The Best Classic Shepherd’s Pie – AKA Shepards Pie or Cottage Pie. Ground Beef (or lamb) with vegetables in a rich gravy, topped with cheesy mashed potatoes, and baked.
Shepherd’s Pie
So, this is how you spell it: Shepherd’s Pie. But, from doing a quick google search, it came to my attention that TONS of people think it’s Shepards Pie.
Irish Shepherd’s Pie
Traditional Irish Shepherd’s Pie would actually call for ground lamb. The difference between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie is the meat. Cottage Pie uses ground beef, while Shepherd’s Pie uses ground lamb.
I called this recipe Shepherd’s Pie. But, I wrote the recipe so that you could use ground beef or ground lamb.
I typically use ground beef because it is widely available. But, for a special occasion, like St. Patricks day, I would use ground lamb.
How To Make Shepherd’s Pie
(Note – The full printable recipe is at the bottom of this post)
- Sauté some chopped onions in olive oil.
- Add ground beef or ground lamb.
- Add dried parsley, dried thyme, dried rosemary, salt, and pepper.
- Stir and cook the meat mixture until the meat is browned.
- Add minced garlic and Worcestershire sauce.
- Cook the garlic for a minute.
- Add flour and tomato paste.
- Add beef broth, frozen mixed peas and carrots, and frozen corn kernels.
- Simmer the meat gravy until it is thick.
- Boil some peeled and chopped potatoes until they are soft.
- Drain the potatoes
- Add butter, half & half, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Mash the potatoes until smooth.
- Pour the meat mixture into a casserole dish.
- Top it with the cheesy mashed potatoes.
- Bake until the meat is bubbling and the potatoes are golden.
Easy Shepherd’s Pie
Making the best Shepherd’s Pie is not difficult. But, there are a few steps to it. You have to make the meat mixture, the mashed potatoes, assemble the casserole, and bake it.
I find that the easiest way to make this dish is to work ahead. You could make the beef or lamb mixture ahead of time. Or, you could make the mashed potatoes ahead of time.
You could also make the whole recipe ahead of time. Just assemble the casserole, cover the dish, and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it. I find it is best to bake it within 3 days of preparing it.
When you are ready to bake it, take it out of the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before you need to bake it to let it start coming to room temperature. Uncover it, and bake.
What to serve with The Best Shepherd’s Pie
- Deviled Eggs
- Roasted Broccoli from Skinnytaste
- The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Watch the Video for the Best Classic Shepherd’s Pie Below.
Find more of my recipes on TikTok
Best Classic Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Meat Filling:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 lb. 90% lean ground beef -or ground lamb
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 garlic cloves -minced
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup frozen mixed peas & carrots*
- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
Potato Topping:
- 1 ½ - 2 lb. russet potatoes -about 2 large potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter -1 stick
- 1/3 cup half & half
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
Make the Meat Filling.
- Add the oil to a large skillet and place it over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the onions. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the ground beef (or ground lamb) to the skillet and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Add the parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt, and and pepper. Stir well. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the meat is browned, stirring occasionally.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the flour and tomato paste. Stir until well incorporated and no clumps of tomato paste remain.
- Add the broth, frozen peas and carrots, and frozen corn. Bring the liquid to a boil then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Set the meat mixture aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Make the potato topping.
- Place the potatoes in a large pot. Cover the potatoes with water. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, 10-15 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander. Return the potatoes to the hot pot. Let the potatoes rest in the hot pot for 1 minute to evaporate any remaining liquid.
- Add butter, half & half, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mash the potatoes and stir until all the ingredients are mixed together.
- Add the parmesan cheese to the potatoes. Stir until well combined.
Assemble the casserole.
- Pour the meat mixture into a 9x9 (or 7x11) inch baking dish. Spread it out into an even layer. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the meat. Carefully spread into an even layer.
- If the baking dish looks very full, place it on a rimmed baking sheet so that the filling doesn’t bubble over into your oven. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.** Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Check out all of my great ground beef recipes.
Awesome and super easy. Love it!!!!
I just made this. Followed the directions for meat mixture exactly. I used family style Bob Evans’s Sam’s added the Parmesan to the potatoes. Topped with shredded cheddar and paprika. Honestly it was delicious!
When I made it I put the garlic in after I sautéed the onion. I also mixed the flour with the beef broth and tomato paste and blended them together before I added it to the pan. I did not want to add flour to the hot pot.
This recipe came out great. The amount of spices is perfect. I had never made shepherd’s pie before and it was delicious.
Wow! That was probably the best Shepherds Pie I’ve ever had! Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. My husband couldn’t get enough of it!
Delicious and easy! My husband and I loved this!
Awesome recipe for large family!
Personally, I would have omitted the broth since I enjoyed the robust flavor prior to adding it, but my family loved the final result per the recipe instructions. I’ve never made creamer homemade mashed potatoes, so I will continue using the mashed potatoe recipe regularly moving forward.
really love this dish, will definitely make it again, I added sour cream to the mashed potatoes, also used fresh parsley
I followed the recipe to a T, but added some fresh diced mushrooms with tbl spoon of vinegar. She said it was great. She wants me to make my stuffed meat loaf again too.
I made this recipe tonight, doubling it due to 3 teens in my house with a few tweaks and I have to say it is the best one I have ever had. I have made many varieties of Shepherds Pie. I am not a huge fan of thyme or rosemary so I reduced the amount by half, added chunked up mushrooms and I couldn’t find frozen peas and carrots so I just got a frozen mixed vegetable that did include green beans. The mushrooms made the sauce on the meat so savory and delish! Making it again for sure! Excellent recipe!
I’ve made this dish many times and keep returning. I make it for my daughter to eat for lunch the whole week since she swims every day for 2 hrs. We all love it! Mom, dad, teen and preteen!
This is a great recipe.first time I used russet and I used idaho gold potatoes this time and they made a creamier topping and doesn’t take as long to cook. Also didn’t have beef broth so I dissolved 3 bullion cube in a cup of hot water. This recipe is very versatile you can really make it with what your family likes
This is my second time making this shepardpie we all love it
This was so good 👍
This is a family favourite! Absolutely delicious! I have one cooking as I type. 😊
made this May 31st. Simple, fun, and easy. My dad and I ate the entire thing last night, it was incredible. I will be making this recipe again.
I made this Shepherd’s Pie recipe for my son and I Easter Sunday. We thought it was very good. I used beef and followed the recipe except the rosemary and thyme I used were fresh (1 TBLS each) though the parsley was dried (1 tsp). The meat mixture came together very nicely and not overly saucy. I used a 7×11 pyrex baking dish and about 10 minutes before it was done I did need to place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch a few drips, but not a big deal. Would definitely make again!
Wasn’t hard to assemble and extremely tasty. I may reduce the amount of butter I use next time. But it was so good!
My husband and I love this recipe and have made it multiple times with ground lamb. I would recommend flipping the recipe though and making the potato part first and then pre heat the oven and start the meat portion. It just seems to flow better for me and you can prep the meat part while the potatoes cook.
A stick of butter? No wonder it tastes so good! The meat mixture recipe worked perfectly.