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 pie is 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
More Easy Dinner Ideas
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Watch the Video Tutorial
5 Ingredient Easy Shepherd's Pie
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.
John says
Loved using the instant potatos, do much easier and tastier. The gravy makes it nice and moist. So good the first night but I think its better the second night warmed up.
Stephy says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! It definitely makes great leftovers!
Sondra Holt says
Just made this during my lunch break for dinner tonight! I used ground sausage since that is all I had but smells amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Karlene Lewallen says
Should have used a smaller dish not enough ingredients. Still tasted good
Mark says
Delicious
Karlene Lewallen says
Loved it eating the rest tonight
Andrea LeFrancois says
Can I use ground lamb in place of ground beef?
Stephy says
Yes, that would be fine!
Jennifer says
Amazing. Made this for my family and my nephew took home the leftovers. I had to make again 3 days later. Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer says
Amazing. Made it for my family and my nephew took home the leftovers do I had to remake again in 3 days. Amazing thanks for sharing.
Mandy Maes says
I didn’t see about cooking the frozen vegetables, I just put them in the dish, and I added 5 more minutes. Is that okay? Will update after we eat!
Stephy says
Hi Mandy, Yes that should be fine! Under the ingredients it mentions that the frozen vegetables should be thawed, but adding the extra time should do the trick. Hope you enjoyed it!
Lynnie says
This was really good, next time I think I will increase the amount of meat and veggies. This recipe is a keeper.
Sarah says
This was so easy and delicious! If you’re using powdered mashed potatoes, I had to make 8 servings to have enough to cover the shepherds pie. It did take a little longer than I thought it would, and I had to dirty quite a bit of dishes, but it was worth it! Definitely will make again!
Stephy says
Thank you so much for your positive feedback! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
To minimize the dishes and make the prep quicker and easier, you could also use prepared mashed potatoes like Bob Evans and gravy in a jar.
Gina says
Hi, I was wondering if, when you are using frozen veggies, do they need to thaw before adding them on top of the meat and then cooking it? Or just put them on frozen and cook it like that. Can’t wait to find out, I’m trying to cook this tonight and about to go to the store to get ingredients.
Stephy says
Hi Gina,
You would need to thaw them or you can also microwave/cook them too if you are short on time. Either is fine. Hope that helps!
Tracie says
Just made this, and it was great. It would be perfect for a family or a weeknight meal. It was the perfect mix of easy, tasty, and healthy (enough). I paired it with a salad and garlic Texas toast (pre-made in freezer section). For the gravy I used Watkins organic powder mixed with water. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will for sure make it again!
Lynne says
Turned out awesome. I used beef broth and thickened it with corn starch. Added a splash of Worcester sauce and used 2 small sweet onions. My sister came for dinner and loved it. I will add this to my favorite recipe book.
M says
If I prepare and freeze how long should I bake when ready to eat?
Stephy says
It depends if you are letting it thaw out in the fridge or not. If you let it thaw in the fridge before cooking then you would just cook it the normal time.
If you are going straight from the freezer, then you will need to add more time and cover the casserole so it doesn’t burn. Add about 10-15 additional minutes to the time on the recipe and remove the foil half way through baking to get the cheese browned, if desired. Hope that helps!
Michelle Shylanski says
I was wondering if you heat up the gravy before pouring it into the meat?
Stephy says
If you are using a jar of gravy or leftover gravy, it’s not necessary to heat it up first. Cooking the casserole in the oven will heat it up. Hope that helps!