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.
This was a great dinner with a salad. I’ll be making this one again. We all enjoyed it!
Great recipe. I would only add drain the meat after you brown it. I did that and was glad I did.
This is fabulous but you need to use good mincemefrom butchers it farm shop like we did supermarket mince will not have the same outcome
Just a question what does 1/3 cup of half and half mean please
I always made Sheppard’s pie with a tomato beef base for over 30 years . This recipe was so go that I am NEVER making it any other way. Thank You!
I’ve made this several times. My family loves it and it’s super easy!
I don’t typically leave comments but this dish has been a staple in our household for over a year. I rarely find recipes that I go back to but this one is my all time favorite! I always go a bit more on the potatoes and a bit more garlic- but this dish makes an Irish family jump for joy! Thank you for this! 100/10 would recommend.
Made this in parts this week due to a very busy schedule. Put it together for dinner tonight. Got a colonoscopy coming up next Wednesday, and trying hard to eat clean/healthy.
Turned out delicious! Love it!
I looked at one or two recipes before this one and stopped right here. It was delicious! We doubled the recipe and had to make extra mashed potatoes to go with it because the layer was too thin. Love the tomato paste and beef broth combo. More flavourful.
We made it on a snow day and everyone was waiting for it to be ready!
Wow! Fantastic recipe—clear, on-hand ingredients, & easy-to-follow…best of all, DELICIOUS! I almost always doctor ingredients in recipes but this was the rare exception. I was skeptical about the tomato paste but the overall combined proportions and flavorings resulted in the absolute perfect outcome. My small mods include whisking the tomato paste & flour (I used corn starch) into the beef broth before pouring it into the ground beef mixture. I cheated on mashed potatoes (easy peasy in 5 minutes & yummy…2-4 oz I*****n loaded baked potatoes flavor made with 4 c boiling water). I also greased/cooking sprayed the pan before layering the pie. Awesome regular rotation family recipe. The veggies’ taste & texture are nicely camouflaged in this dish. Thank u!
Amazing!!!!!!🥧
Can you mash the potatoes with a beater? Not sure if it makes a difference. I want to make this recipe today.
Thanks
This was the best shepherds pie I ever made. My whole family loved it.
This recipe is a family favorite. The flavors are great! I make it with Impossible Burger and it works really well. I usually cut back on the butter and use milk instead of half and half, and the potatoes are still really rich and flavorful. I laugh every time I read the note that tells me I can use 1/2 cup of frozen carrots and 1/2 cup of frozen peas instead of 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots! Really? Actually, I use fresh carrots, and put them in towards the end of the onion cooking time.
It works well to make the meat layer and the potato layer early in the day and put them in separate containers in the refrigerator. A little before cooking, take them out of the fridge to bring them to room temperature. Then, assemble and bake. It maybe adds 5 minutes to the cooking time.
Very Very good!!! I did not change a thing! i made a huge pan and it was gone in less than 30 mins!
Unbelievably a good recipe
Super flavorful! I’m definitely keeping the recipe to make again! My son who hates peas and carrots had seconds!
I made your classic Shepards Pie recipe and we both loved it. My Husband insisted I add a pound of reg sausage with the ground beef which made me have to double the recipe and there is only the two of us. We will be eating this for the next three days but I don’t think we will mind. A big winner in our book. Thanks for the recipe!
This is literally the best shepherds pie I’ve EVER had. Amazing flavour! (I put more of everything) and it was EASY!