A traditional shepherd’s pie recipe gets a makeover, with a twist. Flavorful bison and nutrient packed sweet potatoes make this comfort food irresistibly good. 310 calories and 8 Weight Watcher Freestyle SP. Thank you to Kroger for helping me share this recipe with you.
I can't tell you how many times I reach for chicken or ground turkey when I'm making dinner, which often produces some of our favorites, such as Slow Cooker Hoisin Chicken and Greek Turkey, Rice & Feta Casserole. That's all well and good until my kids' shoulders start to slump when I tell them that dinner is "something with chicken". That's always a sure sign that I need to switch things up.
And all of that fits in nicely with our Week 3 challenge for the Healthy New Year 6-Week Challenge:
To recap, in Week 1 Liz and I focused on Boosting Protein at Breakfast to Fuel Your Day and in Week 2 we added in the challenge of Go Ethnic at Dinner.
THIS WEEK'S GOAL IS...TRY A NEW LEAN PROTEIN
If you're like me, you probably get stuck in a rut, cooking with the same ol' proteins week after week. Not only is it important to switch things up for the sake of our taste buds, but trying new lean proteins is also a great way to fuel our bodies with a range of nutrients.
Some examples? Vitamin D in shrimp; omega-3s in salmon; antioxidants, fiber, iron, potassium (and more) in beans; lean protein in pork; iron in lean beef; and so on.
I remember when bison burgers became all the rage about 10 years ago, introducing all of us to a lean protein that is rich in omega-3s. In our house, we started using bison in chili, burger and Lean Bison & Barley Soup. And then we discovered that we could buy bison steaks, which eventually replaced beef tenderloin in our annual New Year's Eve meat fondues. Leaner on the hips and the wallet. A win-win!
We've started buying the bison products at Kroger groceries. Over the past couple of years, I've noticed that the amount of natural/organic products in Kroger stores has grown exponentially. There is everything from meat (pork, beef, bison) and poultry (chicken, turkey) to dairy, fresh produce and canned goods. Just look for the Simple Truth products on the shelves throughout the stores. All Simple Truth products are Free From 101, which means that they don't contain the 101 additives and preservatives on this list. And, quite honestly, they're usually cheaper than comparable products at other stores, which is exactly why we buy our fondue bison there!
I grew up eating my grandmother's shepherd's pie, filled with ground lamb and topped with the creamiest mashed potatoes. For this recipe, I took inspiration from her recipe and switched things up by using ground bison and topping the shepherd's pie with sweet potatoes. The flavors are so complementary - a little mix of sweet and savory - and the dish reaches a 10 on the comfort scale. I think my grandmother would approve.
Be sure to check out Liz's comforting, healthy Bison Chili this week!
If you make this recipe, I'd love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #COOKINCANUCK and I'll be sure to find it.
Printable Recipe
Sweet Potato Bison Shepherd's Pie Recipe
Ingredients
The Sweet Potatoes:
- 1 ¼ pound sweet potatoes peeled & cut into ½-inch dice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup nonfat milk
- â…› teaspoon salt
- â…› teaspoon pepper
The Filling:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 ½ pounds Kroger Simple Truth ground bison
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
- 1 cup chicken or beef broth
- 1 cup frozen peas defrosted
Instructions
The Sweet Potatoes:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a 1 ½ quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place the sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes.
- Drain and return the potatoes to the saucepan.
- Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk, salt and pepper until smooth.
The Filling:
- Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick saucepan set over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions and cook until they are starting to brown, about 4 minutes.
- Add the ground bison. Cook, crumbling with a fork, until the meat is cooked through.
- Add the tomato paste, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the broth, reduce heat slightly and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 12 minutes. Stir in the peas.
Assembling:
- Transfer the filling to the prepared baking dish.
- Dollop the sweet potatoes on top of the filling and, using a rubber spatula, spread the potatoes evenly on top, all the way to the sides. Be sure that the potatoes are sealed at the sides of the baking dish so that the filling doesn’t bubble through while cooking. Using a fork, make hatch marks on the potatoes, if desired.
- Place the baking dish on top of a baking sheet.
- Bake until the potatoes are just starting to brown, about 30 minutes.
- Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Kroger. All opinions are my own. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Tracie
We. Don't have bison on hand but venison instead. I use it for beef in everything from burgers to chili, soups, and shepherd's pie. It's cost effective since its free ftom hunting season. I'm betting it'll be amazing in this.
HRPSC
I made this tonight and it was awesome! Thank you some have for posting this recipe. I did add a dash of Worcestershire, A1 steak sauce and extra herb seasonings. We like a lot of flavor. This will become one our regular go to dishes. It was quick, easy and delicious! Thank you!
Sara smey
Made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious!
Dorota | HappyForks.com
Interesting recipe. Looks very good with sweet potato on the top. Do you know that a sweet potato has two times more vitamin A than a carrot?
Christina P
My kids have always turned up their noses at sweet potatoes, so I wasn't holding out hope that they would like this. They went back for seconds! Thank you for a great recipe!
C. Marie
I like the looks of this shepherd’s pie! I love sweet potatoes, and this recipe seems like the perfect way for me to try bison.
fabiola@notjustbaked
The color alone makes me want this! The smooth texture of that sweepotato look so luscious and delicious!.
Meg @ With Salt and Wit
Oh goodness...this dish has comfort written al over it!! Plus sweet potatoes always have my heart!
Renee - Kudos Kitchen
I've never cooked, or eaten bison, but I've heard such great things about it. What am I waiting for? Thanks for sharing this recipe. I looks like a good one, especially with that sweet potato topping.
Heidi @foodiecrush
I am totally trying this with the bison (I had it recently and was totally wowed!), and I LOVE the sweet potato topper.
eat good 4 life
What a unique recipe. I love the addition of the sweet potato.
Cathy Trochelman
I'm loving the sweet potatoes in this! My fave!
Kim Taylor
What a great idea to change up shepherd's pie! And I just discovered the Simple Truth products, so will definitely look for the bison at my store.
Dara
Yes! Go look for it! You're going to love it.
JulieD
I love the idea of using sweet potatoes for shepherd's pie. You're amazing!
Dara
You're so sweet, Julie! The sweet potatoes really do add great flavor.
Becky Hardin | The Cookie Rookie
Looks Amazing.
Dara
Thanks, Becky!
Aggie @ Aggie's Kitchen
I love cooking with bison, this healthy shepherd's pie is calling my name!
Dara
Thank you, Aggie! I hope you have a chance to try it.
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl
I love that you used sweet potatoes for this and you know I love that you swapped beef or turkey for bison!! So bright and colorful too! Gorgeous photos!
Dara
Thanks, Liz! I'm excited about our new challenge this week!
Sandy
Bison is really expensive here. But I think this would be good with either 93% lean ground beef or ground turkey.
Dara
Sandy, it definitely would be good with lean ground beef. I encourage you to check out the Simple Truth bison. It's actually really reasonably priced compared to other ground bison.
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer
Awesome idea trying a new protein! And what a combination this is! Love when people use sweet potato on their shepherds/cottage pie 🙂
Dara
Thanks, Kacey! There's something about that sweetness that mixes so well with the bison.
Aj
Omg I just made this and I can NOT stop eating it.
Dara
I'm so glad to hear that!
Lori @ RecipeGirl
Yum Yum Yum! We love bison at our house. Great recipe!
Dara
Thanks, Lori! Bison really is a great way to switch things up.
Jessiva
Love this recipe. Have you ever frozen a batch for later?
Dara
I'm so glad, Jessica! I haven't tried freezing it, but I'd imagine it would work well.