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Rolling Sauce

Mom's Shepherd's Pie

Savory ground beef and vegetable filling in a rich Worcestershire-and-tomato gravy, topped with thick buttery mashed potatoes and baked until golden. The kind of comfort food that gets requested on repeat.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American / British
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Mashed Potato Topping
  • - 2½ pounds Russet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
  • - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • - ½ cup whole milk or heavy cream warmed
  • - ¼ cup sour cream
  • - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • - ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • - ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese optional, for the top
Filling
  • - 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • - 1½ pounds ground beef 85/15 fat ratio
  • - 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • - 2 medium carrots cut into small dice
  • - 3 cloves garlic minced
  • - 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • - 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • - 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • - 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
  • - 1 cup frozen peas
  • - 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ tsp dried
  • - ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary finely chopped (or ¼ tsp dried)
  • - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • - ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • - 1 bay leaf

Method
 

  1. Cover potato chunks with cold salted water, bring to a boil, and cook 15–18 minutes until fork-tender. Drain, return to the pot, and let steam 1 minute. Mash with butter, then add warm milk, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Mash until thick and smooth. Cover and set aside. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and let sit 1–2 minutes before breaking up. Cook 6–7 minutes until well browned. Drain most fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon.
  3. Add onion and carrots; cook 4–5 minutes until softened. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 full minute until slightly darkened. Add Worcestershire sauce and flour; stir to coat. Pour in beef broth, add thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Simmer 5–8 minutes until gravy coats the back of a spoon. Remove bay leaf. Fold in frozen peas.
  4. Spoon mashed potatoes in large dollops over the filling, then spread to the edges. Create ridges on the surface with a fork. Sprinkle cheddar on top if using.
  5. Bake 20–25 minutes until the top is golden and the filling bubbles at the edges. For deeper browning, broil 2–3 minutes. Rest 5–10 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • Storage: Refrigerate covered for up to 4 days. Reheat at 350°F covered for 20–25 minutes, or microwave individual portions.
  • Make ahead: Assemble unbaked, cover, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bake from cold, adding 10–15 minutes to the bake time. Or freeze unbaked for up to 3 months; bake from frozen at 400°F covered 30 min + uncovered 30–35 min.
  • Swap: Ground lamb at 1:1 for a traditional shepherd's pie. Ground turkey works — add an extra tablespoon of butter.