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September 16, 2025
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Shepherd’s Pie is the kind of meals that brings a smile to everybody’s face! Lamb in a wealthy gravy sauce with a scattering of peas, a creamy potato topping, and that superior golden cheese crust, make this as soon as and also you’ll make it again and again! (PS Use beef as an alternative of lamb for Cottage Pie).
After I shared my Cottage Pie on Fb, there was nearly an all out cyber-war about whether or not it was actually Cottage Pie or Shepherd’s Pie. 😂
So let me simply reply the burning query first, to get that out of the way in which:
What’s the distinction between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie??
Cottage Pie is made with beef and Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb.
Shepherds herd sheep. Not cows. That’s how I bear in mind it!!
Apart from beef vs lamb, they’re basically precisely the identical recipe.
So a Shepherd’s Pie made with beef is Cottage Pie, and Cottage Pie made with lamb is Shepherd’s Pie!
In the event you’re new to Shepherd’s Pie (additionally spelled Shepard’s Pie), let me be the primary to welcome you to your new favorite consolation meals. Basically, it’s lamb and veggies smothered in a gravy – and who doesn’t love an excuse for tons and tons of gravy?
All these occasions you have been restricted to only a small drizzle on just a few slices of roast lamb as a result of there wasn’t sufficient to go round… Bah! This is the way you get your gravy repair!!
A very good Shepherd’s Pie ought to at all times begin with a soffrito – that’s, onion, garlic, carrots and celery sautéed on a lowish warmth till candy. It’s the key to a terrific flavour base that’s a method used broadly by many cuisines, resembling Italian cooking (for instance, this Italian Shredded Beef Ragu).
After this, we prepare dinner the bottom / mince meat – historically lamb however equally scrumptious made with beef – earlier than including flour (which thickens the sauce) and gravy flavourings (beef broth, tomato paste, beef bouillon dice, Worcestershire sauce and purple wine which is non-compulsory).
In relation to selecting sides to your Shepherd’s pie, strive Glazed Roasted Carrots or maybe Sautéed Garlic Spinach. The one different factor you want is a glass of purple and a crackling hearth…
There are just a few phases to creating Shepherd’s Pie, nevertheless it’s a simple recipe. There’s simply two little issues that you just don’t see in most recipes, little issues that bugged me:
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Cool the filling earlier than topping with potato: It thickens and makes it simpler to unfold the potato throughout the highest and it stops the potato weeping into the filling;
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Creamier mashed potato = simpler to unfold and simply an all spherical higher consuming expertise. I simply don’t like dry, very agency mash. After I break by means of the mash, I would like it to be borderline collapsing, fairly than with the ability to lower cleanly by means of it like cake.
I stress once more – these are little issues that bug me, so be happy to by-pass them! – Johnsat x
PS One final time – Cottage Pie is made with beef. Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb! 😂 (Shepherd’s herd SHEEP!)
Generally it helps to have a visible, so watch me make this Shepherd’s Pie recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 1 carrot , finely chopped
- 1 rib celery , finely chopped
- 3/4 tsp each dried thyme and rosemary (or 2 sprigs fresh thyme + 1 sprig rosemary)
- 750g (1.5 lb) ground lamb (mince) OR beef
- 1/4 cup flour , plain/all purpose
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 cups beef stock / broth
- 1/2 cup red wine (or water)
- 1 beef bouillon cube , crumbled (OXO brand crumbles easily)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves , dried or fresh
- 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1.2kg (2.2 lb) potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5cm / 1″ cubes
- 2/3 cup milk (whole or low fat)
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
- 2 – 3 tbsp grated parmesan , optional
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter , melted
- Fresh thyme leaves, optional garnish
Instructions
- Sauté – Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 1 minute. Then add carrots, celery, thyme and rosemary. Cook for 3 minutes or until softened and sweet.
- Cook lamb – Turn heat up to high. Add lamb and cook, breaking it up as you go, until browned.
- Make sauce – Add flour and mix in. Add tomato paste, broth, red wine, bouillon cube, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir well.
- Simmer and thicken – Bring to simmer, then turn down heat so it is simmering rapidly – I have it on medium. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reduces down to a thick gravy consistency (Note 1) (see video).
- Cool – Add salt and pepper, taste, then add more if you like. Transfer Filling to 1.5 litre / 1.5 quart pie baking dish. Stir through peas. Cover, then refrigerate to cool for 1 – 2 hours or overnight (optional, Note 2)
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (both fan and standard).
- Boil potatoes – Place the potatoes in a large pot. Add water so it’s 10cm / 4” above potatoes. Bring to a boil then cook for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain then return potatoes into the pot on the turned off stove. Allow to steam dry for 30 seconds or so (Note 3).
- Mash – Add butter and mash until melted, then add milk, salt and pepper. Mash until it's soft and smooth (ie spreadable, but not sloppy), adjusting with a touch more milk if required.
- Spread mash onto pie, use a fork to draw squiggles over the surface. Sprinkle with parmesan, drizzle with butter.
- Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until deep golden on top and bubbling on the edges. Stick a knife into the middle to ensure it is piping hot.
- Stand for 5 minutes before serving, garnished with fresh thyme leaves if desired.
Notes
* Carrots and celery are used to make a truly great mirepoix / soffrritto flavour base for this pie. However, they can be omitted, but add 1 tsp of sugar instead.
1. Sauce thickness – Whatever the thickness of the sauce when you pour it into the dish, that’s what it will be once baked – no steam escapes while baking to allow it to reduce any further. So keep cooking until it’s the consistency you want – you don’t want it too runny otherwise it’s like lamb soup!
2. Cooling the filling ensures that the potato doesn’t weep into the filling and makes it much easier to spread. If you are in a rush – as I often am – pop it in the freezer while you make the potato. That works pretty well.
3. Watery potatoes drops excess liquid into the filling which makes the sauce watery and can make the potatoes weep into the filling. So don’t skip the step of steam drying the potatoes! Also, make sure the mash is hot when spreading onto the pie. Cold mash is hard and impossible to spread.
4. Variations: If I’m making this for company or am on a calorie-blow-out mission, I add a big handful of cheese into the potato (cheddar, tasty, gruyere, Monterey Jack). It doesn’t need it, it’s a bonus.
For the filling, sometimes I reduce the amount of lamb and add chopped veggies like zucchini and spinach (frozen thawed or fresh).
GLUTEN FREE OPTION: Skip the flour. Use 2 tbsp of cornflour / cornstarch, mix with a splash of water. Stir into the sauce at step 4, it will thicken as it heats. Also skip the Worcestershire sauce, it’s not GF.
5. Make ahead instructions: Fabulous for making ahead. Assemble pie but don’t bake it. Once cool, then either refrigerate or freeze. Thaw if frozen (it will take way too long to bake from frozen) then bake as per recipe.
Originally published June 2018. modified January 2019, and updated March 2020. No change to recipe!
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 generous servings.
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