Skillet Shepherd's Pie is pure comfort food! This easy, 1 pan dinner recipe comes together with fridge and pantry staples in no time at all.
Our kids had a snow day from school a couple of weeks ago, which we learned about after receiving three phone calls, two emails, and an app update all before 6:30am. What a time to be alive!
Back in my day, my brothers and I had to huddle around the television screen at the crack of dawn, praying for our school’s name to crawl across the bottom of the screen informing us of our district’s decision. Snow day at best, regular day at worst, 2-hour delay somewhere in between.
Hunkered in at home, I made my ultra comforting — and easy (ie, I didn’t have to run to the store for a single ingredient!) — Skillet Shepherd’s Pie for a snow day dinner.
Maybe it’s me, but anything that comes out of the oven audibly bubbling is an automatic winner in my book. Add in a thick layer of mashed potatoes brushed with garlic butter blanketing saucy meat and vegetables and I’m sold.
The fact that this gluten free shepherd’s pie goes from stove, to oven, to dinner table in a big ol’ skillet makes me all kinds of happy.
Goodbye tons dishes to clean — hello, well, literally anything else!
Recipe Notes
- Shepherd’s vs Cottage Pie. I understand that shepherd’s pie is traditionally made with minced lamb meat and anything made with ground beef is considered “cottage pie” but here in the states – or Iowa rather, I guess I can’t speak for the whole country – it’s still called Shepherd’s Pie.
- Oven Safe Skillet. To make this recipe you’ll need a large, 10+” OVEN SAFE SKILLET. Here’s the enameled cast iron skillet I have, or a more budget friendly non-enameled cast iron skillet.
- Mashed Potato Topping. While my Healthy Mashed Potatoes are delicious in this dish, I admittedly at times use Bob Evans or Simply Potatoes brand prepared mashed potatoes for the sake of convenience! These are GF though do yourself a favor and double check labels at your individual store. I’ve also included a recipe for all-potato mashed potatoes in the notes section of the recipe card below.
How to Make Skillet Shepherd’s Pie
Start by browning ground beef with chopped shallot or onion in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat.
Season with homemade seasoned salt and pepper then add minced garlic and big pinches of dried parsley, thyme, and rosemary. Saute until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
Next add worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrin’s is gluten-free in the states,) and tomato paste then stir to combine. Sprinkle in gluten-free flour then stir and cook for 1 minute.
Slowly drizzle in beef stock or broth while stirring to avoid lumps then simmer until the mixture has thickened, 3-4 minutes. Taste then add more seasoned salt and/or pepper if necessary.
Take the skillet off the heat then stir in frozen vegetables. I just use a standard medley.
Last step is to spoon prepared mashed potatoes on top then spread into an even layer and brush with a mixture of melted butter and garlic powder.
Use a fork to give the mashed potatoes a rustic look, which will also help the ridges brown in the oven. Again, you can use homemade or store-bought prepared mashed potatoes. You’ll need around 4 cups to top the Shepherd’s Pie, depending on exactly how large your skillet is.
Bake the Skillet Shepherd’s Pie for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees then finish with a blast from the broiler to really brown the top. Let sit for 5 minutes before digging in and serving up.
I hope you love this hot and comforting dish – enjoy!
More Cozy Skillet Recipes
- Ground Beef Stroganoff
- Creamy Summer Veggie Gnocchi Skillet
- Easy Mushroom Risotto
- Skillet Tater Tot Casserole
- Cheesy Chicken Burrito Skillet
- Italian Rice Ball Skillet
- Beef and Veggie Enchilada Skillet
- Cheesy Gnocchi Florentine
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 shallot or small onion, chopped
- homemade seasoned salt and pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- big pinch each dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried parsley
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon gluten free worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons gluten free flour, or AP flour if not GF
- 1-1/2 cups gluten free beef stock or broth
- 1-1/4 cups frozen vegetable medley
- 4 cups prepared mashed potatoes, homemade or store bought, see notes
- 2 Tablespoons butter or vegan butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions
- Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any spillovers from skillet then preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place a large, 12" oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat then add ground beef and shallots. Season with homemade seasoned salt and pepper, then brown the beef. Add garlic and dried herbs then saute for 1 minute or until garlic is very fragrant. Add tomato paste and worcestershire sauce then stir to combine. Sprinkle in flour then stir to combine and cook for 1 minute.
- Gradually add splashes of beef broth while stirring to avoid lumps then simmer, stirring often, until mixture has thickened, 3-4 minutes. Taste then add more seasoned salt and/or pepper if necessary. Remove skillet from heat then stir in frozen vegetables.
- Spoon mashed potatoes on top of meat and vegetables then spread into an even layer. Combine butter and garlic powder in a small dish then use a pastry brush or spoon to brush or drizzle the garlic butter on top. Run a fork around the mashed potatoes like recipe photos.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dish is bubbly. Place under broiler set to high to get the top golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- I recommend my homemade Healthy Mashed Potatoes for this recipe. If you want to use store-bought, Bob Evans and Simply Potatoes brand prepared mashed potatoes are great too. Check packaging to ensure they are gluten free before buying.
