Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Today, I’m sharing my Shepherd’s Pie Recipe because it’s delicious and so easy to make. When I was growing up, my mother used green beans, then the meat, with tomato soup, and mashed potatoes on top when she made this recipe.
It’s really a classic recipe from 50-60 years ago. again, when I was young, my mom made it a lot for dinner because she could stretch the recipe with more mashed potatoes, just like many of us do today.
Plus, It was one of the casseroles we made often because we could it take to a family in need in the neighborhood and everyone loved it.
My recipe has changed over the years because that’s how I roll. I love pot pies and I make mine almost like a pot pie. It’s chock full of vegetables, ground beef with creamy gravy, and moist mashed potatoes on top with some shredded cheese as a final touch. Is your mouth watering, yet? Mine sure is!
My favorite things to do are to make dinner in the morning and use a slow cooker, or make a casserole like this one that I can place in the oven about an hour before dinner is served.
In case you missed this post, Easy Meatloaf Recipe
Items You May Need In The Kitchen:
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Step One: Gather Ingredients
Gather the ingredients so you’re ready to get started with this fun recipe.
Step Two: Cook the Beef
Cook the ground beef in a frying pan with the chopped onion until cooked through. Then drain the excess grease.
Step Three: Add Ingredients
Add the parsley, Worcestershire sauce, Veg-All, cream of potato soup, salt, and pepper.
Step Four: Preheat Oven – Scoop Mixture Into Pan
Preheat your oven to (400°F ) = 204°C). Grease your casserole pan. Scoop the meat mixture into the pan. Set it aside.
Step Five: Peel Potatoes
Peel the potatoes and place them in a saucepan, boil them until tender. Drain the water after cooking them. Please note, I boiled the potatoes first, so they were ready for the meat mixture.
Step Six: Add Items & Mash Potatoes
Add the milk, butter, salt, and pepper. Then mash the potatoes with your favorite potato masher.
Step Seven: Make Sure Potatoes Are Smooth
Don’t you love freshly mashed potatoes?
Step Eight: Spread Potatoes Over Mixture
Scoop the mashed potatoes over the ground beef mixture. Spread evenly to cover the meat mixture. Top with shredded cheese, and bake uncovered until cheese melts, that’s about 30-40 minutes.
Finished Product
This is truly comfort food and the perfect dish to teach our kids and grandkids how to make. Enjoy.
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
- 1-1/2 pounds Ground Beef
- 1 Onion, Chopped
- 1 tablespoon Parsley
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 15-ounce can of Veg-All, drained
- 2 10.5-Ounce cans of Cream of Potato Soup
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- 1-1/2 pounds Russet Potatoes (about two large Russets, peeled)
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1/4 cup Butter
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- 1-1/2 cups Shredded Cheese (for the top)
-
Cook the ground beef in a frying pan with the chopped onions, until cooked through, drain excess grease. Add the parsley, Worcestershire sauce, Veg-All, cream of potato soup, and salt and pepper. Preheat your oven to (400°F ) = 204°C). Grease your casserole pan. Scoop the meat mixture into the pan. Set it aside.
-
Peel the potatoes and place them in a saucepan, boil them until tender. Drain the water after cooking them. Add the milk, butter, and salt, and pepper, and mash with your favorite potato masher. Scoop the mashed potatoes over the ground beef mixture. Spread evenly to cover the meat mixture. Top with shredded cheese, bake uncovered until cheese melts, about 30-40 minutes.
What can I serve with Shepherd’s Pie?
- Glazed carrots
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Cornbread
- Dinner Rolls
- French Bread
- Tossed Green Salad
- Green Beans
Can I use Instant potatoes?
Of course, I love using instant potatoes. Today I made them from scratch, but I love instant potatoes. Have you tried these? Instant Potatoes
How do I store this recipe after I bake it?
I store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Can I freeze this recipe?
It’s a great recipe to assemble and freeze ahead. You can bake it after thawing it in the refrigerator or straight from the freezer. If frozen it will take longer to bake.
What is cottage pie compared to shepherd’s pie?
It’s interesting, I was raised with Shepherd’s Pie having ground beef. Well, come to find out, the most common Shepherd’s Pie has lamb in it, not beef. Hence, cottage pie may be the appropriate name since it has ground beef in it.
I’m an old dog that won’t change, so mine is called Shepherd’s Pie. Let me know what you call yours. I learn something new every day.
Final Word
I hope you try making my Shepherd’s Pie Recipe. Let me know what you put in your recipe. I love to hear from you. It’s all about cooking from scratch and teaching our kids and grandkids this much-needed skill. May God Bless this world, Linda
Linda, this is my husband’s & son’s all time favorite!
