My classic Shepherd’s Pie recipe packs so much satisfying flavor, with a beefy, saucy filling baked under a golden, fluffy layer of mashed potatoes. It’s such a satisfying and crowd-pleasing dinner, and it’s easier to make than you might think – you can even use leftover mashed potatoes!
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Helpful Reader Review
“I made this recipe for my husband and I and we LOVED it!!!! Simple ingredients, so tasty, and the leftovers were even better. We definitely will be making this again…” – Christine ★★★★★
Shepherd’s Pie Video
This Shepherd’s Pie recipe is a stunning and welcoming dish for the holiday table, especially on St. Patrick’s Day! If you loved my Chicken Pot Pie, you’ll find this just as homey and comforting.
The Best Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
The first time I tried Shepherd’s Pie was in the Cheesecake Factory, and I fell in love with the dish. I’m a ‘meat and potatoes’ kind of gal, and this is basically the best combination of saucy meat and creamy parmesan potatoes.
Shepherd’s Pie (also known as cottage pie) originated in England. It is a savory pie with ground meat (usually ground lamb or beef) in a vegetable gravy, topped with a layer of mashed potatoes. The potatoes seal in the saucy gravy filling and develop a golden crust as the pie bakes in the oven.
Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients
Pantry staples make for the best Shepherd’s Pie, since it was made as a practical and budget-friendly dinner for the family. It’s also so versatile, so don’t miss my substitution suggestions.
- Mashed Potatoes – use 4 cups of leftover Creamy Mashed Potatoes or even Garlic Mashed Potatoes, or from scratch with russet potatoes, heavy cream, butter, Parmesan cheese, and egg.
- Ground Beef – we used lean beef, or you can substitute with ground lamb or mutton.
- Vegetables – we used a yellow onion, garlic, and a bag of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, and corn). Feel free to substitute whatever leftover or frozen veggies you like.
- All-purpose flour – thickens the sauce, or you can use cornstarch for a low-carb, gluten-free Shepherd’s pie
- Red Wine – Use any dry red wine, such as Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet, or Sauvignon (avoid cooking wine) for a rich flavor. Substitute with Chicken/Beef Stock
- Beef Broth – or sub with Chicken broth if that is what you have on hand
- Tomato paste – rounds out the flavor of the sauce
- Worcestershire sauce – adds the umami (savory notes), check labels for GF
How to Make Mashed Potatoes for Shepherd’s Pie
If you have leftover mashed potatoes, use them – mixing in parmesan and egg. I love using Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, or Garlic Mashed Potatoes. If you want to cook potatoes from scratch, follow these quick steps to make the best Parmesan mashed potatoes for Shepherd’s Pie.
- Boil the potato chunks until tender (be sure not to overcook!), and then drain and mash with a potato masher immediately.
- Add warm cream and salt, and mash. Finally, add the parmesan cheese and egg. Set aside.
How to Make Shepherd’s Pie
Once the mashed potatoes are made, it’s easy to cook up the ground meat mixture before baking the whole dish in the oven.
- Sauté Beef over medium heat, and then season with salt and pepper.
- Add Aromatics – add onions and sauté 3 minutes until softened, then add garlic and stir another minute. Add flour and stir for a minute. Note: If you’re using cornstarch, you’ll add it to the beef broth before stirring it into the sauce.
- Pour in red wine and scrape the bottom to deglaze the pan. Add broth, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce, stirring to combine.
- Add frozen vegetables, bring to a light boil, and then season with more salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer 10 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened.
- Assemble Shepherd’s Pie – Transfer the Meat Sauce into a pie dish or casserole. Top with scoops of potatoes, and then spread potatoes evenly over the filling. An ice cream scoop makes this easy. Drizzle with melted butter.
- Bake at 400˚F for about 30 minutes or until potatoes start to turn golden.
Pro Tip:
Shepherd’s pie tastes great the next day, which makes it perfect for making ahead of time over holidays and busy weekends. Simply cool the casserole, cover, and refrigerate within 2 hours.
