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.
This is a very delicious recipe. It is totally worth making over and over. This will become a staple for our household. A great dish as things get colder outside.
So good ! Thanks 👍 Made it last night & it ruled !
Tastes great! I used about 3/4 of a stick of butter instead of the whole stick. I also forgot to add the parm cheese to the potatoes. I sprinkled it on after it came out of the oven and it was still great.
I used ground turkey and followed the filling instructions as far as seasoning, (double garlic) etc. The veggies were a matter of cleaning out the fridge ….parts of: parsnip, delicato squash, frozen peas, green beans, corn, and celery.
The topping was microwaved cauliflower mixed in food processer with cream cheese, butter and garlic powder.
It was a hit with my family.
Thanks for the inspiration.
The first time we made it we follow the recipe exactly and enjoyed it so much we are having it again.
Second time we have made this recipe, we added a bit more salt, bit less rosemary, increased of beef broth by a quarter of a cup and increase the vegetables by half of a cup. Just personal changes and I always like more veggies! Otherwise the taste
Excellent recipe, lots of flavor.
Made your Shepard’s Pie recipe, my husband loved it and he is famous for being a fussy eater! It is delicious!!
I made this recipe the other day and its amazing! This will always be my go to recipe.
This was excellent: the entire family raved. I used venison instead of beef and added a bit of Cajun seasoning.
I have made this Shepard’s Pie several times – It’s Delicious. Doubled the recipe in a 9 X 13 dish for potluck get togethers it’s always a big hit.
Wouldn’t change a thing very tasty
First time I’ve ever made or eaten Shepherd’s Pie. I made it with caribou and it was SO good! I used less butter & milk instead of half & half. Only thing I need to do differently is to cut in half for me and my husband!
This is an excellent recipe! The family loved it. It is the best shepherd’s pie I ever ateI
Thank you very much!
I can’t wait to start getting recipes. And can’t wait to try this shepherds pie. Making a double batch. Extra potatoes!
What a great feel good meal on a cool rainy fall Sunday! Delicious! I added fresh mushrooms to the onion, used fresh parsley because I had some, and only had chicken broth so I used that. It was pretty easy, my family enjoyed it! Thanks for posting!
Can you freeze and bake later???
You Have to make it!
I wish I could post an image of the final product. I grew up on a Sheep ranch and my mother would make this dish in the fall during potato harvest for all the workers in the field. I made this recipe exactly as recommended (with Lamb) and it was amazing. I will be making this in the future. I recommend baking it in a convection oven to get a nice brown to the potatoes.
This is delicious. The best shepherds pie I’ve ever made. Followed the recipe exactly and wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you!
Great dish. I used bob Evans potatoes to cut out the potato mashing step! Fantastic!
A great base with lots of flavor. I used herbs that I had on hand including fresh thyme & parsley. I had left over mash to use up. I added a tiny bit of parm to them while re-warming them but also did a light sprinkle on top of the potatoes before popping in the oven.
I like the idea of single portions and used some mini copper dutch ovens I had, creating single serve portions. Fun! I’ll definitely be using this recipe again in the future. Just wish I could share a pic of my finished product….!
So delicious!