This flavorful Gordon Ramsay Shepherd’s Pie is a fantastic, classic recipe that he has shared through multiple videos including his popular 'F Word' series! Savory layers of ground lamb meat and a 'secret ingredient' mashed potato topping combine to make this internationally loved comfort food! Get ready to put this meat and potato pie together for a tasty, hearty family dinner!
Gordon Ramsay Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
My husband grew up with a hamburger pie casserole that his mom made, which was actually one of the first posts here on the blog (that is in dire need of updating, but is still well loved). He also grew up enjoying roasted lamb on holidays. So when the two of us watched our favorite celebrity chef put together what was basically a hamburger pie with ground lamb, we knew it wouldn't be long until we watched closely to emulate the best copycat Gordon Ramsay Shepherds Pie recipe!!
This take on a classic shepherd's pie is as Chef Gordon Ramsay would make it! Like he says in his shows, the requirement to being a 'shepherds pie' vs cottage pie or hamburger pie casserole, is that the meat is indeed lamb meat. Thus, the shepherd would be required.
I know, even wikipedia defines the base as including a red meat:
Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or hachis Parmentier is a ground meat pie with a crust or topping of mashed potato of English origin. The recipe has many variations, but the defining ingredients are ground red meat cooked in a gravy or sauce with onions, and topped with a layer of mashed potato before it is baked. ~ Wikipedia
So please note that in my definition, any shepherd's pie would include ground lamb meat. You can substitute meats to make an equally fabulous meat entree or casserole, but here on the blog they would be titled as a different recipe.
How To Make A Shepherd’s Pie
A great shepherd's pie is easy to put together, but always includes the basic meat in gravy layer and a mashed potato topping. Start your mince in a frying pan at the same time as your potatoes are cooking and you'll have this comfort food dinner on the table in no time!
Cook the Ground Lamb Meat or 'Mince'
Bring a large cast iron skillet, skillet, or frying pan to high heat with two tablespoons of olive oil. *If you like lamb meat, but want to take the 'lamb' flavor down a notch, try a drizzle of sesame seed oil.
The oil should be shimmering and just beginning to smoke when it is fully heated. Add the ground lamb meat to the skillet, and spread it in a thin layer over the bottom of the pan. *Your lamb meat (or any ground meat) will brown and crisp better if it has set out for about 30 minutes prior to cooking so that it is closer to room temperature when starting the cooking process.
Let the meat cook until browned and crisped on the underside. Then split the pan into portions that you can easily flip ( 2 - 4 portions, typically ) and turn them so that the topside is now facing downward and getting browned too.
When the bottom side has browned and crisped, break apart the lamb meat and season with 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the grated or finely chopped onion, minced garlic, and grated carrot. Stir into the ground lamb and cook for 2 - 4 minutes, or until the onion is softened.
Pour the Worcestershire sauce into the pan along with tomato puree (or tomato paste, using a slightly smaller portion of paste) and stir to combine. Add the red wine, thyme, and rosemary. Stir to combine and cook until most of the wine has evaporated off.
Stir in the chicken broth or stock and cook for 3 - 4 minutes, then remove from heat. Set aside.
Make the Mashed Potatoes
Prepare your potatoes and place them into a large stockpot. Add enough water to cover the peeled and cut potatoes, then bring the stockpot with potatoes to a boil. Cook at a rolling boil for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender. *Russet or Yukon gold potatoes can be used, I prefer Russet potatoes for this recipe.
Preheat your oven to 350ºF (180ºC) around the time that you are straining off your cooked potatoes.
Strain the cooked potatoes and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Use a fork or ricer to make your mash (do not use a hand mixer).
Season the potatoes with the remaining portion of 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the egg yolks and butter, then stir them in quickly and vigorously. Add the Parmesan cheese (reserving some for the topping, if desired) and stir to combine.
Assemble the Shepherds Pie
Spoon the lamb meat into your casserole dish, making an even layer that fully covers the bottom of your dish. Spoon the mashed potatoes over the lamb layer and use a spatula to even the potatoes layer out. The mash should fill in any holes in the mince, and be a smooth mounded appearance in your casserole dish.
Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top (if you opted to reserve some of the grated Parmesan cheese) and use a fork to run through the mashed potatoes layer, creating texture. These raised bits will crisp nicely for both appearance and taste!
Transfer your assembled Gordon Ramsay shepherd's pie into the preheated oven and cook at 350ºF (180ºC) for 18-20 minutes, or until golden browned on top and bubbling around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack for about 5-10 minutes before serving.
Serve this traditional English shepherd's pie recipe with an amazing side dish or with some fantastic Yorkshire puddings!
