Shepherd’s Pie
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This shepherd’s pie recipe is cozy, crowd-pleasing, and just the thing to make when you’re craving something hearty and homemade.
Shepherd’s pie is the ultimate comfort food—creamy mashed potatoes piled on top of a rich, savory stew. It hails from the UK and Ireland and was originally made with leftover lamb stew, but here in the U.S., it’s usually made with ground beef (technically cottage pie, but most of us still call it shepherd’s pie).
In this version, you’ll start by making a batch of buttery mashed potatoes with a little sour cream for extra tang and richness. Then you’ll cook up a hearty ground beef and veggie stew with bacon and a splash of wine for depth. You can spoon the potatoes right over the filling in the skillet to keep things simple (easy clean-up!), or assemble the layers in a baking dish if you want to serve it more casserole-style.
“This is comfort food at its best! The meat mixture with the bacon was incredible. It takes a bit of prep time, but was a wonderful Sunday project (and worth the effort)!”
What You’ll Need To Make Shepherd’s Pie
- Ground Beef: The hearty base of the filling. Using extra-lean beef keeps things lighter and saves you the step of draining off fat. Ground lamb is the traditional choice for Shepherd’s pie and would work beautifully here as well. For a lighter version, you can substitute ground chicken or turkey. When using meats other than beef, you can omit the step of tenderizing with baking soda.
- Baking Soda: Helps tenderize the meat so it stays juicy and tender as it cooks.
- Russet Potatoes: These starchy spuds make the best mashed potato topping—light, fluffy, and perfect for soaking up the gravy.
- Sour cream, butter, and half & half: The combination of these makes the mashed potatoes extra rich, creamy, and flavorful.
- Bacon: Adds a smoky depth and heartiness to the filling.
- Onions and Garlic: Build the savory base of the filling.
- Carrots and Frozen Peas: Add color, sweetness, and some veggies to balance out the richness of the other ingredients.
- Red Wine: Brings bold, complex flavor to the sauce. Any dry red wine will work—use one you’d be happy to drink.
- All-purpose flour: Thickens the filling, ensuring it’s hearty and not too liquidy.
- Tomato Paste: Adds richness and a concentrated tomato flavor to the meat mixture.
- Worcestershire sauce: A splash adds a tangy, meaty depth of flavor.
- Chicken Broth: Keeps the filling saucy and adds more savory flavor without weighing things down. I use chicken broth as that’s what I typically have in my cupboard, but beef broth works just as well.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Tenderize the beef. In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, baking soda, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of water. Mash with your hand to mix, then let sit for 20 minutes. This quick step raises the pH of the meat, which helps it stay juicy and tender as it cooks.
Step 2: Boil and prep the potatoes. While the beef rests, place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. (Starting the potatoes in cold water helps them cook evenly from the inside out.) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, return the potatoes to the pan, and cook over medium heat stirring them with a wooden spoon or potato masher until they are dry and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Pro tip: Drying the potatoes in the pan removes excess moisture, which gives you a fluffier, creamier mash with better structure for topping the pie.
Step 3: Mash the potatoes. Off the heat, add the sour cream, butter, half & half, and remaining teaspoon of salt. Adding the dairy ingredients off the heat keeps it from curdling and helps maintain a smooth texture. Mash until smooth and creamy, then taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Set aside.
Step 4: Cook the bacon. In a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Those bacon drippings add a ton of flavor to the base of the filling.
Step 5: Cook the veggies. Add the onions and carrots and cook until soft and starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute. Letting the vegetables brown slightly builds flavor and adds sweetness; adding garlic after the onions and carrots keeps it from burning and turning bitter.
Step 6: Add and reduce the wine: Pour in the wine, turn the heat to high, and boil until reduced by half, scraping up any browned bits. The browned bits (called fond) add flavor and depth to the sauce.
Step 7: Add the flour. Stir in the flour until dissolved. Make sure to stir it thoroughly to prevent lumps later on. The flour adds body to the sauce; cooking it briefly removes any raw flour taste.
Step 8: Add the ground beef and flavoring. Add the beef mixture, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce to the skillet.
Step 9: Cook ground beef mixture and add broth. Cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and simmer until thickened, 2 minutes more, scraping the pan as needed.
Step 10: Add remaining ingredients. Stir in the thyme, pepper, peas, and cooked bacon. Cook just until the peas are warmed through. (Adding peas at the end keeps them bright and tender, not mushy.)
Step 11: Top the ground beef mixture with potatoes. Drop spoonfuls of mashed potatoes over the filling. Dotting the top with spoonfuls first makes it easier to spread without disturbing the filling underneath.
Step 12: Spread the potatoes. Use a rubber spatula to spread the potatoes into an even layer, all the way to the edges. (Spreading all the way to the edges helps seal in the filling and prevents bubbling over.) Drag a fork across the top to create ridges.
Step 13: Bake. Place the skillet on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake at 400°F until hot and bubbling, about 30 minutes. For a more golden top, pop under the broiler and broil for the last 5 minutes (just keep a close eye on it to prevent it from burning).
Sprinkle with chives and serve. Shepherd’s pie can be made ahead—just prep the stew in advance and store it in the fridge. For best texture, make the mashed potatoes fresh before baking.
Shepherd’s Pie Video Tutorial
More Hearty Dishes You May Like
Shepherd's Pie
This shepherd’s pie recipe delivers big, cozy flavor with rich beef and creamy potatoes in every bite.
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds 90% lean ground beef
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 2½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-in chunks
- ¼ cup half & half
- 4 oz bacon, diced (about 3 slices thick-cut bacon)
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Place the beef, baking soda, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 1 tablespoon of water in a medium bowl. Mash with your hand to combine. Set aside for 20 minutes.
