Shepherd’s Pie
I’m fairly certain that every single vegetable in the plant kingdom somehow made its way into my shepherd’s pie recipe.
Except radishes. Whew.
But really, so many vegetables in this recipe! Nutritionists everywhere, rejoice!
I love, love, love this casserole! So hearty, fairly healthy – full of lean protein and veggies, and incredibly flavorful. I don’t consider myself to be a picky eater, but I definitely do not do not-so-flavorful food.
Ready to make this shepherd’s pie?! As always, the recipe is at the bottom, but I’ll talk you through the steps. Let’s get cookin’!
When I make this recipe, I typically use 8-9 small golden potatoes, but you’ll just want enough potatoes to get you about 4 cups diced. Once you peel ’em and dice ’em, toss ’em in a large pot of water – enough water to cover the potatoes by an inch or two.
Place the pot on medium heat, cover if you’d like (to help them cook more quickly), and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat down to a simmer, and then cook the potatoes until they’re soft. From start to finish, the potatoes probably need about 25 minutes, give or take, to cook in the water before they’re soft.
While the potatoes are simmering, begin browning the beef in a large skillet (you will want to use the largest skillet you have) over medium heat. Once the meat is about halfway cooked, throw in the diced onion and chopped carrots and continue cooking over medium heat until the beef is completely brown. Add squash, zucchini, tomato paste, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, seasonings, and sugar.
Cover beef mixture and cook on stove top for an additional 20 minutes over medium heat.
Add frozen corn and peas. Cover once more and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Once the potatoes are soft, drain them and pour them into a large mixing bowl. Add butter. With a hand or a stand mixer, mix potatoes until the butter melts and the consistency becomes creamy.
Add sour cream, whipping cream, and salt. Mix until potatoes are well-blended.
Once you’ve finished mixing the potatoes and the beef and veggies are done on the stove top, we’re ready to pair them together!
Spoon the beef and veggies into the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish. Evenly spread the potatoes on top. This may get a little messy, but that’s ok. Sometimes the messier = the tastier.
Place in the oven at 350 and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle cheese on top, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
If you eat the shepherd’s pie as soon as it comes out of the oven, it’ll look like this on your plate:
But if you wait a while until it cools a bit or eat it as leftovers, it’ll look like this:
Both ways are exceptionally delicious! Gather up a crowd and sit ’em all down around a delicious meal. I hope this brings some smiles to your kitchen table!
This recipe freezes really well, too. Bonus!
Looking for other casserole recipes? Check out my King Ranch Chicken, Protein-Packed Pasta Bake, and Green Chile and Spinach Chicken Enchiladas. All delicious and on the healthier (and super nutritious) side!
Ingredients
- 8-9 small golden potatoes peeled and diced (you want enough potatoes to be about 4 cups diced)
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream or half & half
- 1 c light sour cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Dash of ground pepper
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 c diced sweet or yellow onion
- 1 c diced carrots
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 squash diced
- 1 1/4 c beef broth
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- Dash of garlic salt
- Dash of pepper
- 1 c frozen peas
- 1 c frozen corn
- 1 1/2 c light shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Place diced potatoes in large pan filled with water (water should be about 2 inches above the potatoes in the pot). Place pot on stove top over medium heat, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer - cook the potatoes until they're soft (about 25 minutes total).
- While the potatoes are simmering, place the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat and begin to brown.
- When beef is about halfway done cooking, add the onions and carrots and continue cooking until meat is no longer pink.
- Add zucchini, squash, broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, paprika, Garlic salt and pepper, and sugar to the beef. Stir until well blended.
- Cover the skillet and continue to cook beef & veggies over medium heat for 20 minutes.
- When the potatoes are soft, drain the water and pour them into a large mixing bowl.
- Add butter to the potatoes. Using either a hand mixer or stand mixer, whip the potatoes and butter until the potatoes are fully mashed and the butter is melted. Add heavy cream, sour cream, salt & pepper and mix until ingredients are fully blended. Set aside.
- Going back to the beef and veggies - once you've allowed them to cook together for about 20 minutes on the stove top, add frozen peas and corn, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Spoon all of the beef and veggies into a 9x13" pan.
- Spread the potatoes evenly on top of the beef & veggies.
- Place in oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top, and bake in oven for an additional 10 minutes.
- You can serve immediately or set aside to cool and store in the fridge or the freezer. This makes great leftovers!