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 Dad called this dish “delightful” at least 3 times. It was so good, we couldn’t stop eating. We finished a 8×8 tray between the two of us. Luckily, I took a portion of everything and put it into a bread pan to freeze for another day.
Yum yum yum!!!
I have a family of picky eaters and this recipe was a major hit! Most went up for seconds (those who had any room left)! I will definitely be putting this recipe on rotation:)
I have been wanting good shepherd’s pie for a couple of months now and was excited to find this recipe. My mom made shepherd’s (cottage) pie when I was growing up but never really wrote down what she did. This recipe was great and my brother and I really liked it. Very similar to what we had growing up. I changed a handful of things due to preference or what I had in the kitchen. I realized last minute I was out of rosemary so I subbed for italian seasoning and sage. I used a sweet onion instead of yellow onion and subbed the half and half with heavy cream. I didn’t weigh my potatoes but I do know I had more than 2 lbs. I only peeled one potato and kept the skins on the other two. Also accidentally overfilled the garlic as I was measuring over the bowl, so there was extra garlic powder. You know when you tap-tap-tap to fill the measuring spoon then it all comes crashing out? It all worked out though since I did use more than enough potatoes. Lastly, baked in a 7×11 metal pan. One thing that I like about this dish is that it is a little bit foolproof and allows you to use up what’s in your kitchen. I remember sometimes my mom would use instant potatoes, sometimes covered in cheddar cheese, sometimes different veggies, varying typs of gravy and seasoning.
This is a fabulous recipe.. it’s quick and easy! My family loved it and it was effortless:)
I was confused with the recipe only stating 2 large potatoes. Seemed like more in the video. I stuck to recipe, cut back butter because thought 1 stick was a lot for only 2 potatoes. In hindsight, wish I had used more potatoes in order to have a thicker layer on top. First time making SP! Will make again!
I think I will use the meat filling for a meat pie. Delicious
This was delicious! Thank you for sharing!
What kind of parmesean? Grated? Shredded?
This is simply the best shepherd’s pie! We’re a plant-based family, so I use plant-based mince instead of beef, and replace the butter and cream with plant-based alternatives, but otherwise I stick to the recipe. I have made this so many times for guests, who are usually meat-eaters, and they all always go for seconds, saying how delicious it is. I have never come across a plant-based shepherd’s pie that is a winner, but with some personal preference adaptations, your recipe definitely is! I keep it close to hand, because I come back to it so regularly.
Delicious!
Excellent recipe. The herb mix and Worcestershire really complement the taste of the filling. I always seem to have left over rice from take out so I used 3/4 lb meat and added cooked rice to the filling with the liquid for a thickener instead of the flour. Also substitute milk and Greek yogurt for the cream in the potato topping. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve made this several times for my family it’s a must at least twice a month!!! I make it with the beef and I double the recipe the pan that uses a 13 by 9 by 2.
I’ve tried several version, and I thought this one was delicious! I felt it was an easier recipe, that really didn’t take as much time as I thought. I had to sub fresh carrots, that I slightly steamed, with a half of a can of peas.
Recipe looks amazing. Got everything I needed to make it tonight now just realized I forgot the tomato paste. Is there a substitute?
Really like this recipe. We’ve made it several times now. Thank you
Do you drain the fat when browning meat?
Served this recipe for a church covered dish. Loved by all. They took the leftovers home and washed my dish, lol.
Made this exactly as written and it was excellent! Will definitely be making again! 5 stars!!!
I needed a quick dinner. I followed this recipe except I used instant brown gravy instead of the tomato paste. I used fresh carrots only 3 small ones.
1/2 of a green pepper, 1 small onion and a can of creamed corn
Only garlic powder, no other spices.
I used instant mashed potatoes. I put cheddar cheese on Top of meat mixture and again on top of the mashed potatoes. Yum
Absolutely delicious! This recipe has quickly become a staple in my home. I really enjoyed making it as well and it’s a pretty simple recipe if you’re used to cooking, even for beginners. Definitely double the recipe if you’re feeding more than 2 people. My boyfriend has a big appetite and I don’t think it would have been enough for the two of us if I didn’t double up.
This is an easy recipe for Shepherds Pie. We loved it. I did substitute catsup for the tomato paste because I didn’t have any. It is flavorful and I will definitely make it again.