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.
Oh and I also added mushrooms.
I love this recipe and it was so yummy. Could chicken or turkey be substituted?
I almost forgot,i added some mixed veggies.
I took some leftovers. Mashed potatoes,beef and added some cheese to it. It turned out good. Leftovers make the best and easiest Sheppard pie. Plus it’s filling
I made this for a family get together. It was so good! I doubled the recipe because of the number of people. I made and assembled it the night before. Because it had been refrigerated, I baked it on 350° 45 minutes to 1 hour. The meat (I used ground beef) and the potato layer were both flavorful. The amount of liquid in both layers was just right- moist but not soupy. I was surprised there was parmesan cheese in the potato layer but it was quite good. I followed the recipe exactly and it was just right. I highly recommend this recipe.
Thank you for the yummy recipe!
This was very good. It is the first time I’ve made it and I am 75. Lol it was relatively easy to make and very inexpensive. I wish I had made this when my children were small. I know they would have loved it.
Definitely a hit, I added mushrooms to mine 🤤
I really like this recipe, but I confess I buy Bob Evans mashed potatoes for the topping. They are delicious and what a time saver. I’ll be making this for a group dinner next week. I love that I can make it ahead, then pop it in the oven, with a salad and some rolls! Delicious!
Tastes wonderful!
I made this shepherds pie it was delicious very flavourful I will be making this more often
This was delicious! I just wanted to comment that this recipe as-is is not remotely enough for 6 adults, lol. I doubled it and it was a hit.
After trying several shepherds pie recipes, this is the one we settled on. We’ve made it with beef, lamb, and a combo of the two. We double it every time but otherwise make it exactly as directed. Great recipe that we all love!
Delicious!! My husband hates shepherd’s pie and he loves it!! That’s how good it is!
10/10 this is delicious. It’s on our rotation. Easy to make, simple ingredients. The whole family loves this, even my husband who doesn’t like shepards pie. Only thing I do differently is drain the ground beef.
Luv luv luv 💓💗💖
My Little Kids LOVED THIS RECIPIE IT WAS A 10/10 FOR ALLL OF THEM!!!!!
I am 53 years old and I have never eaten Shepherds Pie, let alone make it & bake it. All I have to say is OMFG !!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU AND THANK YOU. I wish you happiness and good health always.
I randomly found this recipe while looking for a dinner idea today. This was so delicious and I will definitely make it again. The seasoning choices made this dish so good and the addition of Parmesan cheese to the potatoes was a nice touch. My family loved this.
Omg delicious 😋 made exactly as posted except a smidge more Parmesan in the potato!
Thank you for this recipe!
Made this tonight for our neighbors and us….I was told it was the BEST shephard’s pie EVER. I didn’t have rosemary on hand so I substituted “Italian Seasoning” for both the rosemary and thyme. I also am not a big fan of the peas and carrots, so I used 1 cup of frozen corn and 1/2 a cup of frozen peas and carrots. The mashed potato topper was well worth making, I almost used boxed mashed potatoes but am SO glad I didn’t! SUPER DELISH! Thanks for a great recipe!