Turkey Shepherd's Pie - Gluten Free and Dairy Free. (2024)

by Kelly Roenicke · 27 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

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.

Jump to:
  • Dairy Free Alternatives
  • Substitutions
  • More Gluten Free Dinner Recipes
  • Recipe

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 and Dairy Free. (4)

Turkey Shepherd’s Pie (Gluten Free, Dairy Free).

Kelly Roenicke

Turkey shepherd's pie is a hearty and comforting meal that the whole family will love. This easy dish is naturally gluten free and so tasty!

4.38 from 8 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Dairy Free, gluten free

Servings 6

Calories 384 kcal

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
  • 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.

Notes

If you have a cast iron skillet, that would work really well, since it can go from the stove top to the broiler safely.

Use whatever brand of dairy free cheese that works best for your dietary needs. You could also leave the cheese off, it will still be delicious.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator. They should stay fresh for 3-4 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 384kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 35gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 549mgPotassium: 1259mgFiber: 6gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 625IUVitamin C: 31.4mgCalcium: 139mgIron: 7.3mg

Keyword comfort food, easy

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below and tag @prettybeeblog on instagram!

Related

« Creamy Quinoa Broccoli Casserole with Crunchy Topping.

Vegan Snickerdoodle Cupcakes. »

  • Author
  • Recent Posts

Kelly Roenicke

Mom to two boys with food allergies and sensitivities, Kelly is passionate about allergy friendly cooking and baking. She believes that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.

Latest posts by Kelly Roenicke (see all)

  • Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan). - May 29, 2024
  • Sunbutter Banana Milkshake. - May 28, 2024
  • Gluten Free Banana Blueberry Muffins. - May 27, 2024

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mads

    Turkey Shepherd's Pie - Gluten Free and Dairy Free. (7)
    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.

    Reply

  2. 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.

    Reply

  3. kitkat

    Turkey Shepherd's Pie - Gluten Free and Dairy Free. (8)
    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!

    Reply

  4. Katrina

    How big if a casserole dish 8×8 or 9×9 or 9×13???

    Reply

    • Kelly Roenicke

      A square – either 8×8 or 9×9.

      Reply

    • Kelly Roenicke

      I think you could freeze it, but the texture of the potatoes may change a little.

      Reply

  5. Julie Krause

    Turkey Shepherd's Pie - Gluten Free and Dairy Free. (10)
    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…

    Reply

    • Kelly Roenicke

      I fixed that!

      Reply

  6. Ipanema Ordonez

    Turkey Shepherd's Pie - Gluten Free and Dairy Free. (11)
    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.

    Reply

    • Kelly Roenicke

      I’m so happy to read your comment! Thank you so much!

      Reply

  7. Traci

    Looks great but I don’t see the mushrooms on the cooking instructions 😁

    Reply

  8. Maren

    Turkey Shepherd's Pie - Gluten Free and Dairy Free. (12)
    Whole family liked it!

    Reply

  9. Lola

    Turkey Shepherd's Pie - Gluten Free and Dairy Free. (13)
    This is my first recipe I tried off this site and I really enjoyed it. Thank you!

    Reply

  10. Aj

    What about the mushrooms??

    Reply

  11. Katie

    Turkey Shepherd's Pie - Gluten Free and Dairy Free. (14)
    Delicious recipe!

    Reply

  12. 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?

    Reply

  13. Mushrooms Canada

    This is a great variation on the traditional dish! Thanks for sharing…

    -Shannon

    Reply

    • Kelly @ The Pretty Bee: Cooking + Creating

      Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!

      Reply

      • Fnazs

        what about the mushrooms?

        Reply

  14. Megan Lane

    dang girl, this looks amazing! I think my stomach just growled.

    hope you are well, have missed reading your blog!

    Reply

    • Kelly @ The Pretty Bee: Cooking + Creating

      Thanks, Megan! I hope you have been well, I’m looking forward to hearing more about your move!

      Reply

      • 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!

        Reply

        • Kelly Roenicke

          I fixed that. I’m sorry for the error. Add them with the onions and meat.

          Reply

  15. Janelle

    Yum – excited about this recipe!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Turkey Shepherd's Pie - Gluten Free and Dairy Free. (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken shepherd's pie without cornstarch? ›

The easiest way to thicken shepherd's pie filling is by sprinkling a few tablespoons of flour into the ground beef mixture as it cooks before adding it to the baking dish. The starch in the flour will absorb the extra liquid and create a thick gravy.

Does shepherd's pie contain dairy? ›

Shepherd's pie (made with lamb) and cottage pie (made with beef) recipe is a dairy free version of the classic comfort foods that are healthy and filling.

Does shepherd's pie contain gluten? ›

A traditional recipe also often contains stock cubes and Worcestershire sauce. Both of these ingredients contain gluten unless specified gluten free. So if you're eating out, don't just assume a cottage pie or shepherd's pie is a safe option – make this gluten free version instead!

