Keto Shepherd’s Pie
Published January 22, 2024 • Updated March 13, 2026
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I make this keto shepherd's pie with mashed turnips instead of cauliflower, and the trick is boiling a half potato with the turnips to kill any bitterness. Creamy, cheesy topping that fools everyone at the table.
I stopped using cauliflower for this years ago. Every keto casserole defaults to mashed cauliflower on top, and I get it, but cauliflower and potatoes aren’t even in the same plant family. They don’t cook the same, don’t taste the same, and you spend ten minutes squeezing moisture out of a towel. Turnips are actual root vegetables that cook like potatoes, mash like potatoes, and when you blend them with butter, cream, and cheddar, nobody at the table knows the difference. Multiple readers have told me their families ate the whole serving thinking it was real mashed potatoes.
Why this recipe beats the rest
- The potato trick. I boil a half russet potato alongside the turnips and toss it before mashing. It neutralizes the slight bitterness turnips can carry. I’ve never seen another low carb recipe do this, and it makes a real difference. The mash comes out smooth and mild, not earthy or sharp.
- No moisture squeezing. If you’ve ever wrung out cauliflower in a tea towel, you know what I’m talking about. Turnips drain clean. I dry-cook them in the pot for a minute after draining, blend them up, and done.
- A filling that actually thickens. Ground beef with celery, onion, carrot, and green beans in a tomato paste and Worcestershire base. It sets into a hearty layer that doesn’t turn watery under the mash. If you like this kind of saucy, savory comfort food, try my hamburger helper or salisbury steak.
- Only 6.7g net carbs per serving. Six generous servings. Stretch it to 10 and you’re down to 4g each. For a low carb casserole this loaded, those numbers hold up. More casserole nights? My philly cheesesteak casserole and baked ziti are in the same rotation at my house.
How to put this together
I work both layers at the same time. Get the turnips boiling first, then start the beef filling while they cook. Everything finishes around the same time.
Mashed turnip layer
- Boil the diced turnips. Peel and dice into small chunks. Boil in chicken broth and water with a half potato sitting on top. The potato neutralizes the bitter flavor. Once tender, drain and return to the pot to dry-cook the remaining moisture off. Toss the potato.
- Blend until smooth. Add cooked turnips to a blender with heavy cream, butter, salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese. Blend until you’ve got a creamy mash.
Beef filling
- Saute the vegetables. Cook celery, carrot, onion, and green beans in butter until tender. Season with garlic and dried herbs.
- Brown the ground beef until cooked through.
- Build the sauce. Stir in tomato paste, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Assemble and bake
- Pour the beef mixture into a casserole dish and spread even.
- Spread dollops of mashed turnips over the top of the filling.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes until the top starts to brown.
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Mashed Turnips Ingredients
2 lb small turnips -
1/2 medium russet potato (don't worry, not for eating)
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1 cup chicken broth
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3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
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1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
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1/2 teaspoon pepper
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salt to taste
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1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Shepherd's Pie Filling Ingredients
-
2 tablespoons butter
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3 celery stalks, chopped
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1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
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1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
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2/3 cup fresh, canned or frozen green beans
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4 cloves garlic, minced
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1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
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1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
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1 ½ pounds ground beef or lamb
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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1/2 teaspoon black pepper
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1/3 cup tomato paste
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2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
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3/4 cup beef broth
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1/2 cup chopped parsley
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Peel & dice turnips
Peel the turnips with a vegetable peeler or paring knife. Discard the skins. Dice the turnips into ¾ inch pieces.
- 2 lb small turnips
Boil turnips
Add turnips to a large saucepan. Place potato half on top of the turnips. Don’t dice the potato, leave skin on and whole. Pour in chicken broth. Then add enough water to the saucepan to cover the turnips and potato. Season with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and let cook until turnips have softened enough for a fork to easily pierce through.
