The Best Shepherds Pie Recipe
This is the Best Shepherds Pie Recipe that can be prepped ahead, turned into a freezer meal, or enjoyed fresh! Plus gluten free & dairy free!
A Few Shortcuts began in 2009 when my youngest daughter was just 1. She is now almost twelve and here I am still sharing recipes, crafts, tips, and more. This Shepherds Pie Recipe was one of the first I shared because I loved it. A while back I removed it from the blog because the photos were a poor quality (I have learned a lot since 2009) and I had planned on remaking it. An email from a reader asking for The Best Shepherds Pie recipe gave me the push I needed to make this again and share it with you.
PS: There is now a DELICIOUS Keto Shepherds Pie Recipe too!
How to Make Shepherds Pie
This recipe is all about one skillet and one baking dish. I love that! Brown your ground beef, remove it from the pan saving a little bit of the fat, but draining most of it. Use that fat to sauté your mushrooms, onions and garlic.
Once the veggies are soft add back in the ground beef, a can of tomatoes, peas, and seasonings. Allow the mix to cook and thicken for about 5 minutes.
Transfer your beef mixture to your baking dish and top with mashed potatoes. Use the back of a spoon to smooth them out. Top with cheese if you want a little something extra.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. When done remove from the oven and all the dish to sit for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
Cook Once Eat Twice
This truly is the BEST Shepherds Pie Recipe because it is so easily doubled. Cook once and eat twice! I love that. Assemble a second shepherds pie in a freezer safe dish. Wrap it up tightly and freeze it until you are ready to use, or share it with a friend.
Freeze up to 1 month. When ready to enjoy thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Leave the aluminum foil cover on for the first 15 minutes of baking. Then remove to allow potatoes to brown.
Prep Ahead
As if there weren’t already enough things to love about this recipe. If you have a busy day coming up you can prep this shepherds pie ahead of time. Just assemble the pie and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready preheat the oven and bake! A great way to save time and get dinner on the table quickly.
Gluten Free/ Dairy Free Shepherds Pie
Finally, if you are gluten free or dairy free there are some very simple substitutions to make this recipe work for you.
- Gluten Free you just need to substitute gluten free flour and make sure you beef bouillon is gluten free.
- Dairy free just needs to omit the cheese and use a dairy free mashed potatoes. (this is a great recipe to use up leftovers)
The Best Shepherds Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef
- 1 Cup Onion diced
- 4 oz fresh mushrooms sliced
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 4 TBSP Beef Bouillon Granules
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 TBSP all purpose flour or gluten free flour
- 14 oz stewed tomatoes canned
- 3 cups Mashed Potatoes
- 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Brown Beef in a LARGE skillet over medium-high heat. Until meat crumbles.
- Remove Ground Beef from pan using a slotted spoon; reserve; 2-3 TBSP drippings in skillet. Reduce heat to Medium.
- Add the onion, mushrooms, and garlic to the skillet and saute at medium heat 10 to 11 minutes or until tender.
- Add the Ground beef, peas, beef bullion, salt, and pepper into the skillet with the onion and mushrooms.
- Sprinkle flour over meat mixture. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
- Stir in tomatoes breaking up large pieces with a spoon.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. It will create its own sauce!
- Transfer the mix to a lightly greased 3 qt baking dish or pan.
- Spoon Mashed Potatoes evenly over the meat mixture. Smoothing with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with cheese if you desire!
- Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Gluten Free
- Use a gluten free flour and a gluten-free boullion
Dairy Free
- Omit the cheese and use a dairy-free mashed potato. That is it.