Shepherd’s Pie
Shepherd’s Pie is cozy comfort food at its best. This version is made with savory ground beef filling with vegetables and topped with creamy homemade mashed potatoes.
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
I believe the best dishes start with love, and this shepherd’s pie recipe has it in spades. The savory beef filling and decadent mashed potatoes are best served when the weather’s cold and you want a stick-to-your-ribs comfort food dinner.
Technically, if we want to be picky about these things, a traditional shepherd’s pie is made with ground lamb, but where I’m from (oh, hi, Wyoming!), everyone calls a savory beef and veggie filling topped with mashed potatoes shepherd’s pie, so I’m sticking with it. If you’re across the pond, it’s known as cottage pie.
No matter what you call it, it’s delicious. It’s a complete meal in a skillet, the leftovers are as good as when it’s first made, and nostalgia is in every bite.
More Ground Beef Recipes
Slow Cooker Chili | Easy Meatballs | Cheesy Beef Enchiladas | One Pan Beef Penne
How to Make It
When I make shepherd’s pie, I like to use a cast iron skillet to make the meat filling and a separate pot to boil and mash the potatoes. Spread the potatoes over the filling, and the skillet goes right in the oven. If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, assemble it in a baking dish instead.
PrintShepherd’s Pie
Traditional shepherd’s pie is made with lamb, but this version uses ground beef. It’s classic comfort food and a favorite cold-weather dinner. This recipe feeds four people with some leftovers but can stretch to feed six if you have a salad, bread, or cooked veggies on the side.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Saute
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ large yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 4 large carrots, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup beef stock
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, cubed
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and boil them for 10-15 minutes or until fork tender.
- While the potatoes boil, melt the butter in a 10″ oven-safe skillet. Add the onions and carrots and cook them until they soften, approximately 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and beef, using a spatula to break it up as it cooks. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and stir.
- Sprinkle the flour over the top of the beef and stir. Add the beef stock and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer the liquid until the juices thicken.
- Drain the potatoes and place them back in the pot. Mash the potatoes to break them up. Add the butter and heavy cream. Continue mashing until the potatoes are smooth and the cream and butter are incorporated. Season with the black pepper and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.
- Add the peas and parsley to the beef and vegetables and stir to combine. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top of the meat filling. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan over the top of the potatoes.
- Turn the oven to broil. Place the skillet on a sheet pan (in case anything bubbles over the edges of the skillet) and place it under the broiler. Keep an eye on it, and once the potatoes start to take on some golden edges, remove the skillet from the oven and serve.
Notes
If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, transfer the cooked filling to a 9″ casserole dish and add the mashed potatoes.
If you are sensitive to salt, I recommend reducing the salt in the mashed potatoes to one teaspoon. Or, add a little at a time and taste the potatoes until the flavor works for you.
Nutrition
- Calories: 794
- Sugar: 9.5g
- Sodium: 2260.1mg
- Fat: 51.1g
- Saturated Fat: 26.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 20.2g
- Trans Fat: 0.4g
- Carbohydrates: 52.1g
- Fiber: 9.2g
- Protein: 32.7g
- Cholesterol: 159.7mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
Variations
Meat mixture: For a traditional shepherd’s pie, use ground lamb. If you want to lighten it up, use ground turkey.
Cheese: I love the sprinkle of Parmesan cheese over the potatoes. It adds a little texture and color after you broil the top. Try shredded cheddar cheese or gruyere cheese if you want to switch it up.
Make Ahead Tips
You can assemble the shepherd’s pie a day ahead, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it until you’re ready to bake it.
If you make it ahead, you should bake it for about 30 minutes at 375°F or until the filling is bubbling hot and the mashed potatoes are lightly golden.
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days.
If you’re craving comfort, I hope you try this recipe soon!
Happy cooking,
I have heard that if “Shepard’s Pie” is made with ground beef it is called Cottage Pie.
Either way- always a family favorite!
Yep, I talk about that in the post 🙂
Shepherds look after sheep so shepherd’s pie is made wih lamb – not beef.. Your recipe, – very nice – is called Cottage Pie…!
Yep! If you read the post you’d see I talk about that 🙂
I love this recipe! So very good. I didn’t have peas the first time I made this, so I used celery instead, and it was great. I’m making this again tonight, and toying with the idea of using an orange bell pepper. I think that would be good, too. Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe! I’ve made this one so often, that I’ve got it memorized!
So glad you love it!
This was delicious. My family loved it. The only changes I made were doing only 2 potatoes (which was plenty), and I added a little fish sauce and A-1 steak sauce to the meat mixture to add a little flavor depth, and I threw in a can of drained green beans for more vegetables. Really good and I’m adding it to our rotation.
So glad you liked it – thanks for sharing your adjustments!
Someone special made this Shepherds Pie a couple days ago for dinner for me…excellent recipe! A great mix of flavors…I just couldn’t get enough!
The make ahead instructions on this one saved the day–thanks! And it was spot on, perfectly reheated. I really appreciate that your recipes are accurate on prep time and cook time too. You save me a lot of stress in the kitchen.
And it was delicious, too!