How do you keep shepherd's pie from falling apart? ›

How do you keep shepherds pie from falling apart? The eggs in the mashed potatoes help keep the pie together. You should also make sure to spread the potatoes and press down a bit.

How can I thicken liquid without flour or cornstarch? ›

6 Ways to Thicken Sauce Without Cornstarch
  1. Reduce the sauce. Simmering your sauce over low heat will cause the water in the sauce to evaporate and the sauce to naturally thicken. ...
  2. Add egg yolks. ...
  3. Prepare a roux. ...
  4. Make a beurre manié. ...
  5. Add pureed vegetables. ...
  6. Use another thickening agent.
Jan 18, 2022

What is a natural thickening agent for pie filling? ›

Cornstarch as Pie Filling Thickener

Just like the name suggests, cornstarch is derived from corn. Cornstarch is faster-acting than flour and forms a smooth, relatively clear filling. Just be aware that too much cornstarch can create a slimy texture.

Why is flour used in shepherds pie? ›

Flour: All-purpose flour will thicken the beef gravy. Ketchup: Ketchup will add a little tang to the ground beef mixture. Beef Broth: Beef broth creates a gravy-like consistency in the middle. Cheese: Top the shepherd's pie with extra Cheddar for a cheesy finish.

Why does my shepherd's pie taste bland? ›

Seasoning sounds like your first problem.. add more salt and pepper to your filling and make sure your mash is also nicely seasoned. Add cheese to the mash, a mature cheddar perhaps. Add fresh thyme or bay leaf to your filling or even a splash more stock or wine, a spoon of smooth mustard or a skinless chopped tomato.

What is original shepherd's pie made of? ›

This traditional shepherd's pie recipe is made with a mixture of lamb and sirloin, lots of veggies, and a creamy, cheesy mashed potato topping ⁠— sure to delight everyone at the table!

What Worcestershire sauce is gluten-free? ›

You will need to stick with the three brands that are safe: French's Worcestershire sauce. Lea and Perrins Original (in the United States only) The Wizard's Gluten-Free Vegan Worcestershire Sauce.

Is cornstarch gluten-free food? ›

Cornstarch is gluten-free in its natural form. Cornstarch is made by grinding up the starchy (carbohydrate) portion of a corn grain and turning it into a very fine powder. Cornstarch is typically used as a thickener for soups, sauces, gravy and stews.

Do potatoes have gluten in it? ›

Potatoes are one of the naturally gluten-free foods. Potatoes and potato flour are common alternatives used in gluten-free products. They can be used to make crusts or coating to make food crisp.

What can I use to thicken my shepherd's pie? ›

Flour: Used to thicken the filling, creating a sauce to coat the ingredients. Stock: Beef stock or broth enhances the meaty taste of the filling.

How do you stop mashed potatoes from sinking shepherd's pie? ›

To stop the mash sinking into the filling, allow the meat to cool before topping with the mashed potato. Freeze in individual ovenproof dishes for an easy meal for one. For a really crisp, golden topping, flash under the grill for a few mins before serving.

Why is my shepherd's pie soggy? ›

Classic shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb, gravy, mashed potatoes, and veggies like peas, corn, celery, and carrots. Why is my shepherd's pie soggy? Avoid a soggy pie by simmering the meat mixture for at least 8 minutes. Be sure to cook down the mixture to remove excess moisture.

How do you thicken shepherd's pie? ›

How can I thicken my shepherd's pie? This shepherd's pie recipe uses 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken the gravy but if you feel like the meat mixture is too watery, add in another tablespoon and stir to combine. You may also try simmering the mince mixture for longer so that the stock reduces down and thickens.

What can I use instead of cornstarch to thicken pie filling? ›

All-purpose flour is an easy substitute for cornstarch; in fact you may see recipes for thickening pie fillings or soups with either. You'll need 2 tablespoons of flour for every 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a recipe.

How do you thicken batter without cornstarch? ›

Arrowroot powder (also called arrowroot starch or arrowroot flour) may be extracted from the roots of several tropical plants, including cassava. Commonly used to add airiness to gluten-free and vegan desserts, it can also work as a thickening agent, just like cornstarch—but be aware that it's a touch more finicky.

Why is my shepherd's pie soupy? ›

Why is my shepherd's pie runny? Generally, this is caused by using too much stock.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: The Hon. Margery Christiansen

Last Updated:

Views: 6318

Rating: 5 / 5 (50 voted)

Reviews: 89% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: The Hon. Margery Christiansen

Birthday: 2000-07-07

Address: 5050 Breitenberg Knoll, New Robert, MI 45409

Phone: +2556892639372

Job: Investor Mining Engineer

Hobby: Sketching, Cosplaying, Glassblowing, Genealogy, Crocheting, Archery, Skateboarding

Introduction: My name is The Hon. Margery Christiansen, I am a bright, adorable, precious, inexpensive, gorgeous, comfortable, happy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.