Shepherd’s Pie – A Beautiful Mess

If you are looking for an ultra comforting meal, look no further than this shepherd’s pie recipe. It’s easy, filling, full of flavor, and I love a meal that makes great leftovers as well. 🙂

Shepherd’s pie is a traditional Irish recipe that is usually made with ground lamb. Technically, since I am using ground beef, this might be called cottage pie instead. Either way, this casserole-style meal has a juicy, meat and vegetable base that tastes like it almost has gravy and topped with cheesy mashed potatoes. If you like a meat and potato dinner, you are gonna love this recipe!

Related: Next up, try our meatloaf recipe, stuffed peppers or goulash.

Ingredients

• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Ground beef
• Worcestershire sauce
• Tomato paste
• All-purpose flour
• Beef broth
• Frozen peas and carrots mix
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Potatoes
• Unsalted butter
• Whole milk or half and half cream
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Parmesan cheese
• Green onions, optional

I like Yukon gold potatoes for this recipe, but other potatoes like russet or red work well too.

How to make Shepherd’s Pie

Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic.

Boil a medium to large pot of water and add salt. Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes. Boil for about 10 minutes, until you can easily mash a piece with a spoon or fork.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Cook the aromatics for 2-3 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add in the ground beef and Worcestershire sauce. Break up the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Brown the meat so no pink remains, another 3-5 minutes. Then add in the peas and carrots (they can be frozen) and season everything with a little salt and pepper.

Now stir in the tomato paste and beef broth. Sprinkle the flour over everything and stir to incorporate. Cook another couple of minutes. The mixture should turn into a sauce that thickens not quite as much as a gravy but thicker than broth. Remove from heat.

Drain the water from the potatoes, keeping the potatoes in the pot. Add the butter, milk or cream, garlic powder, onion powder, and Parmesan cheese. Mash until nearly no lumps remain, as we are looking for creamy mashed potatoes. If needed, add more milk or cream if the mashed potatoes seem too thick. They should be easy to spread with a spoon.

In an 8×8 square casserole dish, add the meat mixture. Layer on the potatoes and spread so they cover everything to the edges of the pan. Bake in the oven at 400°F for 25 minutes. The edges of the potatoes should turn a golden brown and you may see some of the meat gravy bubble up. Top with chopped green onions if using and serve warm.

Tips and Notes

• Use ground lamb for traditional Shepherd’s Pie. I’ve used ground beef here, which is technically cottage pie. You could also use ground turkey or ground chicken for a lighter version of this meal. If you do, I’d swap the beef broth for chicken stock or chicken broth.
• You can add 1/4 to 1/2 cup frozen corn to this meat mixture if you like.
• To make this easier, you can top with tater tots instead of the creamy mashed potatoes. Although not traditional, it’s still delicious and makes it a little more kid-friendly.
• You can swap the green onions or chives for other fresh herbs you might prefer like thyme, rosemary or parsley.
• I use an 8×8 square baking dish for this recipe, but 9×9 will work just fine too. You could also use a round or oval baking dish. I like ceramic or glass best for casserole-style meals, but in a pinch a metal pan will work just fine too. This is not a super fussy recipe!
• If you want to make this meal ahead of time, follow the instructions up to the point of baking. Instead, cover the dish in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. When ready, bake for an additional 5 minutes (so 30 minutes total) if baking straight out of the fridge (removing plastic wrap, of course).
• Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 3 days. You can easily rewarm this in the microwave.

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