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 is my go-to recipe when I have friends over since it easily feeds a large group of people! I substitute the corn for green beans and it’s absolutely perfect! Always hits the spot – especially now that cold weather is settling in.
Loved your beef shepherd pie but today I am try turkey shepherd pie!
I’ve made this before and it was delicious! I’ve recently moved, don’t have an oven and I’m hoping someone could tell me if I could completely do this on the stovetop in a cast iron. I’ve yet to try a baked meal fully on the stove but I’m getting tired of strictly the stovetop. Help??
I do it all in my big Dutch oven on the stove top. Make as directed. After topping with the potatoes just pop the lid on for a few minutes (especially if you add cheese on top). One dirty dish 😊
Great recipe, really is the best.
The best shepherd’s pie recipe. Everybody loved it!
Is a great dish. It’s amazing !
Delicious. My new go to meal. I modified it by adding it a 4mins broil to get the golden color.
Easy to make, tastes absolutely lovely. It’s our favourite 🙂
Yummy – definitely will make again.
I used 1/2 of butter called for and it was still fine.
This is simply delicious! Admittedly, I made a few hacks as I was too lazy to run out to the grocery store, so I used what I had on hand. For the vegetables, I used a 10oz frozen steamer bag of mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, and corn.) I did not cook it, but thawed it from frozen. I also didn’t have tomato paste on hand so I used ketchup. Finally, I used pre-made mashed potatoes (Bob Evans original.) I prepared the potatoes per the package instructions and then added in the garlic powder and parmesan cheese as directed by this recipe. It was fabulous, hacks and all! Thank you for sharing the recipe! Next time I’ll try to have the called-for ingredients on hand to be true to the recipe!
I love this recipe I have made it loads of times and it’s delicious!! Is it possible to freeze the leftovers? We always have some left, has anyone put the extra in the freezer to reheat at a later date?
Made this for the first time last night. Excellent recipe. The only changes I would add a bit more salt and then more vegetables. Excellent Flavors.
Made this recipe tonight for my husband and I. We absolutely loved it! My husband said it was his favorite Shepherd’s Pie yet! Thank you very much!
This is really good! I would probably add more water, and eliminate rosemary. Otherwise it was delicious!
I made this for my family and they absolutely loved it. I did add a little of my own seasoning touch. And it made the house smell amazing. I say this because I’m not a chef. I’ve had to teach myself to cook basics.
This was amazing. I am retiring my old recipe😂😂😂. My family loves this one and so easy to make. Makes two and froze one!
Loved it. I eliminated the tomato paste – food allergy. I made a few other changes since I didn’t have all the ingredients but it was still really good. Easy to follow instructions and so much better than my family’s shepherds pie. Thanks for sharing.
This is a simple peasant dish but the recipe is fairly complex – layering on flavor after flavor – and although it’s still in the oven I’ve already tasted both the potato and the stew and I know it’s going to be great. Thank you!
Superb. I followed the recipe but threw in a splash of steak sauce in the meat, put a couple tbsp of parmesan in the potatoes, and layered cheddar on top. Wonderful meal.
The bs
Best Shepard pie I have ever had