A delicious seasoned ground beef and vegetable filling is topped with a layer of mashed potatoes, sprinkled with cheddar cheese, and baked until golden brown. This Skillet Shepherd’s Pie is a quick and easy version of the classic dish.
Skillet Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie is another rustic skillet recipe you’ll love.
Gather ’round my meat and potato lovers. You’ll want to come in close for this one.
This skillet full of deliciousness has family-friendly written all over it. It’s also pretty darn easy to put together and reheats beautifully if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers.
There is even an option that will make this Skillet Shepherd’s Pie a super quick one-pot meal.
If you’re not feeling the corned beef this year for St. Patrick’s Day, this dish is an excellent option. Pop open a Guinness or two and enjoy!
Table of contents
Shepherd’s Pie vs. Cottage Pie
Shepherd’s Pie is a well-loved, traditional dish in Britain, Ireland, and Scotland. Historically it was always made with lamb but recipes for Shepherd’s Pie were long ago “Americanized” by us here in the U.S. using ingredients most readily available, which explains the ground beef in this recipe. In the U.K. they would refer to it as Cottage Pie when made with beef, but we’re sticking with the name we all came to know it by and the term I know most people will search for when looking for a recipe like this.
Of course, you can always substitute ground lamb for the beef, if you’d like.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground meat filling: The filling includes ground beef, onion, carrots, peas, and corn seasoned with rosemary and thyme. I add richness with a little tomato paste and beef broth.
- Mashed potato topping: The lovely filling is topped with mashed potatoes and a sprinkling of finely grated cheddar cheese. When you take a look at the recipe card below, you’ll see I’ve added a little sour cream to the mashed potato mixture. I’ve found that when I add a little dairy (sour cream or cream cheese) to my mashed potatoes, they hold a better texture when reheated. Since leftovers are always the goal, I like to be sure it will be just as fabulous the second time around. It also means that if you’d like to make the mashed potatoes in advance, you can do that, making it even faster to pull this dish together at dinner time.
To make this a one-pot meal, make the mashed potatoes in advance so they are ready to go or feel free to use store-bought mashed potatoes.
How to Make Skillet Shepherd’s Pie
- Start the mashed potatoes: Place the peeled and quartered potatoes in a good sized pot, cover with cold water and bring it to a boil. Then, reduce the heat and allow the potatoes to simmer until tender when pierced with a fork.
- Make the filling: Cook the ground beef with salt and pepper in a 12-inch oven-proof skillet stirring to break it up. Drain the grease and transfer the cooked beef to a plate. In the empty skillet, sauté the onion and carrot in olive oil until slightly softened, then add the garlic and tomato paste. Return the cooked ground beef to the skillet and season with remaining salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes. Thicken the mixture with a slurry of beef broth and cornstarch, then stir in the frozen peas and corn.
- Finish the mashed potatoes: When fork tender, drain the potatoes and add them back to the warm pot. Use an electric hand mixer to mash the potatoes with warm milk, sour cream, softened butter, and salt until smooth.
- Add the topping: Dollop spoonfuls of mashed potatoes over the top of the filling and use the back of the spoon to spread it out evenly. Sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake: Transfer the skillet to a preheated 375 degree F oven and bake for about 20 minutes, untilbubbling around edges. Turn the oven to broil and continue to cook just until golden brown. Garnish with minced fresh parsley and freshly ground black pepper before serving.
Pro Tip
For a rustic look, I use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface of the mashed potatoes then run a fork through them to create some texture.
Make-Ahead Tips
The beef filling can be prepared in advance and refrigerated for 1 to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months. When ready to use the frozen filling, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight, then follow the instructions below.
- Heat the filling in a 12-inch oven-proof skillet, adding a little water or beef broth to thin, if needed.
- Follow the recipe to add the cheesy mashed potato topping and bake.
More St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
- Cheesy Corned Beef Pull-Apart Sliders | Foodness Gracious
- Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage | Valerie’s Kitchen
- Reuben Soup | Barefeet in the Kitchen
- Guinness Corned Beef | Valerie’s Kitchen
- Classic Irish Soda Bread | Brown Eyed Baker
- Boozy Shamrock Shakes | The Blond Cook
- Browse my entire collection St. Patrick’s Day recipes for more menu inspiration!
