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.
Very good 😌
This is the second shepard’s pie recipe I have tried. I did not like the first one much at all and almost didn’t make this one because of that. I am glad I decided to give this recipe a try. It is so good!!!!
Delicious! My family loved it & cleaned the dish!
So yummy!!! Used buttermilk instead of half and half because I had just the right amount left. Added some red pepper flakes for a bit more heat. I cannot digest corn (nor any human for that matter) so added some bell peppers. This made the meat portion a bit more liquid probably, but still delicious.
Delicious recipe! I used 3 teaspoons of italian seasoning insyead the herbs listed and put it in a 9.5 inch pie dish. Turned out perfect!
I kept eyeing my cayenne pepper but decided against it.. any ideas to add a little more spice to this?
I had enough leftover Leg of lamb carved it up into small pieces and since I am partial to dijon mustard and lamb I put a helping tablespoon.
Wish me luck. I’m making this tonight. I saw one comment somewhere that they added cream corn layer between meat and potatoes, so I’m trying that. The kids love corn
My family loved this! It is absolutely perfect! I do have a question though — I am making this for a friend, and plan to make it ahead of time (excluding the baking part), and set it in the fridge overnight, so she can reheat the next day. Would she still follow the same baking instructions of 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes when heating/baking the next day? Thanks for your help!
We loved this! I’ve tried so many and this is the one! Even better the next day.
Why dirty another pan why not put mashed potatoes over the meat mixture in that pan??? Add some wine to mixture too
Used half cauliflower, half potatoes for the top. Only had canned cream corn and that worked well. Surprised me. Fantastic dish! Parmesan adds so much flavour.
Really tasty recipe for Sheppard’s Pie; it’s the only one I use. I make a couple small personal tweaks and it’s delicious everytime; it even impresses my hubby. It keeps well for leftovers but that doesn’t last long anyway because it’s so good. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Easy recipe to follow and very delicious!
Made this tonight for supper & doubled the recipe to put the other one in the freezer for later use. Did not use fresh rosemary or thyme. I used garlic, Cavender’s & Tony Chacherie’s seasonings. I also added mushrooms and used cream of mushroom soup as my gravy. I also topped the Colby-Jack cheese and some re- crisped leftover curly que fries on top just for fun. It tasted great! Everyone loved it, so I’m glad I made the extra pan.
Used heavy cream it’s all I had then topped it with a bit of sharp cheddar and parsley which made it delicious looking also made meat I. Iron skillet and then topped and baked delicious
I’ve made this several times and absolutely LOVE it! I use milk instead of cream and less butter in the topping, but I always include the parmesan! The parsley, rosemary and thyme add such a nice flavour to the filling. Definitely a recipe I know I can always count on!
It was perfect! So delicious!
Can this be made ahead and baked later in the day?
As long as it’s kept in the fridge it comes out fine.
Yes it can, she suggested I’m the recipe you can make up to 3 days ahead before you bake!
Classic, easy recipe. My husband is a down home food kind of guy and this is right up his alley! I may do a double batch next time since it’s so easy and affordable to make!
Can you substitute red potatoes?
Yes! That is what I use and it is delicious! I also ground the rosemary up.
She’s right, its the best! Wouldn’t change a thing!
OMG. I have had a lot of shepherd’s pie. This is hands down the best. My whole family agrees – printed and will be a family staple.
I’ve made this recipe twice so far, and it is absolutely delicious and easy to follow!