Shepherd’s pie might just be all time favorite comfort food. It’s deliciously simple, with a great flavor base of ground beef (lamb) and veggies, simmered in a delicious sauce, and topped with fluffy, creamy mashed potatoes.
Use your favorite mashed potatoes recipe for the topping. We love using russet potatoes with air fryer roasted garlic and half and half. When it comes right down to it, shepherd’s pie is a classic comfort food so you can play with this recipe to suit your own preferences. The most important things are the ground lamb or beef and mashed potatoes.
What is Shepherd’s Pie?
Shepherd’s pie is a very old traditional Irish dish. Once upon a time, Irish peasants had to get very creative with their leftovers because most of the food they grew was exported to England. By grinding up any leftover meat - usually lamb or mutton - and adding hardy root vegetables and, of course, plenty of potatoes, they were able to make their rations last for much longer.
The typical structure of a shepherd’s pie is a savory minced lamb filling that is topped with mashed potato. The filling is usually simmered with the typical mirepoix veggies of diced onion, carrot, and celery, with peas often added for good measure.
It’s not unlike a chicken pot pie, but with no crust. Because potatoes were one of the few crops that thrived in Irish soil, and formed a staple foodstuff of the Irish peasant diet, mashed potatoes became the go-to carb for this meal.
Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients
Shepherd’s pie is actually very similar to cottage pie. Cottage pie is made using beef, while shepherd’s pie is made using lamb, mutton or beef nowadays. To make a shepherd’s pie, you’ll need the following.
- Ground Lamb or beef: Ground lamb is traditional, but we like to use beef, you can substitute for turkey for a lean, clean variation.
- Vegetables: The traditional vegetable inclusion is carrots, celery, peas, and onions. Of course, you can always toss in more vegetables. We love to use mixed frozen vegetables, celery, garlic and onion for this recipe.
- Broth: We love using chicken broth with lamb. If using beef, use either chicken or beef broth.
- Tomato Paste: Tomato paste provides both thickness and a distinctive umami flavor to your sauce.
- Worcestershire Sauce: It adds plenty of depth of flavor to the meat filling.
- Mashed Potatoes: The trick is to mash your potatoes just right so you have irresistibly fluffy, creamy potatoes to top your mince.
- Seasonings: We use curry powder, dried thyme, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Flour: It helps to thicken the sauce.
How to Make Shepherd’s Pie
- The first step is to make your mashed potatoes. You can either do this the day of serving, or make the day ahead.
- To make the filling, first saute your fresh vegetables and meat together. Do this until cooked through. Once you’ve done this, add your aromatics, flour, flavorings and chicken/beef broth, simmering for a few minutes. The sauce should thicken just a bit. Add frozen vegetables at the end because they can get mushy very easily.
- Transfer to a lightly greased 9x 13-inch casserole dish or tray.
- The final thing to do is dollop and spread your mashed potatoes on top of the minced meat mixture filling. Once you’ve done that, you can transfer the shepherd’s pie to the oven, broiling for about 5 minutes at 550F. Keep an eye on the oven to ensure that your potatoes don’t burn.
While the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably in the United States, they are actually different dishes. A good rule of thumb is that shepherd’s pie is made using lamb or mutton, while a cottage pie is made using beef. As you may have guessed, the name “shepherd’s pie” comes from the use of lamb mince.
Of course! This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover mashed potatoes you might have lying around in the fridge. You’ll want to use about 6 cups’ worth of mashed potatoes for this recipe. The first thing to do is warm your potatoes up so they are creamy and easy to spread.
One of the cool things about this recipe is how flexible it is with substitutions. A lot of great, traditional peasant food is like that. Shepherd’s pie really started out as a way for Irish farmers to get the most out of their leftovers. Times really haven’t changed much since then! You can substitute the vegetables in this recipe for a variety of other chopped and sauteed vegetables. You can use zucchini, mushroom, squash, or any vegetables you have lying around. Avoid using vegetables that are too strongly flavored as they will overpower the taste of the meat.
Storage
You can refrigerate shepherd’s pie leftovers pretty easily. The trick is to cover the pie and keep it in an airtight container until ready to eat, then refrigerate until it’s ready to reheat. You can easily reheat a shepherd’s pie in the oven for 30-35 minutes at 400 F.
You can also freeze any leftovers. Once your pie has cooled, cover with foil and freeze. It will keep in the freezer for up to two months. Be sure to let the pie thaw out overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Learn the best ways to Reheat Shepherd's pie.
Other Beef Recipes to Try!!
If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐! I will be happy to hear from you!
Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 Russet potatoes about 2 pounds, peeled and quartered
- 1 whole garlic bulb roasted
- ¼ cup half and half at room temperature
- Salt and pepper as needed
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium red or yellow onion finely diced
- 2 rib celery finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced, about 1 tablespoon
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 pounds ground lean beef or lamb
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup chicken or beef broth
- Salt and pepper
- 1 ¾ cup frozen mixed vegetables
- Fresh thyme for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring about a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and bring to the boil. Cook 15-20 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork.
- Drain well and return to the pot. Using a masher, mash hot potatoes until smooth. Add in half & half and roasted garlic (remove the roasted garlic cloves from their skins, mash them with the back of you knife before incorporating to the mashed potatoes). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- As the potatoes cook, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and celery, and sauté for 3 minutes or until the celery is just tender and the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and curry powder and cook further until fragrant, about 40 seconds.
- Increase heat to high. Add the ground beef. Break up the lumps and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain excess grease.
- Reduce heat to medium-high. Sprinkle in the flour and toss to coat. Add the tomato paste, pepper, thyme, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chicken or beef stock and cook, stirring, until the liquid has thickened slightly. Scrape up any bits, using a silicone spatula.
- Stir in the vegetables until heated through. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Remove from the heat.
- Transfer to a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Top the meat mixture with mashed potatoes and carefully spread them out over the top.
- Use a fork to "rake" lines into the mashed potatoes.
- Broil the pie at 550F degrees until the potatoes have begun to brown , about 5 minutes. Watch the pie as it will go from brown to burned quickly. Remove from the oven. Let stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with fresh thyme.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Storage
You can refrigerate shepherd’s pie leftovers pretty easily. The trick is to cover the pie and keep it in an airtight container until ready to eat, then refrigerate until it’s ready to reheat. You can easily reheat a shepherd’s pie in the oven for 30-35 minutes at 400 F. You can also freeze any leftovers. Once your pie has cooled, cover with foil and freeze. It will keep in the freezer for up to two months. Be sure to let the pie thaw out overnight in the fridge before reheating. For an easy shortcut, use 5-6 cups of store bought or instant pot mashed potatoes.Nutrition
All rights reserved. CHEF JAR. All images and content are copyright protected. PLEASE do not use my images without my permission. If you want to share this recipe, PLEASE provide a link back to this post.
Lisa says
This was the best shepherd’s pie I’ve ever made! The filling was rich and hearty, and the mashed potatoes were so creamy. Definitely making this again!
Tatiana says
That’s so great to hear, Lisa! Nothing beats a cozy, homemade shepherd’s pie. Thanks for your review!