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A savory filling with meat and veggies is topped with creamy mashed potatoes and baked until bubbly.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Rich, hearty, and comforting with savory meat and veggie filling in a gravy-like sauce. It’s topped with mashed potatoes for a comforting fnish.
- Meat: While many of us make shepherd’s pie with ground beef, ground lamb is traditional. With ground beef, it’s called “cottage pie”. Either beef or lamb can be used.
- Consistency: The gravy will thicken as it simmers, it will also thicken a little bit more as it bakes.
- Time-Saving Tip: Use pre-made mashed potatoes to make prep even faster.
- Freezing: Assemble the dish, wrap it well, and freeze before baking. When ready to eat, thaw overnight and bake until heated through!
Ingredient Tips For Shepherd’s Pie
- Meat: Use either ground lamb or beef in this recipe.
- Mashed potatoes: Use mashed potatoes according to the recipe below or swap them out for tater tots, stuffing mix, or even instant mashed potatoes.
- Vegetables: Frozen mixed vegetables make the prep quick. You can use fresh vegetables by finely dicing them and cooking in the skillet until tender.
- Gravy: The sauce for this shepherd’s pie includes broth, seasonings, and a little tomato paste.
Serving and Storing Shepherd’s Pie
- Serving suggestion: Shepherd’s pie is a full meal. It can be served with crusty bread, Irish soda bread, and/or a fresh side salad.
- Storage: Store leftover Shepherd’s pie in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, warm in the microwave or bake at 350°F until heated.
- Freeze individual portions in airtight containers for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the microwave or oven for a quick and easy meal.
Love Shepherd's Pie?
Did you make this Shepherd’s Pie recipe? Leave a comment and rating below!
Shepherd’s Pie
This shepherd's pie recipe is a cozy favorite with ground meat and vegetables, a rich gravy, and mashed potatoes.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground lamb or lean ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables thawed
- 1 ⅔ cups beef broth more as needed
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups prepared mashed potatoes see notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven, cook lamb (or beef), onion, and garlic over medium heat until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Stir in flour, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in broth, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered 2 to 3 minutes or until thickened. Stir in mixed vegetables and add more broth if needed to reach a gravy consistency.
- Transfer the ground beef mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish and spread it into an even layer. Spoon mashed potatoes over top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Broil for 2 minutes if desired.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Shortcut Sauce: For a quick shortcut sauce, brown the meat, onion, and garlic as directed. Add one 10.5 ounce can of condensed tomato soup (undiluted), cream of mushroom soup, or one packet of gravy with the water as directed on the package.
- To make homemade potatoes: Boil 2lbs of peeled and diced russet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes in a large pot of salted water for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain well and mash with a potato masher. Add 4 tablespoons of butter, ¾ teaspoon salt, and up to ¾ cup of warmed half and half as needed.
- Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
- To make as a freezer meal, line the pan with parchment paper and prepare the casserole as directed. Once cool, freeze the entire pie, then remove and wrap in foil. Remove the wrappings and replace in the same baking dish, with a foil cover and bake at 350° for 60 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 424 | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 663mg | Potassium: 894mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3160IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Casserole, Dinner
Cuisine American, Irish© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I was looking for a good Shepard Pie recipe, once I saw Spend with Pennies pin, I knew I found what I was looking for! Your recipes are always great and this one is absolutely outstanding ! I didn’t have dried Thyme but I had fresh from my garden and it really does shine in this recipe ! Thank you, this one is a keeper !
That is so kind of you, Angie I am glad you are enjoying our recipes so much!
Absolutely deliciousness! I make mine with 1/4c. Wheat Germ added to the 1/2 white mashed potatoes & 1/2 mashed Sweet potatoes. I also sprinkle with about 1/8c. grated Parmesan Cheese & 1/4c. shredded Cheddar Cheese. At end of baking, I broil for 2-3min to lightly brown the potatoes.
Making this for a meal train for a new baby’s family. The instructions say two different cook times. 40 min at the top but 25-30 at the bottom. Which is it supposed to be?
Hi Cathy, the 40 minutes total cook time includes cooking the ground beef before assembling the shepherds pie. You will still want to bake it as mentioned in the directions, 25-30 minutes until bubbly.
What a delicious shepherd’s pie! The gravy is rich and flavourful and I topped it with a creamy, cheesy mashed potato. Will be making this on repeat.
Thank you for another winner, Holly!
Excellent recipe! My family loved it
We really enjoyed this sheperd’s pie! It was pretty easy to put together, especially since I used instant potatoes. I subbed ground turkey and used marjoram in place of the dried thyme (since I ran out at home). I’ll definitely make this again, but personally will do more of the meat/veggie portion with the same amount of potatoes.
this was awesome thanks Holly your recipe are the best
I made this the other night and it was delicious! My husband was initially not excited about it and was on the fence. He now loves it and I’ll definitely make it again!
Great dish and perfect for St Patty’s Day!
Delicious and easy to put together. I added cheddar to the mashed potatoes. Also, reheats very well.
I love the simple flavors in this recipe. Shepherds Pie is a favorite in our house. I always use red potatoes and sometimes saute fresh veggies rather than using frozen. I also switch up the meat sometimes using Shredded chuck roast instead of hamburger. Wonderful recipe and easy to adapt to your own preferences.
Where did the previous recipe go? I think it was called Easy Shepherds Pie. I loved that one and now, I don’t see it on your website anywhere.
Hi Sarah,
Here is our earlier recipe for Easy Shepherds Pie:
1 pound ground lamb or beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups mixed vegetables, defrosted
10 ounces tomato soup or mushroom soup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon basil
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
3 cups prepared mashed potatoes
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cook lamb or beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
Stir in soup, mixed vegetables, Worcestershire sauce, salt, basil and pepper. Spread into the bottom of a 2 qt casserole dish.
Spoon mashed potatoes overtop and top with cheese.
Baked 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.