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.
Wow!! this is incredible, Damn so good, I have looked for something like this soooo long. Thank you
This is a great recipe. I adapted it a bit due to family preferences and what we had on hand. I finely diced fresh carrot and cooked that with the onion. Since my daughter doesn’t like peas, I added chopped fresh asparagus and I skipped the corn. For the spices, I used 1 1/2 tsp herbs de Provence vs the dried spices listed here. I love that the beef mixture is thick with a rich taste. This is a keeper!!
I just made this today for Father’s Day. No regrets, it same ou so good, everyone enjoyed it. The only modification that I made was that I added cheese in between the meat and the potatoes. Delicious!
Really good! I doubled the recipe and I used instant potatoes to cut time but still added half and half and Parmesan cheese. I also used 2 of the velveeta cheese sauce pouches between the meat and potatoes. It was creamy and so good.
Oh my gosh Gina close the front door, this dish was to die for! Hearty nutritious full of flavor in every bite, from the me to the carrots to the peas to the Rosemary thiem parsley loads of garlic, wouldn’t change a thing home run on this recipe!!
Nummy!! We may skip the peas next time.. LOL.. kids were not to interested in them… Though everyone else liked it! :0)
I made this dish yesterday and just in time for a rainy day. It is a simple recipe, easy to make, and I had all of the ingredients on hand. This is the best recipe I have found yet.
Smelled so good during prep, and was tasty to boot.
Love this, made it many times and it’s always a hit
We love it so much, we double the recipe just to have leftovers for lunch the following day. I substitute with instant potatoes and frozen mixed vegetables, so it is quick and easy, then top with cheddar cheeses. SO GOOD.
I really love this recipe. My whole family thought I spent hours to prepare it . I did add cheddar cheese to the top in the last 10 min of cooking. thank you
Yummy,yummy!Delicious recipe and easy tomake!
The best recipe ever! Made it multiple times, I recommend using purple onions instead of yellow.
I’ve made this recipe several times now and trust me, it’s a crowd please. When we invite my husbands partner and his wife over, it’s a must make or they threaten not to come. Simple, quick, and so delich! I like to measure out all my inreadients first (french call it mise en place) and keep them in small containers. This makes adding as you go, much simpler.
Can I substitute whole milk for the half and half?
Yes.. how ever you like your mashed potatoes.
Came out really well and tasted great too.though it didn’t brown on top as I expected.
This is an amazing recipe. I do think next time I will add some sliced cheddar on top but it was still delicious. You won’t be disappointed.
Great recipe!!! I followed it as is and my family of 4 loved it. I will make it again.
Really yummy! Be careful with the herbs. I’m not a rosemary fan. I believe it’s necessary in this recipe. I used half of what it called for. Will reduce further next time. But/ so, so yummy!
Way too greasy. Next time I will brown the lamb, drain it, and proceed with the recipe. The spices were fine and we liked it except for the amount of fat in it. I also reduced the amount of butter in the potatoes. That would have been fat upon fat.