Shepherd's Pie
Our shepherd's pie uses simple ingredients like carrots, celery, peas, beef broth, and a few seasonings. Then, it's topped with mashed potatoes and cheese.
Servings: 6 Servings
Ingredients
Meat Filling
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup peas
Mashed Potatoes
- 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup Parmesan, grated
- 1 egg yolk
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 3 quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Meat Filling
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add in onions, garlic, carrots, and celery. Let cook for 4-5 minutes or until vegetables become slightly tender.
- Now, add in ground beef and cook until onions and carrots are tender and beef is completely cooked with no pink remaining.
- Add tomato paste, seasonings, broth, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine and continue cooking over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, then add the peas. Stir to combine.
- Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish and set aside.
Mashed Potatoes
- In a large pot, boil potatoes until fork tender. Drain and place potatoes back in the pot and mash.
- Add in butter, milk, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix until combined.
- Stir in egg yolk.
- Spoon mashed potatoes onto beef mixture and spread evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown.
Notes
- Cut the vegetables into small pieces. Smaller, evenly diced carrots and celery soften more quickly and distribute nicely through the filling.
- Brown the beef thoroughly. Break up large clumps as it cooks so the filling has a consistent texture.
- Don't skip the simmer. Cooking the broth mixture for 10–15 minutes helps it thicken and gives the seasonings time to blend.
- Keep the filling thick. If it looks very watery, let it simmer a little longer before transferring it to the baking dish. Too much liquid can make the potato layer slide around.
- Drain the potatoes well. Excess water can leave you with loose, runny mashed potatoes that are harder to spread.
- Mash while the potatoes are hot. They mash more easily and combine well with the butter and milk while still warm.
- Add the egg yolk after the other ingredients. Mixing it into the warm potatoes helps it blend evenly. Avoid adding it to extremely hot potatoes all at once, which can cause it to cook unevenly.
- Spread the potatoes all the way to the edges. A complete layer helps keep the filling tucked underneath and creates a nice finish.
- Make ridges on top. A fork or spoon gives the potatoes texture and helps create more golden edges as they bake.
- Let it rest before serving. A few minutes of resting helps the filling settle, so it doesn't run all over the plate when you scoop it out.