- 1/2 medium sized russet potato, unpeeled
- 1 cup chicken broth
Remove moisture & potato
Drain water and discard the potato. Return the cooked turnips to the pot and place back on the stove top over medium heat. Dry cook the turnips over the stove top until most of the remaining moisture is gone.
Mash 'em
Transfer cooked turnips to a food processor or blender. Add butter, heavy cream and pepper. Pulse until pureed into a mashed “potato” texture. Season with salt if needed. Stir in shredded cheddar cheese. Set aside.
- 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- salt
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Sauté veggies
Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add celery, onion and carrot and sauté until almost softened.
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
Add seasonings and green beans
Stir in minced garlic, green beans, thyme and rosemary. Cook for 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant.
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2/3 cup frozen green beans
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
Get beefy
Add ground beef or lamb. Season with salt and pepper. Let cook, breaking the meat up with a spatula until cooked through.
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Get sauced
Stir in tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Pour in beef broth and let cook until mixture has thickened. Stir in chopped parsley. Season with salt & pepper if needed.
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
Assembly & bake
Add beef mixture to a casserole dish. Top with dollops of mashed turnips and spread over the top. Place in a 375°F oven. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until top starts to brown.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to add the carrot?
No, and I've made this plenty of times without it. The filling still works. Omitting the carrot drops net carbs slightly (from 6.7g to 6.5g per serving), so if you're tracking closely, go ahead and skip it. I keep it in because I like the sweetness it adds to the beef filling, but the dish doesn't fall apart without it.
Can I use ground lamb instead of ground beef?
I use both depending on what I have. Ground lamb gives you a richer, more traditional flavor, while beef is what I reach for most weeknights. Ground goat works too, and I've had readers use leftover chuck roast or pot roast (shredded) for a heartier filling with more texture.
How many carbs are in this?
I get six generous servings at 6.7g net carbs each. If I stretch it to 10 smaller servings, that drops to about 4g. I break down several ways to cut the carbs further in the section above, including skipping the carrot and reducing the tomato paste.
How do I reheat leftovers without drying out the turnip mash?
I add a small splash of chicken broth to the mash layer before reheating. The turnips absorb it and come back creamy instead of dry and crumbly. Microwave works fine for individual servings. For a whole pan of leftovers, I cover it with foil and reheat at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
Can I use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef?
I've tested ground turkey in this and it works, but the filling comes out leaner and lighter in flavor. I compensate by adding an extra tablespoon of butter when sauteing the vegetables and being more generous with the Worcestershire sauce. Ground chicken is even milder, so I season it more aggressively. If you want other easy ground meat dinners, my taco casserole and sheet pan meatloaf both work with beef or turkey.
What can I use to thicken the gravy without flour?
I don't use a separate thickener in mine. The tomato paste combined with the beef broth reduces into a thick, saucy base on its own if you let it cook down for a few minutes. If yours still looks thin, a quarter teaspoon of xanthan gum whisked in while the filling simmers will thicken it without adding carbs. I keep xanthan gum in my pantry for exactly this. Just don't overdo it or the texture gets gummy.
Does adding egg yolks to the mash help with browning?
I've tried it. Stirring one egg yolk into the mashed turnips before spreading them on top gives you a more golden, slightly firmer crust after baking. It's not necessary (mine browns fine without it), but if you want that deep golden top, it works. I add the yolk after blending the turnips so it doesn't scramble from the heat.
I was fully prepared to be let down by the turnip topping. Every mashed cauliflower substitute I've tried in shepherd's pie has this watery, sad quality that drags the whole dish down, so I had low expectations going in. The half-potato trick is something I never would have thought of on my own, and I have no idea how it works, but the topping came out creamy and rich with none of that bitter turnip edge I was bracing for. This is the first keto shepherd's pie I've made that I would actually serve to someone who wasn't already eating keto.
Never cooked turnips before, so I wasn't sure about this. The half potato thing seemed strange but I tasted them before draining and after, and there was a real difference. The bitterness was actually gone. Topping came out creamy, which surprised me. Would season the meat layer heavier next time, but it held up.
