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.
Full disclosure, I have never before made or even eaten Shepherds Pie. It seemed an odd dish. Well I am a believer now. I followed the recipe pretty closely. I think the Worcestershire is the key. Not that I have a reference point. Definitely a great comfort type food for a cold day. Thanks!
I never leave reviews on recipes. This is, by far, one of the best recipes I’ve made from scratch. I used canned French Green Beans instead of the 1/2 cup of carrots only because I didn’t have any and omg, this was excellent. I also used 2% milk instead of half and half. Everything else, I made to the T. This was SO FREAKING GOOD! thank you 🙂
Can I freeze this shepherds pie?
If so. Should I cook before freezing
I’m making meals for my son !!
This recipe is simply the best !
Delicious! Loved the combination of flavors and so easy to make.
I didn’t have tomato paste, so I skipped that part with the flour. I simply added a bit less beef broth, but still boiled and simmered. It was VERY good, and a big hit with the family!
This dish was delicious. I lightened up on the rosemary and thyme. This dish will have a lot of action over the next few years.
Great looking recipe. I followed the instructions but used instant Parmesan Garlic Red Potatoes.
It turned out great. I put the dish in large Ramekins.
I also used it with Ground Beef and Italian Sausage mix!
The best Shepherd’s pie ever! I’ve been making it about once a week since I first discovered this recipe. It has become my son’s favorite dish. I use ground beef instead of ground lamb and I also, sadly, omit the parmesan due to food allergy, but it is always, always a hit.
we’ll have you ever while cooking say to yourself this will be good next day for lunch 😀 we’ll ya I thought that but there was nothing left lol it was delicious
This is the best Shepherd’s pie I’ve ever had, as well as my first attempt ever making it. It turned out perfect, the potatoes were so amazing and the flavor of the meat and vegetables was incredible. This will be the only way I ever make this again.
Deeeeeelicious! I followed it precisely except I was out of rosemary. Yum! I like it saucier so added a bit more broth. Those were my only two deviations. thanks!
I just made this recipe tonight. The rosemary kinda threw me off. Next time, I would probabaly make it without it or half the amount. Other than that, this was a very comforting meal.
Delicious! Tasted and smelled amazing! A big hit.
Just made this for my hubby! It is delicious! I stuck to the recipe with the ground sirloin except for a couple of swaps of ingredients simply due to what I had on hand. I used vegetable stock instead of beef since it’s what I had on hand. Also I used store bought premade mashed potatoes! Lol Hey, I had them on hand and they made life easy! Turned out so yummy!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!
This is an easy and absolutely delicious recipe. The fact that it can be made ahead and assembled and cooked when needed.
Delicious! P
This is easy and delicious. One of my sons favorite.
I followed the exact recipe using beef.
Very good recipe. The hole family loved it. THANK YOU FOR THE GOODNESS
Wonderful recipe! Made this yesterday evening. Never heard so much mmm-ing from my daughters! I had all the fresh herbs in my garden still, so used fresh instead of dry. And had no milk in fridge so subbed a mixture of heavy cream and sour cream, thinned with water.
My one daughter confessed that she never liked sheperds pie before. My secret… I couldn’t find my time worn recipe yesterday evening, so I used yours! And yours is going to stay my new go to!
It was delish, not a word said or leftover to be found!