What to Serve with Shepherd’s Pie
Shepherd’s Pie can be the main course for a weekend dinner or a side dish for holiday meals. We love to pair it with fresh veggies, salad, and bread to soak up the gravy.
- Soft Dinner Rolls
- Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls (family favorite!)
- Caesar Salad
- BLT Salad with the Best Dressing
- Roasted Cauliflower
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Shepherd’s Pie is the ultimate comfort food and a great way to feed a crowd of hungry family and friends. Take a dish to a friend or store leftovers in the freezer for a ready-to-eat dinner. You’ll love this classic recipe for being a filling, crowd-pleasing favorite!
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Ingredients
For the Potato Topping:*
- 2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” thick pieces
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, warm
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted to brush the top
- 1 Tbsp parsley or chives, chopped, to garnish the top
For the Pie Filling:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef or ground lamb
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided, or added to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, or cornstarch*
- 1/2 cup dry red wine**, such as Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet, Sauvignon, or use beef broth
- 1 cup beef broth or chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 cups frozen vegetables of choice, peas, carrots, and corn
Instructions
How to Make Potatoes:
- Boil – Place chopped potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender (12-15 minutes); don’t overcook potatoes. Drain and mash potatoes in the same pot.
- Add warm cream and 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste), then mash until smooth. Lastly, mash in the parmesan cheese and beaten egg.
How to Make Shepherd's Pie
- Sauté Beef – Preheat oven to 400˚F with a rack in the center. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and ground beef. Breaking up the beef with a spatula, then season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, and cook until the meat is just cooked through and no longer pink (5 minutes).
- Add aromatics – add onion and sauté for 3 minutes to soften, then add minced garlic and stir another minute. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp flour and stir for 1 minute. You’ll see a film form at the bottom of your pan (*see notes if using cornstarch)
- Pour in wine, scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan for a minute. Add beef broth, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, and 1 Tbsp Worcestershire.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of frozen veggies and bring to a light boil. Season with another 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper or add to taste. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook 10 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened.
- Assemble – Transfer meat and veggie mixture to a deep pie dish, or 11×7 or 9×9 casserole dish. Scoop mashed potatoes over the top, then spread evenly, making sure to seal the potatoes to the edge of the dish so the filling doesn’t bubble up. Drizzle 2 Tbsp melted butter over the top.
- Bake – Place a sheet of foil under the casserole to catch any drips and bake at 400˚F on the center rack for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes start to turn golden. Cool 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Make ahead – assemble the pie, cool, and cover within 2 hours. Refrigerate or freeze for 4 days or until ready to bake.
- To Refrigerate: Cool leftovers at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours. Chill for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: Once the assembled pie is cooled, cover with foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
- To Reheat: Bake a refrigerated or fully thawed pie at 400˚F for 30-35 minutes until 165°F.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Easy Casserole Recipes
Casseroles like Shepherd’s Pie are a great way to serve dinner all in one pan. Here are some more family-favorite casserols to add to your weekly rotation:
- Chicken Casserole (Chicken Gloria)
- Baked Ziti
- Chicken Orzo Bake
- Lasagna Recipe
- Baked Feta Pasta
- Chicken Tetrazzini
- Baked Make and Cheese
- Meatballs Parmesan Casserole
Easy and delicious! My family couldn’t stop eating. Thank you for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Nicki! I’m glad it was enjoyed.
Hi!
I love your recipes! I make them all the time and they never disappoint. Can I sub ground turkey? Will the taste still be ok? We’ve been trying to eat less red meat.
I’m glad you’re enjoying them, Melissa. One of our readers shared this “I made this tonight with ground turkey. After browning the meat, I drained most of the liquid out before continuing, and I used chicken broth. It was a big hit. I can always count on your recipes pleasing my family. Thank you.” I hope that helps.
Can I prepare the shepherds pie in the morning , refridgerate, and bake at dinner time ? Or will it lose something in the delay ?
Hi Patti! I address this in the recipe post. See the Make-Ahead section of the post for baking later, freezing, and other tips! I hope that helps!
