Pub-Style Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s Pie is a classic pub dish that’s pure comfort food. Beef & veggies in gravy get topped with mashed potatoes for the perfect bite!

Why This is the Best Sherpherd’s Pie Recipe

• Shepherd’s Pie is just so darn comforting. Creamy mashed potatoes over rich beef, vegetables, and gravy filling is a hug on a plate.
• There’s nothing really fancy about this recipe. It’s just simple food, done right.
• You can prep everything ahead to the point that you’re ready to bake. Then wrap up the dish with foil, pop it in the fridge, and bake it for dinner later.
• My husband gets shepherd’s pie at our local pub every year on St. Patrick’s day without fail. He tells me this recipe is better than when we go out.

Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients

BEEF: You’ll need 1 pound of ground beef for this recipe. I like to use lean ground beef so there isn’t as much grease to drain off. I think it also has a better flavor than the 80/20 or 85/15 blends. That being said, you can totally buy whichever ground beef is on sale.

VEGGIES: We’re keeping it classic with onions, carrots, and frozen peas. (My husband and I aren’t actually fans of peas, so I skip them when I’m making this dish just for us.)

GRAVY: We’re making a shortcut gravy by using a store-bought gravy mix packet. Then the mix gets flavored with thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, steak seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, beer, Worcestershire sauce, and water.

MASHED POTATOES: Nothing too fancy here. I like using Yukon gold potatoes for their creamy texture, but russets will work too. Then you’ll add butter, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. The cheese is optional but yummy. I’ve also made this recipe with shredded white cheddar sprinkled over the potatoes and boy was it good!

How to Make Shepherd’s Pie

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STEP 1 Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add the chopped potatoes to the water. Cook for 20-30 minutes until they’re fork tender. While the potatoes cook, heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the carrots and onion until the veggies are tender and the onions are translucent, and then transfer them to a bowl.

STEP 2 To the same skillet add the ground beef, garlic powder, steak seasoning, pepper, dried thyme, dried rosemary, salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the beef is browned, breaking into pieces as it cooks. Next, turn the heat to medium-low. Sprinkle the gravy mix over the meat and stir until it’s coated.

STEP 3 Add the beer, water, Worcestershire sauce, peas, carrots, and onions to the skillet and stir it all together. Bring the filling to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes until the gravy has thickened. Then pour everything into the bottom of a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish and set it aside.

STEP 4 Once the potatoes are cooked, drained the water and return them to the pot. Use a hand mixer to whip the potatoes (or mash REALLY well is a potato masher). Mix in 4 tablespoons of butter and some of the heavy cream. Add more heavy cream a bit at a time until your desired potato consistency is reached. Then stir in the Parmesan cheese and some salt and pepper to taste.

STEP 5 Place large dollops of potatoes over the beef filling so it’s completely covered. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the potatoes. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden. Remove the shepherd’s pie from the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Tips & Tricks

• You can use a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish, a 3-quart casserole dish, or a 10 to 12-inch cast iron skillet for this recipe. The cast iron skillet is a nice option because it can go right into the oven.
• If the filling sauce is not as thick as you would like once it’s finished cooking in the skillet, add some cornstarch slurry to the pan. Mix together 1 tablespoon water + 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a small bowl and then pour it into the pan. Stir to combine and then simmer until the gravy has thickened up more.
• I recommend using Guinness, Blue Moon, or a red ale for the beer. Guinness will give a deeper, rich flavor. Blue Moon has a lighter crisp flavor that brightens things up. T the red ale just adds a really nice mellow flavor to the gravy.

Sherpherd’s Pie Recipe FAQ

What is the meat in shepherd’s pie?

Traditionally ground lamb was used to make shepherd’s pie.

In the states, we usually use ground beef to make this dish. I’ve also seen ground turkey shepherd’s pie and ground chicken shepherd’s pie, but that’s stretching it a bit for me. We’re beef all the way at our house.

Why do they call it Shepherd’s Pie?

This dish is called Shepherd’s Pie when using lamb or mutton because the shepherds look after a flock of sheep. It’s also said that the mashed potatoes on top resemble a sheep’s fleece. (just go with it)

When this recipe is made with beef, turkey, other meats, or even as a vegetarian dish, it’s considered Cottage Pie instead. Cottage pie had a beef filling with sliced potatoes that looked like shingles on top, but mashed potatoes were commonly used too.

Just know that if you roll up to any Irish pub and order shepherd’s pie, they’ll get you sorted.

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