- While the meat tenderizes, place the potatoes in medium saucepan and add just enough cold water to cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are soft and fork-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return to the saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and stir the potatoes with a wooden spoon or potato masher until they are dry and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sour cream, butter, half & half, and the remaining teaspoon of salt. Using a potato masher, stir and mash the potatoes with the other ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Set the mashed potatoes aside.
- Heat a 12-in oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the onions and carrots to the bacon fat and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the wine and increase the heat to high; bring to a boil, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until the liquid is reduced by about half. Add the flour and stir until dissolved. Add the reserved ground beef mixture, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce; continue cooking on high heat, breaking the meat apart with a spoon, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth; bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cook, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the thyme, pepper, peas, and reserved bacon, and cook until the peas are warmed through. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
- Dollop the mashed potatoes evenly over the filling. Use a rubber or offset spatula to spread the potatoes evenly over the stew and all the way to the edges of the skillet. Drag a fork across the top to make ridges. Place the skillet on a baking sheet or large sheet of foil to catch any drips and bake until the filling is hot, the topping is lightly browned, and the edges are bubbly, about 30 minutes. (For more color, turn on the broiler and broil for the last 5 minutes, or until the top is golden.) Sprinkle with chives and serve.
- Note: If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, you can transfer the meat mixture to a 2.5-qt casserole dish and then spread the mashed potatoes overtop.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The stew portion of the recipe can be made several days ahead of time and refrigerated. Before assembling the pie, reheat the stew, adding a little broth if necessary if it seems dry. The mashed potatoes should be made right before assembling and baking the pie.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 650
- Fat: 33 g
- Saturated fat: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 33 g
- Sodium: 1243 mg
- Cholesterol: 122 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Hi Jenn,
Looking forward to makng this dish. You recommend an ovenproof skillet – what difference can I expect if I use a ceramic baking dish? And would you recommend a wide shallow baking dish vs. a deeper one?
Thanks!
Hi Mary, I’ve made it both ways and there is no difference — just less clean up with the skillet. I recommend a 2.5-qt baking dish, preferably wide and shallow.
Good morning
We are trying to cut back on beef
Would it be ok to use ground turkey?
Thank you
Sure, Marci, it won’t be quite as flavorful, but it will definitely work. I’d love to hear how it turns out with the turkey! 🙂
Also, Marci, if you’re using turkey, you can skip the baking soda/tenderizing step.
For those of us that are not taking cooking 101 could you please post the ingredient list.
Hi Jessie, It sounds like you are just looking at the portion of the page that has the pictures with some instructions underneath. If you scroll down a bit to under the pictures, you’ll find the full recipe. Alternatively, at the very top of the page, to the right of the recipe name, you’ll see an icon that looks like a notepad – if you click on that, it will take you directly to the recipe. Hope that clarifies!
This looks delicious! Do you think it would freeze well? I try to double and freeze portions when possible for extra busy nights. Thank you!
Hi Jamie, I don’t think the assembled pie would freeze well because of the mashed potatoes on top, but I do think you could double the meat mixture and freeze half of that. Hope that helps! 🙂
Wondering if this could be made without wine? Would you use more broth to compensate?
Thanks
Yes, Heather, more broth would be fine in place of the wine (so you can go right from the step where you saute the garlic to adding the flour). You’ll only need an additional 1/2 cup of broth instead of a full cup as you’ve skipped the step where you reduce the wine. Hope you enjoy!
If you were to prefer lamb, could you substitute it directly for the beef? Would the tenderizing still be necessary? Would the bacon still be good?
Sure, Jody, lamb would work here. You could skip the tenderizing step and the bacon (lamb is so flavorful that I don’t think the bacon is necessary). Please let me know how it turns out if you try it!
I am really looking forward to trying this recipe. I can tell it will be delicious. I have never heard of this method of tenderizing ground beef. Can other cuts of meat, such as stew beef be tenderized using the baking soda, salt and water prior to cooking?
Hi Gloria, I don’t use this on anything but ground beef, but sometimes it’s done in Asian cooking. Just sprinkle the baking soda on for 20 minutes then Rinse it off. It’s best for cuts of meat that need tenderizing. Hope that helps!
My mother’s best friend is British and her shepherd’s pie is ground beef, peas, and a gravy made with bovril thickened with cornstarch. It is delicious and super fast to make. I am looking forward to trying your recipe as I (and my family and friends) have loved all your recipes I’ve tried.
Your recipe was delish! Definitely added to my kitchen.
I haven’t made this yet, so I’m not criticizing, just curious – – This is a beef recipe, so why use chicken broth instead of beef broth (preferably low-sodium)?
Hi Steve, You could honestly use either here (vegetable broth or low-sodium beef or chicken broth would work, too). I don’t have a good reason for selecting chicken broth, other than it’s what I typically always have in my cupboard. Hope you enjoy it if you try it.
Working my way through your fab cook book. How do I print shepherds pie? I am a Brit and this looks like my Mum made? Sally h
Hi Sally, thanks so much for purchasing the cookbook! , To print a recipe, look in the upper righthand corner of the box that contains the full recipe – you’ll see an icon there that looks like a printer. Select that and it will open the box with printing options. Hope that helps and that you enjoy the shepherd’s pie if you make it! 🙂
Jen, this looks delicious and I intend to make it, but wondering how you think it would work with your fabulous pureed cauliflower on top in place of mashed potatoes?
Hi Karen, I thought about trying that, too, but worried that the cauliflower purée wouldn’t be thick enough to hold up over the stew. But you you could definitely serve it “deconstructed” with the meat and purée side by side — that would be delicious.
Just made this with pureed cauliflower on top instead of mashed potatoes and it held up in the oven just fine! Love the recipe, super tasty!
Good to know, Susan. Glad you enjoyed it!