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This easy Shepherd’s Pie recipe is filled with lots of veggies and tender ground beef (or lamb), simmered together in the most delicious sauce, and topped with the creamiest mashed potatoes. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
Last month on Instagram, I happened to mention that I had never made a homemade shepherd’s pie before…and my inbox instantly exploded.
So many of you love shepherd’s pie!! ♡
Even better, so many of you had shepherd’s pie tips and recipes that you were willing to share with me.
So with St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, I’ve been hard at work this past month testing and re-testing all of your recommendations until I landed on my own classic shepherd’s pie recipe that I’m happy to finally add to this site today. It’s overflowing (quite literally) with tender beef or lamb and lots and lots of veggies, including a generous handful of chopped mushrooms that bring a delicious depth of flavor and extra heartiness to the filling. It’s topped with my trademark creamy mashed potatoes (<– which you should totally double, while you’re at it, so that you can enjoy the extras as leftovers.) And best of all, it is made with an unforgettably rich and flavorful sauce that brings everything together perfectly.
After making multiple batches for testing, I can also vouch that the leftovers are fantastic and freeze well too. So whether you’re planning a big feast for St. Patrick’s Day, or just looking for some comforting meal prep for the week ahead, be sure to bookmark this recipe and let’s make some shepherd’s pie!
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients:
Alright, grocery list time. Here are the basic shepherd’s pie ingredients that you will need to make this recipe:
Ground beef or lamb: It’s traditional to make shepherd’s pie with ground lamb (and “cottage pie” with beef), but feel free to use ground beef, turkey or chicken if you prefer in the recipe below. (Or see notes below for how to make vegetarian shepherd’s pie sans-meat too.)
Veggies: Finely-dice lots of onion, carrots, celery, garlic and frozen peas. Plus I also highly recommend adding in some finely-diced mushrooms (baby bella, white button, or portobellos) too.
Flour: I used flour to thicken the sauce, but see below for gluten-free substitution options.
Beef stock: Or chicken or veggie stock, whatever you have on hand.
Dry red wine: I also love the extra depth of flavor this adds. But if you prefer not to cook with wine, just add in an extra 1/2 cup of beef stock instead.
Tomato paste: Which will give it that nice tomato-y base.
Worcestershire sauce: A must!
Herbs: Definitely toss in a few bay leaves. Then I also recommend adding in a few sprigs of fresh Italian herbs, such as rosemary and thyme. (Or if you don’t have fresh herbs available, you can add in 1.5 tablespoons of dry Italian seasoning.)
Mashed potatoes: This recipe calls for a half batch of my favorite mashed potatoes recipe, made with potatoes, milk, butter and cream cheese.
How To Make Shepherd’s Pie:
To make this Irish shepherd’s pie recipe, simply:
Cook the mashed potatoes. Cook the large potatoes in a large stockpot until tender. Then drain, mash, and stir in the remaining mashed potato ingredients until combined. Set aside for later.
Brown the meat. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, cook the ground beef or lamb in a bit of oil until browned, crumbling it with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Then transfer it to a separate plate with a wooden spoon, reserving any grease that it has left behind.
Sauté the veggies. Cook the onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms and garlic in the leftover grease (or you can add in extra oil) until they are softened as well.
Add in the flour and wine. Stir in the flour to help thicken the sauce. Then add the wine, and scrape the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon to loosen any of those tasty brown bits.
Add the remaining sauce ingredients. Stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, herbs and frozen peas. Then give everything a good stir, and cook the mixture until it reaches a simmer. Reduce the heat to let it simmer for a few more minutes, so that those herbs can really season the sauce. Then remove the herbs (including bay leaves), stir in the cooked meat, give the mixture a taste, and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Layer it all up. Transfer the filling mixture to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, and spread it out in an even layer. Then spoon the mashed potatoes on top and carefully spread them out in an even layer as well.
Bake. Pop the whole dish in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are lightly golden and the filling starts to bubble up around the edges. (If you would like the potatoes to be a bit more browned, you can turn on the broiler for 1 or 2 extra minutes.)
Garnish and serve. Then remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle with a few extra herbs if you would like, and dish it up while the shepherd’s pie is still nice and warm. Yum.
