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.
We’ve made this twice, using our left over holiday mashed potatoes. YUM! Has everything you need in it. My 9 yr old boy even had seconds both times! My husband enjoyed it so much, he ate all the left overs!
EXCELLENT! VERY FLAVORFUL AND EASY TO MAKE.
Easy recipe to follow. I love that it gives approximate times that each step should take for cooking. freezes well and tastes great! I have had demands to make it within a few days of the first time I made it! I have even added it to my meal prep sundays and split into smaller portions for when not everyone is home for a quick and easy meal that I can just toss in my toaster oven.
There are alot of components but for the most part, I had all ingredients on hand so don’t really need to take time to plan ahead.
I think the only part that I ‘tweaked’ was the potatoes as my family loves the potatoes and had to double that part of the recipe the 2nd time.
Made this plenty of times and it never disappoints! Sheppards pie has been one of my favorites since I was a little kid and this recipe is by far the best one I’ve tried yet. I’ve followed it to a T and it’s turned out perfect but it was still just as great the times I’ve had to substitute a few ingredients. I have made it in the past by substituting half and half for 2% skim milk, using regular ground beef and draining it, and using canned vegetables rather than froze
n (they were a little mushy but still great flavor)! Thank you for this recipe, definitely deserves the 5 stars!
The only thing I substituted was using sweet potato instead of white potato for the topping. This recipe was very good and it’s in my meal/menu rotation now
This recipe should be 10 stars a very delicious and filling meal and my family loves it. Next time I’ll make a bigger batch because there were hardly any leftovers
It’s rare that a recipe actually lives up to the hype, but this one absolutely does. All I can say is “daaaamn Gina!”. So.freaking.good!!!!!
What do you recommend for cooking if frozen? I’m assuming to freeze it before baking. Should I just extend the baking time? Cover with foil at first? Thanks!
Wonderful dish 🙂 I’ve made about 3 times already 🤍 enjoyed this recipe with added green beans and chickpeas as well 🥲 and broiled cheese and/or breadcrumbs on top 🙂 thank you so much for sharing this excellent dish!!
loads of flavour. We served it with sweet potato topping.
My first attempt at Shepherd’sPie and it was a rousing success! True, there are a few steps involved, but with the guidance of this well-written recipe, it is easy for any one to make this delicious dish. Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed. Enjoy!
Best sheppards pie recipe I have ever made.
Used a mixture of ground beef and ground lamb and topped the mashed potatoes with some grated Romano cheese. Outstanding!
This is the best I’ve tried and I’ve tried a bunch. I make it exactly to the recipe and nobody has ever not loved it. When somebody is trying it for the first time, I make sure to have a copy of the recipe printed out because I know they’re going to ask for it.
Grew up thinking my Mom’s shepherds pie was the greatest. We both use this recipe now. It’s simple, and for anyone wondering, it is exceptional with ground venison.
This recipe is easy and delicious 😋. Next time. I will probably not use a whole stick of butter as it made the mashed potatoes a little too wet for my taste. I’ll try 2/3 of a stick and see how it comes out. Other than that, phenomenal recipe.
Best shepherds pie ever! I followed the recipe exactly except I used fresh herbs instead of dried. If you do, use 1 tablespoon fresh instead of 1 teaspoon dried. It was amazing!
I forgot to give this five stars!
A new family favourite- thanks!
This was a easy recipe and turned out great I used a reap dish pie crust and taste great
This is the best Shepards pie I have ever made and eaten, my family loves this.
It has become a family favourite. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.💜💜💜
Super easy , and fast to make ! My family loves this recipe.