I’ve never been a fan of Shepherds Pie, but this one sounds so delicious that I am making it for dinner tonight. All of your recipes that I have made have turned out perfectly delicious. . Patti
I hope you love it, Patti! It really is so good!
On the Shephards pie, do you have to put wine in it? We’re not wine drinkers and would have a lot of wine left. Unless you post a lot of recipes that call for wine. Lol
BTW, I love your recipes.
Hi Ann! No, you can omit the wine if you’d like and use broth in its place. I’m glad you’re loving the recipes. I do have quite a few recipes that use wine. Here is a recipe category that you can look through. 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I made it before and it’s awesome. Today, I made it again but because I like to try some improvements to dishes I added red peppers and mushrooms. This came out unbelievable delicious. I also like to add a little bit of sugar when I use tomato paste since it’s a little bit bitter.
Hi Liviu! That’s wonderful. I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for sharing your results. 🙂
Made your Shepard’s Pie recipe tonight and it was a huge hit. Thank you for all your great recipes!
Great to hear that, Betty. Thank you for this review!
Hi Natasha, I have not tried this recipe yet but it LQQKS amazing!!!! I love Shepherds Pie.
I would like to double this recipe but I always seem to mess recipes up when doing so. Would you have any suggestions for doing so? I would really appreciate any help you can give. Thank you soooooooo much for all your amazing recipes!!!
Hi Jackie, thank you! I have not tried that but some of readers shared that the doubled and liked it! Here’s one comment “I doubled the recipe and made two containers of the Shepherds Pie! It was delicious! I gave one container to a neighbor lady ! Will make this again ! It’s a keeper recipe!” I hpoe that helps.
We make ours with 2 cans of tomato soup in stead of the brown gravy…has sooo much flavor…
Thanks for sharing, Marla.
I made this, and my wife gave it 2 thumbs up! Excellent comfort food; for us, the recipe made more than one meal, too.
That’s great to hear Don! So glad she enjoyed it! Thank you for the feedback.
Do you have recipe for a awesome grill cheese. Thanks in advance
Yes, I do! Here’s my Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe.
I love this meal it’s very delicious and easy to make. I cheat and use microwave potatoes and it’s still so amazing.
Hi Katrina! Thank you for sharing. I’m glad you love this recipe.
For some reason, everyone in my family said they didn’t like shepherd’s pie, yet they had never tasted it! I tried Natasha’s version and everyone loved it! I made both the potato and meat mixtures early in the morning and refrigerated each separately. Warmed both up about an hour before dinner, assembled, and baked. Another successful Natasha recipe!
I’m so glad you changed their mind with this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing that feedback with me, Lucy!
This was good and very easy to make. I have always loved Shepard’s Pie but this is the recipe I will use from now on.
Hi Mike! That’s wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
I have tried several other similar recipes but came across this one and made it last night – hands down it’s the best, so simple and delicious, will make this over and over I’m sure!
Wonderful and lovely to hear that you love this recipe a lot!
I made this tonight with ground turkey. After browning the meat, I drained most of the liquid out before continuing, and I used chicken broth. It was a big hit. I can always count on your recipes pleasing my family. Thank you.
Wonderful to hear, Elaine. So glad it was a hit!
This recipe is the bomb. I made this for my elderly neighbor who came home from the hospital and they couldn’t stop raving about it. So happy I made a double batch because I can attest that this one is a keeper recipe for sure. Didn’t make any alterations..so delicious!
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Kathy. I’m so glad it was a hit!
This was amazing!! It will definitely be on our regular rotation. I have made several of your recipes and haven’t found one I don’t love yet. Thanks!
Hi Bri! That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you love my recipes.
This recipe is delicious! I had left over mashed potatoes (so not your fabulous recipe) and it was still delicious.
Amazing dish! I just added some dried rosemary since I think it goes well will lamb. I literally couldn’t stop eating it 😂
Hi Olga! That sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing.
I made your Shepherd’s Pie last night. We loved it. It was absolutely perfect! I enjoy watching you and any recipe I try of your’s is awesome! Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you.