Easy Rustic Shepherd’s Pie with The Cheesiest Mashed Potatoes
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My take on the classic – shepherd’s pie! Of course, like with any of my other recipes this shepherd’s pie is loaded with herbs and spices to give it the best flavor. Finally, we’ll top it off with the cheesiest Irish cheddar mashed potatoes your shepherd’s pie has ever seen!
Gosh, golly! Would you look at that bubbly brown, cheesy crust!
This isn’t any ordinary shepherd’s pie. Sure it’s humble food, but that doesn’t mean it has to be bland and boring. It starts with tender onions, celery, and carrots and of course tons of garlic, because when do we not do garlic around here? Then there’s also this herb and spice-scented ground lamb (or beef) all blanketed with cheesy Irish cheddar mashed potatoes. It’s fall/winter/spring comfort food and who can even say no to that?
There’s something so magical about this easy shepherd’s pie recipe. Sure, every family has a version, and sure with every version, you’ll find something is a little different. Most of the time I notice shepherd’s pie to be a little on the bland side. It’s your simple mirepoix with ground lamb and mashed potatoes on top. And yes, that does sound comforting, but I like to use a few additional ingredients to amp this dish up to a whole new level.
Shepherd’s Pie? Yes. Bland and boring? Heck no.
After a few weeks of unseasonably warm weather, we’ve gone back down into the 50’s, and 60’s here, and I plan on taking full advantage. Chowder, shepherd’s pie, and a tetrazzini are going on the menu while we still can enjoy them.
For me, comfort food isn’t just about shoveling bubbly spoonfuls of beef gravy and mashed potatoes into one’s mouth. It’s a labor of love. Chopping the veggies while I enjoy the long casted morning light and a steaming mug of coffee. It’s about stirring the gravy, tasting, and adjusting with spices until it pleases the palette. It’s about creating something hearty and filling while thoroughly enjoying the process of it all.
Shepherd’s pie is most traditionally made with lamb, and I think you call it a Cottage Pie when you make it with beef? Any experts here? Is that right?
I say call it whatever you want and use lamb or beef; I’m not here to judge you and your protein choices. We’ll make a hearty meat and veggie gravy then cover it all up with a layer of the cheesiest creamy mashed potatoes and let them hang out in the oven for a while until the cheesy melts and you’re left with almost a crust on that pie.
My shepherd’s pie recipe is pretty straightforward and starts the way most do. You’ll begin by boiling the potatoes in a pot of salted water. If you’ve ever made my cheddar mashed potatoes, you’ll know the ones I’m using in my shepherd’s pie are very similar. Sometimes I throw in a few cloves of garlic with the potatoes if I want them to have more of that garlicky aroma. If you know one thing about us, it’s probably the fact that we heart garlic to the max. However, this is purely optional; I know that not everyone feels that same way. I get it!
While the potatoes are boiling, we’ll get the ground lamb going. Crumble the meat and brown it. Then we’ll add in the mirepoix and allow the veggies to soften. Mirepoix is just a simple combination of chopped onions, celery, and carrots. Once you’ve gotten all of that together, flavor the shepherd’s pie with garlic, Worcestershire, tomato paste, cinnamon, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme, and a bay leaf.
You’ve probably seen most shepherd’s pie recipes calling for fresh herbs, but the cinnamon and nutmeg are a little spin that I like to put on it. Just a 1/4 teaspoon of each of these spices surprisingly gives the meat and potatoes so much flavor. It reminds me a little bit of moussaka, and as you go in for a bite, all those aromas from the spices greet you before you’ve even touched the food to your lips. I unquestionably love that.
And also, can we get a round of applause for potatoes and nutmeg together? Oawh yeaaah. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
And here’s a little planning ahead, if you make my mashed potatoes (like the instant pot ones!!) for Easter, the leftovers would come in real handy to pull together a rustic potful of shepherd’s pie later on in the week. Just a little bit of shredded Irish cheddar and an egg yolk to help give it that golden, sun-kissed look.
When you pull it out of the oven, I dare you not to jump in right away while that crust is all golden, bubbly and all that sauce starts seeping up from the sides. Give it 10 minutes before you dig in, so it has a chance to set up and also so that you don’t end up burning your mouth. Take it from someone who knows. It’s. NOT. Fun.
As a bonus, my shepherd’s pie is gluten-free because instead of using flour to thicken the gravy, we’ll go the cornstarch route. I find it makes it a little silkier smooth.
And there it is! I want you to eat this shepherd’is pie to your heart’s content.
So much goodness all up in this. 👅
Easy Rustic Shepherd's Pie with The Cheesiest Mashed Potatoes
My take on the classic - shepherd's pie! Of course, like with any of my other recipes this shepherd's pie is loaded with herbs and spices to give it the best flavor. Finally, we'll top it off with the cheesiest Irish cheddar mashed potatoes your shepherd's pie has ever seen!
