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.
awesome recipe made it last night, it was on point.
Thank you, Amanda, for sharing such a perfect recipe. I tried to add a little of homemade fried shallots and it’s simply delicious.
We loved this recipe! It was easy to follow and turned out delicious. I used fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage for the herbs instead and forewent the corn. Will definitely make this again.
It was Delicious my Grand kids love it and I did also
Jean M.
Family and friends love this recipe! Thank You!
What is half and half? As in 1/3 cup half and half?
I’m making this for the second time for dinner tonight. It’s easy to make and absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe just as explained and wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
Really enjoyed this. Very easy and straight forward to prepare. I probably will cut the butter in half next time. It seemed like a lot for the amount of potatoes. I put a layer of cut up bacon slices in between the meat and potatoes. I’ve used my English mum’s recipe for years, but I’m switching to this one.
I tried this recipe for the first time. No regrets. It is delicious and easy to make.
I just added a twist by sprinkling paprika and a mix of cheese on top.
It’s a keeper and I highly recommend this recipe.
Thanks.
Cannot believe how great this recipe is! My husband ate 4 servings. He loved it!❤️
Very good recipe! I added 1lb of ground lamb with 1lb of ground beef. It’s blended beautifully. We noticed it needed more salt, being I added more meat. Everyone had seconds.
This has become one of our family’s favorite dishes! I’ve followed the recipe precisely every time… very straightforward and so yummy! Question, can I freeze the leftovers?
I’ve used this recipe to the T, made this dish. 3-4 times . Each time improvising! This is the best recipe of Shepard’s pie ever tried. Now my friends want this to be made for them.
Keep it going! And keep posting such exotic and perfect recipes!
Can you use canned vegetables instead ?
I would also like to know if you can used canned veggies. I think I am going to peel and cut fresh carrots and use canned corn and peas. We will see what happens 😊.
Easy to make and extremely delicious thank you for sharing!
Really easy and flavorful. My first time making shepherds pie and My family loved it. This one’s a keeper! Thanks so much
Delicious. I add cinnamon and nutmeg to the meat. Even better with lamb, but still very good with mixed ground beef. Next time, I will add feta to the meat. I bet it tastes good, too.
Yummmm amazing
This recipe is delicious!!! It has become a regular addition to my repertoire! The spices that go into the mashed potatoes really add wonderful flavor! I’d highly recommend this recipe!
Forgot to rate it!
Delicious dish, easy instructions as well!