This wholesome Shepard’s Pie has ground beef, frozen veggies and mashed potatoes, coming together to make a savory meal my entire family loved. This recipe freezes well, and is an excellent make ahead meal!
DISCLAIMER:
I need everyone to know that these are actual dinners I make and sometimes the pictures are awful because 1. I am new at food photography and 2. I am literally taking the pictures, while cooking actual dinner, while my kids ask for snacks and the dog tries to trip me.
When I took these pictures, I thought they were pretty decent. Then I saw them on my computer screen and not my tiny camera screen. lol
Moving on.
Shepard’s Pie is a recipe I have been making for years. At this point, I know it by heart. It is one of the easy dinners I always have the ingredients on hand for and can whip up on the nights I am not sure what to make. The best part about this Shepard’s Pie is that everyone in my family likes it. What is not to like? Meaty ground beef in a savory tomato/beef gravy, studded with peas and carrots (sometimes just whatever frozen veggie I have in the freezer.) Typically, I make the filling in a cast iron skillet and top with mashed potatoes, pop the whole thing in the oven for 10 minutes and call it good.
Until about a month ago. Frozen pie crusts tend to come in packs of two, and I had one lonely crust left in my freezer that needed to be eaten. Thinking of chicken pot pie, I thought, why not use a crust here? Traditional Shepard’s Pie does NOT have a pie crust, and Shepard’s pie purists (say that five times fast) will say that this is not Shepard’s Pie. That’s fine. But to me, it is a game changer.
How to make Easy Beef Shepard’s Pie
You start with a frozen pie crust, or homemade if you have time for that. While you are preheating your oven, put a pot of water on the stove to boil. Pre-bake the pie crust and set aside. Wash your potatoes and chop them. While the potatoes boil, make your pie filling. Ground beef goes into a pan with veggies and spices. Usually, I will dice a yellow onion and toss it in the pan before adding the ground beef My middle child has decided they HATE onions and can detect them even in the tiniest diced, so I did not use onions here. Whether or not you want to add some is up to you.
How to Make the “Gravy”
Not sure if the sauce is universally considered gravy, but to me it is a gravy. After the beef has cooked and is seasoned, you add 6ounces of tomato paste. This is the secret to making the “gravy” nice and thick without adding any flour or cornstarch. If you have made my Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, you know it is the secret to making a thick spaghetti sauce too! Anyway, you start with tomato paste and add beef broth until the gravy is thinned to your liking. You can use beef broth or water and beef bouillon, I have done both!
I taste and season again after making the gravy, spoon the filling into pie crust and then top with mashed potatoes. You can find my favorite way to make mashed potatoes here.
Hot Tip: Use a Baking Sheet
Okay so this may actually be common sense, but when I was younger, I would place pies or casserole’s directly onto the rack in the oven. More often than not, this would result in spillage making the bottom of my oven dirty. Even worse, somedays I would under underestimate how many hands I would need to take the dish out of the oven. Using one hand would tilt the pan just enough to dump some of the food out. (I was young and thought I could do everything one handed! Forethought didn’t exist!) Don’t be like me. Put your pie or dish on a baking sheet. Give that pan some support!
The day I made this Shepard’s Pie I was in a hurry and did not peel my potatoes. I like using red potatoes because the skins are relatively thin and I do not mind them as much. Believe it or not, I did pre-bake that crust.
This is how it will look after you spread the mashed potatoes to the crust and then bake it:
The little browned (red?) bits on the top are so good!
This Shepard’s Pie made more than enough for my family of four, especially served with salad on the side. This is a perfect recipe to double and then place one in the freezer for a future dinner!
PrintEasy Beef Shepard’s Pie
This savory beef and vegetable pie is baked in a pie crust and topped with creamy mashed potatoes.
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 5 Decent Servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 Frozen Pie Crust
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Rosemary
- Dash Worcestershire sauce
- 6 ounces Tomato Paste
- 2 cups Beef Broth or 2 Cups water mixed with 2 Cubes Beef Boullion
- Creamy Mashed Red Potatoes
- One Yellow Onion, diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
Instructions
Start by pre-heating your oven and baking your pie crust according to package directions. When done, leave oven pre-heated to 350F.
While you are doing that, put a pot of salted water on the stove to boil so you can make your Creamy Mashed Red Potatoes.
Place a large skillet or cast iron pan on the stove over medium high heat. Add your ground beef, and break it apart using a spatula (if you are using fresh onion and garlic, add it here). Once the beef is broken apart and browned, season with salt and pepper and add your tomato paste. Stir together the tomato paste and ground beef. Once mixed together, add your beef broth one cup at a time, until desired thinness of gravy is achieved. I like mine fairly thick, and still used almost two cups. Season with garlic and onion powders, thyme, rosemary, worchestshire sauce, salt and pepper. Taste your seasonings and adjust as you see fit.
Spoon the filling into your pre-baked pie crust and top with mased potatoes. Spread the mashed potatoes completely over the top of the pie, touching the crust. Place your pie on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are slightly browned on top.
Enjoy. I like to serve this with a salad!
