This super easy Shepherd’s Pie is not only rich and delicious, but it is also makes a great frozen Shepherd's Pie to stock your freezer. It is full of meat and vegetables in a rich beef and tomato sauce topped with creamy mashed potatoes and a sprinkling of cheese. Try it with ground elk, venison, or lamb for a delicious variation.
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Time needed
It only takes about 40 minutes to prepare Easy Shepherd's Pie, and it can be pre-assembled if necessary. If pre-assembled and refrigerated ahead of time, plan to bake it for a bit longer since it starts off cold.
Ingredients
- Ground beef, lamb, venison, or elk. Authentic Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb, but in the United States ground beef is more commonly used. This recipe is delicious with wild game like venison and elk as well.
- Onion. I use a yellow onion.
- Frozen mixed vegetables. Feel free to use just peas and carrots if you prefer; I like peas, carrots, corn, and green beans.
- Brown gravy packet (plus water as needed to prepare). Any brand is fine.
- Tomato paste.
- Worcestershire sauce. Worcestershire sauce brings a depth of flavor to the recipe.
- Cayenne pepper. You can adjust the amount to your preference.
- Salt and pepper.
- Mashed potatoes. This is great with leftover mashed potatoes, but I often buy refrigerated prepared mashed potatoes (like Bob Evans brand) to save time.
- Garlic salt.
- Shredded cheddar cheese.
How to Make Shepherd's Pie
Chop the onion and thaw the frozen vegetables.
Preheat oven to 400ºF while you brown the meat and sauté the onion together in a large fry pan. There should be enough fat from the meat to sauté the onion, but if the meat is low in fat, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
While the meat and onion are cooking, prepare the brown gravy as directed on the package.
When the meat and onions are cooked, add the vegetables, brown gravy, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper. Mix well.
Place the meat mixture in the bottom of a baking dish (see notes regarding baking dish).
Mix ½ cup cheddar cheese with potatoes, and season with garlic salt and pepper to taste.
Place large spoonsful of mashed potatoes on top of the meat mixture and spread gently to create a uniform layer.
Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup cheddar cheese on top of the potatoes.
Bake at 400° F for 25 minutes. (If you are using a deeper dish you may need to extend the cooking time.)
FAQ
Traditional recipes used ground lamb in Shepherd's Pie, but typically American recipes use ground beef because it is more common and more readily available. This beef version is called Cottage Pie in Great Britain.
I have made this recipe with both ground beef and ground elk, and it is delicious with both. The rich tomato sauce complements the elk meat, and this is one of my favorite ways to use ground elk. I add a little oil when browning the meat since elk is lower in fat than beef.
You can make this recipe with ground turkey, lamb, or venison using the same directions. If needed, add a little oil to the pan when browning the meat.
Although more commonly made with ground red meat, Shepherd's Pie can be made with any kind of cut or shredded cooked red meat.
You can easily lower the net carbs in this Shepherd's Pie by using mashed cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes. If you are cooking for a LCHF (low carb high fat) diet, you can increase the amount of cheese and add oil to sauté the onion and meat. In place of higher carb mixed vegetables, substitute lower carb choices like chopped broccoli.
If you prefer your potatoes soft, use a deep rounded dish which will result in a thicker layer of potatoes. If you prefer a crunchier topping, use a shallow rectangular casserole dish so the potatoes will be in a thin layer.
A fresh green salad is the perfect side dish for this hearty recipe containing meat, potatoes, and mixed vegetables.
You can make and assemble it ahead of time and refrigerate it until ready to use. Since the ingredients will be chilled instead of warm when you bake the pre-assembled dish, you will need to increase the baking time by 15-30 minutes depending on the depth of the pan.
Shepherd's Pie freezes well—follow the instructions below for freezing.
Frozen Shepherd's Pie instructions
I like to double this freezer-friendly recipe and make one pie for dinner and make one frozen Shepherd's Pie in a freezer- and oven-safe dish for later.
This Shepherd's Pie recipe can be frozen two ways:
- Prepare up to but not including baking, then wrap with freezer wrap and freeze. To use, thaw and bake as directed.
- Prepare the meat mixture and freeze it only, then thaw, place in a baking dish, top with mashed potatoes and ½ cup cheddar cheese and bake as directed.
In both cases, the quality will be best if used within 3 months of freezing.
Recipe
Easy Shepherd’s Pie (Freezer-Friendly)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef, lamb, venison, or elk
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
- 1 packet brown gravy (.87 ounces), plus water as needed to prepare
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups prepared mashed potatoes
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, for filling
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, for topping
Instructions
- Chop 1 medium onion.
- Thaw 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables.
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- Brown 1 pound ground beef and sauté the onion together in a large fry pan. There should be enough fat from the meat to sauté the onion, but if the meat is low in fat, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
- While the meat and onion are cooking, prepare 1 packet brown gravy (.87 ounces) as directed on the package.
- When the meat and onions are cooked, add the mixed vegetables, prepared brown gravy, 3 ounces tomato paste, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
- Place the meat mixture in the bottom of a baking dish (see notes regarding baking dish).
- Mix ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese with 4 cups prepared mashed potatoes, and season with 1 teaspoon garlic salt and pepper to taste.
- Place large spoonsful of mashed potatoes on top of meat mixture and spread gently to create a uniform layer.
- Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese on top of the potatoes.
- Bake at 400° F for 25 minutes. (If you are using a deeper dish you may need to extend the cooking time.)
Notes
- Prepare up to but not including baking, then wrap with freezer wrap and freeze. To use, thaw and bake as directed.
- Prepare the meat mixture and freeze it only, then thaw, place in a baking dish, top with mashed potatoes and ½ cup cheddar cheese and bake as directed.
Nutrition per serving
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Jo-Anne
When I baked this after thawing it, it was very soupy. What did I do wrong?
Mary Ann
Hi Jo-Anne - I have not had that issue, but I am sorry you experienced this. Could you tell if the soupiness was from the potatoes or the filling? To diagnose the issue, I would check the following:
Was completely thawed?
Did you bake it covered or uncovered?
Is the oven is cooking at the correct temperature?
Baking it uncovered is important so all liquid can evaporate. I don't currently have any frozen to test, but I will freeze a batch to test again in the future
K
At what stage can you freeze this? How long would it last in the freezer?
Mary Ann
Hi K - It can be frozen two ways:
1) Prepare up to but not including baking, then wrap with freezer wrap and freeze. To use, thaw and bake as directed.
2) Prepare the meat mixture and freeze it only, then thaw, place in a baking dish, top with mashed potatoes and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and bake as directed.
In both cases, the quality will be best if used within 3 months of freezing.
Katie
Thank you for the quick reply! Made some to freeze and one for dinner it was delicious!
Mary Ann
I'm so glad you liked it!