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
Shepherd’s Pie is the ultimate comfort—savory ground beef and veggies in rich gravy, topped with creamy mashed potatoes. Cozy and delicious!
Equipment
- Large, oven-safe pan
- Large pot
- Ricer for potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups mirepoix mix of carrots, onion, and celery, finely chopped (1 small yellow onion, 1 celery stalk, and 1 carrot to get 2 cups)
- 1.2 pounds ground chuck round
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup frozen sweet peas or frozen corn
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes undrained
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1-3/4 cups reduced-sodium beef stock can use reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1/2 cup 100% grape juice see note 1
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 bay leaves divided
Instructions
- Heat 1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and finely chopped onion, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute. Add finely chopped carrots and celery, cooking another 2–3 minutes until veggies are softened.
- Heat pan to high and add beef. Cook until browned, breaking it apart. Drain any excess grease. Stir in flour and cook for 1 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.
- 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 pan, transfer to a 2-quart oven-safe dish.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel and cube potatoes into golf-ball sized pieces. Rinse them under cold water in a strainer until water runs clear. Transfer to a large pot, cover with cold water, add 1 tablespoon fine sea salt and 1 bay leaf, then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 15–20 minutes. Drain potatoes in a strainer, ensuring all excess moisture is removed. Let dry for about 3 minutes and discard bay leaf.
- As potatoes dry in strainer, melt heavy cream, sour cream, and butter in the pot on low heat, stirring to combine. While potatoes are still hot, put them through a ricer and add on top of butter/sour cream mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. 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.
- Use a fork to add marks into the surface of potatoes. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil.
- 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.
Storage: Store cooked pie covered in the fridge for 3–5 days. You can freeze it tightly covered for up to 2 months; bake frozen pie at 350°F for 1 hour before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 697kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 49.2g | Fat: 37.5g | Cholesterol: 192.9mg | Sodium: 623.1mg | Fiber: 4.9g | Sugar: 13.5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It was DELICIOUS!! Everyone loved it, thank you.
So happy to hear this! Thanks Michelle! 🙂
oh my goodness Chelsea,, you got SO close to traditional Shepherds Pie in your description!!! you say “ground” beef/lamb as so many top cooks do,, but they dont explain it is ground ‘cooked’ meat, not mince meat from butcher, that has to be fried !?!? you did say ——-can be made with left over roast, but how ?? people wld be asking !!
… so in the 1940’s My German Grandma wld use left over Sunday Roast Lamb pieces put through her mincer that was screwed to her kitchen table,, I helped her turn the handle,, and then she mixed good old tomato sauce through it, with a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and top it with mash potato, flip little peaks with her spoon to make it look so nice when browned in her wood stove,,
Now if your pie has mince meat from butcher, that would be a completely different taste and especially that yummy texture,, and if it has vegies in it,, from the cottage garden,, then that is a Cottage Pie,, a Shepherds Pie is served with boiled vegies beside it,, we loved it ,,, people in those days were poor, they had Shepherds to mind their sheep, food was scarce, but they did have their own lamb,
Marion.
This recipe is delicious, but does take more time to prepare than you say. I would double the 1 hour to 2 hours. But sooo good!
I’m so happy you enjoyed! Thanks Kim! 🙂
I have not made your recipe yet, but it sounds like one I ate at an Irish Pub last week. I usually make mine with half ground beef & half ground lamb. The one at the pub was delicious and had no cheese before the mashed potatoes. I will definitely try yours it sounds perfect for a fall or winter day.
Shepherd’s Pie = Lamb
Cottage Pie = Beef
I know, thank you! This is my reasoning for the name: (From the blog post) “First of all, this meal is not technically a true “Shepherd’s Pie”! A true shepherd’s pie originates from England and is traditionally made with ground lamb. However, since in the states, ground beef is eaten more than lamb, this meal is usually referred to as a shepherd’s pie. (In England and other parts of the world, they’d call this ground beef version a “cottage pie” and the lamb version “shepherd’s pie.”)
This the best Shepherds pie ever.
The prep is a bit longer and some ingredients are not in your grandma’s,
but well worth it .
Tip: Don’t skip any ingredients.
Yay! So happy to hear! Thanks so much Hal! 🙂
Hiii can I substitute fresh herbs for dry and if so how much?
is the grape juice a supplement for red wine? I’d rather just use red wine.
You can definitely use red wine instead. We like the sweetness the grape juice adds; counteracts the tomatoes really nicely!
Just made this recipe and have not even eaten it yet because the prep and cook times were not even close to accurate. I’m not a rookie in the kitchen but this took a lot of prep. Please let your followers know this. Will let you know how it tasted. Still in the oven. Took over 2 hours to prep and cook.
Hey Riki, thanks so much for letting me know! I hope you loved this Shepherd’s Pie and I’m very sorry the prep time wasn’t accurate for you!
Just wanted to let you know the shepherd’s pie was delicious.
Thanks so much Riki 🙂
We love this recipe! I’ve cooked it several times for my family. The kids love it and my husband raves about it. Thank you for making it easy 🙌🏻
I’m so happy you guys love this Shepherd’s pie! Thanks so much for your comment Danielle! 🙂