Shepherd's pie is comfort food. Saucy ground meat under creamy mashed potatoes topped with a cheesy crust. And, this recipe is so simple and easy you will be making it over and over often.
Traditionally shepherd's pie use to be made from leftover meat and veggies. And, sometimes, even leftover mashed potato after a big festive dinner. What better way to use up leftovers. Make a completely new and delicious dish like this Shepherd's Pie
Well, to be honest. I have never made Shepherd's pie with leftover lamb meat or mashed potatoes. Since, I've always planned my pie, which means I end up making it from scratch.
So, a pie made with ground lamb is called shepherd's pie. It makes sense since shepherds and lamb go together. A pie made with ground beef, however, is called cottage pie.
Table of Content
Ingredients and substitutes
- Meat - Traditionally, ground lamb is used but ground beef works just as well.
- Veggies - Carrots and peas cook soft but don't really get mushy. Celery is often used as well. These three make a wonderful mis-en-plus to any casserole and add tons of flavor but you can omit them altogether. Add a teaspoon of honey if you omit the veggies this will compensate for the natural sweetness the veggies add into the dish.
- All-purpose flour - helps thicken the sauce and adds a nice creaminess to the sauce. You can add cornflour/cornstarch instead, for a gluten-free option. But if you can I highly recommend the flour.
- Stock - I usually use chicken stock because I always have that on hand but feel free to use beef or vegetable stock instead
- Tomato paste - paste is usually strong so I highly recommend not adding more than 3 tbsp. You want a creamy meat pie, not a tomato sauce.
- Red wine - Always use a good quality wine that you like to drink. This does make a huge difference when cooking with meat.
Step by step instructions (pin)
- Preheat the oven to 190 C / 380 F.
- The meat mixture and mashed potatoes can be done simultaneously.
Prepare meat sauce
- Heat oil in a saute pan.
- Add onions, garlic and bay leave- saute for 2 minutes.
- Then add carrots and celery - cook for 3 minutes more
- Next, add the ground meat - break it up while stirring and cook until the meat is browned and all the liquid has almost evaporated.
- Now add the flour - combine well.
- Next goes in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, stock, red wine, salt, and pepper.
- Let come to a boil - then reduce heat to a simmer and let cook on low for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. If the heat is too high the sauce will dry out.
- After 10 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning and consistency - add more water if the sauce is too thick. Alternatively, if it too thin continue to cook until you reach desired consistency.
- Set aside and let the sauce cool before you assemble the pie.
Prepare mashed potatoes
- Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook until soft
- Drain and place them back in the pot over low heat for just 30 seconds. This will absorb excess moisture.
- Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or potato ricer.
- Stir in the butter, parmesan, cheddar, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper - stir well to combine
- Add more milk if necessary so the potatoes are not to thick.
- Set aside - keep warm
Assemble and bake
- Pour the sauce into a baking dish.
- Spoon the mashed potatoes over the minced meat filling using a tablespoon.
- Then use the back of the tablespoon to spread it evenly.
- Sprinkle the parmesan and cheddar cheeses over.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 190 C/380 F for about 30 minutes or until the edges are bubbling from the heated sauce.
Frequently asked questions
A ground meat pie will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. And, you can also freeze it for up to a month.
You can certainly use ground beef in place of ground lamb. In fact, I love to use a combination of ground beef and lamb. And, you can also use ground chicken thighs. But, the cooking time will need to be shortened so you don't overcook the chicken.
No. A shepherd's pie is like a casserole. Layered with a ground meat sauce on the bottom and mashed potato on the top. And, this is then baked until bubbling.
You don't need an expensive wine as long as it's a wine you like to drink.
Absolutely. While onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and peas are very common in shepherds pie, other veggies such as parsnip, green beans, spinach are a great addition. And, no matter what veggies you use it is important not to overcook them. No one likes mushy veggies in their pie.
This pie has meat and potatoes both in so it's pretty much a complete meal. And yet, a side salad would be a great addition of course. Try my cabbage salad, carrot salad, celery salad or tomato mozzarella salad.
