Ready for a warm recipe perfect for the cool fall weather that’s sure to please the whole family? This homemade cozy shepherds pie is packed full of veggies in a warm sauce topped with creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes.
Cozy Shepherds Pie is the perfect fall dish to add to your family’s recipes! Here in western North Carolina the temperature is beginning to drop and the cool air makes me long for warm meals to warm my family from the inside out. One of my husband’s favorite meals is my take on a shepherds pie. My favorite thing about this recipe is how easy it is to put together and how versatile the ingredients can be. You can substitute whatever ingredients you have on hand and put this meal together quickly for a warm comforting meal for your family’s dinner tonight.
Variations
Shepherds pie originally was a low cost way to put together a filling meal with whatever ingredients you had on hand. Traditionally the meat for this meal was lamb. We rarely have lamb in our rotation here, so I always use ground beef instead. Technically, the version using beef is referred to as a cottage pie.
I think I’ve made this recipe in a different variation every time I’ve made it based off what we have on hand, and it has always proven to be delicious. This particular time I used ground beef, onion, carrots, corn and spinach for the filling. Other veggies that we’ve tried and loved include green beans and peas. We don’t like mushrooms, but I imagine they would be a good addition as well. An ingredient that is a must for this recipe is the potatoes. The creamy mashed potatoes baked on top the pie is my favorite part. We’ve also tried sweet potatoes and they were delicious as well.
Method
I always start with getting a pot of water boiling for the potatoes while I sauté my veggies and brown my ground beef. Whenever your water is at a rolling boil, add the potatoes and cook until fork tender. I prefer to brown my ground beef, remove it from the skillet and then sauté my vegetables in the same pan with some butter for a deeper flavor and less pans to clean up. To save some time you can do both at the same time in different skillets and then combine them in the larger skillet.
Season your veggies and beef, then add beef broth (or chicken/vegetable broth), tomato paste (or ketchup), Worcestershire sauce and allow this to simmer about 20 minutes. While this is simmering, you can mash the potatoes. I combine the hot potatoes with butter and milk using a mixer to get them nice and creamy. You could also use a potato masher, but the texture won’t be as creamy. Transfer your filling to an oven safe dish and spread the mashed potatoes over the filling.
Optional, but delicious, you can top the mashed potatoes with shredded cheese. We used sharp cheddar this time but again, whatever you have on hand will work. After the pie is done baking in the oven, I like to broil the pie for a couple minutes before removing it from the oven to add some color and add a little crisp.
If you can resist the temptation, let the shepherds pie cool for about 10 minutes before digging in. But if you can’t wait, we understand. My husband hates this part and always begs to skip it. It is delicious either way!
Ready to serve
This meal can be served in a bowl or on a plate, and goes great with a slice of homemade sourdough bread. When you serve it, you can also top with fresh or dried chives for an extra flavor. Try out the recipe below and I’m sure your family will love it as much as we do.
Cozy Shepherds Pie
Equipment
- 1 skillet
- 1 oven safe dish
- 1 medium-large pot
- hand mixer or potato masher
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 lb ground beef or lamb
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 carrots chopped
- 1 can corn drained
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp ketchup or 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 can beef broth
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp AP flour
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Mashed Potatoes
- 3 medium potatoes
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Topping
- 6 oz shredded cheese optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat.
- Add ground meat to heated skillet and cook until browned.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt and potatoes once boiling and cook until fork tender.
- Remove ground meat and place all vegetables (except spinach), seasonings, and minced garlic in skillet and saute until tender.
- If using spinach, add once the other vegetables are tender and allow to wilt for about 1 minute.
- Add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth. Bring to simmer and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add water and flour and stir to combine. This will allow sauce to thicken. Continue simmering covered for 15 minutes.
- While filling is simmering, drain potatoes and add them to a bowl with the butter and milk.
- Using a hand mixer or potato masher, combine potatoes, milk, and butter until desired consistency. We love creamy mashed potatoes for this meal which is best achieved with the hand mixer.
- Add salt and pepper to taste to the mashed potatoes.
- If filling was made in an oven safe dish like cast iron, place the potatoes directly on top of the mixture and top with shredded cheese if desired, then place in the oven for 20 minutes. If the filling is not in an oven safe dish just transfer it to one and then top it.
- Bake for 20 minutes, let cool for 10 minutes and then enjoy!
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