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.
Made this turned out great making it again in a few days
Wow, this is SO GOOD! My husband made it for me last night, and it is by far the best I have ever had. He used ground beef, and made extra mashed potatoes to put on top. The seasonings were spot on.
I love Shepherds Pie so I was eager to try this recipe. Wow! The tomato paste and seasoning combo added such an awesome flavor I couldn’t wait until it came out of the oven! It is so delicious! It’s definitely going to become a regular at my house.
This is the best shepherd’s pie recipe. I add 2 things to it which makes it even richer and even tastier. When I add the beef broth, I put in a can of condensed mushroom soup in the mixture and stir it in which thickens the gravy and is delightful. As well I add zucchini and green beans to the mixture and it is a wonderful addition to the veggies. But the recipe as written is delicious as well.
Made it for dinner last night. Everyone loved it. I Mae it with ground beef for I don’t care for lamb.
This is the perfect Shepherd’s pie recipe. I followed the recipe with the following modification: doubled the frozen vegetables and also added 1 cup of frozen corn as it’s a typical ingredient in these parts. The parmesan cheese in the mashed potatoes is my “secret ingredient” and that’s how I knew this recipe would turn out fantastic!
Best Shepherd’s Pue I have ever eaten!! Excellent recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely the best I have ever had AND made personally. Two changes I made because it was what I had on hand: sirloin hamburger and gold potatoes. Also, I only made a half-portion, but used a full cup of beef broth as it appeared dry because I cooked the meat for a while. Thank you! Love it!
I made the potatoes chunky and holy moly it came out so good and it was so easy to make
First time making shepherd’s pie. Super easy to make and the whole family loved it. Definitely adding the recipe to my recipe book and making it as part of my food prep.
Absolutely divine!!
This was delicious and the perfect comfort food we all needed on a cold rainy Sunday. I made it exactly as written and it was easy and came out perfect. Thank you!
Perfect Sunday dinner!
Great recipe and fairly eas to make
My family loved this dish! And we’re disappointed it did not have more leftovers, next time I will double recipe!
Thank you!
This sounds delicious! If I double the recipe would I use a 9×13 pan?
What a great recipe! My family looooves savory dishes so this really hit the spot! Easy recipe and forgiving if you don’t have exactly some of the ingredients, like frozen veggies (I only had soup veggies). I also added chopped up spinach, which I pretty much add to everything I make :). Thank you so much for sharing your delicious recipe!
I made this tonight. It is absolutely delicious. My daughter ate in silence except for the mmm, mmm, she kept saying. She did say its going to be on our regular rotation. It was also pretty easy to whip up. I started the potatoes while I was cooking the meat and it timed out perfect. Added some rolls and made an A+
Very nice, was very easy to make. Enjoy it ..
Delicious 😋