Ingredients
Pie:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground lamb (or beef)
- 3 cups mirepoix ( equal parts chopped onion, carrots, celery)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons EACH: tomato paste and cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon EACH: ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- fresh herbs (a few sprigs rosemary, thyme, and a bay leaf)
- 1 1 /4 cups low sodium beef stock (or chicken)
- 1 1/4 cup frozen peas, thawed + drained
Mashed Potatoes:
- 2 lbs. yukon gold potatoes, peeled
- 3 tablespoons softened butter
- 4 ounces EACH: cream cheese (softened) and shredded Irish cheddar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 cup room-temp half and half (or milk)
Instructions
- potatoes: boil the potatoes in a large pot of salted water until fork tender. Sometimes I'll throw in a couple cloves of garlic in with the potatoes too. Drain, mash and mix in the remaining mashed potatoes ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- cook the meat and veggies: heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground lamb and crumble the meat using a wooden spoon. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the meat browns, drain any excess grease leaving just 1 tablespoon. Add the mirepoix and season the veggies with a small pinch of salt and allow the veggies to cook down until translucent, about 7-9 minutes. Add the garlic and let cook another 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- beef gravy: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF. Sprinkle the ground meat mixture with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch, stir to combine and let cook for 15 seconds before adding the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, herbs, bay leaf, and beef stock. Allow the gravy to come to a simmer before reducing the heat to low and letting it simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the herbs, stir in the peas, taste and adjust with salt and pepper as desired.
- bake and serve: Drop large dollops of the prepared mashed potatoes on top of the beef gravy then smooth out gently. Bake for 15 minutes then, finish it under the broiler if you want it to be golden brown on top. Let cool for several minutes before serving.
Notes
- You can also make the potatoes in the instant pot. Here's how; just follow steps #1 and #2.
- If you don't have a dutch oven or an oven-safe pot, transfer everything to a greased baking dish.
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14 Comments on “Easy Rustic Shepherd’s Pie with The Cheesiest Mashed Potatoes”
I made this for the third time last night. I baked it in ramekins and my family LOVED it again. Someone remarked below that they’d used other Shepherds Pie recipes and they were bland. I had the same experience. I gave this one a try because of the herbs and tomato paste. I figured it couldn’t be bland, and I was correct. It’s delicious with so many wonderful flavors in every bite. The POTATOES! They’re so creamy ! Thanks for another fantastic recipe!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed my take on Shepherd’s pie, Laurie! Really appreciate you taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
Made this last night for the first time and it was amazing. Husband wants it in our regular rotation. We have half a pie left over for lunch today, and it’s a good thing, because otherwise we’d be fighting over it.
We forgot to put the cheddar cheese in and it was just as tasty. We used heavy cream instead of milk/half and half, and used Shake & Blend instead of cornstarch. All fresh veggies for the mirepoix.
This was amazing and so easy. Thank you for the recipe!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂
Hi
What brand if Irish Cheddar did you use in this recipe.
Hi Jackie! I used Kerrygold brand cheddar for this recipe! 🙂
Thank you very much for this recipe! Shepherd’s pie was not a huge favorite of my family just because it was always on the bland side. Yesterday I found your recipe and decided to give it a try! I used instant mashed potatoes, just made them extra creamy and added some garlic powder and seasoned salt. I also used canned carrots and peas just because I didn’t have any other veggies on hand. I also used canned tomatoes instead of tomato paste. Everything else – according to the recipe. The meat gravy was just fantastic! And the warm aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg – mmm. Half of the huge casserole dish is gone – and that says a lot!
Hi again
I’m in Edinburgh, Scotland and we don’t ha e that here. Will using the milk just do as well or is there an alternative for half and half? I would know which cream to use if I halved the milk with cream – can you help?
From my research, it seems your options are ‘single cream’ and ‘double cream.’ I would suggest doing ¼ cup single cream and a ½ cup milk. That should make it absolutely delicious ?
What is meant by “3/4 cup room-temp half and half (or milk)? What’s “half and half”?
Jacqui
Hi there! I’m not sure where you’re located but in the states we have a product called half and half that’s readily available in the dairy section of our grocery stores. It’s basically 50% cream and 50% milk. You can use a combination of the two or just milk for this recipe.
If substituting dried herbs for the fresh, what quantity of each would you recommend?
1/2 teaspoon of each the rosemary and thyme along with 1 bay leaf should do it!
About how long will the potatoes need to boil?
In the ballpark of 12-18 minutes. Just test with a fork, to see if they’re done before draining. The potatoes shouldn’t resist, if they do, let them go for a few more minutes.
I love Shepherd’s Pie! I definitely will try it with the additional spices! Growing up my mom always made it with mixed vegetables instead of just peas. She was probably trying to get more veggies in us! And the mash potatoes sound way better than mom’s. We are headed to upper 80’s this weekend is West Texas…way too soon. I may make it anyway and just crank up the air conditioning!
Wow! Upper 80’s already? ? we’re sitting around the 60-70’s at the moment. Hope you thoroughly enjoy the shepherd’s pie, Chris!