Shepherd’s Pie Made With Beef

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Freezing And Make Ahead Instructions

Hey! It’s Mom Shepherd’s Pie – made with Ground Beef

The good news here is that Shepherd’s Pie keeps and freezes really well. The recipe as written makes enough for a medium sized family, serving roughly 4-6 portions. This recipe can be doubled if you wish to make enough for now and some for later.

To do so, you can either increase the size of the pan it is made in, or make it in two. This recipe was developed to be made inside of a medium cast iron skillet, about 8-10″ inches. To double the portions is can be made in a 12″ cast iron skillet.

Alternatively, you can assemble and bake it in an oven safe dish. For a single batch, bake in an 8″ baking dish or for a double batch bake in a 9″ x 13″ dish.

If you want to freeze this meal, I recommend assembling and baking it in a disposable aluminum foil container. Let the casserole cool completely before freezing. Wrap well with one tight layer of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil.

Suggestions And Substitutions For Shepherds Pie

A true shepherds pie is actually done with lamb, not beef . Cottage pie is the term traditionally applied to one made with beef.

Regardless of what you call it, you can make this with basically any type of ground meat you like, knowing that they range widely in fat content. Ground lamb, turkey, bison, venison, and beefor half and half of any of the aboveare all fair game.

Nothing beats fresh vegetables and cheese youve grated on the spot to make this recipe, but if youre short on time, here are a few shortcuts:

  • Swap in frozen mixed vegetables for the carrots, celery, and peas. Use two and a half cups and add them to the dish when it instructs you to add the peas.
  • Use pre-shredded sharp cheddar. Take a gander at the ingredients, since some brands use additives to keep the cheese from clumping. Less is more, if you ask me.
  • Buy screw-top wine. Every little bit counts when it comes to saving time. Plus, fussing with a bottle opener isnt my favorite pastime. You dont need fancy wine for this anyway, just something dry and drinkable.

Shepherds Pie Or Shepards Pie

A shepherd is a sheep-herder. Shepherds Pie originated in Ireland during the 1700s and 1800s where sheep herding was the primary focus of farmers. Those farmers wives were looking for a way to transform leftovers into a hearty meal. Hence why you find a ground meat or mince meat and an array of vegetables used in each casserole. And while many spell it Shepards Pie, the correct spelling is Shepherds Pie. Though again, traditionally speaking it is made with lamb while Cottage Pie is made with ground beef.

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Making Ahead Storing And Freezing Cottage Pie:

To make ahead: Cottage pie can be made up to 3 days in advance. For best results, store the mashed potatoes and filling separately in the fridge until ready to assemble the cottage pie. Before topping the pie with the mashed potatoes you may want to add a little more milk to them to soften them.

To Store: Store leftover cottage pie covered in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Adjust storage times based on how fresh your ingredients were to begin with and take care to remember that leftover meat should not be stored for more than 5 days after its originally cooked.

To Freeze: To freeze cottage pie, bake in a freezer safe casserole dish and allow it to cool completely. Double wrap it in plastic wrap and tinfoil and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, place the frozen pie in the oven at 350ºF for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until warmed through.

Simple Comfort Food The Entire Family Will Love

Homemade shepherd

The only issue with a traditional shepherds pie is that they usually require 10+ ingredients and a lot of prep. No, thank you! Because my family enjoys this dinner recipe so much, I came up with a way to make it super quick and easy with just 6 simple ingredients.

  • ground beef
  • cheddar cheese
  • mashed potatoes

In a large pan, simply brown the ground beef and and drain the excess grease. Add the tomato soup, frozen veggies, seasoning and about half a cup of water to the pan simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Evenly spread the beef mixture onto the bottom of a greased 9×13 baking dish.

Spread your mashed potatoes over the top and then sprinkle with 1-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown.

Even though this shepherds pie is incredibly easy to make, its not missing any flavor! I was pleasantly surprised at how good this simple recipe was, in fact, my husband thought it was better than the complicated recipes Ive made in the past.

  • 1-2cupsshredded cheddar cheese
  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

  • Prepare the mashed potatoes according to the package directions .

  • Meanwhile, brown the ground beef on medium heat in a large skillet drain any excess grease.

