Easy Shepherd’s Pie Recipe – A Classic Comfort Food

This Easy shepherd’s pie recipe is the ultimate Irish comfort food. Cottage pie (shepherd’s pie) with hearty beef and fluffy mashed potatoes this is will become a family favorite. This hearty dish is quick and easy to make which has tons of flavor. This dish is perfect for a busy week nights.

This would have to be made with lamb and minced beef. Using ground beef is more affordable option. I love this recipe because its ultimate comfort food which includes fluffy potato topping with hearty ground beef filling.

Ingredients For Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Meat Filling

Olive Oil: It keeps everything from sticking to skillet and it’s a healthier alternative to butter.
Yellow Onions: I love to use yellow onions for their mild flavor.
Ground Beef: Use leaner ground beef or 80/20. You can substitute it with ground lamb which has more authentic cottage pie. Ground turkey also works well in this recipe.
Salt: It season to taste.
Thyme Leaves: These are one of the herbs which adds much flavor.
Rosemary Leaves: This is the key ingredient, you can also substitute for fresh rosemary if you like.
Parsley Leaves: You can also substitute it with fresh chopped parsley if you like.
Ground Black Pepper: I like black pepper so used to add more.
Worcestershire Sauce: This adds so much flavor to this recipe, don’t leave this one out.
Fresh garlic: It adds an aromatic background flavor to this recipe.
All-purpose Flour: It helps to thicken up the gravy and holds everything together. You can also make it gluten free substituting corn starch.
Ketchup: You can also substitute it with tomato paste.
Beef Broth: It adds a ton of flavor. If you don’t have it then you can substitute it with chicken or Veggies Broth.
Frozen Pea and Carrot Mix: If you don’t have frozen peas and carrot mix, then you can use 1 cup of frozen peas and 1 cup of frozen carrots.
Frozen Corn Kernels: If you don’t love corn then you take half amount of it.

Cheesy Potato Topping

Russet Potatoes: These are high in starch content which makes them perfect for fluffy topping.
Unsalted Butter: You can also use salted or unsalted. But prefer to keep low sodium.
Half and Half: It makes potatoes creamy and smoothy. If you don’t have half and half, then you can replace it with heavy cream and milk in equal quantity.
Salt, Ground Black Pepper, Garlic Powder And Paprika: These are used to make the topping. You can use add as per your requirement.
Cheddar Cheese: Use sharp or mild.

How To Make Easy Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Preheat: Initially, preheat oven to 400 degrees and coat 13*9 baking dish with cooking spray then set aside.
Saute: Saute yellow onions in olive oil until they become golden brown. Later add ground beef and bake it apart.
Cook Beef: Add parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. And cook it for 6-8 minutes.
Saute Garlic: Now, add garlic and let it cook for 1 minute or until golden brown color occurs. Later, add Worcestershire sauce and stir until fully incorporated.
Thickener: Add flour and ketchup to ground beef mixture and mix it until the flour make a nice creamy roux.
Add Veggies: Final step of ground beef filling is to add beef broth, frozen peas, carrots and corn kernels. And cook until the beef broth comes to a boil. Later reduce heat to simmer for 4-5 minutes, stir occasionally.
Add To Baking Dish: Finally, spread out ground beef filling in a 13*9 baking dish evenly and set aside.
Make Potatoes: Peel and cut potatoes into ¾ inch cubes, and place the potatoes into a large pot. Cover potatoes with water and add ¼ teaspoon of salt. Bring water to a boil later reduce heat to simmer. Now, cook until tender and easily crushed with a fork. Later drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to pot and mash. Now, incorporate unsalted butter, half and half, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Mix until the potatoes are creamy and well combined together.
Assemble Shepherd’s Pie: Scoop potatoes on top of the ground beef and smooth them with rubber spatula. Later, add paprika and cheese on top of potatoes.
Bake: Now, place it on a tin foil lined baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees on middle rack for 25-30 minutes or wait until potatoes get brown. Later, let your shepherd’s pie rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Tips For The Best Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

You can use lean ground beef or lamb so that everything holds together and doesn’t fall apart from excess grease.
Use russet potatoes for lightest and fluffiest potato topping.
Let shepherd’s pie make rest for 10 minutes before serving, this will allow juices to absorb back into meat and helps everything to stay together.
Boil last couple of minutes to brown potato topping.

Can I Make Ahead Of Time This Homemade Shepherd’s Pie?

Making a classic shepherd’s pie is not hard, but it can be a bit time consuming. So you can also make the meat filling or potatoes ahead of time. Later, add them to a baking dish when you are ready to make casserole. It’s best to finish it within a couple of days of making other ingredients, when you are ready to eat it, then remove it from the refrigerator and let it warm up at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Then, uncover it. And bake at 400 degrees about 25-30 minutes.

How To Store Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

This easy shepherd’s pie recipe makes good leftovers. I love all the flavors in beef filling marinate and taste amazing in the next day. While storing it in freezer, make sure to cover it with a plastic wrap with an air tight container. These leftovers can store up to 3 days.

Can I Freeze Shepherd’s Pie Recipe?

Yes, this is great for freezer meal recipe. The best to freeze casserole is let it cool at room temperature. Then place at least two layers of plastic wrap over baking dish, this helps to prevent freezer burn. It will stay good in freezer up to 3 months.

When you are ready to eat shepherd’s pie then heat up it. Place it in refrigerator overnight to thaw it out, then place in 400 degrees preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

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