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.
Great recipe. My family loved it
Fantastic recipe! I never leave comments but this totally deserves it. Made this for my husband and I and we had trouble not finishing the entire pan. It was even better the second day. I didn’t have frozen carrots so I steamed some fresh and they were perfect in the dish. Can’t wait to make this again!
Love this. Make again and again!!! Tonight i did use ketchup instead of paste (didnt have any) and still great!!!
This dish is very good however the “Prep time” is not accurate unless you have someone else assemble everything. I don’t mind spending time creating a meal but a more accurate prep time would be appreciated in the future. The filling is delicious and so is the potato topping, I will make this again and again, but will reduce the amount of potatoes (maybe my two large potatoes were too large).
Great recipe 👍🏼 The guys at the fire house loved it
Excellent. Tastes like traditional Shepard Pie. Two thumbs up
This is the best Shepherds pie recipe I’ve found. This is a keeper, I cook for people and they just love it. Thank you!.
I tried your “The Best Sheperds Pie,” recipe and my family loved it. Thanks for the recipe it was delicious and easy to make.
I love this recipe! It is so easy to make and just as tasty. I used my cast iron skillet to make the meat filling, bake the dish, and had one less dish to wash
Great recipe! I used ground turkey and chicken broth. I skipped the Worstershire. Insptead of the tomato paste and flour, I added a 16 oz jar of garden vegetable soup. For other veggies, I used a frozen corn, carrot, green beans combo. I’ve made it for my household and to take to a friend recovering from shoulder surgery. She is quite a good cook; her father, a chef taught her much. She said this was the best Shepherd’s pie she’d ever had. Thanks for a great recipe. 😊
It really is the best Shepard pie recipe ever! Prepared exactly as written, wouldn’t change a thing. Delicious ultimate comfort food!!
I use 1# each of lean ground beef and lamb. A whole head of garlic, fresh parsley. Note: the recipe#2 says a 7×11 pan. Never gonna happen. It overflows a 9×13. I mound the spuds down the center to use them all, once the pan is covered.
A definite keeper
Added a can of mushroom soup on top of vegetables. The seasoning was spot on. Will fix this again.
Sorry, I forgot to give it a five star, by the way, I use Herb de Province and fresh parsley
I have made this recipe a couple of times. It is my go to, love the smell of lamb, cause I love it. The leftovers are amazing, thank you so much for a great recipe.
We used 1/2 beef and 1/2 lamb. So delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
I love Shephard’s Pie and this is a recipe I will use again and again.
Wow, this was really good! I used instant potatoes for the topping. I don’t usually eat a lot, and I went back for thirds! Definitely going to add this to the recipe box.
If I were to make this ahead and freeze it, what would be your reheating suggestions? Thank you!
EXCELLENT!! Terrific recipe!! Made it 4 times recently for friends and neighbors. Everyone loves it!! Thank you!!!