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 recipe! Thank you! Perfect for a cold, rainly 33 degree day.
Anyone ever freeze this?
Yes. It defrost just fine.
Yes! I make this in a huge batch and I portion it out in single servings for my adult children because they love it so much. I don’t cook it in the oven, I leave that to the person eating it to do.
Yes you can easily freeze it before baking… just cover with several layers of plastic wrap.
You mean there is sometimes leftovers?! 😮
I came here for the same reason! Hoping for a reply to your question soon!
Yep. For me, thawing for at least an hour before reheating works best. I reheat in the oven @400. I’ve never tried microwaving, but I bet it would be okay for small portions
I absolutely love this recipe and so does my boyfriend I juts add a little more of Worcestershire sauce cause he loves it so much! make this recipe soo many times.
Love the meat gravy recipe. I actually put it over baked potatoes (included sweet). Soooo yummy and healthier.
Yummy. I used fresh carrots and they need a bit more cooking. So I added them before the frozen corn and peas. Also, I omitted the parmesan cheese from potatoes. It would have been good with cheddar too, I just got busy and forgot. Haha. Directions make it easy to follow
This is my boyfriend’s favorite. A weekly request comes in for this recipe! So simple and easy, and amazing results every time! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I made this today. It is so good. I made it on a charcoal grill the smokiness in the meat was awesome. Really enjoyed this recipe I’ll be making this recipe again and again.
That sounds like a great idea! Definitely trying it next time.
Growing up I HATED Shepherds pie. Now I think that was just because of how my mom made it. I used this recipe tonight and fell in love! I didn’t have any Worcestershire sauce but it didn’t REALLY need it to be good. I also used canned corn and peas instead of frozen and it was no issue. Super easy recipe with a delicious outcome. Will definitely be making this again in the future!
Thanks for this recipe, I used Guinness for the liquid (added a tsp of better than bullion beef base)
Scrumptious!
It was so good My Son said is was amazing Will cook it again. Thanks for sharing .
I cannot agree more this recipe is exactly on I avoid making shepherd’s pie because the recipe is so convoluted this recipe is so easy. I have to say this is my first food review for a recipe and it’s 5 stars all the way.
Great recipe! Instead of creamed potatoes I used Palmini Mashed which is mashed palm hearts. My first time eating Shepherd’s Pie and we loved it! Thank you!
For your shepherds pie recipe can I assemble it and then bake it the next day
Can you make this ahead?
I tried this for the first time for St Patricks day. It was amazing. The best part was there were no flavors that were overpowering, they just all complimented each other perfectly! The meat mixture reminded me of the meat pies I had in Australia…SO GOOD!
My husband refuses to eat corned beef or cabbage, so I made this for St. Patty’s Day. I’m glad I gave it a try. Absolutely delicious.
I made this for our St. Patrick’s day. Everyone had seconds! It was delicious.
This is an excellent Shepherd’s Pie recipe. Because my husband and I don’t like strong spice flavors, we halved the rosemary and thyme. I didn’t have frozen carrots, so I used fresh and precooked them a bit. In addition, I made the recipe a day ahead and refrigerated it until ready to bake, and it was delicious. This is a keeper and a great make-ahead dish for family or friends.
Loved this recipe I substituted half the broth for Guinness beer and added a heavy beef bouillon spread as well. I used cheddar cheese instead of Parmesan… makes more sense to me being Irish myself lol. I loved this though and it came out great!! I also doubled the recipe and used heavy cream and sour cream for the mashed potato’s 🙂 happy saint patty’s day everyone!
This was the best Shepherd’s Pie I have ever made. Absolutely delicious! Everyone wanted the recipe. Thanks for all the great tips. The flour and tomato paste are both what I think was always missing from mine. In the past, I was always wanting to add something. Loved it.
Hello, I made this in mini crocks and it was amazing. I just finished making it in bulk. Recipe times 5. It filled three half trays. I’m just unsure how long to cook it tomorrow and at what temp. I see I should take it out of the frig to get close to room temp first. Any suggestions?