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’m going to try your version of cottage pie.
I do mine a lot different.i use beef broth – then I label the frozen veggies on top of the burger in a baking dish.
I do make my mashed potatoes in a similar way – I’ve passed on my version to good reviews to other family members.
Best I have used.
When are you suppose to add the broth? I just added it when I put tomato paste in. Does it matter? Turned out great thanks!
Could you freeze and re-heat
I love sharpards pie.
What kind of parmesan cheese? Shredded or grated?
Can I make this ahead of time and freeze the whole casserole?
I’m not the poster, but I made this tonight. It was delicious!
You could definitely freeze the pan and reheat after thawing.
Thank you for making the difference between shepherds pie & cottage pie and not putting cheese on top! I’m Scottish/Irish living in Texas and a retired chef. My pet peeve is people getting the two pies mixed up! It looks really good, I forgo the peas as I am highly allergic to them!
Made this with beef and used frozen green beans and carrots because I didn’t have on hand peas or corn. The recipe is easier than it looks. My husband (Kurdish) had invited two of his brothers for dinner that night without telling me! We live in Canakkale Turkey, so you can imagine they never had this! It was delicious and they all want me to make it again! The next time I will try it with lamb. 👍👍👍👍👍
What temp. Should I bake the shepherd’s pie at?
The recipe says 400 degrees.
400 degrees Fahrenheit
I searched for the temperature, too, and didn’t see it, FYI.
My first time making Shepherd’s Pie and this was a hit!
Best Shepherd’s pie I’ve. This recipe was fast and easy and delicious.
Thank you.
Can you make this ahead and freeze as a freezer meal?
Have tried several different recipes for Shepherd’s pie that were just OK. This will be my go to recipe for Shepherd’s pie from now on. It was delicious!!
This was amazing!!!! Thank god there were only 3 of us on this dish- didn’t stand a chance. So much flavor and so delicious.
The best! I changed it to be gluten and dairy free. So easy. Family favorite.
This is the BEST Shepherd’s Pie. Full of flavor, both filling and topping!
Easy to make and tastes great. I only used a half a stick of butter in the mashed potatoes and it still tastes great. There should be a note to fluff the top of the smashed potatoes to help get the browning on top of the Shepard’s pie.
Are we not supposed to drain the meat after it is cooked? I didn’t see that step in the video or instructions.
Only if your meat is especially greasy. The flour will soak up some of the grease.
Delicious! This recipe is definitely a keeper!
what temp should internal temp be when done?
Not a critical factor as everything is already cooked through. The posted 25 minutes @ 400 degrees will brown the potatoes for a nice look and more than heat the meat/veggies.
I used mashed frozen Bird’s Eye cauliflower to lower the carbs. This turned out great.