Turkey shepherd’s pie
Savory ground turkey and vegetables in a rich gravy under fluffy mashed potatoes with golden peaks, the ultimate make-ahead comfort dinner.
- 80 min total
- 40 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 6
- About $2.38 a serving
- 430 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 2½ lb russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1¼ lb ground turkey
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1¼ cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3 tbsp butter
- ⅔ cup milk
- ½ cup shredded cheddar (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tbsp salt, divided
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 430 calories, 25 g protein, 48 g carbs and 17 g fat, and costs about $2.38 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No ground turkey? Ground chicken works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water by an inch, add 1 tablespoon of the salt and over high heat. Boil 15 minutes, until a fork slides in easily.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heatTimer: 15 min
Meanwhile, the oven to 400°F and heat the oil in a large over medium-high. Add the turkey, onion and carrot and cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking up the turkey, until no pink remains.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: Ground turkey is lean and sticks more than beef. Let it sit 2 minutes before you break it up so it browns instead of steaming.Food safety: Ground turkey and ground chicken are done at 165°F, with no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Add the garlic and tomato paste and 1 minute, then sprinkle in the flour and stir 1 minute more.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heat
in the broth, Worcestershire, thyme, pepper and 1 teaspoon of the salt and 5 minutes, until it into gravy. Stir in the peas.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Spread the filling in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
the potatoes and mash them in the pot with the butter, milk and remaining ½ teaspoon salt until smooth.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Dolly’s tip: Mash while they’re still steaming. Cold potatoes turn gluey.Spoon the potatoes over the filling, spread them to the edges, and drag a fork across the top to make ridges. Scatter on the cheddar, if you like.
Dolly’s tip: The ridges are what turn golden and crisp in the oven.20 to 25 minutes, until the peaks are and the filling bubbles at the edges.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 22 min
Let it sit 10 minutes before serving so the gravy settles.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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