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.
I’ve made this recipe like 3 times already so you could say I love it lol. It’s a lot of prep work but it’s definitely worth it!!
I made this following the recipe and it was a huge hit. Thank you so much for this! I’m hoping to make the 18 serving and take some to my coworkers. Yummm
This was easy to make and tasted delicious; a new favorite!
Absolutely by far the best!
Great traditional recipe….I used lamb, turned out delicious. Making it again today but am going to use ground venison/ground pork for a twist.
Yummy yummy yummy
I now have love in my Tummy.!
Great Recipe
Thanks
Brian.
yummy yum yum! I just pulled the second dish out from the oven. My family loved this recipe. I love to cook and am quite savvy in the kitchen yet I wanted something new to make so it stays fun for me. I have cooked all types of dishes and played with ingredients, herbs, spices, rues, sauces, spreads etc., So when I came across your recipe I was excited to get started. Thank you <3
This Shephard’s pie was a very good choice for dinner. It was the first time I have ever tried it.
I love this recipe but don’t have tomato paste on hand so I’m gonna add a tad bit of tomato sauce and see how it goes.
Yum! I tried this once and I keep coming back to it. I sub in half sweet potatoes with the white. And if I am feeling especially healthy, I omit the white potatoes and add mashed white beans to the sweet potatoes. I find the time to prepare is more than what they say but it is worth it!!
This just may be the greatest recipe I’ve ever been gifted. I make this at least once a month, sometimes twice. I’ve tweaked it for my own taste and I will make this as long as I can stand in front of an oven. Thank you. I truly appreciate it.
I used the lamb and it was great
Very flavorful – Excellent!!!
this recipe is easy, and it’s very good
After arguing with myself, I finally decided to try this recipe after 20 years of cooking my tried and true pie, and I’m very thankful that “persistent me” won the argument! This has Excellent flavor and it’s an easy recipe to follow. I admit though, “skeptical me” was very nervous about the tomato paste, but it proved to compliment the dish quite nicely. My husband loved it and threw portion control to the wind tonight, and didn’t save room for dessert! This will definitely be my new Shepherd’s Pie recipe. Out with the old, and in with the new!
We used rosemary the first time and could not eat it, the next time omitted rosemary and just made for the 4th time we love it!!
Great recipe. Directions are very easy to follow. I have all the ingredients already didn’t have to go shopping for the ingredients which was nice.
It’s a traditional comfort food. If you are worry about gaining weight, I think this recipe is not for you :).
Best outcome of any cooking recipe is always rely on the best ingredients. Lucky for us here, the meat (lamb or beef) is always flavoursome, so, no adjustment needed for this recipe, just perfect. Thank you Amanda …..
oh I didn’t have half and half so I used milk.
I used milk too! Came out just as perfect and tasty
Just made this tonight and it is really good. The meat filling was a tiny bit salty, but I tasted that as I was cooking so I put a little less salt in the potatoes to balance it out. Perfect! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will definitely make this again!
Excellent recipe. I’ve made it with both lamb and beef, and it tasted amazing both ways.
best shepherds pie. ill never go back to anything else. seasoning is the best. mashed potatoes are so well seasoned. i could eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. just divine.