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.
A crowd pleaser and relatively easy.
I made this for dinner tonight and it turned out very delicious. My kids even ate it. (Picky eaters). 😄. Thank you for the recipe.
Great outline and recipe! used it as an outline for the one i just made. With 2lbs of ground beef (Although i wanted half turkey half beef) two onions (Purple and white), three or four sticks of celery cut small, 2 medium bell peppers (Green and orange), 2 large 1 medium carrots cut in half and then halved again, cut small. A little over half cup of both frozen peas and corn, and full small can of tomato paste. Much more Worcestershire sauce then called for, chicken and beef bouillon. ( I would have added around half a thing of garlic but i didn’t feel like it.)
I cooked the veggies down a lot before adding the beef (On accident), then added paprika, black pepper, spike, salt, garlic and onion powder, thyme, rosemary, parsley, basil, oregano, chili flakes, and SMALL amounts of nutmeg and cinnamon. (I added some butter to it as well, around a Tbsp or two. (Tablespoon)
I used the rest of my mini red potatoes, the rest of the Yukon gold, and one russet for the mashed potato. I boiled then seasoned the potatoes with spike, black pepper, paprika, thyme, basil, oregano, parsley, onion and garlic powder. Then added a little over half a cup milk and cheese and Tbsp of butter.
Made enough for two dinners, put the leftovers in the fridge to put it in a pan on tortillas with cheese. I based this off of the first i made it where i followed it almost exactly, except for adding a meal prep of turkey and all the seasonings and veggies mentioned – so it didn’t go to waste.
Followed it right the second time but i prefer it with more of the flavor of the turkey mixture.
Great recipe, and great outline for a recipe!
(I recommend trying half turkey next time you make it! and you cannot taste the bell pepper or celery distinctly.)
I made this tonight for my extended family of 7 and there were no leftovers! I used canned veggies because that’s what I had and by popular demand in my household, I topped it with cheese! 🙏🏻
I followed this recipe almost exactly. I added fresh sliced mushrooms, and shredded cheddar cheese on top. It was delicious and will definitely make this again.
Wow! this recipe is delicious!
This may or may not be the “best” recipe for Shepherd’s Pie, but after trying this recipe, I’ll look no further. Easy to prepare with normally stocked ingredients, and little prep time. But soooooo good. I’m batching the cooked meat ingredients in the freezer so I can boil a potato and have a delicious, healthy meal in 20 minutes.
Made this gluten free with cassava flour instead of regular flour. Turned out amazing. Do you think a double recipe would fit in a 9x 13 pan?
Definitely will have to make a double batch next time! My kids LOVED it and would have ate it all had they not remembered i didn’t eat yet! i did add a bit too much oil with the onions, and I didn’t drain the meat which left the potatoes very soft/mushy and will do so next go. Would 100% recommend.
I lived in England several years and eight in many different homes and restaurants, but never have I had cottage pie as good as this one. I absolutely loved it!
This was the best recipe I have ever used, thank you
This recipe is delicious!!! I made it for my boyfriend from Ireland and he absolutely loved it 🙂 I added a splash of red wine to the beef mixture as well.
Delicious
Surprisingly good with well balanced flavours. Followed exact amounts and directions. I had some leftover mashed potatoes and this worked out great.Great recipe. Thank you.
Very easy and tasty too.
Made this today and the whole family loved it!
Tried it. Followed the recipe and it was delicious!! Perfect.
Excellent!
This is excellent . I made it in a 9×13 (doubled the recipe). The first time I made it, it wasn’t enough. The second time was barely enough for a family of four and 2 guests, so I made a 9×13 and a 9×9. Everyone loved it. Thank you for sharing it is my go to for get togethers
Whole family loved it. Husband said one of my best dinners.