Rich, filling, and comfort food at it’s best. This shepherd’s pie is perfect for using up leftovers, too!
Traditional shepherd’s pie was first made in Northern England and Scotland in the early 1700’s. They used lamb or mutton (older sheep) for the meat. It was a common dish among sheep herders in that area. Some made it with traditional pie crust, with all the ingredients inside. Others make it with mashed potatoes on top, baking it to a crispy texture.
This rich, creamy dinner that can be easily made with leftover veggies, ground meat and mashed potatoes. This will help stretch the food budget a bit, since you are recreating meals from what you already have.
You can also create this meal entirely from scratch. It’s the ultimate comfort food, and perfect for weeknight dinners. The casserole itself can be made ahead of time, and placed in the fridge until you are ready to bake as well.
What is the difference between shepherd’s pie and cottage pie?
It actually wasn’t really named until the mid 1800’s and then became known as “Shepherd’s Pie”. When you make this dish using lamb, it’s a proper shepherd’s pie recipe. When you use any other type of meat; ground beef, turkey, or chicken, it is then properly called “cottage pie.”
Commonly, shepherd’s pie has onions, garlic and peas in the casserole. Some will replace those with green beans, or add carrots. Tater tots have been seen to top this dish, replacing the mashed potatoes as well. One of the best things about cooking at home is creating a dish with ingredients you have on hand, that your family will love.
Other Recipes To Try
This traditional shepherd’s pie is the ultimate comfort food.
It’s the dish my hubby is “famous” for in our home, and he is the master at this casserole. The Frenchman would agree, to be honest. He likes hubby’s better than mine. I don’t mind, really. When hubby and the Frenchman work together to make this, I get a night off of cooking.
Ingredients:
- Ground lamb
- Medium onion, chopped
- Garlic minced
- Baby carrots sliced
- Frozen peas
- Butter
- All purpose flour
- Lamb or beef broth
- Potatoes
- Butter
- Milk
- Sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Making your shepherd’s pie:
- Preheat oven.
- If making potatoes from scratch, peel, dice, and add to a large pot of water. Bring to a boil, and simmer them until tender.
- In a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat, brown the ground meat with chopped onions and garlic. Saute the lamb is browned through and the vegetables began to sweat.
- Add in sliced carrots and frozen peas, and stirred to combine. Saute, then set aside.
- Using another pan, melt butter, then stir in flour to form the roux. Allow to brown to remove raw flour taste. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add broth slowly to the roux, stirring constantly and allow to thicken slightly.
- Combine the gravy with the ground lamb and vegetables and stir together. Layer the meat mixture in the bottom of buttered ramekin dishes, filling about ⅔ full. (if you want, you can also use a 9×13 baking dish to make one larger casserole instead of 6 smaller ones.)
- Drain your cooked potatoes, add butter, milk and sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste. Mash with potato masher or hand mixer until creamy smooth.
- Top each casserole dish was then topped with 1/2 cup or so of the creamy mashed potatoes.
- Place in oven for 20 minutes to fully heat through and to give the mashed potatoes some crispy edges.
How do I make this shepherd’s pie ahead of time?
The best part of this dish is you can make it ahead of time. Either brown the meat with the veggies and make the roux mixture, and place in the freezer in a freezer safe dish. When you are ready, make the mashed potatoes, top and bake.
You can also make the entire dish, including mashed potatoes, ahead of time, and place in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking.
What to serve with this shepherd’s pie:
I am sure you’ll love this easy traditional shepherd’s pie.
Traditional Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 bag baby carrots sliced
- 1 10 ounce bag frozen peas
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons fresh milled flour
- 2 cups lamb or beef broth
- 6 medium sized potatoes
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Add 6 quarts of water to a pot, bring to a boil. Peel 6 medium sized potatoes, Yukon Gold preferred but any will work for this, and boil until fork tender. Set aside.
- In a heavy bottomed skillet, brown the lamb with chopped onions and garlic. Sauteed for about 10 minutes until the lamb was browned through and the vegetables began to sweat.
- Add in sliced carrots and frozen peas, and stirred to combine. Heat on the stove top for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.
- To make the roux, melt 2 tablespoons butter and add 2 Tablespoons fresh milled flour. Stir to combine and allow the roux to cook for 2-3 minutes to remove the “raw” flour taste and to add another layer of flavor. Season each layer as you go, with salt and pepper. Add 2 cups of broth, stirring constantly and allow to thicken slightly.
- Combine the gravy with the ground lamb and vegetables and stir together. Layer the mixture in the bottom of buttered ramekin dishes, filling about ⅔ full. (if you want, you can also use a 9×13 baking dish to make one larger casserole instead of 6 smaller ones.)
- Make the mashed potatoes if not using leftovers. Drain your cooked potatoes, add butter, milk and sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste. Mash with potato masher or hand mixer until creamy smooth.
- Top each casserole dish was then topped with ½ cup or so of the creamy mashed potatoes.
- Place in oven for 20 minutes to fully heat through and to give the mashed potatoes some crispy edges.
- Serve hot.
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