Easy Shepherd’s Pie Variations:
Want to customize your shepherd’s pie recipe? Feel free to:
Make it vegetarian. To make a vegetarian shepherd’s pie, just omit the meat and double the amount of mushrooms. (It could also be delicious to stir in a cup of cooked farro as well.) And of course, use veggie stock instead of beef stock, and vegan Worcestershire sauce (if you don’t eat anchovies).
Make it vegan. Do the above, plus use vegan butter, milk and cream cheese in your mashed potatoes.
Make it gluten-free. Nix the flour and whisk 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch together with the (room-temperature) stock before adding it to the sauce. Also be sure to double-check, as always, that all of your other ingredients are certified GF.
Use sweet potatoes: For an amazing sweet+savory combo, feel free to use sweet potatoes instead of Russets or Yukon golds in your mashed potatoes. So good!!!
How To Store Shepherd’s Pie:
You can either store your shepherd’s pie leftovers in a sealed container:
In the fridge: For up to 3 days, or…
In the freezer: For up to 3 months
What To Serve With Shepherd’s Pie:
You’re welcome to serve this shepherd’s pie with extra gravy on the side, if you would like. Otherwise, we enjoyed ours with:
This easy Shepherd’s Pie recipe is filled with lots of veggies and tender ground beef (or lamb), simmered together in the most delicious sauce, and topped with the creamiest mashed potatoes. See notes above for possible ingredient substitutions.
Ingredients
Scale
Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.25 pounds ground beef
1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
8 ounces baby bella or white button mushrooms, finely diced
2 medium carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry red wine (or you can sub in more beef stock instead)
2 cups beef stock (or vegetable or chicken stock)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs each fresh rosemary and thyme (or whatever herbs you love)
1/2 cup frozen peas
sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
1 batch mashed potatoes (see below)
Mashed Potato Ingredients:
2.5 pounds potatoes (either Russets, Yukon golds, or a mix of the two)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup whole milk, or more as needed
2 ounces cream cheese (or 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt)
sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Instructions
Cook the mashed potatoes. Follow the instructions here to prepare a half batch of this mashed potatoes recipe. Once the mashed potatoes are ready to go, remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.
Brown the beef (or lamb). Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef (or lamb) and cook until browned, crumbling it with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Transfer the cooked beef to a separate plate with a wooden spoon and set aside, reserving any grease in the sauté pan that it has left behind. (Or if there is no leftover grease, add an extra tablespoon of oil to the pan.)
Sauté the veggies. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic and sauté for 5-7 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
Add in the flour and wine. Stir the flour in with the veggie mixture until evenly combined, then continue to sauté for 1 minute more, stirring frequently. Stir in the wine, then use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Add the remaining sauce ingredients. Immediately stir in the stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, herb sprigs and frozen peas until combined. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a low simmer, and continue cooking for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the bay leaves and herb sprigs. Stir in the cooked meat Taste and season the mixture with salt and pepper as needed.
Layer it all up. Transfer the filling mixture to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and spread it out in an even layer. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top and carefully spread them out in an even layer as well.
Bake. Bake uncovered at 400°F for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are lightly golden and the filling has started to bubble up around the edges. (If you would like the potatoes to be a bit more browned, you can turn on the broiler for 1 or 2 extra minutes, keeping a close eye on the potatoes so that they do not burn.)
Garnish and serve. Remove the baking dish from the oven, sprinkle a few extra herbs on top if you would like, then dish up your servings while the shepherd’s pie is still nice and warm. Or store the pie in sealed containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
I can’t believe this hit my in-box today when my friend and I have definitely been talking about making!!! I never know how long it takes me to make stuff, so I like to make in the morning, place in fridge, and then just back at dinnertime. Do you have any idea how long to cook (and maybe at a lower temp?) if I am baking it from a cold fridge?
Karla M Kuhn —
Deb & gso: Excited to try tomorrow and have already started! It’s gonna be a little bit different as I’ve no cream cheese, but am going to add a little bit of whipping cream to the potatoes as well as mash in my leftover potatoes from the roast we just enjoyed to make up for the bouillon. (Cooking on a budget, ie. No special store run, for 4 children & myself :)!) The challenge: to use just canned diced tomatoes when I’ve already cooked the meat! Oh, well, I’ve a blender if nothing else.
