This shepherd’s pie recipe has a rich, savory filling with vegetables and a buttery mashed potato topping baked until golden. It’s a weeknight favorite that reheats beautifully.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Why Make It: This recipe uses freezer veggies and a simple gravy to create cozy comfort-food flavor with minimal chopping.
- Recommended Tools: You’ll need a large skillet or Dutch oven, a 2-quart casserole dish, and a spoon or spatula.
- Time-Saving Tip: Leftover mashed potatoes make this recipe feel effortless on busy nights. Spread them over the savory filling and bake.
- Freezing: Freeze whole or in portions for up to 4 months for easy reheat dinners.
What’s in Shepherd’s Pie
- Meat: Use ground lamb for a classic shepherd’s pie or ground beef for a cottage pie variation.
- Mashed Potatoes: Use mashed potatoes according to the recipe below, or swap them for instant mashed potatoes. Stir cheddar into the potatoes for a “loaded potato” twist.
- Vegetables: Frozen mixed vegetables make the prep quick, just thaw and drain. Swap for fresh vegetables by finely dicing and cooking until tender.
- Gravy: This sauce includes broth, seasonings, and a little tomato paste. If short on time, use tomato soup, cream soup, or a gravy packet as a shortcut sauce.
How to Make Shepherd’s Pie
- Cook the lamb, onion, and garlic in a skillet until no pink remains.
- Stir in the flour and seasonings.
- Add the remaining filling ingredients and simmer until thickened.
- Transfer to a baking dish, top with potatoes, and bake (full recipe below).
Storing, Reheating, and Serving
To store leftovers, cool completely, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or wrap well in foil and freeze for up to 4 months.
To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then warm in the microwave or cover with foil and bake in the oven at 350°F until hot in the center. Add a splash of broth around the edges before reheating in the oven to keep the filling nice and saucy.
Shepherd’s pie is a cozy casserole with a savory meat-and-vegetable gravy layered under creamy mashed potatoes and baked until bubbly. Traditionally it’s made with lamb, while beef is often called cottage pie.
Bake shepherd’s pie at 400°F for 25–30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly, then broil for about 2 minutes if you’d like a golden top.
It can be served with crusty bread, Irish soda bread, and/or a fresh side salad.
To make shepherd’s pie easy, brown the meat with onion and garlic, then stir in a can of condensed tomato soup (undiluted) to make a quick, rich sauce. Add the vegetables, top with mashed potatoes, and bake until bubbly.
Yes, shepherd’s pie freezes well for up to 4 months; cool completely, wrap tightly, and thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
St. Patrick's Day Pairings
Did you make this Shepherd’s Pie recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
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
- 1 ⅔ cups beef broth more as needed
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables thawed
- 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, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste 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
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.
Sorry but you have the reason why the difference in name so why do you not use the correct name for which pie.
As this uses lamb, it is Shepherd’s pie. Beef can be substituted if desired.
Excellent recipe! I made it as written. Wouldn’t change a thing.
it was delicious. I made it exactly as the recipe says
Too much mixed vegetables in the recipe I would put half as much next time. I’m originally from the U.K. and have never seen anyone put this much veg in a shepherds pie. I should have gone with my initial instinct and put less. Overall flavour was good.
This was pretty close to my recipe. Very tasty. I did not have any gravy, so added some marinara sauce with the tomato soup. Cooked 5 potatoes. Such a comfy meal. Will definitely be making this again and again.
easy and delicious!
I was heading out and needed to have supper prepped and ready for my kids and this was the perfect make-ahead casserole! I made this with ground beef and mushroom soup and everyone loved it. SWP Employee
Our Neighborhood Market often has caldillo meat marked down. I used this meat, browned with onion, in my take on the recipe. I used cream of potato and about a half cup of broth and let it simmer a half hour before adding the mixed veggies. my family liked it a lot!
Sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing!
I am actually ready to put it in the oven now, do I cover it? I can’t wait
Uncovered. Enjoy Cynthia!
I first made this easy version of Shepherd’s Pie last summer when my mother was dying. She requested I make this dish for my brother’s 54th birthday to remind him of his favorite childhood dinner! I had never made a Shepherd’s Pie before so this was an easy, throw together last minute recipe that fit the bill. Everyone loved it and it has now become a staple in my dinner rotation that will always remind me of my last summer with my mom.
Bless you for sharing delicious, easy recipes that anyone can make! This recipe will always be especially special to me.
I’m so glad our Shepherd’s Pie recipe brought comfort and joy to your family during a difficult time; thank you for sharing your heartfelt story with us Sarah.
love it all
If using beef mince then it’s called cottage pie not shepherds pie ! I prefer it with beef mince I don’t like lamb mince
Delicious easy meal! I had to substitute a few things because I was too lazy to go to the store and it still turned out great!
Substitutes
Ground turkey for beef/lamb
Marinara sauce for tomato soup
Creamer potatoes for russet
Fresh basil for dried
We will make this again!
I made this shepherds pie last night with ground beef. Easy to prepare and absolutely delicious! I made the recipe exactly as you have it written. It was a perfect meal since we are having an April cold snap. I will definitely make this again. Thank you!
I have made this recipe with many different variations like different soups, vegetable combinations, and Idahoan instant potatoes of different flavors. No matter what is available, it’s always turned out great.
Holly–I loved it. My wife complained that there were too many vegetables. Your recipe says “4 cups” of frozen veggies. I added close to 3, but my wife thought the meat/veggie ratio was a bit off.
Then, in the comments below, you say that you used a single, 10-ounce bag of frozen veggies. I would revise the recipe to say that.
A single bag of frozen veggies is probably about right. But I would also use 2 pounds of beef instead of 1, just to make it a little beefier.
Hi Aaron, we do use 4 cups of frozen veggies for the recipe but you can reduce the veggies for a higher beef to veggie ratio! Enjoy.
Topped with cheese it can be known as Cumberland Pie.
Thank you for this recipe Looks great. Wondering if I can use already cook Lamb if if is put into the grinder.
Cooked lamb should work fine in this recipe.
This recipe was great for my summer family gathering! My kids loved it, a good way to sneak a little veggies into their diet.
So glad your kids love it, Baldwin. It’s always nice when we can sneak veggies into their diet without them knowing! :)
I have been trying variations of Cottage Pie recipes for years with varying results (husband is picky) and this one is a winner for both of us. Not fans of cooked peas so I use what is sold here as Country Trio, carrots/corn/beans thawed. Using recipe as written I put everything but the mashed potatoes in a slow cooker on LO before leaving to run errands. I add the mashed potatoes later so it’s ready anytime after 5:00. No cheese for us even though we are Dairy State natives! Could be sprinkled on later if desired.
Note: as a personal option I add 1 tsp. sugar (or a packet of Stevia) as I feel it brings out the flavor.
Thanks for this yummy and easy recipe!
Your variations sound great, Susan! So glad you loved this recipe!