Easy Entertaining: Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s Pie is a cold weather classic, and one that we never tire of. It’s perfectly hearty, and a perfect one-dish-meal for entertaining. We’re sure that if you whip this up your guests will be happy as… shepherds?

Prep Time
Cook Time
Total
Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced into ½-inch pieces
  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 1 large carrot
  • 1 Tbsp. provence dried herbs or Italian dried herbs
  • 1 lb. ground turkey or your favorite ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, or bison would work great)
  • 1 ½ cup of frozen peas
  • 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 1 ½ cup chicken stock
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • Mashed Potatoes (for topping)
  • 2-3 medium sized Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter or 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • ¼ cup milk, any kind you prefer
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Special Equipment: mini-loaf pans (5x3x1) (we've used the foil kind for easy cleanup!)

Let's go

Print this Recipe
  1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
  2. Place the cut and peeled potatoes into a medium saucepan and cover with cold/lukewarm water. Bring to a boil and then turn down so it’s on a simmer. Allow to cook slowly until the potatoes are fork tender, about 7 minutes. Once finished, drain and reserve on the side to make mashed potatoes.
  3. In a medium-sized saucepan or saute pan, saute the onions in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until they are translucent. Add in the celery and carrots, continue to soften, about 5 minutes.
  4. Add in the herbs and then the ground meat. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, breaking up the pieces of meat. Add in the peas and then the tomato paste. Stir together and then add in the chicken stock and salt, allow to cook for another 3 minutes.
  5. Take off heat and put to the side while you finish mashed potatoes.
  6. In a medium=sized bowl, combine potatoes, butter (or olive oil) and milk. Using a hand blender or electric mixer, mix until completely smooth, about 5-7 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
  7. In each of the small mini loaf pans, fill 3/4 of the way up with the meat mixture. Top with about ⅓ – ½ cup mashed potatoes. Smooth top with a fork. Bake for 25-30 minutes until tops are golden brown and the inside mixture is boiling up. Serve hot or reserve until you’re ready to serve.

This can be made a day or two ahead and then reheated in the oven at 500° F for 5-10 minutes. You may want to cover with aluminum foil if top begins to brown too much.

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