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.
My family loved this dish! Definitely would double the potatoes next time.
The best shepherds pie I have ever made. I have made this recipe so many times, I get so many compliments. My family loves this. Thank you s9 much for sharing
I followed this exactly except for I used ground chicken and chicken broth. It was easy and excellent! I appreciate the measurements for the vegetables, made it easier to create a mix when I did only had individual veggies. Family loved it for Pi day! Thank you.
How do I figure the amount of ingredients to make enough for 60 people?
Delicious and so easy to make
This is by far one of the best recipes I have made in my 44 years on Earth! Haha. I never eat this cause it usually has big beef chunks or lamb. My boyfriend’s daughter is 6 and won’t eat anything. She gave it a thumbs up!! Will def be a regular here! Love it!
Wow, this is so delicious. I made this from minced venison. Didn’t stay once, thanks for the recipe.
This was so good. My family loved it. It takes a while to prep but is well worth it. I did change the cheese to Colby Jack as I was out of Parmesan, and used fresh Rosemary from my garden. Thank you so much for posting.
2nd time making it & the family loves it. Super yummy!
This was my first time making Shepherds Pie and my whole family loved it! Definitely going to keep this in the dinner rotation.
I found this recipe about a year ago, and I make it often – everyone loves it! I do a shortcut though for busy weeknights – I buy the pre-made mashed potatoes in the refrigerated section. My fussy family has no idea – they think the mashed potatoes are homemade – and they rave over this dish.
I love this recipe. My way of helping those with sensitive gums, I put the dry herbs in a grinder and make them in powder, that way the dry herbs like rosemary or thyme does not get in between your teeth.
My family loves this dish. I also drained all the liquid fat from the cook ground lamb.
Helpful comment!)
This was the best shepherd’s pie we’ve ever eaten, but instead of putting half and half in potatoes, put hellmans mayonnaise instead.
My mother an I made this with substitutes. Instead of lamb or beef, we used chicken. We boiled it and removed the bones. We didn’t use frozen vegetables; we used canned vegetables. We drained the cans and rinsed them with chicken broth. We used corn and sweet peas. We also cut some scallions and celery and added them to the peas and corn. Topped with mashed/creamed potatoes. Baked at 350 for 30 minutes. Be sure to put the dish on a cookie sheet in case it boils over. It was delicious and we will make this again and again.
I added cooking sherry to my beef
Gravy .
Yum!
Super easy and delicious. I have made this twice. Doubled the recipe because it is so good. Great to make ahead and heat up later.
Execellente!!!!
Everyone loved it especially my husband;)
We lower the carb content by using mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes. If you add just a few potato flakes to the cauliflower, the taste and consistency is nearly identical to potatoes.
I make this recipe often. It is easy to make, and taste delicious. I normally have the ingredients on hand as well.
Love, love, LOVED this recipe! So easy and made my house smell sooooooo good. I doubled the recipe and thank goodness I did. My Son In Law and his friend ate over half of it! This is definately a keeper!!! Thank you for another great recipe Amanda!
What sized dish did you use to bake it with the recipe doubled?
I just mad this and doubled it. I put it into two 9×13 aluminum baking pans from the dollar store. I think it could have fit doubled in a deep 9x 13 regular glass dish though . Also, I sprinkled some cheddar cheese on top of the potatoes before baking as well as adding the Parmesan cheese into the potatoes.
We doubled the recipe too… perfect recipe for making ahead and giving to friends and family that are going through tough times!