Go heavy on the Worcestershire next time. The meat layer can take more than the recipe suggests.
Swapped the beef for ground lamb and the turnip mash took on this whole different depth, the fat just sort of pulls everything together in a way ground beef doesn't. I'm not going back. Knocked off one star only because I went too heavy on the salt my first time, but that's completely user error not a recipe problem.
Made this six times now and I'm still fired up about the half potato trick. Boil it with the turnips, pull it out, done, zero bitterness. The topping comes out so creamy you'd never know.
Six times and still noticing it. Turnips hold butter and cream differently than cauliflower does. That's the whole reason the mash works.
Brought this to a Sunday dinner and my mother-in-law (who has very strong opinions about shepherd's pie) finished her serving and immediately asked what I did differently to the potatoes. The turnips had her completely fooled. Going into my spring rotation.
A mother-in-law with strong opinions about shepherd's pie and she still didn't catch the turnips. That's the test right there.
Made this for a Sunday dinner with my in-laws last month. The turnip mash was what I was nervous about (my father-in-law is particular about his food and not remotely interested in keto). He ate it without a word, which for him is the highest praise. I mentioned afterward that the top layer was turnips not potatoes and he genuinely didn't believe me. Had to show him the recipe to convince him. The mashing step takes a bit of time but the texture when it comes out of the oven is worth it, creamy and holds up when you scoop it. Making this again for Easter.
Having to pull up the recipe to prove to him it was turnips - that's the reaction I was going for. Make it a day ahead for Easter if you can, the filling gets better overnight.
I did read through & don't believe that I missed it.. but apologize if I did. I'm wondering what the purpose is of placing the potato on turnips while boiling?
The potato helps to absorb the natural bitter flavor from the turnips.
looks like a great recipe but why are you using ground beef when a shepherds pie is and always has been made with Lamb? the clue is in the name. Shepherds don't herd cows ... well not in the UK anyway!
Yes, you are correct! I know that it's technically not shepherd's pie...it should be called cottage pie, but I explain why I named it this in my recipe post below the recipe instructions. It's mostly because most people in America call it Shepherds pie regardless of what type of meat is used and for searchability, I wanted people to be able to find the recipe.
I have diabetic neuropathy for which I take a lot of Vitamin B12 that helps slow the progress of the condition. To that end I consume beef heart regularly since it is very high in B12 not to mention being a very good source of iron. I made this recipe exactly as presented except I used half hamburger and half beef heart that I cooked in a slow cooker then ground up with a meat grinder. It was absolutely delicious!
Slow cooker was the right call for beef heart. Gets tough fast if you rush it. Glad it worked with the turnip mash.
It was really delicious!
The turnip mash gets me every time. Better potato substitute than cauliflower ever was.
I always used turnip for topping shepherd's pie but on a lot of keto recipes it says top with cauliflower I love cauliflower but it's weird on top of pie it's soggy not great even with cheese topping it, now I can go back to my turnip,can I ask if you say there's 14 grams carbs then 6.7grm carbs what is fibre content you don't say
The fiber is total carbs minus the net carbs. Glad you like the turnip!
This is the best recipe I've made so far on my keto diet. I never would have thought of turnips! I shared this recipe with my in-laws and they loved it, too. We all looked forward to the leftovers.
In-laws are the hardest crowd. Glad this one held up. The leftovers reheat well too - the turnip mash comes back with just a splash of chicken broth stirred in.
Uhhh... turnips and cauliflower are both in the brassica family.
Not sure what the "tuber" family is.
Yeah, they're brassicas. I use 'tuber' loosely to mean starchy root, not an actual plant family. Turnips just eat way more like a potato than cauliflower does.
This Shepherd's Pie is a huge success. Tastes absolutely gorgeous! 👏
Thank you
Michael from London, England
Coming from London, that means a lot. A Brit approving of shepherd's pie without real potatoes - I'll take it.