Classic Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

A generous serving of Shepherds Pie on a plate, garnished with fresh chopped herbs

The best Shepherd’s Pie with ground lamb (or beef), tender carrots and peas in a rich gravy, topped with creamy mashed potatoes and baked until golden.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Irish

Keyword: ground lamb, mashed potatoes, Shepherd's Pie, St. Patrick's Day

Servings:

Calories: 642kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Equipment

Cast Iron Pan/Braiser or 9x13 Baking/Casserole Dish

Ingredients

Potato Topping

2 pounds russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup milk
¼ cup butter
Salt to taste plus more for the boiling water
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese optional, but delicious

Meat Filling

2 tablespoons olive oil or other cooking oil
1 large onion diced
1 large carrot peeled and diced
2 celery stalks diced
4-5 garlic cloves minced
1½ pounds ground lamb or ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup red wine
1 cup beef broth or chicken broth if preferred
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme finely chopped
1 cup frozen peas

Instructions

Mashed Potato Topping

Rinse the diced potatoes then set them into a large pot. Cover with cold water and add 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook 12-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Carefully drain and transfer the potatoes to a mixing bowl.
Add the milk, butter, salt to taste, and optional parmesan cheese. Mash with a potato masher until thick and creamy. Taste and adjust with salt and butter.

Meat Filling

Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe pan over medium heat and add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook 5 minutes to soften.
Add the garlic and cook 30-60 seconds, stirring, until fragrant.
Add the ground lamb (or ground beef) and cook 7-8 minutes to brown the meat and cook it mostly through. Break it up with a wooden spoon as you cook. If there’s a lot of rendered fat, spoon off excess (leave about 1 tablespoon for flavor).
Add the tomato paste and stir into the bottom. Cook 1 minute to bloom the flavor.
Sprinkle in the flour. Stir and simmer 1 minute.
Add the red wine and stir well to deglaze and loosen the mixture (it will thicken quickly). Cook 1-2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits.
Stir in the broth, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes to develop the flavor and thicken the sauce. You can simmer longer if you'd like for more flavor - Add a splash more broth if it gets too thick.
Stir in the frozen peas and adjust for salt and pepper.

Assemble & Bake the Shepherd's Pie

Heat your oven to 400 degrees F (205 C).
Transfer the meat mixture to a 9x13 baking dish - or use the same oven-safe pan - and top with the mashed potatoes. Spread the potato topping out smoothly or create little patterns with spoon or fork (for decorative purposes).
Bake the shepherd's pie 20-25 minutes, until the potato topping turns lightly golden brown. For deeper browning, turn on the broiler during the last 1-2 minutes. Just watch it and don't let it burn.
Remove from heat and rest 10 minutes, then serve.

Notes

Shepherd’s vs. Cottage Pie: Shepherd’s pie is traditionally made with lamb. If you make it with beef, it’s technically called cottage pie, but both are delicious.

Irish Twist: Swap the red wine for Guinness (or another stout), and top the potatoes with shredded Irish cheddar before baking (or mix a bit into the mash).

Nutrition