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.
I thought the Shepherds pie was great! Very tasty and moist! I had also made the Meatloaf and it was wonderful and a weekly dish at our house!
Absolutely perfect! So delicious. Last night I made this with beef and used the exact recipe which was as excellent as it could be. Husband approved and licked his plate!!!
Amazing..I used turkey ground meat and it was delicious..hubby loved it as well..will definitely use this recipe again the next time I make Shepherds pie..Thanks for posting it!
I could not get lamb so I used hamburger meat.
Followed the recipe exactly except I added extra broth to make it more moist. Excellent recipe.
I actually used Ground Venison instead of beef or lamb, it was excellent!!
Oh. Em. Gee!!! This recipe turned out amazing!! I used the double recipe, and I used 4 small/ medium potatoes, and one medium sweet potato, because it had to be used, and it was absolutely amazing.
5 stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This dish was delicious! Everyone loved it and thought it was the best shepherds pie they had ever eaten. I added a stalk of celery and used frozen mixed vegetables in place of frozen carrots and peas. I also didn’t have thyme so I used marjoram instead.
Best Shepards Pie I’ve ever tasted. I made this recipe with ground lamb twice and everyone loved it. Will only use this recipe from now on.
Wonderful flavor. This will be added my families favorites. Thank you
This is delicious! Made it exactly as the recipe, used lamb. Just perfect.
Delicious ! Omitted the rosemary as my husband is not a fan but Wouldn’t change any other part of this recipe and will definitely make this again.
So good! I’m making this for the second time in a week tonight! Great for a chilly fall/winter night. The first time I did not have parm cheese, I just topped it with a cheddar blend which was good! Tonight I made as written. It’s in the oven as we speak!
Simply amazing!
We make shepard’s pie a lot and after trying this recipe, our family agrees this is the BEST we have ever had! We used frozen mixed veggies and also added shredded parm to the top. I didn’t have all of the seasonings so I used an “herbs de Provence” blend (which had all of the herbs needed plus a few!) We used an 8×8 dish and it was perfect. We are definitely saving this recipe!
The only thing I will change the next time I make this dish is to omit the rosemary. It takes over the dish too much. Other than that, it’s delicious!
My husband said it was the best he ever had. I will likely cut down on the butter just a bit or add an extra potato. Very delicious!
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe exactly, and would not change a thing.
My dinner guests raved! My husband thought he didn’t like lamb. Was totally converted.
Even a mediocre cook like myself made this and it was fabulous!!
This recipe is great. Since I always add my twist to a recipe I made the following changes.
Used half ground beef and half ground lamb
Added a diced jalapeño
Doubled the Worcestershire sauce
Added fresh corn cut off the cob
Added a prepared packet of gravy using the cup of broth from the recipe
Sprinkled shedded melty cheese on top
When you say you used a prepared packet of gravy using the cup of broth from the recipe. Did you add that to the shepherds pie mixture or as a gravy like topping?
The best! I’m married to Mr Picky and he loved it
Awesome recipe, great flavor! I only made a few modifications. I added diced mushrooms, slightly more beef broth and a tablespoon of “Better than Bullion” to the meat. It’s delicious either way!
Loved this recipe my 9 year old wouldn’t eat my sisters but he ate all of this one. The spices really create a wonderful bite.
It was delicious I would definitely make this recipe again
Loved it. Not for everyone but I also added a splash of bourbon to the ground beef as I was cooking that. Wife and picky 9-year-old son both loved it. Also skipped the cheese due to lactose intolerance, still very yummy.