A beef shepherd's pie recipe that is the ultimate comfort food and my kid's favorite dinner recipe!

My shepherd's pie recipe has been a family favorite meal for decades! While it's a little time consuming to prepare, it can be made ahead and hang out in the fridge until baking. Leftovers are even better and my kids fight over that cheesy crust! It's a simple recipe that pleases everyone. When I was 18 years old, I lived in England for seven months. I moved there the fall after I graduated from high school. I lived in a castle in the Lancashire District in Northern England. It was an incredible experience. Cold. Wet. I learned how to knit that year and bought my first pair of Wellies (rubber boots)! And I ate a lot of shepherd's pie.

The English countryside is unmatched in it's beauty. One of my favorite things were the long, rambling stone fences that stretched on for miles up and over the hillsides.  There are sheep grazing in the pastures, little stone cottages and big stone cottages. Beauty all around.
What I didn't love so much was eating lamb. Growing up in western Canada, I ate beef and chicken and the odd tuna sandwich, so I wasn't crazy about the shepherd's pie made with lamb that they served in that big 'ole drafty castle. I didn't like the taste or the texture of the lamb.

But I really liked the idea of Shepherd's Pie....

My version uses good old ground beef. When I ask my kids what they want for dinner, this recipe is the one most requested. So I will say that it has been tested and approved by picky eaters.  Update: my three kids are now grown adults, and this is still their most requested meal when they visit!

Shepherd's Pie - the ultimate comfort food

What is Shepherd's Pie?

Shepherd's Pie Ingredients

• 1 & 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/4 onion, chopped (I'm not crazy about onion, use more if you like it)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 beef bouillon cubes, dissolved in 1 cup hot water. Add 2 Tbs flour to the hot mixture to make a slurry and whisk well.
• 1-2 cans green beans, drained well (or veggies of your choice)
• 2-3 cups grated cheese any variety (monterey jack, mozzarella, cheddar, edam are all good choices)
• 6-8 potatoes, mashed with butter and cream

Directions

The first thing I do is peel my potatoes and get them boiling because they take the longest. If you are really pressed for time, you can use a large tub of the store-bought mashed potatoes.


I like to soften my onions and garlic in a little olive oil first. Did you know that if you add a little salt it speeds up the process of softening onions?


Brown the ground beef with onions and garlic. Drain off juices that accumulate and season with salt and pepper. What to do with those yucky hot juices that you've drained? I put it in a glass measuring cup and into the fridge it goes. Once the juices cool, the oil hardens, and I can scoop it out with a spoon into the garbage. No one has drank it yet lol.

Make the bouillon/flour slurry by adding a little flour to a cup of beef broth and whisking to remove the lumps. This is easy to do only if the liquid is hot.


Add the slurry to the browned beef and stir until thick and bubbly, on medium heat. You want to let this cook for about 3 minutes or so to cook out the flour taste. Pour the meat mixture into a large, deep casserole dish.


Add 1 or 2 cans drained green beans (or other veggies) to the top of the meat mixture, being sure the vegetables are very well drained.

Add a generous layer of grated cheese. I mixed sharp cheddar and monterey jack.


At this point my potatoes are usually done and it's time to drain and mash them. I add butter and milk or cream so they'll be nice and fluffy.


Add mashed potatoes to cover the cheese. Using a spatula, spread the potatoes around to the edges of the casserole dish and flatten them out. You want a nice, flat surface for the next layer.



Finally, top the potatoes with another generous layer of grated cheese. Are you starting to understand why my kids like this dish?


Bake uncovered at 375 degrees until heated through and the cheese browns and gets all bubbly (my kids fight over that part!). Depending on your oven, this takes about 30-45 minutes. Of course, you can remove it from the oven once the cheese melts, if you don't like your cheese brown.

This recipe serves 6-8, with generous portions and leftovers are even tastier the next day!