Deb: I wanted to respond to @Deb. What I’ve done when going oven to fridge is just put my pan in metal/glass immediately after turning the oven on for the preheat. Has worked for me, but add a few extra minutes if needed. Make sure to stick around for the notification it’s at 400* or whatever.
-Azariah/SuburbaKnight
Ps 20:1, 6-8; Is 43; Is 38:15-20; John 14:11-21
Here’s a little tip I learned while watching British cooking shows. Shepherds Pie contains lamb, while Cottage Pie contains beef. The trick to remember which is which? If you’re a shepherd, you herd sheep! So, technically speaking, this is a recipe for a delicious Cottage Pie. ?
I am snowed in at the moment so can’t get to the store to buy the ingredients, so I have not made it yet but I do plan to in the near future. However, this is not a Shepard’s Pie recipe. It is a Cottage Pie recipe. They are basically the same thing except for the type of meat used but a Shepard’s Pie always contains mutton AKA sheep meat. Also if you want to go for a Fisherman’s Pie you could use this recipe but use seafood for the meat if you want another variation to try.
Looks delicious! Do you think this would hold up well as a make-ahead dish? Cook all the different components and assemble them, but then don’t bake it until you are about to serve?
Bill Ristic —
Why wouldn’t it? Go that far you may as well bake it and be even closer to serving…
For the record, this is NOT Shepherd’s Pie. A true Shepherd’s Pie is made with ground lamb, not ground beef.
This recipe is what is actually known as Cottage Pie. My husband is of British ancestry, and he has made Shepherd’s Pie many times, so he knows what goes into it. In fact, he has also made Cottage Pie, and another variant that he calls Stalker’s Pie, because it uses ground venison.
Either way, I don’t mean to sound picky, but I just wanted to set the record straight.
If this serves 12 people it is mighty low in protein. I will have to adjust the number of servings to make the recipe work for us. And adjust the amount of mashed potatoes down. Unfortunately I have become borderline diabetic and can’t afford to eat high carb/low protein meals. Once I make the adjustments I need, I think we will enjoy this shepherds pie. It sounds wonderful.
Thomas —
If you want to cut out some of the carbs, you can top with a mixture of mashed potatoes and pureed cauliflower. I did this the last time I made cottage pie (I have my own recipe) and no one even noticed the substitution. I also didn’t use ground beef, but instead used some steaks cut into 1-inch x 1/2 inch strips, similar to what you find in some stroganoff recipes.
Bill Ristic —
There’s a heck of a lot of foods out there other than this recipe and it’s contents? Statement really makes no sense…
I will send you my review after I have made your recipe, it looks great. Don’t think twice about people who say your recipe is a bogus Shepard’s Pie, people should stop hoarding and herding Sheep…phew if they want to smell the roses, they need to think out of the box some.
Made this last night. Delicious!! I made the vegetarian version. I used 2- 8 oz packages of sliced mushrooms and one cup of cooked farro. The wine really pulls it all together! This makes a lot of food. Had trouble putting the mashed potatoes on top without it pushing the pie ingredients over the edge. Was a Big hit for my vegetarian friends and meat eaters!
Absolutely delicious!!! My husband and I loved this dinner and have plenty of leftovers. I swapped out the red wine for additional beef broth and used vegan Worcestershire sauce for regular due to a food allergy. I subbed cauliflower for half of the potatoes, skipped the cream cheese, and reduced the milk due to the amount of liquid in the cauliflower. Will definitely make again!!
Tasted delicious. I would make this again and have forwarded the recipe on to my mom who wants to try something other than her tried and true version. Thanks!!
I made this cottage pie tonight and it was delicious! The casserole dish was filled to the very top. You may want to consider putting the casserole dish on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil in case it bubbles over.
I cooked the carrots and onions togethet so they would have extra cooking time and not be crunchy. I also added extra hot milk to the potatoes to make them creamier.
This makes 8 large servings ot 10 medium. For safety sake store the casserole in smaller dishes in the refrigerator so it cools down quickly.
I’ve made shepherd pie before it’s always been a big flop! This recipe is so good, everything turned out wonderful and the whole family enjoyed it my husband took the leftovers to work the next day. Feeling accomplished thanks for the great recipe! The only thing I did differently is I cooked potatoes added a little salt and that was it, “ I recently cut out all dairy” then I mashed the potatoes with my inversion blender which works wonders I don’t even miss the butter and milk.