I make mine in the crockpot. I brown the ground meat & onions, then drain off any grease. Layer the meat, soup, a cup of water, shredded carrots, sliced turnips, Worcester sauce, garlic into the crockpot in the morning, give it a stir & cook on low until I get home from work. Then about 30 minutes before serving, I make a double batch of Idahoan Instant Mashed Potatoes, spread the potatoes over the meat mixture, top with shredded cheese & put the lid back on the crockpot. It’s ready to serve once the cheese has gotten all gooey.
I often add frozen vegetables to this just before adding the mashed potatoes. And we love this with cheesy garlic bread! Cheese is a whole ‘nother food group at our house! Lol!
Hi BDN, thank you for the 5 stars, my friend! I will have to try the Crockpot! That would be so easy. OH, and cheesy garlic bread is the best! I love cheese, it’s a staple in our house too! Now I want to make some cheesy garlic bread! Linda
If you want something just a little different, use mashed sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. I love it even more since I did this little trick. It does give it a little different taste, so know this before hand. Like you, I love Shepherd’s Pie and I too make it often.
Hi Pam, thank you for the 5 stars, my friend!! Oh my gosh, now I WANT to make it with sweet potatoes! Why didn’t I think of that??? LOL! I love it! Linda
This is one of my favorite, all-time, go-to recipes. I have an Advantium oven so I can thaw meat, especially hamburger, in less than 10 mins. If I forget to take something out of the freezer, this recipe works great. I’ve always got the ingredients on hand, too. I do use instant potatoes-the Church’s potato pearls! They taste amazingly like the real stuff…of which I think they are, only dried. I love cheese so I’m going to have to remember to layer the top 2/3’s with cheese. Unfortunately my husband is lactose intolerant so he doesn’t eat cheese. I can’t imagine a world with no cheese, ice cream, etc.! Poor guy. You can’t go wrong with this recipe and it can always be tweaked to personal tastes.
Hi Robbie, thank you for the 5 stars, my friend!! I had to Google your oven, it sounds awesome!! I love potatoes any kind of potatoes, too! I just ran out of my Idaho Instant potatoes, I need to restock them. Boy, I can’t imagine not having cheese, no ice cream would push me over the edge. Don’t tell anyone (LOL) but Mark and I have a bowl of ice cream with a half of banana on it, every night. It’s heavenly! We buy it at Krogers/Smiths for like $1.48 with the phone app. I think it used to be a 1/2 gallon but it’s not anymore, it’s smaller. It doesn’t matter, we buy it anyway! I agree this recipe can be tweaked in so many different ways! Linda
Robbie, I, too am lactose intolerant, but Lactaid makes milk, sour cream, cottage cheese and ice cream but not regular cheese, although I wish they did. They also make tablets (chewable and regular) that you can take in order to eat cheese. Try those for your husband. Thanks for the recipe Linda, have a good New Year.
Hi Mildred, thank you, my friend, have a Happy New Year as well! Boy, wouldn’t it be nice if Lactaid made cheese? Thanks for the tip. Linda
We grew up eating Shepherd’s pie but a wee bit different. After eating stew for two days instead of whining from my sister and I they disguised the stew by putting in in a casserole dish loaded on the mashed potato’s and baked it so the peaks of the potato’s got a little crunch. Then they put on the cheese and baked it till browned. SOOO YUMMY!
Hi Hazel, thank you for the 5 stars, my friend!! Oh my gosh, I love this story! I must say I LOVE the idea of the potato peaks with crunch, now we’re talking! Yummy!! Oh, and then put on the cheese until it browned, squeal, this would be so good! Linda
Love the recipe will have to try it out on my family. I will never use sweet potatoes in mine. They don’t like me and I don’t like what they do to me. I will eat regular potatoes. Just one of those idiosyncrasies my body has. Best if I stay away from the sweet potatoes
Hi Jackie, thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend. It’s a great recipe with regular white mashed potatoes!! Linda
I love seeing the different ways that we tweak this simple delicious main course! I sometimes use whole potatoes mashed and sometimes instant Idahoan potatoes. I also cook my ground beef with plenty of onion and add parsley. I like to add instant brown gravy and a few heaping tablespoons of tomato salsa, then add frozen peas and carrots, topped with the mashed potatoes and shredded cheese. I put it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.
Hi Toby, thank you for the 5 stars, my friend!! OH, I need to try the brown gravy with the salsa! Isn’t it awesome how many ways we change this simple recipe? I need to try the frozen peas and carrots next time, yum! Thank you, Linda
Linda,
I printed this out, and it will soon be one of my regular recipes. Thank you so much. It was delicious. I made 1/2 recipe.
Hi Janet, oh, I love hearing this!! Thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend!! I hope you and your family are doing well! Linda