Shepard’s Pie Soup
Oh man… This may be my favorite soup of ALL time. Well, we’ll see. I tend to change my mind quite often (which if you’re reading this, you probably haven’t learned this about me until now, so mentally jot this one down for future reference). But back to the Shepard’s Pie soup. This is one creamy, cozy, culinary classic. Ahhhh the satisfaction of alliteration!!! I seriously can’t help myself! Okay, for real, it’s soup time.
The first time I laid eyes on this beautifully warm meal was after it had been simmering away in my slow cooker all day while I was out and about with my children. (Yes I left the house with the slow cooker running)… I’m not the first person to do this, and yes I do know that my house could have burned down, but you know, I believe the Lord’s grace is alive and active. He spared our house, and my sanity. 🙂 Praise be to God!!! Back to the soup for the last time, I promise!
I found a recipe on Pinterest for this soup and tried it, but found it kinda bland, so I added my own changes. I can’t seem to find the recipe but I did write my own down version in my notes. (just and FYI this version is not for a slow cooker, sorry). For the shepherds pie part I added more vegetables, and when I say I added more, I mean a lot more. (I really don’t think it changes the flavor all that much and it helps my family consume more vegetables anyways). I think it’s a really nice addition and makes the soup more thick and hearty, rather than runny and brothy. I also replaced beef with ground turkey. This surprisingly made absolutely no major change in the flavor, I actually prefer it!
The second thing I did was completely change the spices you would add near the end of the cooking process. Instead of an array of dried spices I used one and a half tsp of both fresh rosemary and thyme. This together makes one full Tbsp of fresh spices and it really elevates this dish. The rosemary makes it so warm and cozy while the thyme adds an almost earthy hint. I really really enjoy these flavors in addition to turkey and to the addition I have yet to mention. Which is… Lawry’s seasoning salt. The tsp of this near the end really gives it that distinct umami flavor (aka my favorite part). Without both of these changes I don’t think the soup was really any good.
All in all this soup was so good that it made my husband proclaim “You’re really good at making soup, I think it’s something you’ve mastered”!!
Which is such a compliment. Truly, when he does share verbal affirmations, they are like Tahitian pearls filling my jewelry box! (Did I mention that I also get distracted quite easily, add this one to the list as well). I do think my husband was on to something.. Maybe not a soup master, well, not yet at least. I think I need to cook a thousand more soups to consider myself a soup master. Hey, maybe someday I’ll get there?? We’ll have to see 🙂
I hope you enjoy this Shepard’s pie soup recipe. You will truly be blessed for the lifetime of winters to come.
Bonne journée!!
Shepard’s Pie Soup
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven You could also use a stock pot. I just use a dutch oven because its what I have.
- 1 Wooden Spoon
- 1 Chefs Knife
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Liquid Measuring cup
- 1 Dry Measuring cups
- 1 Tbsp and tsp measurement
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
- 1 tsp salt divided
- 2 Tbsp salted butter
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 3 carrots chopped
- 3 celery ribs chopped
- 1 cup diced potatoes or frozen corn
- 5 cups chicken stock or beef stock
- 1 cup peas can be fresh or frozen
- 1½ tsp finely chopped rosemary
- 1½ tsp finely chopped thyme
- 4 oz cubed cream cheese
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup freshly shredded cheddar Must be freshly shredded or the cheese won't combine properly with soup. It will be chunky if you use shredded cheese from a bag.
- ½ tsp Lawry's seasoning salt
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes Can omit if you don't like any spice.
Instructions
- Add olive oil to the pot and turn burner to medium heat.
- Add ground turkey and ½ tsp of salt and brown until fully cooked (the center being at 165℉).
- Once the ground turkey is browned, remove from pan and place in a bowl or plate and leave off to the side to add later on. Now add butter, onion, carrots, celery and another ½ tsp of salt to the pot and saute until the vegetables are al dente soft (so not too soft, still slightly firm).
- Once the vegetables are al dente, add diced potatoes and stir.
- Then add chicken stock and turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium high and put cover on pot and let it boil for about 7 minutes. Check the potatoes at 7 min to see if they are fully cooked. If not put the cover on and boil for another 2 minutes. If they are fully cooked, then turn heat down to low and remove cover.
- Once you have removed the cover add peas and stir. Then add rosemary, thyme, cubed cream cheese, and heavy cream while stirring constantly. You will see the cream cheese is chunky. That's okay!!! Keep stirring until the chunks have completely "melted" or dissolved. This may take awhile (2 min tops) but it's worth it so you don't have weird white chunks floating around.
- Now add cooked ground turkey, seasoning salt and red pepper flakes.
- Ladle into bowls and serve. Enjoy!! 🙂