Oh my goodness, this ‘Shepherd’s Pie’ is awesome!!! I had leftover mashed potatoes from the night before & used them. That cut down on some of the work for me. It’s not hard to make at all & is wonderful!! My husband loved it!! I will be making this again for sure!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!
I am about to make this recipe. I noticed two comments that asked about preparing it in advance, with no one responding. Please let me know if assembling the pie in advance, refrigerating it overnight, and baking it the next day, works. If so, at what temperature and for how long? Thanks!
Mary —
Hi Cheryl, As a mum of six strapping men, English, living in the UK, with Irish Parents, I think I have the knowledge to give some advice.
Your Shepherds/Cottage Pie will be absolutely fine in the fridge overnight before you pop it into the oven to cook the next day. Whatever you do though, NEVER leave the dish with cooked potato out at room temperature unless you are going to cook it within an hour or so. Dangerous due to Bacteria!! (Same advice for any cooked, cooled potato)
Just make your pie with either the potato topping on or just the mixture without the potato topping (which you can make the next day if you wish to finish it off before popping it into the oven) If you have made the potato toppuing then as soon as you think it has cooled enough, pop it into the fridge asap.
If you have your prepared pie in the fridge overnight, bring it out for half an hour before you either add the potato topping or it is ready already to pop it into the oven, this is just to take the chill off it. Not essential but a good tip.
Don’t ever worry about keeping prepared Shepherds/Cottage Pie in the fridge, I make one or both every other week because it’s Husband’s favourite, he loooooves it. I usually make a large dish of it, use a third of it for our dinner with a salad, the rest I divide into individual one serve dishes, ensure it is cooled, wrap each in foil and pop them into the freezer until we need them for dinner again. They will keep well for up to 6 months in the freezer, and if in the fridge, up to 3 days (which is usually not long) lol.
If in the freezer, just bring them out the day before you want them, pop them into the fridge to defrost for 24 hours.
I will probably get slated for this but my advice is – please don’t use the microwave if you can help it, as it tends to dry the potato out and it never tastes quite right somehow. Far better to preheat your oven to 350/180/Fan 160/Gas 4, make sure you put your individual Pie onto an oven tray to prevent it splashing your lovely clean oven and reheat for approx 35/40 minutes. If I make a large dish of Shepherds/Cottage Pie if family dining with us, I pop it into the oven at the same temperature above but for a minimum 55 minutes. This ensures it’s lovely and hot througout and the potato topping has a golden crust. Yum. (through sheer habit, I still use the fork trick though). See Below…..
(A Foolproof method to check your Shepherds/Cottage Pie is piping hot -( sometimes you can see the sides bubbling a little, assume it is ready when it is not, it might only still be warm in the centre) so when the oven time is up, try this test – take a fork and stick it right into the centre, count to 15 and take the fork out, if the fork prongs are very hot, your pie is cooked or reheated to perfection.if it’s not, pop a bit of foil over the top to prevent potato getting too brown and pop the pie back in for a further 10 minutes. That should do the trick. It’s never failed me yet.
Delicious and so simple to make. You can ‘fiddle’ with the herbs and just use what you have in your pantry and I used half mashed potato half kumara(sweet potato) and it was yum :)
This was the BEST shepherds pie that I’ve ever made!!! I made it almost exactly plus added two springs of Thyme and some cheese on top. Otherwise, it was perfect. I made mine own mashed potatoes because my family loves how I make mine already.
I made this for the first time and took it to a gathering celebrating “Half way to St. Patty’s Day”. It was a recipe which was easy to follow. I will also add that I made it the night before and stored it in the refrigerator. I made the potatoes the next day and finished off the dish prior to the event. It also traveled well. Many compliments were given and I thank you for inspiring me to try a new dish.
My son requested this dish, so I was excited to find this recipe. The flavor was incredible. I made the mashed potatoes too early in the process, as they were very hard to spread over the base layer. I look forward to making this again!
FABULOUS!!! The layers of flavor are amazing. I added the fresh rosemary (super). The red wine and mushrooms are the game changer. Thank you for taking the time to tweak the recipe until you liked it! The proof is in this recipe.
