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.
I would make this again, but with several changes. The basic beef taste with the beef broth was good. But I will definitely use half or less of the rosemary and thyme, only 1 1/2 lbs of potatoes, and use a pan larger than 9X9.
I made it tonight and I can say it’s the best cottage pie I’ve ever made.
We love this in our house. I’ve done both lamb and beef- I do like the lamb better but can be harder to get. I do cheat though and use the ready made mashed potatoes in the fridge section and heat them up and use on top. This is definitely my go to recipe.
Best shepherds pie recipe I’ve made. I had my mother in law over for dinner last night and everyone loved it. ” so Lovely”…from my mother in law 😍😋💖
Thank you!
My husband loves it. Nothing more to be said. 😂
Excellent comfort food. I put it in two pans and froze one for later. The frozen one was better than the first. I also use Bob Evans prepared mashed potatoes. Super easy and So good.
Can this be made in a slow cooker?
At what temperature??
The recipe says 400 uncovered for 25-30 minutes. Turned out perfect!
I have made this recently at least 5 times now, and it is 5 star. Absolutely delicious all the way around. Don’t be afraid to modify and improvise as you see fit. I had to add just a touch of water to the meat filling for consistency, and have used different ingredients based on what I have on hand but it always comes out. The seasoning for the meat is delicious. Thank you for this recipe!
Your recipes are very easy to follow. Food tastes like you worked hours in the kitchen.
First time attempting Shepherds Pie. At first the ingredient list was a little intimidating but I gathered everything together before I started and it was quite easy. I used lamb, also a first for me, and loved the results. I will definitely make this again.
Deeeeelicious! Its the best recipe for Fall comfort foods! Highly recommended.
I make it with lamb and it’s delicious. Great shepherds pie recipe, if you like shepherd pie I suggest you try this one. YUMMY
I made this last night for my family, increasing the recipe a bit and I used cheddar cheese. It was delicious, the only problem is there wasn’t enough left for lunch. Thank you for sharing.
What a hit! Since I used 93% ground beef I did have to add a little more beef stock (I also used lower sodium). My husband and I are not fans of rosemary so it was left out all together. It was so balanced and full of flavor! I offered it to everyone available in the house (total of 3 men plus myself) and even the picky eater ate 2 helpings! Nobody added additional table salt either!! Huge win for me!!
This is the only recipe I use for my cottage pies. It’s so good!
I love this recipe. It’s officially in my rotation. It’s honestly perfect as is but I always add a bit more tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce.
Hi Thank you so much for your recipe, It was a
Hit ! All my friends loved it .
This is the best Shepherds Pie I have ever eaten. Very easy to make.
My wife made a cottage pie for me and it was pretty good, but I decided to try and make one myself. After making this, she loves this recipe more than her own, (which was her mother’s) Definitely a good meal.
Loved the shepherds piie
Savory! I added cheddar cheese on the top.
This recipe turned out awesome. Great flavor. I followed the recipe except I used packaged mashed potatoes.
Followed to a T except for packaged mash potatoes