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: Â Shepherd’s Pie. Â 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. Â The difference between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie is the meat. Â Cottage Pie uses ground beef, while Shepherd’s Pie uses ground lamb.
I called this recipe Shepherd’s Pie. Â 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. Â 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. Â But, there are a few steps to it. Â 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. Â You could make the beef or lamb mixture ahead of time. Â Or, you could make the mashed potatoes ahead of time.
You could also make the whole recipe ahead of time. Â Just assemble the casserole, cover the dish, and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it. Â 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. Â 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 was delicious! My boyfriend added a little more spice where he thought necessary and it was absolutely amazing. Will be saving this recipe and making again. Also made in a cast iron pan… would recommend!
I make it vegetarian by substituting the meat and broth with Beyond Beef and vegetable bouillon broth respectively—absolutely stunning! Plant-based substitutes also work well for the potatoes if you want to make it fully vegan 🙂
Excellent recipe for Shepherd’s Pie. We used the Salty Marshmallows instant pot recipe for Mashed potatoes- super fast and easy. Both recipes together are the bomb. Will use these two for now on. Thank you for posting the recipe!! Love it
My first time making Shepard’s Pie. Used ground beef. The seasoning is very delicious! I made it for a church sister who is in the hospital. Saved a little bit for me. Will use remainder meat to put in ramekins. Just have to make a little bit more potatoes. By the way, I used instant potatoes! Tastes great! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I saved it for later reference. 🙂
Delicious recipe, that was easy to make. We really enjoyed it and will make again.
So good. Will make it again and again, maybe even for my book club when my turn comes again. For them I would double it.
Excellent! My entire Family lives it and is now on the monthly rotation.
I doubled the recipe for my Family and cookeb in a 13×9 baking dish and it was perfect
This is very good! My boyfriend ate 2/3 of the recipe in one sitting. It’s also very easy to accomplish, even the mashed potato topping! I’ll make it again.
Very good! Easier. & faster if you use already mashed potatoes. Really good flavor!
I made it exactly as described and it was excellent.
I put the garlic in with the onions and used plant butter. A wonderful recipe!!
So I added Red Wine accordingly to the amount of batches i was making thT day, 1 cup if making 1 batch, 2 if 2 on so so don’t panic the alcohol will cook out but takes it to another level….Also I split beef/ lamb, the most important part is to let it sit in those juices for at least 2 or longer, before putting combining everything, also I tried crushed chips once and the family love it…
Loved the flavour of this recipe! I’ve made it twice now and the first time I found the potatoes to be too greasy like there was too much butter. Not sure if I just didn’t cook enough potatoes or because I’m in Canada our metric tablespoons are bigger than imperial ones so the second time I made it I halved the amount of butter and they turned out much better but still had great flavour. This will definitely be my go to recipe for Shepherds Pie from now on.
The Best, Best, Best!
Tried it….AND was totally yummy Great for our little family of 4
Best Shepherd’s pie recipe I’ve ever made. Highly recommend trying it.
Delicious. I made this recipe with deer burger meat and simmered meat in marsala cooking wine. A perfect recipe.
I use this recipe all of the time. To make it lower carb, more keto/diabetic friendly, I substitute coconut flour for AP flour, cauliflower rice for potatoes, heavy whipping cream for half & half and only use1/2 the butter (the recipe amount is perfect for potatoes, but too much for cauliflower rice).
This is a five star recipe. Simple ingredients, and simply delicious!
Wonderful recipe husband loved it which speaks volumes. Simple ingredients and easy to put together. Delicious and will make again!
Yummy! Thanks for sharing
Simple and delicious!
I made this tonight and it was the absolute BOMB.COM So stinkin good!! I tend to go a little heavy on the tomato elements and made mine with ground lamb. This was really epic