The Italian herbs do not work for this dish.
We were really disappointed.
Judy —
You can call it Shepherd, Cottage, this is what’s in my fridge, perfect for a cold day pie for all I care. Makes no difference to me. This the BEST pie recipe I have seen and tried. Using fresh vs frozen veggies is the key. I’ve made it with ground beef, , turkey, and chickenand its tasted great! I’ve swapped parsnips for carrots, have added turnips, steamed cabbage,, heck I threw leftover balsamic roasted brussel spouts! LOL. I have used mashed sweet potatoes with carrots mixed with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and for a Spanish friend, mashed yuca! Rhank you for sharing your recipe. Good job!!
I made this recipe tonight. Was delicious. I’ve made Shepard’s pie a hand full of times. I’m a Gallagher so it’s tradition! But my traditional recipe got old. One thing we add which may seem odd is we cover the potatoes in slices of American or cheddar cheese and then cook/broil till the cheese turns golden and bubbling. Even tho it sounds like an odd combo it has become famous in my family. And it’s so delicious with the cheese potatoes layered upon the delicious meat mixture. Total comfort food.
I made this last night, it was simple and delicious. The only thing I would do different next time is let it sit for a bit before serving. I took it out of the oven ready to serve, when I went to scoop it out, it was a big pile of mush. Delicious, but not very pretty. I put the leftovers in the fridge over night, and I just cut the rest in single servings and put them in the freezer.
Delicious! I made for my visiting son and it received an enthusiastic thumbs up. I tweaked it to accommodate what I had on hand, and so made it with a sweet potato topping.
This recipe is DELICIOUS!!!! The wine the worcestershire sauce the mirepoix and the mushrooms are all so amazing! I made it with our grass fed beef hamburger and it is Yummy! This is perfect proportion of all the ingredients and I love it! Will definitely make this again! Thank you so very much!
I made this tonight for dinner but I used leftover brisket that my husband made on the Traeger for the meat. It was amazing and even the kids had seconds and thirds! Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Your recipe is delicious and foolproof! I made it as described but vegetarian , with veg crumbles instead of beef and mushroom broth (also veg Worcestershire). The wine, bay leaf and Worcestershire make this recipe. Hard to go wrong with mashed potatoes, but seriously the flavor combo and textures are just wonderful! Thank you!
The filling was awesome. So savory! Only complaints are the potatoes and prep/cook time. I had a hard time following the recipe and getting the right consistency to spread. Added my extra beef stock. They were awesome and spread great. But seriously there are so many components that i killed the better part of an afternoon making this dish..
On a side note i used beef and lamb so I guess my shepherd cooked his pie in a cottage!
Just made this with Beyond Meat’s Beyond Beef and it was excellent. None of my friends could tell the “beef” was not slaughtered cows. Delicious and environmentally and ethically friendly. Doesn’t get a lot better than that. (Also used vegan margarine, sour cream and oat milk for the potatoes. Also mouth-watering good.)
Hi. Nice recipe/s, but I have to insist that Shepherd’s Pie (as the name suggests) is ALWAYS lamb. This seems to be a common theme in the US, but as a Brit, it is most definitely exclusively lamb. A beef version would be called Cottage Pie. Thanks.
Hi Ali,
Do you mix the ground beef with the veggie sauce or do you just layer it all on the baking dish?
Thanks!
I can’t believe this hit my in-box today when my friend and I have definitely been talking about making!!! I never know how long it takes me to make stuff, so I like to make in the morning, place in fridge, and then just back at dinnertime. Do you have any idea how long to cook (and maybe at a lower temp?) if I am baking it from a cold fridge?
Deb & gso: Excited to try tomorrow and have already started! It’s gonna be a little bit different as I’ve no cream cheese, but am going to add a little bit of whipping cream to the potatoes as well as mash in my leftover potatoes from the roast we just enjoyed to make up for the bouillon. (Cooking on a budget, ie. No special store run, for 4 children & myself :)!) The challenge: to use just canned diced tomatoes when I’ve already cooked the meat! Oh, well, I’ve a blender if nothing else.
Deb: I wanted to respond to @Deb. What I’ve done when going oven to fridge is just put my pan in metal/glass immediately after turning the oven on for the preheat. Has worked for me, but add a few extra minutes if needed. Make sure to stick around for the notification it’s at 400* or whatever.
