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.
I made this recipe with a few substitutions. I sautéed my seasoning blend with a pack of frozen vegetable all. I sautéed them until everything was cooked. Then put everything together. It turned out very good. I didn’t have all the ingredients so I used what I had on hand.
I made this recipe tonight and I must say that it was absolutely delicious! I shared it with a few friends, and I would definitely make it again.
Made this tonight for my family and everybody loved it. I will definitely be making this again!
I really enjoyed this and will make it again. I rate it five stars because it tasted delicious. I had a few minor problems with soupiness that were probably due to my adding extra frozen vegetables (total of 2.5C) without adding extra thickener. Except for cooking the potatoes, I made and baked the dish in a deep 12-inch cast iron pan – which worked very well.
I used ground lamb and was happy with the results. Because ground lamb can be fattier than beef, I cooked it first and drained all of the fat. (I at first saved the drainings and chilled them, planning to add juice back in after skimming the fat. It turned out it was 80% fat so I just trashed them.) I set the cooked lamb aside while I cooked the onions and spices; I added the lamb back in step 5 with the vegetables.
In addition to extra frozen vegetables, I used extra onion (one very large sweet onion in total), a diced extra-large jalapeno pepper with all seeds and membranes removed for more complex flavor, and three large cloves of garlic.
I enjoy flavorings, but try to use less salt. I used almost a tablespoon each of crushed rosemary and crushed thyme plus ground pepper. I also added a pinch (1/4t) of cayenne pepper to the mashed potato mix.
The dish baked up beautifully even though it was a bit runny (my fault) – but was delicious. I can’t wait to try it again.
My kids loved this! My son keeps asking for more shepherds pie!! Thank you so much for sharing this winner!
I’ve made shepherds pie 100+ times but I decided to google it for some ideas that might enhance my basic recipe. There are some additional spices added here which resulted in my pie going from good to truly delicious. Wonderful recipe!! Thank you, Amanda, for sharing a great recipe.
So good!! I do add a bit more cheese 5 minutes before taking it out of the oven….family favorite!
I never comment on recipes, but this recipe was so good I felt inspired too. I’ve made shepherds pie many times before, but I decided to try a new recipe tonight and I’m so glad I picked this one. I followed this recipe to a T and it was delicious. I will make it this way from now on. Thanks for posting. 😋
So delicious! The perfect comfort food this winter. Enjoyed with good friends.
I have made this several times. It is delicious. Making it tonight!
This came out very good and both my kids really enjoyed it. I ended up adding just a little bit more broth to the meat/veg mixture. Also, I used milk for the mashed potatoes. Will definitely be making this again. 👍🏻
Easy to make and a great way to use up left over mashed potatoes. in fact when I am making mashed potatoes, I make extra so I can make this another day. My family loves it.
EXCELLENT !!!
This recipe is excellent! I used non-soy plant based “ground beef” instead of beef and it was so delicious. My nephew asked for the recipe and said he could eat the dish every day.
I made it exactly as the recipe. Very flavourful! This is probably the best shepherd’s pie to my liking. I am not sure how my family will like it but I will give this recipe full credit.
Family loved it, a real hit. Very easy to make!
I used chicken broth & red wine instead of beef broth. I made it with ground lamb. I wouldn’t say it serves 6, even after I added additional peas & carrots.
I love this recipe. I can’t remember if I’ve already rated it but I make it a few times a month and it’s always a hit. It’s also my go-to when sending meals to others for whatever reason. I’m epically slow at it, but it’s a labor of love well worth it. I’ve finally printed it out to put in a book so I can do it without the internet. Thank you so so much!
Made this for my family, everyone thought it was delicious and ate seconds. Stellar recipe, easy to follow, accessible ingredients — it rocked! Thank you so much!
Fantastic TRUE shepherds pie recipe. My husband and I are cheese heads so we add a layer of cheddar cheese on top midway through cooking.