Gordon Ramsay Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin)
- 1 lbs ground lamb
- 2 teaspoon each, salt & pepper (divided into 2 equal portions - 1 teaspoon each)
- 1 large white onion (finely grated)
- 1 large carrot (finely grated)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely grated)
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoon tomato puree (or tomato paste, but then only 1 ½ tablespoons)
- 1 cup dry red wine (I use Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (chopped)
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary (chopped)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 lbs russet potatoes (washed, peeled and quartered)
- 2 tablespoon butter (unsalted)
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese (reserve some for topping, if desired)
Instructions
The Mince
- Bring a large cast iron skillet, skillet, or frying pan to high heat with the olive oil.2 tablespoon olive oil
- After the oil is hot, add in the ground lamb. Spread in an even layer and crisp one side, then turn and crisp the bottom side. Break apart the ground lamb after it is browned and crisped. Season the lamb with salt and pepper (use the first portion of salt & pepper, 1 teaspoon of each).1 lbs ground lamb, 2 teaspoon each, salt & pepper
- Add in the onion, garlic, and carrot and cook for about 2-4 minutes till vegetables are soft.1 large white onion, 1 large carrot, 2 cloves garlic
- Pour in the Worcestershire sauce then the tomato puree and combine. Add in the red wine, thyme and rosemary and cook until most of the wine has evaporated off.2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoon tomato puree, 1 cup dry red wine, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- Pour in the chicken stock and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then turn heat off and set aside.1 cup chicken stock
The Potatoes
- In a large stockpot cover peeled potatoes with water then boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Drain.2 lbs russet potatoes
- Mash potatoes either with a fork or a ricer if you have one.
- Season with the remaining salt & pepper.2 teaspoon each, salt & pepper
- Stir in the butter, egg yolks and stir very quickly then add the Parmesan cheese and combine well. (Optional - reserve a few tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese for topping the Shepherds pie)2 tablespoon butter, 2 large egg yolks, 1 cup Parmesan cheese
Assembling The Shepherd's Pie
- Spoon the lamb meat into a casserole dish and then top with the potato. Using a spatula run the potatoes completely over the mince filling in any holes. It should look like a smooth mound.
- Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on the top and then using a fork drag along the top of the potatoes (this will give the potatoes a nice crunchy texture where they get raised by the fork).1 cup Parmesan cheese
- Place in your preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 18-20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow 5-10 minutes to cool before serving.
Equipment You May Need
Video
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
Jeffrey Pilus says
It took me about 15 minutes prep time. I cooked the potatoes in the micro. I used peas and corn because that is what I had. It was delicious, and a great way to use up some ground meat.
Bob Wright says
When following the steps I see that the double whammy the salt and pepper what I mean by that is I think it's supposed to be two teaspoons of salt 2 tsp of pepper for the whole recipe but in the steps they're telling you to do two for the meat and two for the potatoes which I did cut back but it's still salty so watch that if you're falling to step by step
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, sorry you have to be careful with that. It's not 2x the salt and pepper "2 teaspoon each, salt & pepper (divided into 2 equal portions - 1 teaspoon each)" rather it's that two teaspoons divided into two portions. Hope that helps!
Grisel says
Very delicious. I made this for tonight's dinner, but I didn't have lamb, so I used ground beef. My beef was very tasty, but I think that it had too much liquid that didn't evaporate completely. So, maybe because I used beef and not lamb I don't know why, but next time I will decrease the amount of chicken broth and red wine if I used ground beef again.
Jess says
Can I leave out the parmesan cheese or swap cheeses? It sounds delicious, but parmesan gives my husband a bad headache.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Of course Jess, you could try one of my substitutes in this article here.
Anita L Elder says
I always have to add my own twists to recipes when I make them. For this one, I added chopped cremini mushrooms. The wine I used was a Malbec I had on hand. Instead of peeling potatoes and going through all that on a weeknight, I got a container of Bob Evan's mashed potatoes and mixed the parmesan into it. I have to say that this is the best Shepherd's Pie I've ever eaten! I grew up in PA and the school cafeteria made it with ground beef and used the canned peas and carrots. I hated it! So glad my opinion of Shepherd's pie has changed!
Leah says
Anita can you please tell me if you used hamburger or did you use ground lamb?
Terry says
It took me about an hour & a half to get it into the oven start to finish but was delicious !! I found that the meat was a little too wet so I drained out a bit of liquid before adding the mashed potatoes layer. I used a 9X13 glass dish which I think was too large because the layers were kind of flat so next time I’ll double the meat and potatoes or use a smaller dish. The flavor was so good! I served broccoli on the side.
