Shepherd’s Pie: The recipe that changed my mind
I never liked Shepherd’s Pie growing up.
I don’t know that we had it very often, but for some reason, it just didn’t appeal to me at all.
But in our early years of marriage, Bart kept mentioning how much he liked Shepherd’s Pie and one time, in a fit of insanity, I decided to make it after seeing a recipe for it in one of my beloved Everyday Food magazines.
And then, to my shock, I liked it.
Peas are one of those things I don’t much care for, and yet, in this dish, I did not hate them.
Now, ten years later, Shepherd’s Pie is one of the things I most look forward to making in the fall and winter.
I know.
I don’t recognize myself either.
The traditional meat for a Shepherd’s Pie is ground lamb (hence the “shepherd” part of the title) but I usually use ground beef or, depending on what I have on hand, a combination of ground beef or ground pork.
Both ways are delicious.
And feel free to use whatever vegetables you have or like. Carrots and peas are my favorite, but you can do green beans or corn or celery or anything else that appeals to your family.
You can even do a cauliflower puree over the top instead of a mashed potato one if you want.
Basically the options are endless. 
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Shepherd's Pie
A perfect Shepherd's Pie recipe that's easy to customize with whatever meat and veggies you have on hand!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4-5 carrots chopped
- 2 TB tomato paste
- 2 Tb flour
- 2 Tb Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 10 ounces frozen peas
Mashed Potatoes
- 2 1/2 pounds potatoes peeled and quartered
- about four good-sized potatoes
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large skillet, cook meat, onion and carrots together, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and meat is cooked through, 5-8 minutes.
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Add the tomato paste, stirring to combine, then sprinkle the flour on top. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
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Add Worcestershire sauce, water, salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes, until mixture is thickened.
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Stir in peas; cook 1 minute longer. Pour into a good-size casserole dish (mine is about 6x11).
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In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook over medium-low heat until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
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Return potatoes to pan, add milk and butter, mash to combine and until potatoes are reasonably smooth. Season with salt and pepper, adding more if needed. Spread over the meat mixture; use a fork to make little peaks.
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Bake on a baking sheet until the top is golden-brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly and serve warm.
Recipe Notes
(adapted from Everyday Food)
If you liked this Shepherd’s Pie recipe, you might also like these recipes:
- Crockpot Pork with Dried Plums and Mashed Potatoes
- Creamy Green Enchilada Crockpot Soup
- Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken and Spinach
Photos by Heather Mildenstein
I don't know if this would help or sounds even worse… But we put green beans in ours instead of peas and everyone loves it!
Yay for Shepherds Pie (a childhood favourite of mine), if you use beef its generally called Cottage Pie instead here in the UK. We occasionally add cheese to the topping…
Sweet… I am totally making this! I've been looking for a good Shepherd's pie recipe and I can't wait to try it out! Thanks!
Dan would always talk about Shepherd's Pie and I'd never had it (obviously). I tried making a vegetarian version (with sweet potatoes) and…could not get behind it. Probably one of those things that shouldn't be fiddled with much.
My favorite part of this post is that Bart kept mentioning that he loved shepherd's pie. HAHA. Hint, hint, Wife! Good on you, Janssen.
I do love shepherd's pie, but I can't bring myself (meaning, ask JG to) mash potatoes solely for this purpose. And then we never have mashed potatoes anyway, so it's not like we have them leftover. And so we never have it. Alas.
Ha! J-Mo LOVES Shepherd's Pie, but he absolutely cannot have carrots in it. The carrots are my favorite part. Clearly, we are at an impassable impass and will only make Shepherd's Pie for ourselves, with or without the awesome/offending carrots. 🙂
xox
With a husband from England, this is a Monday recipe for our family during Fall and Winter. I make enough potatoes on Sunday, then set aside enough for this recipe on Monday. We don't use peas, but instead green beans. And to entice my kids, I also put grated cheese on top. This is one of our favorite fall meals.
Shepherd's Pie was a childhood favorite of mine. I didn't have it for many years, but now I make it every couple of months again. We put grated cheese on the top too–just another delicious layer! : )
Also, I have often used spaghetti sauce (jarred, frozen, whatever I have handy) with the meat mixture when I'm in a hurry, and it works great.
Yum. Thank you for this; I think it might be perfect for tonight. (Hopefully Ben looks past the peas too. ;))
I never liked this dish either! Lately though, I've thought I might like to try making it though…
We use corn instead of peas for ours. We like it better that way.
Made this for a Sunday evening get together with friends. Delicious! Going in my all-time favorites recipe notebook!
I make something similar. However, I omit tomato anything and go for a more savory flavor. I add, sage, rosemary, oregano, bay leaf and mushrooms. Delicious!