavor.
- You can use just about any type of black bean & corn salsa. I personally love Newman’s Own brand. It’s made with good ingredients and tastes good.
More Turkey Recipes to Try:
- Italian Zucchini Spaghetti Bake
- Mexican Turkey Stuffed Peppers
- Turkey Chili Recipe
- Three Bean Turkey Chili
- Turkey Pesto Meatballs
Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 50 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Description
Veggie filled shepherd’s pie with ground turkey, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, baby spinach, and sweet potatoes. So hearty, so good!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled + diced
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained + rinsed
- 1 (15 oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 (16 oz.) jar black bean & corn salsa
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 4–5 oz. bag fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- Fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Place sweet potatoes into a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until fork tender, about 10-12 minutes, depending on size. Drain the water. Add milk and butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Mash until creamy consistency. Set aside.
- Heat a large oven-safe sauté pan over medium heat. Add few tablespoons of olive oil. Cook turkey and onions for about 5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. If you have a lot of pan grease, drain some of that liquid before adding in the rest of the ingredients.
- Stir in black beans, tomatoes, salsa, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until heated through. Stir in spinach.
- Top with mashed sweet potatoes. Bake in 400 degrees F oven, uncovered, 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until the cheese is melted about 3-5 minutes.
- Let the pie rest for about 10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with fresh cilantro.
Notes
- Baking dish: You can prepare this shepherd’s pie in a baking dish. Simply transfer the turkey filling into a 9X9 (or similar size) baking dish, top with sweet potatoes, and bake as indicated.
- Salsa: I love Newman’s Own brand of black bean and corn salsa. It’s made with good ingredients and chipotle peppers.
Keywords: healthy, mashed sweet potato, turkey
PK says
I’m a college student with a busy schedule and for me, this recipe is amazing! It’s relatively cheap, it makes a huge amount (for just me), and it freezes really well. It’s become one of my go-to’s for meal prep.
★★★★★
Katya says
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that.
blubie says
I had a similar idea and then I found this recipe, which reassured me I was on to a tasty idea. My version omitted the salsa / Mexican notes in the preparation – and instead of turkey we sautéed white meat chicken breast in herbs de Provence spice blend. We would have included the spinach but we didn’t have any available. It turned out quite tasty. We re-heated the left overs this morning with a side of the Newman black bean salsa, and that was also wonderful.
★★★★
Katya says
thank you!