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.
Just made this Shepherd’s pie for the first time and it is absolutely delicious!
This was clearly a winner with my husband. I usually make a different recipe but wanted to try this one. He definitely preferred this one, saying it was more flavorful. I used ground round. Since we are empty nesters this gave us two meals which was a bonus. I served it with croissants.
Definitely a keeper.
Just made this and it is simply amazing. Really quick and used ingredients I always have around. Thank you for sharing it.
Outstanding! Don’t change a thing. Thank you, Holly..
Great Shepherd Pie recipe 😋
I made it with the mashed potatoes on the bottom layer as well as topping it . Really added flavor and was easier to serve.
Very tasty lunch meal with some toasty bread- used beef (we don’t like lamb)- and the premade mashed potatoes really simplified things- I don’t like the aftertaste of Worcestershire so i used red pepper flakes- surely a recipe purist would be unhappy about it- but why be so rigid- we’re all just trying to get a delicious, satisfying meal for ourselves and our family! Thanks for all your delicious and thoughtful recipes- especially some I had not thought of for a long while!
Thank you for the kind words Nana the baker 😊 I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
We met Ken at Bill and Heather”s lake lot. I made your Shepherds pie today and it is the best I’ve had ever. Thanks Holly. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Thanks.
So glad Ken got to spend some time with you—hopefully next time I can join! Glad you loved the Shepherd’s Pie, it’s a fave for us too!
I made this with fresh mashed potatoes, and it was delicious and so easy.
This is a great recipe! But it crosses boundaries of shepherds pie and cottage pie . Shepherds pie can only be made with minced lamb and a lamb broth is always used! The minced beef version is cottage pie ! Using minced beef and beef broth! Both recipes originated in the 18th century, shepherds pie from Scotland and cottage pie from Ireland! Over time it was incorporated into English cuisine
And Worcestershire sauce is only added to beef cottage pie ! This is authentic! And traditional
Thanks for sharing, Nejat. I am glad you enjoyed it.
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.