  • Add the can of tomato soup, frozen mixed veggies, beef stew seasoning mix and 1/2 cup of water to the browned beef stir and simmer for 5-10 minutes on low heat.

  • Bake uncovered in the center rack for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown.

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    Hi, Im Amanda Finks

    Im a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist living in Zionsville, IN. Im an avid cook, travel nerd, & lover of good food! Im trained in Food Science & recipe development. Its my mission to bring you the BEST recipes your whole family will love! See More.

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    Can You Make It Ahead Of Time

    Yes, if youre making this casserole to eat later in the week or bring to a potluck you can prepare up to 3 days ahead of schedule. You can, in this case, store in your dutch oven. When removing from the refrigerator, just remember to let your dutch oven come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then add to the oven without the lid, while the oven is off, and preheat to 350F for 20 minutes. Preheating with the dutch oven in the oven will help to take any remaining chill off and bring the temperature of the dutch oven up slowly, preventing any thermal shock.

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    How To Make Shepherds Pie

    • Sauté some chopped onions in olive oil.
    • Add ground beef or ground lamb.
    • Add dried parsley, dried thyme, dried rosemary, salt, and pepper.
    • Stir and cook the meat mixture until the meat is browned.
    • Add minced garlic and Worcestershire sauce.
    • Cook the garlic for a minute.
    • Add flour and tomato paste.
    • Add beef broth, frozen mixed peas and carrots, and frozen corn kernels.
    • Simmer the meat gravy until it is thick.
    • Boil some peeled and chopped potatoes until they are soft.
    • Drain the potatoes
    • Add butter, half & half, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
    • Mash the potatoes until smooth.
    • Pour the meat mixture into a casserole dish.
    • Top it with the cheesy mashed potatoes.
    • Bake until the meat is bubbling and the potatoes are golden.

    Cottage Pie Vs Shepherds Pie

    Shepherd’s Pie Recipe: How To Make Mini Shepherds Pie With Ground Beef

    Cottage pie is a meat pie that is topped with mashed potatoes and baked in the oven. Its often confused with Shepherds pie because, up to the 20th century, the names were used interchangeably. Now, cottage pie and shepherds pie differ only in the type of ground meat they are made with. Cottage pie has historically been made with any type of meat but is most commonly made with ground beef where Shepherds pie is made with lamb. Both pies are cooked with vegetables and gravy and baked under a layer of mashed potatoes.

    For Shepherds Pie, simply substitute ground lamb for the meat in the recipe and keep everything else the same!

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    What Is Talerine Or Tagliarini Casserole

    This dish is one of those “my grandmother used to make a casserole like this, but she called it something different” recipes. It seems that sometime in the 1950s or 1960s, the combination of ground beef, noodles, and cheese became a go-to base for adding all manner of vegetables and spices, and probably which vegetables and spices depended on the family’s cultural background.

    Tagliarini and talerine are commonly found names for versions of this casserole. Tagliarini is a ribbon-shaped pasta, and home cooks often use that shaped pasta in versions of this dish. Perhaps talerine is a shortened version of the word tagliarini.

    Whatever you call itbeef noodle casserole, tagliarini or talerine casserole, or even goulash it’s a delicious way to feed a crowd.

    How To Freeze Healthy Shepherds Pie

    Once the shepherds pie is baked, cool completely and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place it in the freezer until fairly firm, about two hours. Then, cover tightly with plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil. Mark the date on the outside and store in the freezer for up to two months.

    When ready to serve, remove the foil and plastic wrap. Use the foil you just removed to loosely cover the pie. Make sure that your casserole dish can go straight from freezer to oven if not, set the casserole in the oven while the oven preheats so that the dish warms slowly.

    Bake the casserole for an hour, or until the pie is hot all the way through. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes to allow the top to brown.

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    How To Make Deviled Eggs:

    • Cut the hard boiled eggs in half, lengthwise.
    • Pop out the yolks and put them in a mixing bowl.
    • Mash the yolks with the back of a fork until no large clumps remain.
    • Add the mayo, mustard, pickle juice, and pepper to the bowl. Mix it together.
    • Transfer the yolk mixture to a plastic food storage bag.
    • Squeeze and roll the bag around in your fingers until the yolk mixture is completely smooth.
    • Cut one corner off of the bag to create a piping bag.
    • Pipe the yolk mixture into the holes of the egg whites.
    • Serve cold.

