Description
Classic Beef Shepherd's Pie featuring a hearty ground beef and vegetable filling topped with creamy mashed potatoes, baked until golden and bubbling. A comforting and satisfying one-dish meal perfect for dinner.
Ingredients
Scale
Mashed Potatoes
- 1-½ pounds yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- ⅓ cup whole milk, more as needed
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Beef Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces button or crimini mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed and diced
- 1 medium onion, diced fine
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced fine
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, more to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground beef (or lamb)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves)
- 1-¼ cup beef broth, or more as needed
- ½ cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Prepare the mashed potatoes: Add peeled and diced potatoes to a medium pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to the pot. Add milk, butter, salt, garlic powder, and pepper and mash until just combined to your desired consistency. Adjust seasoning and add more milk if needed.
- Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 425ºF and position a rack in the upper part of the oven for baking the assembled shepherd's pie.
- Cook the vegetables: Heat olive oil in an 8-10 inch cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms with a pinch of salt and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 8 minutes. Add diced onion, carrot, salt, and pepper and cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Cook the ground beef: Add ground beef to the skillet and cook until no longer pink, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Add flavorings and thickeners: Stir in minced garlic, potato starch or cornstarch, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and dried thyme. Cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Simmer the filling: Pour in the beef broth and stir well, scraping up any brown bits from the pan bottom. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken. Turn off heat, taste and adjust seasoning, then stir in frozen peas.
- Assemble the pie: Spoon the mashed potatoes evenly over the beef filling in the skillet, spreading to cover the entire surface. Optionally, create a textured surface with a fork or spoon to encourage crisping during baking.
- Bake: Place the skillet in the preheated upper oven rack and bake for 15 minutes until the filling is lightly browned and bubbling.
- Rest and serve: Allow the shepherd's pie to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving to set and cool slightly.
Notes
- If excess fat renders from the ground beef or lamb, drain it leaving about a tablespoon for cooking flavor. Tilt the skillet to pool fat and spoon off the excess while holding the meat in place.
- If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, cook the filling in any skillet then transfer it to an 8-inch oven-safe baking dish before topping with mashed potatoes and baking.
- You can double the recipe and bake it in a larger 12-inch cast iron skillet or a 9x13 inch baking dish for leftovers or meal prep.
- To freeze, bake the pie in a freezer-safe dish, cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the oven until warmed through.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 480 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 520 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