-Azariah/SuburbaKnight
Ps 20:1, 6-8; Is 43; Is 38:15-20; John 14:11-21
Here’s a little tip I learned while watching British cooking shows. Shepherds Pie contains lamb, while Cottage Pie contains beef. The trick to remember which is which? If you’re a shepherd, you herd sheep! So, technically speaking, this is a recipe for a delicious Cottage Pie. ?
I am snowed in at the moment so can’t get to the store to buy the ingredients, so I have not made it yet but I do plan to in the near future. However, this is not a Shepard’s Pie recipe. It is a Cottage Pie recipe. They are basically the same thing except for the type of meat used but a Shepard’s Pie always contains mutton AKA sheep meat. Also if you want to go for a Fisherman’s Pie you could use this recipe but use seafood for the meat if you want another variation to try.
Looks delicious! Do you think this would hold up well as a make-ahead dish? Cook all the different components and assemble them, but then don’t bake it until you are about to serve?
Why wouldn’t it? Go that far you may as well bake it and be even closer to serving…
For the record, this is NOT Shepherd’s Pie. A true Shepherd’s Pie is made with ground lamb, not ground beef.
This recipe is what is actually known as Cottage Pie. My husband is of British ancestry, and he has made Shepherd’s Pie many times, so he knows what goes into it. In fact, he has also made Cottage Pie, and another variant that he calls Stalker’s Pie, because it uses ground venison.
Either way, I don’t mean to sound picky, but I just wanted to set the record straight.
If this serves 12 people it is mighty low in protein. I will have to adjust the number of servings to make the recipe work for us. And adjust the amount of mashed potatoes down. Unfortunately I have become borderline diabetic and can’t afford to eat high carb/low protein meals. Once I make the adjustments I need, I think we will enjoy this shepherds pie. It sounds wonderful.
If you want to cut out some of the carbs, you can top with a mixture of mashed potatoes and pureed cauliflower. I did this the last time I made cottage pie (I have my own recipe) and no one even noticed the substitution. I also didn’t use ground beef, but instead used some steaks cut into 1-inch x 1/2 inch strips, similar to what you find in some stroganoff recipes.
There’s a heck of a lot of foods out there other than this recipe and it’s contents? Statement really makes no sense…
This looks amazing!!!
Hey Hon
I will send you my review after I have made your recipe, it looks great. Don’t think twice about people who say your recipe is a bogus Shepard’s Pie, people should stop hoarding and herding Sheep…phew if they want to smell the roses, they need to think out of the box some.
Thanks (MUCH) for sending it to me!
Made this last night. Delicious!! I made the vegetarian version. I used 2- 8 oz packages of sliced mushrooms and one cup of cooked farro. The wine really pulls it all together! This makes a lot of food. Had trouble putting the mashed potatoes on top without it pushing the pie ingredients over the edge. Was a Big hit for my vegetarian friends and meat eaters!
Absolutely delicious!!! My husband and I loved this dinner and have plenty of leftovers. I swapped out the red wine for additional beef broth and used vegan Worcestershire sauce for regular due to a food allergy. I subbed cauliflower for half of the potatoes, skipped the cream cheese, and reduced the milk due to the amount of liquid in the cauliflower. Will definitely make again!!
Thanks for another great recipe! Made as written tonight for dinner, and it was fabulous!
I made this, but used frozen veggies instead. Turned out great.
This is the best Shepherd pie I’ve ever made! We just had it for dinner ??
Tasted delicious. I would make this again and have forwarded the recipe on to my mom who wants to try something other than her tried and true version. Thanks!!
Made it with lamb. This was ridiculously delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
I made this dish over the weekend. It was really delicious!!
I made this cottage pie tonight and it was delicious! The casserole dish was filled to the very top. You may want to consider putting the casserole dish on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil in case it bubbles over.
I cooked the carrots and onions togethet so they would have extra cooking time and not be crunchy. I also added extra hot milk to the potatoes to make them creamier.
This makes 8 large servings ot 10 medium. For safety sake store the casserole in smaller dishes in the refrigerator so it cools down quickly.