    Ultimate Beef Shepherds Pie

    Ultimate Beef Shepherd

    The Chunky Chef11/05/2017

    This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

    Rich and flavorful beef shepherds pie recipe, made easy in one skillet! Ground beef, tender vegetables, and fluffy mashed potatoes what could be better!

    Classic comfort food, made with readily available ground beef, sautéed mushrooms and vegetables, and a rich savory gravy sauce, all topped with fluffy mashed potatoes. No oven safe skillet? No worries, Ive got that covered!

    Its officially comfort food season complete with chilis, casseroles, stews/soups, and great one pot/skillet meals! This is absolutely my favorite food season, since the flavors are just fantastic, and all the food makes you want to go curl up on the couch with a blanket and a big bowl or plate.

    Here in the Chunky Chef household, we love our one pot meals. I even have a whole section of them here on the blog, have you checked them out? Theres something really awesome about a meal that tastes amazing, and theres not a TON of dishes to wash afterwards.

    Some of you may be questioning the name here after all, a shepherds pie is not traditionally made with ground beef, but rather made of ground lamb or mutton. My family is not a fan of the taste of lamb/mutton, so I always make ours with ground beef. Plus, here in the Midwest, ground beef is much more readily available. I almost named it Cottage Pie, which is what a Shepherds Pie made with beef is usually called but heres why I didnt.

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    Shepherds Pie Vs Cottage Pie

    For those who dont know the difference, both Shepherds and Cottage Pies are made with meat, gravy, and usually vegetables, and covered with potatoes. Generally, Shepherds Pie is made with lamb, Cottage Pie with beef. Though the term Cottage Pie was used as a blanket term for all meat/potato pies for about 100 years before people started calling the version with lamb Shepherds Pie.

    That said, I dont think most people make that distinction here in America. Every Shepherds Pie Ive ever been served, except those Ive had in the UK, have been made with beef, and when I was doing research for this post, no one I asked had any idea what Cottage Pie was.

    And since Id like the people in the US who enjoy Shepherds Pie to be able to find this Shepherds Pie, thats what Im going with.

    Ingredients For Deviled Eggs:

    Note* The printable step by step recipe card is at the bottom of this post.

    • 6 large hard boiled eggs
    • 3 Tablespoons mayonaise
    • 1-2 teaspoons dill pickle juice
    • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

    I always start with 1 teaspoon of pickle juice. Then, I taste the filling. If it needs a little extra saltiness and tanginess, I add another teaspoon of pickle juice.

    If you dont have or dont like pickle juice, white vinegar or red wine vinegar are good substitutes. However, you may want to add a pinch of salt to the filling if you use vinegar instead of pickle juice.

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    Easy Shepherds Pie With Ground Beef

    03/21/18 | Beef, Christmas, Easter, Main Courses, Recipe for Two, Recipes, Valentine’s Day

    This Easy Shepherds Pie With Ground Beef is a perfect dinner for two or three people. The ground beef filling, made completely from scratch, is rich and a little tangy, with a hint of sweetness from the carrots and the onions. Its so good that youll want to eat it with a spoon before it even goes into the oven. And the potato topping is buttery and creamy and glorious.

    One of the perks of running a food blog is that my job makes it super easy to score bonus points with friends and family since I am constantly feeding them the food I make to the site. People love good food, and they love you a little more if youre the one giving it to them.

    And I hit the mother lode of bonus points with my dad for todays recipe, Easy Shepherds Pie With Ground Beef.

    My dad loves Shepherds Pie so leftovers from my test version went straight to him, and that single 7×5-inch dish of food immediately catapulted me to #1-favorite-daughter status.

    And I feel like I totally earned that position because this is some really excellent Shepherds Pie Im sharing with you today. The ground beef filling, which is made completely from scratch, is rich and a little tangy, with a hint of sweetness from the carrots and the onions. Its so good that youll want to eat it with a spoon before it even goes into the oven. And the potato topping is buttery and creamy and glorious.

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