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 easy recipe. So delicious! I didn’t have dried rosemary and subbed dried sage. I also didn’t have beef broth in the house and used chicken broth. Even with those subs it was wonderful.
Family loved it
Made 4 of these at once for ourselves and friends in need and they tasted just like growing up at home on the farm in England! Delicious and plenty of flavor. Made them with mule deer meat ground up with beef fat and bacon. So we renamed ours to game pie or Montana pie. Thankyou so much for a great recipe!!!
Thank you. Just perfect. God bless!
Have made this several times and it’s always a hit! Great recipe easy to follow.
Thank you for the wonderful shepherds pie recipe. Makes a great tasting meal for a grey winter day!
This is an excellent recipe! Easy and delicious!
Excellent
This was an excellent recipe! I added some mushrooms to the meat mixture and I used leftover mashed potatoes instead of making fresh. I also added a 1/4 cup of Parm to the top of the potatoes and drizzled them with 2 T melted butter. It was an excellent way to use leftover mashed potatoes.
Delicious, but it did not hold up as it looks in the picture. I think I will use less broth for the next batch and double the potatoes.
Wonderful recipe, perfect for winter!
My husband wants me to make it for his snowmobile trip with buddies. If frozen, can this go straight in the oven, or would it need to be defrosted first?
5 Stars. I never even knew I liked Shepherds Pie! Delicious!
First time making Shepherd’s Pie and wow this recipe is easy and turned out fantastic! Very tasty. Definitely a keeper.
Family approved!
Very easy and delish
I cheated and used simply smart potatoes
Will defined make this dish again
excellent and then some.
I made this last night using 1/3 lb lamb and a lb of ground beef. It was delicious! I’m not a big fan of lamb by itself, but mixing it with the ground beef gave just enough flavor to make this dish stand out! Also I omitted the Rosemary, since my husband can’t have it, and doubled the Thyme. Thank you for adding a new favorite to my list.
Delish! I did all the cooking in my Braiser ~ while the Potatoes were boiling. Then I just layered on the Potatoes and baked the whole thing in the Oven. Super easy Super fast
I Doubled the Recipe~ It was a Meal for 4 adults !
Using LAMB & YUKON GOLDs ~ All of your spices and seasonings were delicious~I didn’t change a thing !
We aren’t into alot of dairy so for the Potatoes ONLY used 1 butter stick for 8 large Yukon Golds ! That’s It ~ nothing else! Yukons whip up well and taste the best !
what can i usestead od half and half
Regular milk
I made a sirloin roast in the crockpot the night before for dinner… I used the leftovers (which tbh were kind of dry) in this recipe and it was one of the best things EVER…weirdly I had all the ingredients except frozen carrots on hand and it was pretty easy to throw together. My boyfriend ate half the pan for dinner. I am sending this recipe to everyone!