Keto Cottage Pie with ground beef, vegetables, and mashed cauliflower topping is a low-carb version of classic cottage pie. Quick, easy, and comforting! You’ll want to put this easy cottage pie recipe on repeat!
After making my Easy Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Potatoes, I was so enamored with meat pie, that I just HAD to make it again.
For this round, I decided to go the cottage pie route (using ground beef), using mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes for the topping for a low-carb, keto-friendly approach.
The end result is an insanely flavorful meat casserole with creamy cauliflower mash up top.
If you love beef and vegetables this recipe will easily become one of your favorites for a weeknight staple! …And of course, for St. Patrick’s Day.
What is Cottage Pie?:
Cottage pie originates from the United Kingdom and is essentially a big meat casserole of ground meat and vegetables in a thick gravy with mashed potatoes on top. Cottage Pie is typically made with ground beef, whereas Shepherd’s Pie is made with Ground Lamb
Let’s chat ingredients.
Ingredients for Keto Cottage Pie:
Ground Beef: The meat part of the pie. Shepherd’s Pie traditionally contains ground lamb, where cottage pie contains ground beef. I use grass-fed ground beef and typically go with higher fat content of 80/20 because it tastes amazing 😉 Select your favorite beefs!
Onion & Garlic: Adding amazing flavor to any recipe, onion and garlic bring all around richness and round out the flavor of the dish. Be sure to saute the onion until it is almost caramelized for the most amazing result.
Peas & Carrots: The veg part of the recipe. Peas and carrots add freshness and nice texture.
Dried Parsley & Oregano: A little dried herb provides nice earthy flavor to the recipe. You can use any dried herbs you’d like, but I love parsley and oregano.
Liquid Aminos & Rice Vinegar: Adding tangy, umami flavor to the meat, liquid aminos and rice vinegar form some of the sauce that surrounds the mixture. You can use soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce instead of liquid aminos, and you can replace the rice vinegar with cider vinegar.
Cauliflower: Used in place of potatoes for the topping to make the recipe low-carb and lighter. The creamy cauliflower topping is marvelous to offset the heavier meat.
Butter: Added to the cauliflower mash to give it richness and creaminess. You can skip the butter and add a little broth or water instead.
How to Make Keto Cottage Pie:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Make the Mashed Cauliflower:
Chop the cauliflower and add it to a pot of water. Bring the pot to a full boil and cook until cauliflower is very soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Strain the cauliflower, then transfer it to a blender along with the butter, garlic and sea salt. Blend until cauliflower reaches desired consistency. Note: You may need to stop the blender a few times, scrape the sides and re-start. If necessary, add a few tablespoons of broth or water to help the blending process along.
(note: if you have a potato masher, you can mash the cauliflower in the same pot you used for cooking instead of blending it). Taste the cauliflower for flavor and add sea salt or butter to taste.
Make the Meat Filling:
Add the avocado oil to a large non-stick skillet and add the onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the ground beef and use a spatula to chop it into smaller bits. Stir in the garlic, parsley, oregano, sea salt, and carrots then cover the skillet and cook until carrots soften up, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet and stir well. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sauce around the meat has thickened, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Spread the meat mixture in the bottom of a 9 or 10-inch pie dish (or medium-sized casserole dish). Transfer the mashed cauliflower over the meat mixture and spread evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven until cauliflower mash begins to turn golden-brown and meat mixture is bubbly, about 35 to 45 minutes.
Remove Cottage Pie from the oven and serve.
If you’re looking for a festive low-carb dessert for St. Patrick’s Day, be sure to make my Keto Mint Brownies!!
Recipe Adaptations:
- If using a large (13″ x 9″) casserole dish, double the recipe.
- Replace the ground beef with ground lamb to make Keto Shepherd’s Pie.
- Use roasted garlic for the mashed cauliflower, and/or add 1 cup of your favorite grated cheese. Parmesan, gruyere and gouda are my favorites.
- Toss in your favorite vegetables with the meat mixture.
Ingredients
Mashed Cauliflower:
- 1 large head cauliflower, chopped into florets
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted
- ½ tsp sea salt, to taste
Beef Filling:
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp sea salt, to taste
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 cup peas, optional
- 2 Tbsp liquid aminos
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar or cider vinegar
Instructions
- Chop the cauliflower and add it to a pot of water. Bring the pot to a full boil and cook until cauliflower is very soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Strain the cauliflower, then transfer it to a blender along with the butter, garlic and sea salt. Blend until cauliflower reaches desired consistency. Note: You may need to stop the blender a few times, scrape the sides and re-start.
- (note: if you have a potato masher, you can mash the cauliflower in the same pot you used for cooking instead of blending it). Taste the cauliflower for flavor and add sea salt or butter to taste.
- Add the avocado oil to a large non-stick skillet and add the onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the ground beef and use a spatula to chop it into smaller bits. Stir in the garlic, parsley, oregano, sea salt, and carrots then cover the skillet and cook until carrots soften up, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet and stir well. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sauce around the meat has thickened, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Spread the meat mixture in the bottom of a 9 or 10-inch pie dish (or medium-sized casserole dish).
- Transfer the mashed cauliflower over the meat mixture and spread evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven until cauliflower mash begins to turn golden-brown and meat mixture is bubbly, about 35 to 45 minutes.
- Remove Cottage Pie from the oven and serve.
Nutrition
