Chef John’s Shepherd’s Pie

  4.6 – 344 reviews  • Shepherd’s Pie Recipes

Although classic shepherd’s pie recipes call for lamb, they also taste fantastic with other types of ground meat, with turkey and beef being the most widely consumed options nowadays. Try this fantastic casserole, and watch as guests throng to the table.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 55 mins
Additional Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  1. 1 ¼ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
  2. 3 cloves garlic, halved
  3. 1 pound lean ground beef
  4. 2 tablespoons flour
  5. ¾ cup beef broth
  6. 3 tablespoons ketchup
  7. 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables
  8. ½ teaspoon black pepper
  9. ½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
  10. ¾ cup light sour cream
  11. 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Place cubed potatoes and garlic in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  3. Brown ground beef over medium heat in a skillet. Stir in flour, mixing with beef drippings.
  4. Add beef broth, ketchup and vegetables. Stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes, until thick.
  5. Transfer beef mixture into an oven-proof casserole dish.
  6. Drain potatoes and smash them a little bit before adding 1/4 cup of grated cheese and sour cream. Mash together until smooth.
  7. Spoon potatoes onto the middle of the meat mixture. With a fork, spread potatoes from the center to the edges to form the top layer.
  8. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of grated cheese.
  9. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 311 kcal
Carbohydrate 24 g
Cholesterol 59 mg
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Protein 16 g
Saturated Fat 8 g
Sodium 546 mg
Sugars 1 g
Fat 17 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Cody Webster
Great recipe!! My go to as it is the best I’ve found.
Edward Mann
So easy to make and add your own touch. I added Paprika and Cayan Pepper to give it a bit of a kick
Christopher Gallegos
I did it a little (lot) different. I seasoned the meat to our liking, did the same with the potatoes, no sour cream, added cream corn instead of the ketchup/beef broth veggie debacle. Layered meat, corn potatoes, shredded cheese on top…done. And it was
Catherine Oconnor
Overall we really enjoyed this! Made a few tweaks, adding onions before browning the ground beef, some red wine, onion powder and garlic powder. The hubs took a torch to the potatoes to make them nice and crispy. There was hardly any left to save. 🙂 It is an easy meal to make, which is huge for me. Bravo!
Mary House
To those complaining about it being bland: Folks, you have to taste the meat mixture as your building it. If it needs more seasoning before you build the pie, then add what you like. i did not follow the EXACT recipe, but used it as a guide and seasoned the meat mixture the way I like it. It turned out great. I did use fresh veggies, and ones that I like (onion, carrot and celery). So not the exact recipe, but in principle, the same.
Carl Cruz
Flavor was decent. After adding sour cream and cheese, potatoes were still quite thick/dry, made spreading them hard. Would have appreciated size of recommended casserole dish. No indication when to add salt and pepper.
Regina Lambert
Excellent dish! Will make again soon.
Joshua Myers
My very picky family loves this dish. All went back for seconds
Michael Singleton
Very good base recipe. I sautéed diced onions with the meat and added caramelized onions that I had in the freezer. Instead of ketchup I used Sweet Baby Ray BBQ sauce. A couple of tablespoons of sour cream in the potatoes and it is great. My husband and I love this.
Elizabeth Morris
bland. boring. ketchup added a weird sweetness. Plain white bread is more exciting than this sloppy pile of gloop.
Tanya Norman
Absolutely did not like this!! I tried the beef mixture before I put it in a cooking dish and the taste was awful. I think the ketchup ruined it. I ended up adding a dash or two of gravy master to give it a boost of flavor and it made it slightly edible. Then comes the potatoes. Yuck! The recipe calls for salt and pepper but doesn’t say where to add it- to the potatoes or to the meat mixture. I did to both! I also added onions to the meat mixture. If I were to ever make this again, I’d be kicked out of my house!
Chelsea Chavez
The family loved it! I have made it twice so far! Thank you!
Patrick Garcia
I made no changes to this recipe. It was absolutely delicious. I froze slices individually and popped them in the microwave as needed. Very good.
Jesse Thomas
I used ground moose instead of beef, and I doubled the amount. Subbed in Russet vs Yukon Gold, because that’s what I had. May add some Worchestershire Sauce next time, for zip. Loved the potato taste!
Kristina Berry
We really enjoyed it and I always use Bob Evans ready made mashed potatoes, saves time and they are so much better than home made. They taste fresh, really helps the recipe.
Bryan Lewis
Great stuff family loved it
Curtis Ortiz
I did 1lb of veal and 1lb of beef. I also did peas and corn. I would do more potatoes next time as I struggled to spread it evenly on the top.
Angela Mcpherson
Family favourite! I’ve been making this for years now 🙂
Michael Hicks
Very good recipe and easy to follow. I added whole kernel corn because…we like it.
Jose Crawford
I always watch the videos before I prepare so I can get an idea how it’s done and then I follow the recipe. However, I did not catch the salt and pepper. I was able to mix it in after before I topped it with the potatoes
Victoria Riddle
I added a chopped onion to the meat as suggested by others and it gave it much needed flavor. Instead of ground beef I used 1 pound of Impossible meat to make it vegetarian. And because I had it on hand, I used tomato paste instead of ketchup, which I think also helped with adding flavor. Overall, I would definitely make this again.

 

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