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: ย Shepherd’s Pie. ย 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. ย The difference between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie is the meat. ย Cottage Pie uses ground beef, while Shepherd’s Pie uses ground lamb.
I called this recipe Shepherd’s Pie. ย 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. ย 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)
- Sautรฉ 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. ย But, there are a few steps to it. ย 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. ย You could make the beef or lamb mixture ahead of time. ย Or, you could make the mashed potatoes ahead of time.
You could also make the whole recipe ahead of time. ย Just assemble the casserole, cover the dish, and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it. ย 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. ย 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 Shepherdโs 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 doesnโt 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 was fabulous! The key was doing the mise en place, having everything chopped, minced sliced and diced ready to go. It takes time but makes the cooking a delight! I only changed two things from the recipe. I had frozen peas and frozen corn, but not frozen carrots, so, beforehand I diced 1/2 cup of carrots, then chilled them in an ice bath and added them with corn and peas. And because I am a cheese hound, i added 1/2 a cup of extra old cheddar for the last 3 minutes. Oh, and I used lamb, as is the only right way to make it..
Incredible Shepherd’s Pie recipe! I made this for my family and my roommate and they are convinced that I am a chief. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Made this for Father’s day, my husband and parents liked it!
My family loved it. There wasn’t any leftovers from this dinner. My daughter said that we need to make this more often.
My first time making this dish, it was a hit highly recommend!
I deviated ever so slightly from the original recipe by adding more garlic and cayenne pepper into the meat filling and using regular milk instead of half and half in the potatoes; I chose to use lamb. It came out so good! All the positive reviews are right, this is a definite crowd pleaser!
Loved this
It’s so good ๐ฏ
Made this for familyโฆ everyone loved it!
Will definitely put on the repeatโฆ
Made a double recipe expecting to make more for leftovers and it made just enough to fill a 9×9 like the single one asked for. Was a little disappointed with that, but it was incredibly good recipe and everyone loved it!
Delicious! Easy to make. I made mine in a cast iron skillet instead of a baking dish. One less thing to clean.
I didn’t have Worcestershire sauce so I substituted a tbls of soy sauce and tbls of balsalmic vinegar. Delicious.
Great recipe! Super easy and delish. This is a keeper, thank you so much!
Iโve been making your recipe for a few years, itโs one of our favโs. My son who is now 30 asks for it very often! He even looks forward to the next day when he takes it to work for lunch!
Thanks!
Roni
I don’t see what temp i should set my oven for the final bake. Maybe I am just blind….. but…. what temperature should i set the oven? Thanks
This is always my go to recipe for shepherds pie, I do change it a little (I use fresh carrots and slice them and I use 2% milk in the potatoes instead of half and half) it’s me and my partners favorite dinner and it’s so easy to follow too!
Can this be frozen after assembled and then baked at a later date?
Just a great recipe good as it gets. Just made it and it was a big hit
made this dish for 10 people at bingo and everybody including me loved it a strong 5 stars