A few vegetables on the side would be a great idea. In fact, you can even make them in patties or fritters. Also, here are some additional suggestions:
Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Tapenade (3 ingredients)
Roasted Red Peppers Goats Cheese Crostini
Garlic Parmesan Asparagus
Spinach Potato Patties
Carrot Zucchini Patties
Kidney Beans Swiss Chard Patties
Leek Potato Patties
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Printable Recipe
Shepherd's Pie - Meat Pie with Mashed Potatoes
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Ingredients
Meat sauce
- 1 lb (500 g) Ground lamb
- 2 tbsp Cooking oil canola or olive
- ½ cup Onion chopped
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- ¼ cup Carrot grated or diced
- ¼ cup Celery optional
- 2 tbsp All purpose flour
- 3 tbsp Tomato paste
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1.25 cup (300 ml) Stock
- 1 cup (250 ml) Red Wine
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Pepper
Mashed potatoes
- 2 lbs (1 kg) Potatoes
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tbsp Cheddar cheese grated
- ½ cup (120 ml) Milk warm
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp Sour cream
- ½ tsp Salt chopped
- ¼ tsp Pepper
Crust
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
- 4 tbsp Cheddar cheese
- 2 tbsp Breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190 C / 380 F.
- The meat mixture and mashed potatoes can be done simultaneously.
Meat sauce
- Heat oil in a saute pan.
- Add onions, garlic and bay leave- saute for 2 minutes.
- Then add carrots and celery – cook for 3 minutes more
- Next, add the ground meat – break it up while stirring and cook until the meat is browned and all the liquid has almost evaporated.
- Now add the flour – combine well.
- Next goes in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, stock, red wine, salt, and pepper.
- Let come to a boil – then reduce heat to a simmer and let cook on low for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. If the heat is too high the sauce will dry out.
- After 10 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning and consistency – add more water if the sauce is too thick. Alternatively, if it too thin continue to cook until you reach desired consistency.
- Set aside and let the sauce cool before you assemble the pie.
Mashed potatoes
- Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook until soft
- Drain and place them back in the pot over low heat for just 30 seconds. This will absorb excess moisture.
- Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or potato ricer.
- Stir in the butter, parmesan, cheddar, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper – stir well to combine
- Add more milk if necessary so the potatoes are not to thick.
- Set aside – keep warm
Assemble & bake
- Pour the sauce into a baking dish.
- Spoon the mashed potatoes over the minced meat filling using a tablespoon.
- Then use the back of the tablespoon to spread it evenly.
- Sprinkle the parmesan and cheddar cheeses over.
- Finally, sprinkle the breadcrumbs over (the breadcrumbs prevent the cheese browning too quickly and adds a nice crust)
- Bake in a preheated oven at 190 C/380 F for about 30 minutes or until the edges are bubbling from the heated sauce.
Recipe Notes
- Thaw the meat well before cooking. This will brown the meat meal and give a better flavor.
- Saute the veggies well - do not try to do this quickly. Give the veggies time to sweat and then caramelize slightly. It makes a huge difference in flavor.
- Cook the sauce on low heat and let it simmer for a good 30 minutes. That way all the flavor stays in and not evaporate.
- Let the sauce cool as it makes assembling the final pie easier. You can even make the sauce a day in advance and reheat it when ready to assemble.
- The consistency of the sauce is key to all that wonderful bubbling when it is done. The sauce does not evaporate from under the mashed potato so it's easy to decide how much liquid you need in the sauce. You don't want it too thick, nor too liquid.
- Use the right potatoes such as Yukon gold when making mashed potatoes. These give the best flavor and texture.
- Make the mashed potato much ahead of time so it's easier to work with when assembling.
- Don't pour all the mashed potato over the sauce. Instead, dot them in tablespoons over the meat sauce. That way it's easier to spread without making a mess.
- Don't overdo the cheese on the crust - as it tends to burn easily. If you want more cheese, add a bit more to the mashed potato instead.
- Let the prepared pie cool for at least 10 minutes before you let people dig in because the sauce is VERY hot.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Julia
I too make sheperds pie from scratch only but truth is I haven't had it for ages! Thanks for the reminder 🙂
Veena Azmanov
You are welcome Julia. I often need websites to remind of recipe I have not made in ages. I hope you make this soon.
Jacque Hastert
This looks so comforting and perfect for cool evenings like we have been having.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Jacque .
Shashi at SavorySpin
Growing up, shepherd's pie was a weekly occurrence. And yours reminds me of those comforting and delicious meals.
Veena Azmanov
Oh how lucky Shashi. We had it once in a while not so often. My kids love this so much they would be happy to have it once a week.