Shepherd’s Pie

4.60 from 45 votes

The ultimate comfort food, this hearty and packed full of seasoned beef and vegetables, topped with creamy mashed potatoes, sprinkled with cheese, and baked until golden.

Prep Time35

Cook Time30

Total Time1 5

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cottage pie, shepherd's pie

Servings:

Author: Lisa Bass

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 medium onion finely diced
1 large carrot finely diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lb ground beef
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 teaspoons italian seasoning blend
1 cup beef broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup frozen peas

Mash Ingredients:

2 lbs russet potatoes peeled and halved
1/2 cup salted butter 4 tablespoons
1/3 cup cream or milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan to top

Instructions

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter (or use olive oil) in a pan over medium heat and add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic; cook 5-7 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
Add the beef and cook, breaking up the large clumps, until it’s no longer pink. Remove any excess beef fat.
Stir in the tomato paste, flour, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, beef stock, salt, black pepper, and frozen peas to the meat mixture.
Cook a few minutes more to warm up the peas and allow the flavors to merge.
Taste and adjust for salt if necessary.
Transfer the ground beef mixture to a 8×11 casserole dish. Set aside.
Meanwhile, to a medium saucepan, add peeled, chopped potatoes to heavily salted cold water and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Depending on the size of the potatoes this could take anywhere from 10-20 minutes.
Drain the water and add the potatoes back to the pot. Add the butter, cream, salt, and pepper; mash together until you have a really smooth consistency.
Taste and adjust for salt if necessary.
Spread the fluffy mashed potatoes over your meat and vegetable filling in your baking dish.
Fluff the potatoes lightly with a fork (to create peaks that will brown in the oven) and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until the pie is warmed through and the top is evenly golden brown. You may need to turn your broiler on for a few minutes at the end to achieve really nice browning. Watch the pie carefully at this stage to ensure it doesn’t burn.

Notes

Make it your own by switching out the ground meats (like using ground turkey or ground lamb) or vegetable mixture.
If you aren’t getting the browning on top you desire, you can set your oven broiler on for a few minutes, but watch it carefully to ensure the cheese browns without burning.
Taste the filling and the mash separately, to ensure they’re properly seasoned.
I’ve heard from some people that they like to do a combination of cauliflower and potato for the mash for a lighter version.
This is the perfect use for leftover mashed potatoes.

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