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.
Great recipe – I was wondering if there was any way of freezing it and using it at a later date. If so, how do we go about storing it?
Made this tonight!
We used ground turkey, but everything to your recipe…oh and we used fresh herbs because we had them on hand.
So excited to have extras tomorrow!
thanks! great recipe!
eva
I made one for my family and one for my in-laws and everybody raved about this one! I used ground beef and prepared exactly as stated. My mashed potatoes have never tasted so good!! Deliscious!
LOVE this recipe, it has now become a staple dinner in our weekly rotation!
Love it. Easy and delicious. Perfect way to use leftovers – chop up leftover meat for the protein and add leftover veg to the peas, carrots and onions. AND I use cauliflower instead of potatoes. The secret is in the tomato past/worcestershire sauce/herb mixture – it makes anything you put in it taste great.
I used organic ground beef from Costco. I forgot to get rosemary and tomato paste, so I used some leftover chunky vegetable spaghetti sauce. It was still really tasty without the rosemary. I needed a new ground beef recipe and I’ve never tried this, so I thought I’d try it out.
I make this shepherds pie at least once a month it is so easy and full of flavor.I use canned veggies with premade flaked potatoes with shredded cheddar cheese on top. My husband and I devour this dinner. So beware!!!
Absolutely superb. Great instructions. Easy to follow. I used ground lamb. Perfection!!!! Best flavor!!!
Made this for my four picky grandkids and they ate it up. It’s a great way to use extra mashed potatoes too!
How long do you bake it at 400 for? I didnt see it in the recipe.
Perfect! We loved this. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Easy to make and delicious. I didn’t have beef stock or dried Rosemary, so I used veg stock cubes.
I absolutely love this recipe! Food came out delicious, I have made it a couple of times. Just substituted acorn squash for mashed potatoes, and used half the butter it calls for. Still came out great! Thank you
I made this with lamb and it is really good! I’ll try it with Venison later this Winter because we have a bit in the freezer. I added paprika and parsley to the top and cooked it in my cast iron deep skillet. It was done quickly. Saving to Evernote!
Very yummy. Made a double batch for leftovers. Always better the second time.
I make a lot of Shepherds Pie and keep coming back to this recipe. I do add shredding carrots at the end of cooking the meat and then use frozen corn and peas separately. I’ve never been a fan of cooked/pre frozen carrots (just preference). Use fresh rosemary and thyme because I have them. Sprinkle chili powder on top of potatoes after I’ve used a fork to create indentations. Super good. Son always asks for Shepherds Pie so this is one of my go to’s.
What is the green topping in the picture? Thanks for a great recipe
This was one of the best recipes I have made in a long time!!! The directions were perfect and easy to follow. I am not an expert chef, but this recipe was so good and fool proof and it turned out divine!!! I don’t know if I have ever left a review for a recipe before, so this means something. I made it for my husband’s birthday and he and my kids loved it!!!
YUM! This was the best I’ve ever made (or eaten!) I did make a couple slight modifications to please my tastebuds. I eliminated the Rosemsry and thyme in the meat mixture,not being an herb fan. in the potatoes I eliminated the parmesan cheese. (I found them flavorful enough without it!
This will become a regular addition to my list of comfort foods!
I absolutely love this recipe. My family loves it too. 3 year old kid approved! I’ve made it twice so far and have made it a little bit healthier. I used acorn squash instead of potatoes, vegetarian vegetable broth- low sodium, and half the butter asked. Still turned out delicious!
Excellent! I used 1/4 lamb and 3/4 beef – the perfect bit of lamb flavour for me. I also added some mushrooms, and used tomato jam as I didn’t have paste. Delicious!