Alyssa says
I am making this for my husband's birthday. I am beyond excited.... but I'm wondering if you know what size dish you used for this x1 version... the 6 servings? Live in rv and have limited dishes but want it to come out perfect! I appreciate your time and how easy you made this recipe reading it! Will be fast and easy
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Im pretty sure that was my 1.5 quart dish which you can swap out with an 8x8 square dish too. Hope that helps 🙂
Dena Sandercock says
We made this recipe and it was lovely! So flavorful!!!! Thanks for sharing it!!!
Lisa says
I just made this also. I haven’t made (or even had) a good ole shepherds pie in years! It came out perfect and was delicious! It’s so filling and I made so much of it, I’m hoping it’s good to freeze? My whole life, I’ve always had shepherds pie with baked beans - am I alone in this? 😂. Thanks for sharing the recipie. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to cook this classic English dish.
Nikki says
I don’t normally comment but felt this one deserved one. I have tried many Shepard’s pie recipes over the years and this is by far the best! I did add about 0.5lbs extra meat but that was it and my family gobbled it up and asked for more! Will definitely make again!
Jesseca says
This was surprisingly delicious. I made as written, which was good, but then made a few adjustments for my family preferences and it was a solid 10/10 recipe. Even my pickiest eater raved.
We swapped lamb for high quality ground beef, added an extra clove of garlic, and swapped the wine for more chicken broth from Better Than Bouillon. Family devoured it.
Jessa says
I made this exactly as the instructions suggested. The only tiny change I made was adding in a cup of chopped mushrooms that I happened to have on hand. My family loved this recipe and I will be making it again! I really enjoyed having the ingredients listed again after each step. It’s a small detail, but saved me a ton of time! Thank you!
Paul says
Lovely recipe, I did you about 1/3 lb more lamb mince but still fantastic lamb recipe!
Maria says
Hi Angela,
Do you have a good mirilton casserole dis you could share please. My mother in law made a great one with miriltobs and shrimp only but I don't remember the spices and how much. Please help me. Thank you.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Sure thing! This was on my big list of to-do recipes. Are you looking for the one with breadcrumbs? Or the easier dressing version for holiday side dishes?
Maria says
Hi Angela,
I love your recipes. I need a recipe to make a dish. I have never been able to just throw this spice or that herb and know how much. Your recipes hit it right on. I rarely have to add extra salt or pepper but it to your tasting. Thank you for helping so many of us. God bless you.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Thank you so much Maria! It means so much to me to hear that my recipes were spot on!
Anne says
Brilliant recipe,a dish for every body!!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Thank you, Anne!
Deb says
Add a layer of peas or corn and then it’s perfect!!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Delicious! I love added veggies!
Laura says
Haven't been able to try your recipes yet ,They really sound good and tasty and will try soon! Have you ever tried baking a pie or have recipe for buttermilk pie? Having trouble finding a old recipe that's the right one from my mother n law who has now passed on,if you have one or know of please let us know? Thank u!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hello Laura, I don't have one up on the site yet but I did send you an email. Hope that helps! ~ Angela
Donna says
Loved this recipe. Instead of a baking dish, I used individual ramekins. Belly is full!
marion says
this is a great COTTAGE PIE recipe with heaps of vegies from Cottage Garden,, but please
can someone tell Mr Ramsey, that is not a SHEPHERDS PIE,, made with left over Roast Lamb, minced in the mincer screwed to the kitchen table in 1940’s as my German Grandmother did in the 1940’s, us kids helped her turn the handle,, she then mixed it withTomato Sauce, a dash of worcestershire sauce, topped with Mash Potato browned under grill and served with boiled vegies on the side, absolutely delicious taste of that Roast Lamb and the texture of the meat,, completely different to Cottage Pie that has to be cooked !! please do try it ,,, marion,,
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
That sounds like a delicious use of leftover roast lamb! For current use though, shepherds pie is used to describe this sort of mashed topped pie that has lamb meat (cooked lamb mince or ground leftover lamb meat). Versus the cottage pie which is the same thing, but using beef rather than lamb. Thanks for sharing your grandmother's version!!
Becca says
So delicious but what do you do with the garlic? Does it get put in with the carrots and onion?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes! Thanks for catching that 🙂 I'm updating it now!
CJF says
I have thoroughly read through this article and the recipe calls for garlic but nowhere does it say add it into the recipe, just for a heads up so it can be corrected
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
It would go in at about the same time as the onion and carrot. Add the garlic after the onion and carrot have sauteed for a minute or two then finish cooking them together. Thanks for catching that and I'll get it updated here shortly!