Top o’ the evenin’ to ya’!
That’s my happy St. Patrick’s Day greeting.
Ben and I were going to hit up an all-you-can-eat St. Paddy’s Day buffet at Hy-Vee tonight (unlimited Reubens & corned beef?!) but I thought nah, lets keep it homemade with The Best Shepherd’s Pie. EVER!
I was kind of annoyed with myself for choosing to make this classic meat pie, originally known as Cottage Pie back in the late 1700s, instead of going to the buffet. I figured it would take at least an hour to make.
Turns out it was actually a cinch! Just brown ground beef with onions and garlic, cook in flour, chicken broth, tomato paste and other seasonings, then simmer until thick.
Toss in some frozen veggies, and you’re nearly there!
While I was making the filling, I whipped up ~4 cups worth of mashed potatoes on a burner next door.
Assembly time!
Pour the filling into an oven-proof casserole dish then top with mashed pa’tators. Pop into the oven for 20 minutes, and…
BINGO!
Bubbling its little heart out as I pulled it out of the piping hot oven, which totally made me giggle. I just love it when comfort food smells, tastes and sounds like comfort food, you know?
I scooped us out a big serving and almost fell into the tunnel of mashed potato love!!!
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The Best Shepherd’s Pie. Ever.
Description
The Best Shepherd's Pie. Ever. is incredibly hearty, with beef and vegetables cooked in a savory gravy, topped with creamy mashed potatoes — the ultimate comfort food!
Ingredients
- 4 cups prepared mashed potatoes
- garlic salt
- 1lb ground beef
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 Tablespoons gluten-free flour OR all-purpose (dish will not be GF if using AP flour)
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon gluten-free tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using soy sauce)
- 1 can (14.5oz) chicken broth
- 2 cups frozen vegetable medley
- salt & pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown ground beef, onions and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When meat is completely cooked, sprinkle in flour and continue to saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, gluten-free tamari or soy sauce and chicken broth. Simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Turn of the heat then stir in frozen vegetables and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour beef mixture into a large, oven-proof casserole dish then top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle with garlic salt.
- Place casserole dish on a large sheet pan (in case the sauce overflows) then bake for 20-30 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Scoop onto plates then serve.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Meat & potatoes at its finest. Savory and so comforting!
Ben took his first bite…
“omg, this is life altering right now. This is the best Shepherd’s Pie you’ve ever made…”
“It’s the only Shepherd’s Pie I’ve ever made.”
“No…” (makes horrible face)
“Oh. Right. That Shepherd’s Pie. So it’s only the best when compared to the second AND worst Shepherd’s Pie I’ve ever made…”
“Um, yeah I guess so.”
ENJOY!
Would beef broth change it up too much?
Nope, that should be just fine! I actually just posted an updated recipe using beef broth: https://iowagirleats.com/2019/01/23/skillet-shepherds-pie/
one can of soup is way too much. A 1/4 to 1/2 would be much better. I found out too late. Taste is just OK.
Pretty sure this recipe has an error. Not sure how big a can of chicken broth is, as I make my own. But my research suggests that a can is usually about 8oz, not 14.5, I made the recipe using 8oz and it worked out great.
Not an error. Glad it worked for you though!
[…] Shepherd’s Pie – Iowa Girl Eats […]
This is a new staple in our house. I love it! I make it right in a cast iron skillet with instant mashed potatoes on top, and throw the whole thing in the oven. I sometimes use all Worcestershire instead of soy sauce and I prefer beef stock instead of chicken. Substituting ground turkey also works well!
Made it tonight. My husband and I both enjoyed it. Didn’t change anything but next time I’ll try it with ground turkey.
Shepherd’s pie is made with lamb, hence the name shepherd’s pie. What you have made is cottage pie. Still good but very different flavors.
This has become a regular in our meal rotation. It also works well as a make-ahead freezer meal! I make a triple batch of the meat mixture and freeze it in gallon ziplocs. (Flatten bagged mixture and allow to freeze laying on a cookie sheet for easier storage and faster thawing.) Google “freezer mashed potatoes” for a complete freezer meal (freeze them in a separate ziploc) or make them fresh the night before for quick assembly the next day. I thawed these on the counter today. Got home at 4:00 from a busy afternoon of running kids around, layered thawed components in a baking dish, popped it in the oven, and dinner’s on the table at 5:15! Win!
Very good I added a few extra things but good
You never mentioned draining the grease off of hamburger meat,I’m assuming you do.
Just depends on what percentage of fat your beef is – if it needs drained definitely go ahead!
[…] Shephard’s Pie – My absolute favorite recipe. I like to use ground turkey instead of ground beef and I use the vegetable melange from Trader Joe’s for the frozen veggies. For the potatoes- I actually use the Honest Earth instant potatoes from Costco- they are so easy and honestly really good! Saves so much time and they don’t have any weird preservatives or ingredients in them. Just potatoes, butter, and salt. […]
This did not disappoint! I found it on pinterest and it truly was the best recipe I’ve found! Thanks.
Oh I’m so glad to hear it, Nancy! Thank you so much for your recipe rating and feedback!
Do you drain the hamburger after cooking or just add other ingredients
I drain the meat if there’s excess fat – just depends on what percentage of fat/meat ratio you’re using!
Just made this last night. It was delicious. I will make it again.
Hi Kristin, I made this recipe today and it is excellent! I added half the tomato paste as I don’t care for heavy tomato flavor and extra garlic..it turned out fabulous and I got rave reviews.I was skeptical with tasting the Worcestershire in it..it was overpowering at first..but once baked..it is super, that flavor gets in line with the others.Definitely making this one again!
I’m so glad you loved it, Alice, and was able to make the recipe work for you! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Kristin, made your shepherd’s pie this evening. So good! Perfect comfort food. Thanks for another great recipe!
[…] and the last recipe wasn’t an amazing one. I decided to try it out again and I ended up at Iowa Girl Eats’ Page. Her ingredients are as follows and you can definitely click the link for the full […]
Thank you for this recipe! The other night, I made a GINORMOUS dish of mashed potatoes upon my husband’s request for his monthly men’s gathering at a gym. They work out for an hour, then they feast on what the wives prepare & drink beer. I was so peeved when it came back virtually untouched. These big macho men were on some kind of weird diet, & they were restricted from having dairy (I put cream cheese, sour cream, & shredded cheese in this potato dish). So what did I do next? I googled “best shepherd’s pie recipes” & yours popped up instantly. Our 2 daughter’s are not fans of mashed potatoes at all, but they both had TWO helpings each! Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving the day!
I had leftover mashed potatoes that I made in my pressure cooker last night (I’ll never boil potatoes again Ü) so your recipe was the perfect way to utilize them! That Sheppard’s Pie was sooooo delicious! The tomato paste and worchestershire sauce just made the most decadent gravy. It’s a keeper-in-rotation for sure!! Thanks so much!!
I googled best sheppards pie, and yours came up so I made it. Soo much better then a jar of gravy, I added cheese to the top of it, turned out awesome, and if you replace the flour with gf flour, its totally a gluten free dish. Thank you!