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This easy Shepherd’s pie has only five ingredients! It is made American-style with ground beef in a savory gravy (AKA Cottage Pie). It’s layered with tender vegetables, creamy mashed potatoes, and topped off with cheddar cheese.
This is my twist on the classic shepherd’s pie recipe. It does not use ground lamb or the traditional sauce, although you could make this with lamb if you would like. Instead, the ground beef is mixed with gravy and topped with sharp cheddar cheese.
It’s called cottage pie when it’s made with ground beef. However, here in America, it is still referred to as Shepherd’s pie.
This easy shepherd’s pieis one of my favorite go-to ground beef recipes because it’s budget-friendly, flavorful, simple, and hearty. It’s also a great comfort food on cozy fall and winter nights.
It only requires five ingredients and takes less than 30 minutes to bake, so it’s perfect for a quick and easy dinner recipe for busy weeknights.
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What Goes Into This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
- mashed potatoes – I used instant mashed potatoes and followed the directions on the back of the package to make them. However, I replaced the water in the recipe with milk and a small amount of heavy cream and added a few tablespoons of butter. You don’t need to do this, but it does add extra flavor to the potatoes.
- gravy – I used a brown gravy packet (McCormick) and followed the directions on the back of the package to make it. You can also make gravy from scratch or use a jar of premade gravy if you are short on time.
- mixed vegetables – a bag of mixed frozen vegetables is used in this recipe. However, you may use fresh or canned vegetables as well. Be sure to cook the fresh vegetables first. If you are using canned, you don’t need to cook them, but be sure to drain them well so your pie won’t be runny.
Customize Your Shepherd’s Pie
The best thing about this Sheperd’s pie is that it is easily customizable to you and your family’s preferences.
You can add different vegetables such as corn, carrots, peas, green beans, or just a bag of frozen vegetables.
Depending on your preferences, you can use store-bought, instant, or homemade mashed potatoes with Yukon, Russet, or Sweet Potatoes. When making mashed potatoes, I add butter, garlic powder, cream, milk, salt, pepper, and a glob of sour cream for extra flavor.
You can make the brown gravy from scratch, a jar of gravy, or a gravy packet. The choice is up to you. You can also substitute the brown gravy for onion, beef, mushroom, or pork if that’s what you have on hand. I’ve also made it without any gravy and it still tastes good!
You can even switch up the cheeses. Some suitable substitutes are Colby Jack, mild cheddar, triple cheddar, or a mix of cheeses…The possibilities are endless!
For a low-carb option, you can substitute the mashed potatoes with cauliflower mash and use lower-carb vegetables like green beans.
If you want to make it healthier, use lean ground beef or ground turkey, mashed sweet potato or cauliflower mash, load it with extra vegetables, and omit the cheese or use a smaller amount of low-fat cheese.
How to Make This Shepherd’s Pie
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 425°F and spray a 9×13 inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Cooking the Ground Beef
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, breaking it up with a spatula.
Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
Once the beef is browned and cooked through, drain any excess grease from the skillet.
Preparing the Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Prepare your mashed potatoes and gravy according to their respective instructions.
Assembling the Shepherd’s Pie
Mix the gravy into the cooked ground beef.
Transfer the beef-gravy mixture into the prepared casserole dish, spreading it evenly.
Layer the vegetables evenly over the beef mixture.
Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the vegetables, smoothing them out with a spatula.
Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over the mashed potatoes for the final layer.
Baking
Bake the casserole, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is lightly browned.
How to Make Ahead and Freeze
This is one of those leftover recipes where it’s just as good the second time around!You can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Be sure to store it in an airtight container. This recipe can also be made ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it.
What to Serve with This Easy Shepherd’s Pie
This casserole is a complete meal, but you can add:
- a side salad
- buttered dinner rolls
- garlic bread
- broccoli
- brussel sprouts
- glazed carrots
- Irish soda bread
FAQs and Expert Tips
Yes, you can use canned vegetables in this recipe. Drain them thoroughly before adding them to the top of ground meat to avoid extra moisture, which could make the pie runny.
