A Scotsman’s Shepherd Pie

  4.8 – 307 reviews  • Scottish

Authentic sweet and sour sauce with a delicious flavor. It tastes fantastic when combined with rice, tempura, or even meatballs!

Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Additional Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  1. 5 cups mashed, boiled potatoes
  2. ½ cup sour cream
  3. 2 ounces cream cheese
  4. 2 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
  5. 1 egg yolk
  6. ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  7. ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  8. 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
  9. 1 pound ground lamb
  10. 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste
  11. 1 (16 ounce) can stewed tomatoes with juice, chopped
  12. 1 small onion, chopped
  13. 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
  14. ½ cup peas
  15. 1 cup Irish stout beer (such as Guinness®)
  16. 1 cube beef bouillon
  17. 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  18. 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  19. ¾ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
  20. 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
  21. 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

Instructions

  1. Stir potatoes, sour cream, cream cheese, 1 tablespoon butter, egg yolk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper together in a bowl until smooth.
  2. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add ground lamb, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until browned and crumbly, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour off excess grease and season lamb with salt and black pepper to taste.
  3. Stir tomatoes with juice, onion, and carrot into ground lamb; simmer until vegetables are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Add peas, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring frequently, until peas are warmed, 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Heat beer in a saucepan over medium heat; add beef bouillon. Cook and stir beer mixture until bouillon is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
  5. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a separate pan over medium-low heat until sizzling. Whisk flour into butter until thick and paste-like, about 1 minute. Stir beer mixture and Worcestershire sauce into flour mixture until gravy is smooth and thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir gravy into lamb mixture and simmer until mixture is thickened, at least 5 minutes.
  6. Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven’s broiler. Grease a 9×12-inch baking dish.
  7. Pour lamb mixture into the prepared baking dish. Carefully spoon mashed potatoes over lamb mixture, covering like a crust. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese, parsley, and paprika over mashed potatoes.
  8. Broil in the preheated oven until crust is browned and cheese is melted, 4 to 5 minutes. Cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
  9. If using instant potatoes, use a quality brand like Honest Earth(R) All Natural Creamy Mash.
  10. Smoky sharp Cheddar works best.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 386 kcal
Carbohydrate 30 g
Cholesterol 97 mg
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Protein 17 g
Saturated Fat 11 g
Sodium 561 mg
Sugars 5 g
Fat 21 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Mary Tapia
I had baked potatoes so, instead of mashed I scalloped them on top, adding the cheese sauce (sour cream, butter, egg) on top. Baked for about 25 minutes. It came up great.
Laura Mercado
I’ve been looking for a Shepherds Pie recipe for years. I tried this one and it’s a hit
Ricky Walters MD
I followed the recipe with the exception of doubling the meat / veg. I also used mixed frozen vegetables. Another review said they cooked veg in the beer with a tbsp or so of tomato paste instead of the tomatoes. I did this variation as my husband can’t have too much acid in food. It was so delicious! It did make a lot of dirty dishes, but completely worth it.
Paul Pratt
This was quite dreadful. Sour cream was overwhelming, Stout far too strong. As for tomatoes and paprika, just things never used by a real scot. A good adaptation for us a though I expect.
Sierra Lewis
I made it just like the recipe but added corn. My son is a great fan of Shepherd’s Pie and he loved it. I loved it too because I love anything Lamb!
Angela Hamilton
My daughter’s fiance loves Shepherd’s Pie…it is his favorite. He recently did a lot of “fixit” things for me and I thought I would make your recipe…the only thing I changed was that I used beef, because lamb was $11.00 per pound! I also used frozen mixed veggies (carrots, green beans, peas and corn) in place of the fresh carrot and peas. I made everything ahead of time and did not put the potatoes on top until I was ready to cook the casserole. I followed the recipe exactly and IT WAS FABULOUS! He raved about it all night as did my daughter and he has been telling everyone it was the absolute best Shepherd’s pie he has ever had! Thank you so much for this yummy recipe…obviously a total hit!
Ann Black
I made this for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner with a few friends. I pretty much followed the recipe. I made it with the traditional lamb. Everyone said it was the best Sheppard’s Pie they have ever had. I served it with Guinness and Irish soda bread.
Samuel Mason
Excellent! I made it with ground beef. Also made the gravy/sauce in the meat/veggie mixture, and added liquid smoke and dijon mustard to the mix. But a wonderful taste profile. Thanks for the post, my friend. 10/10 will make again.
Mrs. Tricia Dalton MD
I added a lot more vegetables and did everything in one skillet except the mashed potatoes. Delicious!
Shelby Owen
I didn’t expect there to be so many steps but I didn’t mind it too much. My household is not a huge fan of lamb but I still tried it with the lamb anyways. Everything went well together but we still didn’t enjoy the lamb. I’ll try beef or bison next time.
Justin Patel
Delish! Even with my tweaks. Here’s what I did: Made recipe, omitting cream cheese & egg from potatoes. Doubled carrots & peas, but omitted tomatoes, cooking veggies in half of the stout with a generous T. of tomato paste. Substituted dried mint instead of parsley because it’s tasty with lamb and peas. Followed suggestion of cooking in oven, then browning under broiler. Thanks for recipe! Will become a cold night staple at our house.
Theresa Conner
Excellent. I did use ground beef . Precooked carrots a bit. Also sautéed a leek and onions a bit before adding the beef. Omitted the cream cheese because I forgot to buy it. Used one whole egg. Made roux of margarine and flour, added beer and broth and stirred until thickened. Then added to beef and veggies (including peas). Riley loved it.
Amanda Parker
I didn’t change a thing. It was delicious.
Erica Scott
I made this tonight for dinner and it was a hit! I followed the recipe as written other than mixing everything together in the pan I cooked the lamb in. Definitely will be making this again!
Laura Stewart
Tasted great! Used lamb and sirloin. I added some garlic and used more guiness. I cooked the veggies down in the pan after I drained the meat.. Will definitely make again there was hardly any left!
Diane Guerrero
Dish intensive, but very happy with the outcome. Added mushrooms but pretty much stuck with the recipe.
Kathryn Smith
Amazing flavors! It’s even better a day later. I put the parsley on and then baked. Recommend putting the parsley on after baking. Delicious, hearty meal. This one is going in my rotation, replacing Gordon Ramsey’s recipe.
Steven Stewart
Excellent recipe!
Andrew Gonzalez
It was great.added garlic and I put it in a pie crust. To make kids happy. But turned out great
Deanna Anderson
The flavor was good and a nice change from beef, but I guess I didn’t let it cook down enough. Mine turned out very soupy.
Laura Lopez
This is very different than the shepherds pie I grew up on but I loved it. One thing I would do different the next time I make it would use less Worcestershire sauce but that is a personal taste. I’m just not a fan. I also didn’t separate pans. Mixed all in the cast iron skillet and worked well.

 

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