Shepherd’s Pie is one of the best comfort foods. It is stewed ground meat with carrots and peas, topped with mashed potatoes and baked until golden and bubbly. This classic Shepherd’s Pie is a hit with the entire family. It’s super easy to make and its a perfect one dish meal!
The History of Shepherd’s Pie
In 1791, the original name was Cottage Pie. It was designed as a creative way to utilize leftover cooked beef. The evolution of the dish led to the eventual use of ground lamb and thus the renaming as Shepherd’s Pie. Both versions are still commonly served in English and both terms get tossed around pretty much interchangeable regardless of the meat used to make it. The addition of vegetables such as English peas and carrots give the dish some texture and color.
About this Dish
Beef or Lamb Your choice! If you are a fan of lamb, you will love it. We do beef a lot because its more crowd friendly with my family! You can do one pound of beef and lamb for the perfect mix. I like to get lean ground beef to keep it on the lighter side.
Herbs I like to use dried thyme and dried parsley in the dish because I almost always have it in the pantry and it gives it a great savory flavor. Plus, dried herbs are great for stewing. Fresh parsley on top adds some color and freshness.
Tomato Paste Tomato paste gives this dish a rich flavor while also helping thicken it up a little without having to add flour.
Make Ahead You can make this dish ahead. You will need to add 1/4 c extra broth to the meat mixture and 1/4 c milk to the mashed potatoes. Allow the meat mixture and mashed potatoes to cool before spreading the mashed potatoes over top. Cover the dish and place in the fridge. When you are ready to heat, remove the dish from the fridge and preheat the oven to 375. Bake for 45 minutes or until hot throughout and bubbly on the sides.
Lighten It Up To keep this dish on the lighter side, I replace the milk in the mashed potatoes with chicken broth and use lean ground beef.
The Right Pan I love to use my large Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Braiser Pan for this dish because you can cook the stewed meat on the stove top and then bake the dish in the oven. Plus it it absolutely beautiful and cooks evenly. Most large oven safe saute pans will work as well. If you’d like, you can place the stewed meat and mashed potatoes in a large casserole dish to finish in the oven.
Pairing This dish goes great with an English Ale or Stout. The best wine pairing would be Sangiovese or a Red Bordaeux.
Sides Serve this dish with crispy brussel sprouts, green beans, fresh rolls or a simple green salad. Nevertheless, Shepherds Pie is a perfect one pan meal.
If you like this dish, you’d love our Bolognese Recipe!
Recipe
Shepherd’s Pie
Shepherd’s Pie is one of the best comfort foods. Stewed ground meat with carrots and peas, topped with mashed potatoes and baked until golden and bubbly. It will be a hit with the entire family.
Ingredients
- **For the Mashed Potatoes**
- 4 Russet Potatoes, Peeled and Cut into 1 Inch Pieces
- 1 C Milk
- 4 T Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- **For the Stewed Meat**
- 2 lbs. Ground Beef or Lamb
- 1/2 Onion, Small Diced
- 2 Large Carrots, Peeled and Small Diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
- 1 tsp. Dried Parsley
- 1 tsp. Dried Thyme
- 3 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
- 1 1/2 C Chicken Broth
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 T Whole Grain Mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 C Frozen Peas
- 1/4 C Chopped Fresh Parsley, for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Step 2 **Make the mashed potatoes** Place the potatoes in a medium pot, fill with water 1 inch over the potatoes and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender.
- Step 3 Once the potatoes are tender, strain the potatoes. In the same pot, melt the butter and milk. Return the potatoes back to the pot and mash with a potato masher or sturdy whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Step 4 **To make the filling** In a large sauté pan on medium heat, add olive oil and sauté onions, carrots, garlic, dried thyme and dried parsley for 5 minutes.
- Step 5 Add the ground beef or lamb and salt and sauté until just cooked through.
- Step 6 Add the tomato paste and cook for about 3 minutes or until the tomatoes paste is incorporated and caramelized a bit. Stir in the broth, Worcestershire sauce and mustard, and let simmer for 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Step 7 Remove from heat, stir in the frozen peas and season to taste.
- Step 8 Carefully spoon the masted potatoes evenly over the ground beef filling and spread evenly. If your sauté pan is not oven safe, place the ground meat into an oven safe casserole dish and evenly top with mashed potatoes.
- Step 9 Bake the shepherds pie for 30 minutes or until hot, golden and bubbly. For a golden brown top, broil for 3-5 minutes on high, watching carefully so it doesn’t burn.
- Step 10 Top with fresh parsley and cracked black pepper. Enjoy!
About the Author
Lauren is a classically trained, professional chef. A culinary school graduate, she has spent time working organic farms in the Italian countryside and was the pastry/sous chef at a high profile restaurant in Dallas prior to becoming a full-time personal chef. Her cooking style is often referred to as “rustic.” Being a personal chef, she is not bound by a single type of cuisine and has had the opportunity to experiment with hundreds of regional recipes from all over the world.
