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.
Love it
Last night, I made short ribs and mashed potatoes. Was wondering what I could do with the leftovers until I stumbled upon this recipe. Used the mashed potatoes for this. Very easy and delicious! Tomorrow, will used the short ribs for burritos. 🙂
Normally I don’t review or comment on recipes, but this one was PHENOMENAL! The recipe was so easy to make and lasted about 10 minutes in our home until the dish was EMPTY. A total win!!
Best ever! I’ve made this several times and it never last long in my family. I will never make any other kind of Shepards pie but this one.
Tried this for the first time tonight- excellent and much more straightforward to put together than I anticipated. A win and will definitely make this again!
Excellent but more mashed potatoes!! Will certainly make again
Made it with leftover beef brisket Amazing!!
Can I freeze this? If yes, at what temperature and how long?
It’s a gift to a friend expecting identical twins!
Thanks!!
Pretty good I didn’t add Parmesan in the mashed potatoes I made extra potatoes and added more garlic salt and the milk. I’m adding tex mex cheese half way thru cooking 😄 I’m picky I always add extra ingredients…
OMG, this was fantastic! I rarely cook but really wanted to give this a try. Being a cooking newbie, all of the seasonings were just bought and unopened at the time I needed them. The time it took me to open everything caused my meat mixture to start to run dry. I had to add more broth so there would actually be liquid for which to bring to a boil and simmer. I probably used 2 to 2 1/2 cups of broth! Other than being hectic for a bit, it turned out just fine. The mashed potato topping was amazing! I’ll use that recipe for mashed potatoes in the future! The Shepherds Pie came out golden and bubbly delicious. To reduce stress, next time I’ll measure out dry ingredients first. All my spices are now open so that issue won’t happen again. If I can make it, ANYONE CAN! I GIVE IT 5 STARS!!!
Hi, love this recipe. Can I make ahead and freeze . If so, should it be baked first or not.
Thanks
I have never ever liked shepards pie. I found this recipe when we were trying to find a meal to serve at a Woman’s shelter/ home. Everybody loved it so much I felt I should be an adult and try it again myself. I was shocked at how good this was! We are now making this a part of our menu rotation at home. It was not difficult to make and the only suggestion I would make is to double the mashed potatoes.
Perfect in every way! We enjoy this especially on cold nights.
I’m not sure if I’ve commented on this recipe before but I am happy to do so again. It’s absolutely delicious! This is my second time making it, and my husband loves it. I love it! My husband commented that I need to make it more than once a year. It’s flavorful and just a good hearty meal. I love a great casserole! I mix and add a little more potatoes and milk together on top. What I also like is that I have most ingredients already with the exception of the parmesan. Thankfully, I had it in stock. Can’t go wrong with this dish for family or guests.
I made it but with a few tweaks hear and there. Like I used sour cream as well as a little whipping cream with the milk, in the potatoes. I also put cheese over it all and cooked till the top is crisp. It it awesome!
I took it to work for the guys I work with. One of the bosses said I could keep my job if I make it once a week. He is going to pay for the ingredients for it. It’s a hit.
Trying your recipe it is similar to last one I made but i forgot where i got that e-recipe so here we are. It’s coming now and looks really good. I’m using potatoes leftovers from Thanksgiving and added more cheese. Our favorite is the Mexican mix of 4 cheeses and I put a layer over the meat mixture and again to top the potatoes 😋 My son was just glad we are almost out of Thanksgiving leftovers so this dish didn’t have ham or turkey in it 😆
Very flavorful and easy to make! Since I did not have any beef broth on hand, I added a brown gravy mix with same amount of water and omitted the flour. It was delicious! Also no Parmesan so I used a shredded Tex mex cheese mix.
You’re making me HUNGRY Sue!! LoL!! In all the right ways may I add!! I’m a huge cheese head meself an would see myself doin the exact same thing in the next few nights whenst I set forth to make this dish for myself an the wife for the very first time ever!!
This was amazing! My new go to recipe.
Wow! I just made this for dinner and consider myself a bit of a connoisseur, this recipe is amazing! I didn’t change a thing and I’m glad I didn’t. Thank you for sharing this with the world 😋
Excellent recipe!
This recipe is the bomb! I have it bookmarked and I make it all the time in winter! 5 stars
Love, love, love this recipe! So tasty. I used bags of frozen veggies and (gasp) instant mashers due to time crunch.
My family loves it, well done! Thanks! 😊
Amazing!
Doubled the garlic and used 4 potatoes, fresh italian parsley, and cooked in a cast iron pot.
I have been used to a simple French Canadian recipe for Shepparda pie.
I decided to make a more robust version for hunt camp and came across this recipe.
What a hit!!
I followed the recipe except for the fresh garlic and half and half.
I used the equivalent of 4 to 5 garlic cloves and 4 table spoons of sour cream instead of half and half (probably a lot of butter in the potatoes also.)
Definitely a keeper!