I’ve made shepherd pie before it’s always been a big flop! This recipe is so good, everything turned out wonderful and the whole family enjoyed it my husband took the leftovers to work the next day. Feeling accomplished thanks for the great recipe! The only thing I did differently is I cooked potatoes added a little salt and that was it, “ I recently cut out all dairy” then I mashed the potatoes with my inversion blender which works wonders I don’t even miss the butter and milk.
Oh my goodness, this ‘Shepherd’s Pie’ is awesome!!! I had leftover mashed potatoes from the night before & used them. That cut down on some of the work for me. It’s not hard to make at all & is wonderful!! My husband loved it!! I will be making this again for sure!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!
Yum!!! I did substitute beef & added sage. Fresh corn cut off the cob & it is amazing!!
Ali,
I am about to make this recipe. I noticed two comments that asked about preparing it in advance, with no one responding. Please let me know if assembling the pie in advance, refrigerating it overnight, and baking it the next day, works. If so, at what temperature and for how long? Thanks!
Hi Cheryl, As a mum of six strapping men, English, living in the UK, with Irish Parents, I think I have the knowledge to give some advice.
Your Shepherds/Cottage Pie will be absolutely fine in the fridge overnight before you pop it into the oven to cook the next day. Whatever you do though, NEVER leave the dish with cooked potato out at room temperature unless you are going to cook it within an hour or so. Dangerous due to Bacteria!! (Same advice for any cooked, cooled potato)
Just make your pie with either the potato topping on or just the mixture without the potato topping (which you can make the next day if you wish to finish it off before popping it into the oven) If you have made the potato toppuing then as soon as you think it has cooled enough, pop it into the fridge asap.
If you have your prepared pie in the fridge overnight, bring it out for half an hour before you either add the potato topping or it is ready already to pop it into the oven, this is just to take the chill off it. Not essential but a good tip.
Don’t ever worry about keeping prepared Shepherds/Cottage Pie in the fridge, I make one or both every other week because it’s Husband’s favourite, he loooooves it. I usually make a large dish of it, use a third of it for our dinner with a salad, the rest I divide into individual one serve dishes, ensure it is cooled, wrap each in foil and pop them into the freezer until we need them for dinner again. They will keep well for up to 6 months in the freezer, and if in the fridge, up to 3 days (which is usually not long) lol.
If in the freezer, just bring them out the day before you want them, pop them into the fridge to defrost for 24 hours.
I will probably get slated for this but my advice is – please don’t use the microwave if you can help it, as it tends to dry the potato out and it never tastes quite right somehow. Far better to preheat your oven to 350/180/Fan 160/Gas 4, make sure you put your individual Pie onto an oven tray to prevent it splashing your lovely clean oven and reheat for approx 35/40 minutes. If I make a large dish of Shepherds/Cottage Pie if family dining with us, I pop it into the oven at the same temperature above but for a minimum 55 minutes. This ensures it’s lovely and hot througout and the potato topping has a golden crust. Yum. (through sheer habit, I still use the fork trick though). See Below…..
(A Foolproof method to check your Shepherds/Cottage Pie is piping hot -( sometimes you can see the sides bubbling a little, assume it is ready when it is not, it might only still be warm in the centre) so when the oven time is up, try this test – take a fork and stick it right into the centre, count to 15 and take the fork out, if the fork prongs are very hot, your pie is cooked or reheated to perfection.if it’s not, pop a bit of foil over the top to prevent potato getting too brown and pop the pie back in for a further 10 minutes. That should do the trick. It’s never failed me yet.
I hope the above helps.
Yum!
Delicious and so simple to make. You can ‘fiddle’ with the herbs and just use what you have in your pantry and I used half mashed potato half kumara(sweet potato) and it was yum :)
This was delicious!
This was the BEST shepherds pie that I’ve ever made!!! I made it almost exactly plus added two springs of Thyme and some cheese on top. Otherwise, it was perfect. I made mine own mashed potatoes because my family loves how I make mine already.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. It’s the best shepherd’s pie ever!!!
I made this for the first time and took it to a gathering celebrating “Half way to St. Patty’s Day”. It was a recipe which was easy to follow. I will also add that I made it the night before and stored it in the refrigerator. I made the potatoes the next day and finished off the dish prior to the event. It also traveled well. Many compliments were given and I thank you for inspiring me to try a new dish.
