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.
This was absolutely delicious! My cousin told me it was the best tasting shepherds pie he has ever eaten. I definitely would recommend this recipe
This is fantastic. I am making it yet again!
My family loves this shepards pie and so do I. We would have it every night if we could.
Very easy to prepare and it big hit during the Army Navy game
Great meal train dish for a family welcoming a newborn! I followed the recipe to a T the first time. Very flavorful and great balance of meat mixture to mashed potatoes. During the second time around, I used raw carrots sauteed with the onions to tenderize them because I didn’t have the frozen mixed peas and carrots. I also used 2 and 1/2 pounds of russet potatoes. I added an extra tablespoon of butter, a splash more of milk, and a bit more seasoning to it. It was just as delicious as the first time. It can definitely be modified to preference which makes this recipe amazing!
The only shepperds pie i ever make.
For my personal taste I always increase tomato paste and veggies ammount, makes for a perfect freezer-to-oven all-in-one-meal that way. I also mix beef with a bit of pork for a less dry feeling texture.
Other than that, would recomend making it more saucy if its to be frozen, it always dries a bit more than the fresh version.
Never made this ever. One of my husband’s favorites. He loved it! He said it needs to go into the rotation! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!!
Nicely written straightforward recipe, simple ingredients that added up to a quick and delicious meal. Minimally adjusted solely due to items I had on hand, including instant potatoes that I “doctored up” a bit to increase their richness. Nice to add a new dish to our repertoire, great comfort food after long days at work in cold weather too! Thanks so much for your post. 😊
Best shepherd’s pie I’ve ever had! This was a hit with my family and will be in our regular meal rotation now.
Excellent, just like my Grandma’s. It is easy to make!!
Made no changes to the recipe and found it delicious! Next time will add a leek
This is sooooo good. I followed recipe exactly using lean organic grass fed beef. It is very easy to make and comes together nicely. Next time I might add a sprinkle of cheese to top of potatoes just before it is done for a little extra cheesiness. My husband even said we could have this again, and that’s rare! Leftovers are just as good and my daughter brought the remaining serving to work for her dinner. Thank for this recipe
Awesome recipe!
First time making this recipe and it was delicious! My family loved it.
One of my favorite home cooked meals!
I tried this for the first time. I was very delicious. I cut the rosemary back to a 1/4 tsp. as I find it to be too strong. I made a double batch so I could freeze 1/2 of it for another time. I recommend this recipe. Will make again.
I have used this recipe many times and I love it and so does my son.
Tasty, but heed the note to use the highest percentage of leanness in the ground beef (90 %). I used 75% because that’s what I had on hand and was left with a pool of grease in the bottom of the dish.
I’ve made this recipe numerous times now and it is delicious. Both the meat mixture and potatoes have such good flavour. It’s also filling and satisfying without being a ton of calories. I’ve found that I get best results using the full 2 lbs of potatoes. I actually like to weigh about 2.5 lbs with the skin on so I end up with 2 lbs once peeled. I’ve found the mash to be greasy if there’s less potato than that as there is quite a bit of butter.
Delicious, hearty, and comforting. I make this recipe at least once a week as my meal prep!