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Skillet Shepherd’s Pie
Video
Ingredients
For the Mashed Potato Topping
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- ⅓ cup milk
- ¼ cup sour cream, light or regular
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- fresh ground black pepper, to taste
For the Filling
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, or to taste, divided
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup low-sodium beef broth
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
Start the Mashed Potatoes
- Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Place them in a good sized pot and cover with cold water by about 1-inch. Cover and bring the water to a boil over HIGH heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to LOW and allow the potatoes to simmer until tender when pierced with a fork, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
Make the Filling
- Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a 12-inch oven-proof skillet and place over MEDIUM heat. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring to break it up. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the grease and transfer the cooked beef to a plate.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the empty skillet and return it to MEDIUM heat. Add the onion and carrot and sauté until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and stir well to combine with the veggies. Add the cooked ground beef back to the skillet and season with the rosemary, thyme, remaining salt and pepper, and the Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the heat to MEDIUM-LOW and allow the filling to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to blend the flavors.
- In a small bowl, combine the beef broth with the cornstarch and add it to the skillet. Cook and stir over MEDIUM heat for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the frozen peas and corn (no need to thaw) and allow to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes just until heated through. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Finish the Mashed Potatoes
- When potatoes are fork tender, remove them from the heat, drain well and add the potatoes back to the warm, empty pot. Place the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds, just until warmed through. Use an electric hand mixer to mash the potatoes slightly. Add the warmed milk, sour cream, softened butter, and salt and continue to mash until smooth.
- Dollop spoonfuls of mashed potatoes over the top of the filling and use the back of the spoon to spread them out evenly. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake
- Transfer the skillet to the preheated 375 degree F oven and bake for 20 to 23 minutes, until bubbling around edges. Set the oven to BROIL and watching closely to be sure it doesn't burn, continue to cook just until golden brown.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and garnish with minced fresh parsley and freshly ground black pepper. Allow to rest for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
I never leave comments on recipes but this one is DIVINE! It’s the best comfort meal! It’s on heavy dinner rotation at my house, as my fiancé is always begging me to make it again. He definitely goes back for third helpings. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Very nice combination of flavours in just the right proportions. I made some changes like changing to chicken mince and chicken broth, using shredded carrots and pumpkin instead of corn and peas. My boy has allergy to anchovies so I changed to HP sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce. Other ingredients and quantites are kept the same. My boys kept saying it was nice and asked for me to make it again soon! Thank you so much Valerie! Your recipes are simple, encourage attempting, balanced and delicious too! Pls upload more videos cos they really help amateur noob homecooks like me visualise better and have a higher chance of getting it right!
Decided to try your recipe. I have eaten shepherds pie my entire life. I must say that this was a wonderful surprise. My husband has asked me to put this in my rotation for meals.
Great recipe!
Consider placing an asterisk(*) next to the potatoes in the recipe. The use of leftover or ‘store-bought’(I’m assuming ‘instant potatoes’ is what is meant) isn’t mentioned until the preparer is waiting for it to be done in the oven.
Hi Danny. I’m not quite sure what your referring to as far as the mashed potato topping is concerned. Both the ingredients and instructions are included on the recipe card at the end of the post.
Have you ever doubled the recipe in your skillet? Want to take this to a church potluck?
Hi Nancy. You’d have to have a pretty huge skillet in order to double this. You might want to search for a recipe that was developed for a casserole dish or just use two skillets.
Thanks so much for this recipe. I love homey rustic meals that require common ingredients that I already have on hand. We live in a rural area..not convenient to a grocery. We made this for dinner tonight, so satisfying and the leftovers will be great for lunch tomorrow! I began cooking in the 70’s so casseroles are always a favorite!
What casserole dish can I use if I don’t have a skillet?
If you don’t have an oven-proof skillet, just transfer the beef mixture to any casserole dish that is close in size to a 12-inch skillet and then proceed with the recipe as directed.
Hmm it seems like your blog ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess
I’ll just sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly
enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to the whole thing.
Do you have any recommendations for newbie blog writers? I’d
definitely appreciate it.
Welcome to the world of blogging. Brace yourself, it can be a bumpy ride 🙂 All jokes aside, food blogging is wonderful work if it is your passion but I will stress the word “work” here. It requires a huge amount of work and effort to build a successful food blog. There are tons of great resources available to new bloggers. I’d recommend checking out Pinch of Yum’s Food Blogger Pro. Lindsay and Bjork have been at this for a long, long time and they are real pros when it comes to helping others through courses, videos, and online forums.
Made this tonight and it’s phenomenal! My kids love it too!!
Love this. Served in a skillet like this it’s just more appealing!
I agree, Mimi. It does add a nice touch and food cooks up so well in cast iron.
I made this last night and it was delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.
You’re very welcome, Cyndi. 🙂
I make this all the time because it is one of my husband’s and mine favorite. The only change I make is that I do not add peas. I NEVER add peas because my hubby hates them. I do add mushrooms because we both love them. I just told him tonight that I would make it tomorrow for dinner and he was extremely happy. Thanks for sharing this one.