Made this tonight and I was delicious. My 2 year old had two servings – she couldn’t get enough! Thank you!
My son requested this dish, so I was excited to find this recipe. The flavor was incredible. I made the mashed potatoes too early in the process, as they were very hard to spread over the base layer. I look forward to making this again!
Excellent! Great flavor. Will definitely make again.
FABULOUS!!! The layers of flavor are amazing. I added the fresh rosemary (super). The red wine and mushrooms are the game changer. Thank you for taking the time to tweak the recipe until you liked it! The proof is in this recipe.
The Italian herbs do not work for this dish.
We were really disappointed.
You can call it Shepherd, Cottage, this is what’s in my fridge, perfect for a cold day pie for all I care. Makes no difference to me. This the BEST pie recipe I have seen and tried. Using fresh vs frozen veggies is the key. I’ve made it with ground beef, , turkey, and chickenand its tasted great! I’ve swapped parsnips for carrots, have added turnips, steamed cabbage,, heck I threw leftover balsamic roasted brussel spouts! LOL. I have used mashed sweet potatoes with carrots mixed with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and for a Spanish friend, mashed yuca! Rhank you for sharing your recipe. Good job!!
I made this recipe tonight. Was delicious. I’ve made Shepard’s pie a hand full of times. I’m a Gallagher so it’s tradition! But my traditional recipe got old. One thing we add which may seem odd is we cover the potatoes in slices of American or cheddar cheese and then cook/broil till the cheese turns golden and bubbling. Even tho it sounds like an odd combo it has become famous in my family. And it’s so delicious with the cheese potatoes layered upon the delicious meat mixture. Total comfort food.
I made this last night, it was simple and delicious. The only thing I would do different next time is let it sit for a bit before serving. I took it out of the oven ready to serve, when I went to scoop it out, it was a big pile of mush. Delicious, but not very pretty. I put the leftovers in the fridge over night, and I just cut the rest in single servings and put them in the freezer.
Delicious! I made for my visiting son and it received an enthusiastic thumbs up. I tweaked it to accommodate what I had on hand, and so made it with a sweet potato topping.
Will definitely make again.
This recipe is DELICIOUS!!!! The wine the worcestershire sauce the mirepoix and the mushrooms are all so amazing! I made it with our grass fed beef hamburger and it is Yummy! This is perfect proportion of all the ingredients and I love it! Will definitely make this again! Thank you so very much!
I made this tonight for dinner but I used leftover brisket that my husband made on the Traeger for the meat. It was amazing and even the kids had seconds and thirds! Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Fabulous, simple straight forward directions.
Your recipe is delicious and foolproof! I made it as described but vegetarian , with veg crumbles instead of beef and mushroom broth (also veg Worcestershire). The wine, bay leaf and Worcestershire make this recipe. Hard to go wrong with mashed potatoes, but seriously the flavor combo and textures are just wonderful! Thank you!
So tasty and satifying.
Incredible recipe. So much flavor, everything is spot on. Thank you!
This was amazing! Definitely give it a try you won’t be disappointed!
The filling was awesome. So savory! Only complaints are the potatoes and prep/cook time. I had a hard time following the recipe and getting the right consistency to spread. Added my extra beef stock. They were awesome and spread great. But seriously there are so many components that i killed the better part of an afternoon making this dish..
On a side note i used beef and lamb so I guess my shepherd cooked his pie in a cottage!
Just made this with Beyond Meat’s Beyond Beef and it was excellent. None of my friends could tell the “beef” was not slaughtered cows. Delicious and environmentally and ethically friendly. Doesn’t get a lot better than that. (Also used vegan margarine, sour cream and oat milk for the potatoes. Also mouth-watering good.)
Awesome tasting recipe!
Excellent! The flavors of the fresh herbs and vegetables was a melody to my tastebuds!?
Beverly
I am diabetic and need to see the nutritional information. Is this available on your recipes?
Thanks
Hi. Nice recipe/s, but I have to insist that Shepherd’s Pie (as the name suggests) is ALWAYS lamb. This seems to be a common theme in the US, but as a Brit, it is most definitely exclusively lamb. A beef version would be called Cottage Pie. Thanks.
Not to be nitpicky but Sheppards Pie is made with Lamb. If made with beef it is a Cottage Pie.