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.
Freakin delicious! I added a quarter cup of red wine to the meat, omitted the flour, used olive oil instead of butter! Topped the potatoes with bacon bits and Habanero Cheddar cheese. Holy yummy bat man.
super tasty very good in our house, shared with friend they loved it too
Thi sis my “go to” recipe for Shepard’s Pie. I make it all the time. I would only recommend that you chop your rosemary, don’t leave it out, it is an essential flavor. I’ve made this for my husband and me and our kids and everyone loves it Great job on this recipe!
This is absolutely the best shepherd pie recipe! I didn’t have any tomato paste or ketchup. I did have a can of spicy tomato soup. I used that and a beef bullion and an 1/4 cup of water…instead of the beef broth and tomato paste. It is absolutely AMAZING. I’ve made this recipe 6 times in the last two months. Thank you so much!
Delicious! I have made it two times. The only thing I changed was the type of ground meat, because I don’t eat red meat. The first time I used ground turkey, and the second time ground chicken. My husband and I love it!!
YUM! Best shepherd’s pie I have ever tasted! I followed the exact recipe & it turned out great. This recipe is a keeper for sure. Thank you!
Amazing I thought it was too much stuff but it’s perfect!
This recipe is AMAZING I made this for my family and they loved it! One thing you can do to take this to the next level if you have the time is to put it into a pie crust. Real easy and simple and gives you a crunch in the bite.
Love this recipe; all ingredients readily available. So that kids get a little more vitamins, I added some steamed spinach and frozen broccoli florets.
While I was growing up and my parents had dinner parties any time they served leg of lamb I would pester mom for Shepherds Pie. Of course if I wanted it I had to do some work. I would take the left over leg of lamb and begin to cut of the meat from the bone making sure it was in small pieces and filled up 4 cups of small pieces. Mom used dark gravy instead of beef broth and peas (no carrots). Lastly this was usually a dinner for the kids and just a simple mashed potato topping could have been made with Potato Buds and shredded cheddar mixed in and then laid onto and baked to perfection. (Always up to the chef on times and temps)
All I find in stores is Cottage Pies that they still call Shepherds Pie. I usually ask if they have ever seen a shepherd with a bunch of cows. Simple meal for the family and great way to get children to eat lamb.
Excellent. I used ground lamb.
I was latter afraid of the rosemary, as itcould overwhelm. However, made as written and this was delicious! Thanks
Made this with chopped left-over leg of lamb meat….very tasty. 5 Stars for sure. Broiled it on high the last 4 minutes to get a top crust that was browned and a tad crispy.
Have used several recipes thru the decades….this is the best. Highly recommend….except if you are on a diet…cuz you will overeat if this is your dinner.
If you want a airy potato topping, take two egg whites, whip them, add them to the mashed potatoes and gently stir in….it will brown a bit better and be more fluffy of a topping. Not necessary with this excellent recipe…just an add if desired.
Can’t wait to make this tonight; quick question though,..do you not drain the meat after it’s done cooking?!
When do the two cloves of garlic get used?
It’s in step 3 Carmen.
AMAZING and easy recipe!
Sooooo delicious. My family loves when I make this. The garlic mash make it. 😋
Amazing!!!,it has become a seasonal meal in my house.
can I use canned vegetables instead of frozen?
I have had or made this dish before. Everyone loved loved it. Thank you so much for sharing it.