Traditional Shepherds Pie Recipe and Video Tutoral

Shepherd’s pie is a delicious comforting casserole with ground lamb, veggies and herbs held together with a flavorful gravy. Then covered with creamy, cheesy potatoes and baked until you get a crisp golden top.

What is Shepherd’s Pie?

I’m a meat and potatoes girl through and through – I mean I love food – period (well except healthy food, salads, “lite” etc…) – I can’t think of a meat and potato combo I don’t love.  

I’ll always be a happy camper with any meal that has these two items… SO putting the two together is an OBVIOUS choice. When its made with ground lamb it’s called Shepherds pie and Cottage Pie when it’s made with beef.

Now I say this a lot – but it should be said again – the best part about cooking from scratch is you can PERSONALIZE your food! So while this is a great guide for a classic shepherds pie you can of course change it to fit your preferences.

I changed my version up a bit from the classic recipe – I added corn in addition to the peas – not 100% traditional but something I enjoy!

Just take me to the Shepherd’s Pie Recipe already!

If you’d rather skip my tips and tricks for Shepherd’s pie, along with links to other meat and potato recipes and get straight to this delicious meal – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.

Tips to Make the Perfect Shepherd’s Pie

Kay let’s talk about the mashed potato topping, I have two tips for getting a delicious creamy and cheesy mash.

First – I use a potato ricer – not it might seem silly to keep a tool that is only good for one thing around, but when it comes to mashed potatoes a ricer is the best! It creates light and fluffy potato flakes that create an amazing mash.

Of course you can use a hand blender, or mixer, or even just a fork or masher, whatever you prefer for making mashed potatoes but I recommend giving a ricer a try!

And the 2nd trick for amazing mashed potatoes – Adding FRESHLY grated Parmesan to the potatoes – got this trick from Gordon Ramsey of course – and I have to say it’s DIVINE.

Side note – I piped mine on because it’s pretty AND it makes it more light and airy. If you spread your potato mixture out over the meat make sure to use a fork to mess it up a bit so you don’t get a flat brown crust along the top – you want the golden brown to just kiss the peaks of the potatoes

Traditional Shepherd’s Pie

If you love these Shepherd’s pies as much as I do, I’d love a 5 star review. Be sure to share on social media and tag me if you make it @ashleemariecakes! If you want to stay updated on new recipes sign up for my newsletter and join my Facebook Group!

If you love Shepherd’s Pie you’ll love these other dinner recipes!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup | Mac and Cheese Stuffed Cheeseburger | Breaded Chicken Recipe

Chicken Penne Pasta | Sous Vide Steak | Homemade Lamb Gyro

Connect with Ashlee Marie!

To watch the full cooking show of this Shepherds pie play the video in the recipe card. You can find all my cooking show style recipe videos on YouTube, or my short recipe videos on Facebook Watch, or my Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.

3.59 from 24 votes

Print

Traditional Shepherds Pie Recipe

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

This shepherds pie is easy to make and tastes simply amazing.  Shepherds pie means lamb while cottage pie means beef – so you can change the recipe easily depending on your tastes – the secret to the mashed potato topping is to use a ricer and add parmesean!

Course: Main

Cuisine: Irish

Keyword: cottage pie, shepherds pie

Servings: 15 servings

Calories: 231 kcal

Author: Ashlee Marie

Ingredients

Meat mixture

• 1 1/2 lbs ground lamb or beef or a mixture of the two
• olive oil
• 2 carrots diced
• 1 large onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2-3 sprigs Thyme
• 2-3 sprigs Rosemary chopped
• 1/2 C beef broth
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp red wine optional
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/2 C frozen peas
• 1/2 C frozen corn or skip the corn and do 1 C peas

Mashed Potatoes

• 4-5 Large potatoes peeled and cubed for faster boiling if you want
• 1/4 C heavy whipping cream
• 4 Tbsp melted butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/2 C freshly grated parmesan cheese plus more for sprinkling

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

1. preheat oven to 400
2. Start by boiling the potatoes
3. then start the meat – add the ground meat to a 12 inch skillet and brown
4. drain all the grease/fat (this is important so you don’t get soupy/greasy meat when you scoop the final dish)
5. add a splash of olive oil and add the carrots, onions and garlic – cook a min or two
6. add the fresh thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper, worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, beef broth and red wine.
7. stir it and keep cooking until you cook down the liquid to almost nothing – it will still be moist but not wet.
8. add the frozen peas and carrots and give it a quick stir then scoop into whatever container your going to bake it in
9. the potatoes should be done now so it’s time to mash them – you can do this however you want – I prefer to rice them – it’s amazing
10. add the melted butter, cream, salt and pepper to taste and the parmesan and fold together – it will be really creamy
11. add on top of the of the meat mixture – you can pipe it on to be pretty like I did or just plop and spread – don’t leave it perfectly smooth though, take a fork and mess it up so that it has texture.
12. top with with a light sprinkling of parmesan and bake it for 20 mins, until the potato tips are golden

Recipe Video

• About
• Latest Posts

Follow me

Ashlee Marie

With the right tips and tricks, I believe YOU can make, bake, or create anything. This is what I love to do - make some awesome, teach you how, and give you that boost of culinary confidence you need to rock your own kitchen!

Follow me

Latest posts by Ashlee Marie (see all)

• Perfect Pecan Tart Recipe and video tutorial - October 17, 2019
• Jack O Lantern Mickey Mouse Cake Video Tutorial - October 15, 2019
• Hot Pumpkin Pie Drink - October 10, 2019