A hearty shepherd’s pie is a wonderful meal to cook for the entire family!

Kids of all ages enjoy this hearty meal, plus it’s a perfect option for batch cooking and getting a few meals stashed in your freezer for lazy days.

Although there is some assembly required, it’s a super simple dinner to make. 

It has been one of my go-to dinners for the family as it fills everyone up, plus gets some good veggies into them too!

I do not go overboard with cramming vegetables into the pie. Unlike some, I prefer to serve peas on the side of the dish, not inside the lamb mince mixture. I think the peas overcook if you cook them inside the pie.

As my kids are a little fussy about finding chunks of veg in their meals, I also tend to blitz the onion and carrots so that they disappear into the sauce. This way they never know they had something healthy.

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How to make shepherd’s pie

A shepherd’s pie is lamb mince in a tomato sauce that is placed in a pie dish and topped with mashed potato before being cooked in the oven.

It’s not the quickest evening meal, as it takes around an hour and a half to prep and assemble then cook. However it is totally delicious!

This is one of our go-to midweek meals as it is relatively cheap – although lamb mince is a little pricier these days – and I can double it up then freeze the leftovers.

When you add the mashed potato before roasting in the oven, I personally like to make sure there are little peaks all over the top. It’s these bits that go a little brown and crispy and that is the best bit of a shepherd’s pie!

What you need for a shepherd’s pie:

• Lamb mince
• Diced onion
• Diced carrot – some members of my family are funny about cooked carrots, so I tend to blitz the carrot in a food processor until its thoroughly mushed, then add it so they cannot see the carrot at all
• Garlic crushed
• Passata or tinned chopped tomatoes
• Worcestershire sauce
• Beef stock cube
• Dried rosemary – add parsley and thyme for extra flavour
• Potatoes – maris piper are great for this recipe but any white potato will do
• Butter and milk – to make delicious mash

Switching up shepherd’s pie

There are a few options for changes you can make to your shepherd’s pie:

• Switch lamb mince for beef mince. This would turn it into a cottage pie, but you can follow the recipe in exactly the same way.
• Switch potatoes for sweet potatoes. This is a great way to add a little extra vitamin C to your family’s diet.
• If you’re short on time, as us mums often are with kids in the mix, then you could buy pre-made mashed potato to save yourself some time. 
• Play around with the herbs. I like to use rosemary in my shepherd’s pie, but why not add some thyme too?

Shepherd’s pie for younger kids 

If you want a meal that you can serve to your entire family then a shepherd’s pie is a perfect option as you can easily blitz it to a puree, or serve it to older babies and toddlers.

You’ll want to keep the salt content as low as possible and get some vegetables into the sauce so that they’re getting one or two of their five-a-day. 

My recipe does use a low-salt stock cube, although you could always make your own or forgo the stock altogether. 

I do recommend you use some stock though as it helps with the flavour. 

I use low salt stock cubes to ensure I’m not over salting their food. I like the low salt stock cubes from Kallo. 

When assembling your shepherd’s pie you can simply use a pie dish that makes one pot big enough for the whole family. 

Alternatively you can use little ramekins to make individual mini shepherd’s pie for your toddler or baby. 

Try ramekins like these ones for mini shepherd’s pies.

I would serve this with caution to a baby, as they’re of course going to chuck stuff on the floor! So bake it in the ramekin and serve a few tablespoons onto a baby-friendly plate for your little one.

When making a meal for the whole family simply pop a couple of tablespoons of the meat mixture into the bottom of the ramekin and top with a couple of tablespoons of the mashed potato. Then you can cook the adult’s portion in your larger pie dish. 

Can shepherd’s pie be frozen?

Yes this recipe can be frozen!

You can batch cook and freeze this meal, no problem! Either cook it in a large pie dish, then transfer leftovers to an airtight food storage box and freeze. You can also get your pie ready to go in the oven the pie dish, then freeze at this stage before oven cooking.

To reheat, defrost thoroughly first and then cook in the oven at 180C for 35 minutes, or until warm.