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.
My 1 year old is going through her not wanting to eat phase. Made this recipe the other day and she wanted to eat every bite. Very impressed!
This is one of the best Shepherd pies I have ever made. The spices and texture was wonderful.
Most Excellent! My family thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. It was rather soupy though. So next time, I’ll reduce the beef broth by 1/2 C.
Delicious!!! Whole family loved it! Only thing I did differently was to use up leftover Bob Evan’s mashed potatoe, instead of making my own. Will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the recipe.
This recipe is delicious. Will share and definitely make again!
Amanda, THANK YOU for this recipe! I made the shepherd’s pie without onion and a few spices and it was still a hit and tasted delicious and was super nourishing. My father has high food standards and it passed his standards too. The tomato paste was a nice addition to the filling and it didn’t overpower the taste of the ground beef. This recipe was amazing and it’s going to be one of my go-to keepers for comfort food.
My son in law made this for the first time and it was the best Sheppard pie we have ever eaten! Hands down. Thank you.
Absolutely excellent! I did use fresh parsley, but other than that for once in my life I actually followed a recipe.
YUMMY! used half lamb and half beef.
This recipe, in particular, is ALWAYS a hit in my household. I do have to make some changes every time I make it, though, due to picky eaters. I am convinced I birthed the world’s pickiest eater (a now 14 year old boy)- because of his pickiness, I do not dare add the veggies. I also have a husband who weight lifts so I often have to double the meat portion (along with the seasonings for the meat) but I keep the potato portions the same. I usually never have tomato paste on hand so I always leave that out as well and this recipe STILL comes out perfectly delicious every single time! Both my son and husband have been requesting this recipe to be added into our weekly line up for the last couple of months now- since the first time I tried it! I’ve also made a couple other cottage pie recipes and when I have, they always bring up how this first one was always better in comparison- even with the minus of a few ingredients! Thank you so much!!
Great recipe, Winter comfort. My husband loves this.
Made this recipe yesterday for the first time – so delicious!!
Shepherd’s Pie has always been one of my husband’s favorite dishes. This is the first time I’ve tried making it, and this recipe was so easy to follow. It was husband AND kid approved! Have saved this recipe to use again 🙂
I’ve only made shepherd’s pie a couple times, and was looking for an easy yet tasty recipe. This recipe did not disappoint! I followed it almost exactly, only having to substitute the beef broth. I didn’t have any, so I used beefy onion soup mix in a cup of water for a “homemade” broth. My family and I liked it so much we all had a second helping!
Wonderful and it’s my first time making it.
My family loves this recipe. It has been put into the regular rotation of meals during the colder months. The big plus is that it is easy to make!
Best Shepherd’s Pie version I’ve ever made! I did adjust the rosemary by half to suit my taste. This will be my go-to from now on! Thanks!
Hands down , the best I’ve ever had.
Can I prepare in the morning and refridgerate until I’m readin to cook the pie for dinner?
I’ve never had much less prepared shepherds pie before. It does indeed deserve a five star rating. I’m not one for a goulash type dish. But the recipe was perfect in combining all of the different types of ingredients, none of which really stood out separately, but in combination were fantastic. Thank you.