- Homemade All Potato Mashed Potato recipe (makes 4-1/2ish cups): Peel then chop 2lbs Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes and add to a large pot of cold water. Bring to a boil then cook until potatoes are tender, 8-12 minutes, and then drain. Add 1/3 cup (5 Tablespoons) butter or vegan butter, 1/2 cup milk (any kind), salt, and pepper to the pot then add potatoes and mash until smooth. Alternatively you could rice the potatoes into the pot with the milk and butter then stir to combine. Measure out 4 cups then use remaining potatoes for something else. Mashed potatoes can be made several days ahead of time.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Love this recipe! Easy enough for a work night dinner!
Hi Kristen – not fans of red meat in our house. Have you tried with ground turkey or chicken? Would you change anything in the recipe for the swap? Thanks!
Hi Kathy! I would use ground turkey – think it’d be great!
Yes! I just finished making your recipe for one skillet shepherd’s pie. Delicious and easy to make. Instead of using the beef, I substituted ground turkey. Because of this change, ramped up the amount of spices to taste. Again, very good and fun to make. We will definitely have this dinner another evening. Thank you for posting this recipe. Yum ?
Looks amazing and kid friendly.. Not sure if my skillet can handle the broiler can I start it on the stove then put into a casserole dish to finish it off?
shepherd’s Pie if it has ground lamb, cottage pie if it has ground lamb.
We are new to being dairy free and I’m wondering if mashed potatoes with the vegan butter and almond milk are worth the effort? My teenage son is missing lots of his favorites but there are some things he is finding the substitute for to be “gross”.
Yes, absolutely. You would never ever know the difference in this dish especially!
Made this on St. Patrick’s Day with my 13 y/o daughter. Delicious and a hit with the entire family.
Hi Kristen,
I love your blog. Even though I am the age of your granny, I too have to change my blog to reflect the real food I have to eat because of chronic IBS. Before “fessing up to my blog viewers that I can’t eat my own Italian family recipes because of IBS, I lived a lie. I never talked about it or tried to share it, but now I want to focus on living and eating with IBS. Your web site is so inspiring to me because you did just that with your new celiac focus. I like that you kept the old recipes and just went on from there with recipes geared toward your new reality. I see it can be done. By the way, I love your shephard’s pie and with a few substitutions (IBS folk can’t have garlic or onions (sob), I can make it tonight!!! I wonder if you have a GF pie crust? Easter is coming and I want to make a lemon pie.
IBS fold often have to go GF not because of gluten, but because wheat contains a chemical called “fructan” that we are sensitive to. Happily, sour dough starter kills fructan, so I can eat that, but I don’t know of any sour dough cookies, so I am looking at your cookies for GF ideas,
Also, if the eaters/kids, aren’t a fan of vegetables, they can be buzzed up in a blender, with the broth, and tomato paste, before mixing in the VEGAN ground. The corn, can be left whole, as most kids do eat corn.
This can be made humane, by veganizing it!
Ingredients
SERVES 4-5
1lb VEGAN ground, such as Light Life Smart Ground
1 shallot or small onion, chopped
pepper and homemade seasoned salt (see notes for salt recipe)
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
big pinch each dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried parsley
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon gluten-free VEGAN Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons gluten-free flour OR all-purpose flour (dish will not be GF if using AP flour)
1-1/2 cups gluten-free VEGETABLE stock, or make vegan broth with Better Than Bullion Vegetable Stock paste
1-1/4 cups frozen vegetable medley
4 cups prepared mashed potatoes (see notes for recipe)
2 Tablespoons vegan butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Awesome, humane, and everyone can eat it! (gluten free, lactose intolerant, vegan, vegetarian (not every dish has to have dairy or cheese in it), and omnivores, as they eat vegetable soup/Minestrone soup, which is naturally vegan. I like the fact that this recipe, is more brothy than most, and includes several herbs. Generally Shepard’s Pie/ Cottage Pie, is rater bland and boring, with just ground, corn/vegetables and potatoes, so a good broth/sauce, is what makes it flavorful. One could even mix chopped chives in the mashed potatoes, to add flavor, make them more interesting. When I used to eat this, as a kid, I’d mix it all together, and the broth in the potatoes, was super yummy. Caramelized chopped onions, would add a lot of flavor too.
Skillet Shepherd’s pie for dinner tonight. It smells and looks delicious!
I love Shepard’s Pie and have a few different recipes that I rotate depending on my mood. I made this and tonight it was very tasty and easy to make!
I’m so glad to hear it, Ellen! Thanks for your feedback and recipe review!
It’s in the oven and I’m super excited but unfortunately 2lb of potatoes did not even come close to covering the skillet. We’ll buy more tomorrow for the left overs.
Hi Erica! Do you know the dimensions of your skillet? I had a super thick layer covering the filling in my 11-3/4″ skillet. Just curious!