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.

Close up of sweet potato shepherd's pie in cast iron this recipe

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.

Why You’ll Love this Sweet Potato and Turkey Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

This shepherd’s pie is comfort food at its finest. Loaded with veggies, turkey, and savory flavors, you might want to double this dish for freezing for a future meal! Either way, you’ll want to make this easy weeknight dinner again and again.

  • It’s a wholesome meal. Shepherd’s pie made with creamy sweet potatoes, hearty black beans, and a flavorful ground turkey filling is full of irresistible flavors and textures for the best mouthfeel. After enjoying this filling, wholesome dinner, you’ll want to cozy up with the family.
  • A unique twist on the classic. This sweet potato cottage pie recipe has all the elements of the classic shepherd’s pie recipe. Layered with a meat base made heartier with black beans and topped with creamy potatoes and cheese.
  • One skillet dish. This meal cooks in a cast iron pan from start to finish. If you don’t have a cast iron, transfer the filling to a baking dish. Just cook the filling and top it with the creamed sweet potatoes and cheese. Yum!

Ingredients for shepherd's pie

Ingredients

  • Sweet potatoes – buy pre-chopped to save time!
  • Milk – replace regular dairy milk with non-dairy milk, such as unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk.
  • Butter – use salted or unsalted butter to add flavor.
  • Ground turkey – is an excellent substitute for beef in a turkey shepherd’s pie recipe. It’s lighter and takes on the surrounding flavors that you’ll hardly notice the difference. Feel free to switch out for ground beef or sausage if you prefer.
  • Onions – use yellow or white onions for the best flavor.
  • Black beans – canned black beans are quick and easy to use. Drain and rinse them before using them. Use dry beans and follow the directions to prepare them for cooking.
  • Canned tomatoes – fire-roasted diced tomatoes will add a smoky flavor to the shepherd’s pie.
  • Salsa – look for black bean and corn salsa (I love Newman’s Own brand).
  • Spices – chili powder, cumin, oregano.
  • Spinach – turkey, and spinach go wonderful together and adds an earthy flavor. You can use kale instead or leave it out.
  • Monterey jack cheese – or other shredded cheeses such as cheddar, Colby, and mozzarella. For a decadent cheesy topping, go over the top and shred gruyere over the mashed sweet potatoes.
  • Olive oil – you could use whichever oil you like.
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper – to enhance the flavors of the dish.
  • Fresh chopped cilantro – for a final garnish. Leave out or swap for parsley.

How to Make Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

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.

Step by step instructions for shepherds pie

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.

Step by step instructions for shepherd's pie

Stir in black beans, tomatoes, salsa, and spices. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until heated through. Lastly, stir in spinach.

Step by step instructions for shepherd's pie

Top with sweet potato mash. Bake in 400 degrees F oven, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until the cheese is melted. Let the pie rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Step by step instructions shepherd's pie

Two Ways to Bake a Shepherd’s Pie

There are two ways you can bake shepherd’s pie.

Cast-iron skillet: 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.

Baking dish: Another option is to use a baking dish. A 2-3 quart dish works best for this recipe. Prepare your turkey filling in a skillet, then transfer it into a baking dish, top it 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: 

Overview turkey sweet potato shepherd's pie in black cast iron skillet

Recipe Tips

This stove-to-oven shepherd’s pie recipe has some great ingredients and is pretty easy to make. You can swap out some flavors and find easier ways to make it a breeze to create with some of these tips:

  • 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. 
  • Add another depth of flavor by roasting the sweet potatoes instead of boiling them. They’ll be chunkier once mashed, but the caramelization of the potatoes is so good when roasted and will roll over when mashed.

How to Store Shepherd’s Pie

Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Make ahead freezer meal: How to freeze Shepherd’s Pie

Sweet potato shepherd’s pie is  PERFECT for freezing and meal prep! Enjoy one night and make an extra batch to enjoy another night for the best family weeknight meal.

Prepare the recipe as instructed and transfer to an oven-safe AND freezer-safe baking dish before the final bake in the oven. You can either freeze shepherd’s pie for a family meal or break it down into individual portions for a delicious meal prep lunch.

Reheating Instructions

From frozen: Cover the oven-safe dish with foil and bake in a preheated 375℉ oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and finish baking for an additional 30 minutes until heated thoroughly (165℉).

Thaw in the fridge: Transfer to the refrigerator the day before to thaw. When ready to bake, place uncovered in a preheated 375℉ oven for 30-35 minutes until heated thoroughly.

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Overview sweet potato shepherd's pie in black cast iron skillet

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

★★★★★ 4.5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Katya
  • Prep Time: 20 min
  • Cook Time: 50 min
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Print Recipe

Description

Veggie filled shepherd’s pie with ground turkey, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, baby spinach, and sweet potatoes. So hearty, so good! 

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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 2-3 quart 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.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 403
  • Sugar: 12.4 g
  • Sodium: 994.2 mg
  • Fat: 17.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 43 g
  • Protein: 21.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 64 mg

Keywords: healthy, mashed sweet potato, turkey

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