There’s no need to warm them up first, as they will heat thoroughly when the Shepherd’s Pie is baked in the oven.
Yes, it does. This recipe calls for one cup of gravy. You have flexibility in how you make it. It can be made from scratch, a gravy mix packet, or a jar of pre-made gravy. The choice is up to you; any of the above options will add flavor to your shepherd’s pie.
This recipe keeps it simple with just salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder for seasoning.
But feel free to add other seasonings to taste. Rosemary, thyme, parsley, and minced garlic would all be great additions to this dish.
Absolutely! This recipe is very versatile. You can replace the ground beef with ground lamb for a traditional shepherd’s pie. Ground turkey or chicken can also be used for a leaner version of the dish.
Your Shepherd’s Pie might become runny for a few reasons.
- Overly watery vegetables: If you’re using frozen vegetables, they can release a lot of water when cooked. Thaw and drain them before adding them to your ground meat.
- Excess fat from the ground meat: If your ground meat is high in fat, it can release a lot of grease while cooking. Try using leaner ground meat, or be sure to drain off any excess fat after browning the meat.
- Too much milk or butter in the potatoes: While you want your mashed potatoes to be creamy, adding too much milk or butter can produce a runny mixture.
- Potatoes were not properly drained of water. Drain the water completely off before mashing them.
To fix a runny Shepherd’s Pie, here are a few tips:
- Thicken the meat and gravy mixture: If your meat and vegetable mixture is too watery, you can mix a tablespoon or two of flour or cornstarch into a small amount of cold water to make a slurry, then stir this into your meat mixture while it’s cooking on the stove. Allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes until it thickens up.
- Drain excess liquid: drain off any excess liquid from the meat mixture.
- Reduce moisture in mashed potatoes.
- Bake a little longer to allow excess liquid to evaporate, but be careful not to burn the cheese on top. You can cover it with foil if necessary.
Remember, a good Shepherd’s Pie has a hearty and relatively thick meat layer topped with creamy yet firm mashed potatoes.
More Easy Dinner Ideas
- Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
- Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
- 100 Best 5 Ingredient Crockpot Meals
- 100 Cheap and Easy Casserole Recipes
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Watch the Video Tutorial
5 Ingredient Easy Shepherd’s Pie
Stephy
This easy Shepherd's pie is made with ground beef in a savory gravy, layered with tender vegetables, creamy mashed potatoes and topped off with cheddar cheese.
4.31 from 86 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people
Calories 456 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 10 oz frozen mixed vegetables thawed
- 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 cups prepared mashed potatoes
- 1 cup brown gravy
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 and spray a 9×13 casserole-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Add ground beef to a medium sized skillet and cook on medium-high heat, breaking up the meat with a spatula as you cook it. Season the meat with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
After it is browned and cooked through, drain any excess grease from the skillet, if there is any.
Make your mashed potatoes and gravy according to directions.
Add the gravy to the ground beef and transfer ground beef mixture into a casserole dish.
Spread the vegetables evenly over the top of the ground beef.
Add the mashed potatoes on top of the vegetables. Use a spatula to smooth mashed potatoes evenly over the vegetables.
Top the casserole with the shredded cheese for the final layer.
Bake, uncovered, for 15 mintues until it is bubbly and the cheese is lightly browned.
Video
Notes
Mashed Potatoes: This recipe uses instant mashed potatoes, prepared per the package instructions but with a few modifications for extra flavor. The water is replaced with milk and a splash of heavy cream, with a few tablespoons of butter added. This step is optional.
Gravy: I used a packet of McCormick brown gravy and prepared it according to the package directions. However, feel free to use homemade or jarred gravy if that’s more convenient. You can substitute brown gravy for onion, beef, mushroom, or pork gravy if that’s what you have on hand.
Vegetables: The recipe calls for a bag of mixed frozen vegetables, but you can use fresh or canned if you prefer. If using fresh vegetables, make sure to cook them first. Canned vegetables must be drained well before use to prevent the pie from becoming too runny, but cooking them beforehand is unnecessary.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 456kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 41gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 130mgSodium: 790mgPotassium: 598mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 4167IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 437mgIron: 4mg
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