A nice comforting dish for fall and winter – this turkey shepherd’s pie is a classic. This version is gluten free and dairy free so that everyone can enjoy it! A hearty meat filling, creamy mashed potatoes, and dairy free cheese on top make this a tasty dish that all can enjoy!
As we move into the cooler months, we are all about comfort food over here. I love hearty soups and chili, and I especially love a good casserole on a cold night.
One family favorite is turkey shepherd’s pie. (Or technically, cottage pie, I suppose, since it isn’t lamb). Meat, potatoes, sauce, cheese (dairy free!), peas – all together they make a wonderfully hearty meal. This shepherd’s pie is made without cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup. Just a few natural ingredients make a flavorful sauce for this dish.
We use turkey to lighten this recipe up a little bit. You could also use ground lamb or beef. Since we are dairy free, I’ve made a few other adjustments as well. If you are not dairy free, here’s how I used to make Shepherd’s Pie – read my original recipe here.
Dairy Free Alternatives
You can use the dairy free milk and dairy free cheese that works best for your dietary needs.
You will want to use a neutral tasting dairy free milk. I used So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage, and it worked very well. Soy milk, rice milk, or flax milk would also work.
We like Daiya cheese, so I used the Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds for this recipe. If you have a different dairy free cheese you like, please use it!
If you are able to eat dairy, you could use regular milk and cheese in this recipe.
Substitutions
- You can add different vegetables if you like. Try shredded carrots, green beans, or baby bella mushrooms.
- If you don’t want to use ground turkey, you can use a different ground meat, like beef, lamb, or even ground chicken.
- If you’re looking for a vegan version of this dish, try my vegan shepherd’s pie with lentils.
More Gluten Free Dinner Recipes
- Dairy Free Chicken Rice Casserole
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Easy Lentil Potato Curry
- Check out my series, 31 Days of Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free Comfort Food
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Recipe
Turkey Shepherd’s Pie (Gluten Free, Dairy Free).
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds ground turkey
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 Tablespoons ketchup
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup white button mushrooms sliced
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- 6 Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
- 3 Tablespoons vegan buttery spread
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup non-dairy milk
- ¾ cup Daiya non-dairy cheddar style shreds
Instructions
- Turn broiler on.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, mushrooms, garlic and turkey. Cook until turkey is totally cooked through. Drain off grease.
- While the turkey is cooking, boil the potatoes in another pan until soft, for about 20 minutes. Drain off water and add the ½ cup non-dairy milk and vegan butter spread and salt, and mash with a potato masher.
- Add the ketchup, pepper, and ¾ cup non-dairy milk to the ground turkey. Stir over low heat until the sauce thickens up a bit. Add the peas and stir until they are heated through.
- Pour the turkey mixture into a skillet or broiler safe casserole dish. Spread out evenly. Top with the mashed potatoes and spread them out so that they cover the turkey. Sprinkle Daiya cheese on top.
- Place skillet or broiler safe casserole dish uncovered under the broiler for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted and golden.
Mads
This recipe is straight forward and the end result is fine. But I always wonder why “healthy” recipes never have any spices in them? I even added thyme and extra salt and pepper but it’s just so bland. After I made this, I looked up other recipes for cottage pie and next time I’ll add tomato paste, Worcestershire, extra thyme, and sage and put in parsley with the potatoes. Overall, it turned out good and edible and filling but just entirely lacking flavour.
Pam
I’m so excited to make this!!! Your ground turkey Sloppy Joes (we call them Untidy Joseph’s in my house:) is amazing and this looks equally as good. It’s going to be a messy weekend here in New England so this is a perfect meal to hunker down with.
kitkat
Hi, this is my first time making this. I thought 1 cup of white and 1 cup of brown would make this too sweet. And I was right. Next time I may do .5 cup of white instead of a full cup or just may skip the white sugar all together; it was a tad too sweet. Overall this is very yummy and very smooth but I can see getting headache real quick from all that sugar.
Also, I have read several people’s comments about it either being too strong or they added more alcohol cause it wasn’t strong enough. Since everyone’s pallette is so different I followed the recipe but now I know for me in the future I will be adding a full bottle of everclear and maybe a little bit more vanilla vodka and cut back on the sugar some. Otherwise this good, and plan to make in the future again!!! Thank you😊
I read alot of peoples comments about storing this for a few weeks, what is the reason for does this? Does it make the alcohol stronger?? Sorry kinda new at this.
Thanks!
Katrina
How big if a casserole dish 8×8 or 9×9 or 9×13???
Kelly Roenicke
A square – either 8×8 or 9×9.
Olivia Hurlock
CAN YOU FREEZE IT?
Kelly Roenicke
I think you could freeze it, but the texture of the potatoes may change a little.
Julie Krause
I like the idea! But I think the meat mixture needs more seasoning. Also, like the others have pointed out, there is no direction for the mushrooms…
Kelly Roenicke
I fixed that!
Ipanema Ordonez
Well, what can I say? To begin with, thank you for giving us hope, in our hunt, to obtain, tasteful, affordable and healthy nourishments. We tried your recipe today, and all I can say, is WOW!!! Delicious…Delicious. From toddlers, to elders, thank you.
Kelly Roenicke
I’m so happy to read your comment! Thank you so much!
Traci
Looks great but I don’t see the mushrooms on the cooking instructions 😁
Maren
Whole family liked it!
Lola
This is my first recipe I tried off this site and I really enjoyed it. Thank you!
Aj
What about the mushrooms??
Katie
Delicious recipe!
sue
I know this is an old recipe, but when do you put the mushrooms in? I would assume you saute them before the meat?
Mushrooms Canada
This is a great variation on the traditional dish! Thanks for sharing…
-Shannon
Kelly @ The Pretty Bee: Cooking + Creating
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!
Fnazs
what about the mushrooms?
Megan Lane
dang girl, this looks amazing! I think my stomach just growled.
hope you are well, have missed reading your blog!
Kelly @ The Pretty Bee: Cooking + Creating
Thanks, Megan! I hope you have been well, I’m looking forward to hearing more about your move!
marilyn
Im getting ready to make this but what about the mushrooms? Other people have asked this same question but its been unanswered. Im going to add them, but unsure what others have done. Kelly, can you please solve the mystery of the 1 cup mushrooms please? Thanks!
Kelly Roenicke
I fixed that. I’m sorry for the error. Add them with the onions and meat.
Janelle
Yum – excited about this recipe!