Shepherd’s Pie: A rich gravy with ground beef and vegetables, topped with ultra creamy mashed potatoes. The ultimate comfort food!
Shepherd’s Pie Is…
- Comforting: It’s the ultimate feel-good food.
- Delicious: The beef and veggie mix is coated in a flavorful gravy.
- Creamy Potatoes: Potatoes cover the top adding the perfect texture and flavor.
- Customizable: You can change the veggies and meat to your preference.
- Perfect For Making Ahead: It can be prepared ahead of time.
Quick Tip
Shepherd’s Pie, typically uses ground lamb (or Cottage Pie with beef), is a seasoned meat, vegetables, and gravy casserole under a creamy mashed potato crust, baked until golden. In the states, it’s often made with beef due to availability.
Ingredients In Shepherd’s Pie
Base:
- Olive Oil: Used for sautéing the veggies.
- Mirepoix: Veggie base providing flavor and texture.
- Ground Chuck Round: The main base and protein of this pie.
- White Flour: Thickens the gravy.
- Frozen Peas or Corn: Adds sweetness and texture.
- Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Paste: Gives the gravy a richer flavor.
- Beef Stock, Beef Bouillon Cube, Worcestershire Sauce: Provides savory depth.
- 100% Grape Juice: Adds sweetness and complexity.
- Dried Thyme, Bay Leaves: Adds an herbal flavor.
Topping:
- Potatoes (Yukon Gold and Russet): Makes the irresistible creamy topping.
- Heavy Cream, Sour Cream, Unsalted Butter: Adds creaminess and richness to the potatoes.
- Fresh Parsley/Thyme: Optional garnish for freshness and presentation.
How To Make Shepherd’s Pie
- Sauté garlic, onion, carrots, and celery.
- Brown ground chuck and add flour.
- Combine with peas, tomatoes, stock, grape juice, seasonings, and simmer.
- Boil and mash potatoes with cream and butter.
- Layer meat mixture topped with mashed potatoes.
- Bake until golden and bubbly.
- Garnish with herbs if desired. Serve hot.
Storage
Storage And Make Ahead Tips
- Make Ahead: Prepare your shepherd’s pie all together and refrigerate before baking.
- Refrigerating: Store cooked pie covered for 3-5 days.
- Freezing: Freeze tightly covered for up to 2 months; bake frozen pie at 350°F for 1 hour before serving.
Serve Alongside:
Shepherd's Pie
A rich gravy with ground beef and vegetables topped with ultra creamy mashed potatoes. The ultimate comfort food: Shepherd's Pie!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, separated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups mirepoix (mix of carrots, onion, & celery), finely chopped (1 small yellow onion, 1 celery rib, & 1 carrot to get 2 cups)
- 1.2 pounds ground chuck round
- 1/4 cup white flour
- 1/2 cup frozen sweet peas or corn
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 and 3/4 cups beef stock (low sodium) (can use low sodium beef broth)
- 1/2 cup 100% grape juice (Note 1)
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 bay leaves, separated
Topping
- 2 and 1/2 pounds potatoes (I use equal mix of Yukon Gold and Russet; if just using one use Yukon Gold)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sour cream (can use fat free)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Fine sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
- Optional: fresh parsley or thyme, for topping
Instructions
- VEGGIES: Heat 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and finely chopped onion, stirring frequently for about 1 minute. Then, add finely chopped carrots and celery, cooking for another 2-3 minutes until veggies are softened.
- BEEF: Heat skillet to high and add beef. Cook until browned, breaking it apart. If there's excess grease, drain it. Stir in flour and cook for a minute to remove raw flour taste. Reduce heat to medium-high and add the frozen peas or corn, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, grape juice, beef bouillon cube, Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, and bay leaves.
- COOK: Bring mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium and let it rapidly simmer. Cook for 25-35 minutes at medium heat, stirring every 5 minutes until gravy thickens. Remove from heat, cover, and refrigerate until ready to bake. If making immediately, refrigerate until potatoes are ready. To maintain separate layers while baking, chill the mixture for at least 15-20 minutes. If you didn't prepare in an oven-safe skillet, transfer to a 2 quart oven-safe dish.
- POTATOES: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel and cube potatoes into golf-ball sized pieces. Rinse them under cold water in a strainer until the water runs clear. Transfer to a large pot, cover with cold water, add 1 tablespoon of fine sea salt and 1 bay leaf, then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain potatoes in a strainer, ensuring all excess moisture is removed. Let them dry for about 3 minutes and discard the bay leaf.
- POTATOES CONT.: As potatoes dry in strainer, melt heavy cream, sour cream, and butter in the pot on low heat, stirring to combine. While the potatoes are still hot, put them through a ricer and add right on top of butter/sour cream mixture. Stir until smooth with a wooden spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble the pie, or use immediately to top the pie evenly.
- ASSEMBLY: Use a fork to add marks into the surface of potatoes. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil.
- BAKE: Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and edges are bubbling. For crispy tops, broil on high for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh thyme or parsley as desired. Serve hot.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Traditional Shepherd's Pie typically includes red wine in the gravy. To do so, substitute 1/2 cup of medium-bodied red wine (like pinot noir) for an equal amount of vegetable broth.
Nutrition
Calories: 445kcal
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love Shepards’s Pie but I have never attempted making it! – I need to! This recipe looks so yummy!
Thanks so much! You’ll love it!
I love this ultimate comfort food! YUM!!!!
Thanks so much! It seriously is the best comfort food! 🙂
This is one of my favorite comfort foods! It turns out perfectly every time!
So happy to hear it! Thank you Ashley 🙂
I love a good shepherd’s pie and this is absolutely DELICIOUS!!
Thank you so much Kimberly! 🙂
Meat and veggie mixture was great, thickened up nicely, I added a half cup more veggies. The amount of potatoes seemed half of what it should be (it was a very thin layer) at least to my liking. Next time more potatoes. Great tasting recipe though!
Thanks Mary! 🙂
I love love this recipe! I used cran-raspberry juice so delicious!
Ahh i’m so happy to hear! And cran-raspberry juice sounds awesome. Thanks so much Kellie! 🙂
This was the best shepherd’s pie I’ve ever made, and I’ve tried a number of different recipes. Thanks! The depth of flavor was incredible
Ahh I am so happy to hear this! Thank you so much Jeanne! 🙂
I always thought Shepherd’s Pie was an English dish, not American.
Yep! 🙂
It’s so faded here I couldn’t see where to post. Just wondered where the link is for the video. No link is there.
The video should play in the middle of the post 🙂 Otherwise, here is another place to view it: https://youtu.be/m4WHGJiX6yE
Just wondering what size pan/pot/baking dish I should be using??
6 cup capacity; 1.5 to 2 quart size
This came out amazing and was gobbled up quickly! There was lots left. Thank you.
So happy it was enjoyed 🙂 Thanks for the comment Bobbie! 🙂
I made this for the first time. Never made this dish before so I didnt really know what to expect. It was really good. Everyone loved it. The only thing I would change is that I would use twice as much peas and carrots. It definitely needed more veggies. Besides that it was perfect!