Irish Cheddar Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s pie, with sharp Irish Cheddar mashed potatoes over a savory ground beef and vegetable mixture with a flavorful sauce, is comfort food at its finest.

Much like with my Instant Pot Corned Beef and my Irish Stew, this easy homemade dinner recipe also uses a Guinness Stout to give this delicious meal a huge flavor boost. This is definitely one of my favorite St. Patrick’s Day recipes!

There are a lot of options out there for Shepherd’s Pie, but I think you’ll find that this amazing recipe might just be the best Shepherd’s Pie you’ll ever make.

Why I love this recipe

• Everything in one casserole dish – You have your protein, your starch, and your vegetables all combined into one great recipe
• Made from scratch – This classic Shepherd’s Pie recipe is the epitome of comfort foods, made completely from scratch and topped with mashed potatoes.
• Makes a great St. Patrick’s Day dinner – This recipe is the perfect St. Paddy’s Day meal that your family is guaranteed to love. When creating this I wanted to put a fun little spin on the traditional meal. Adding a Guinness Stout to deglaze the pan and mixing in some extra sharp shredded Irish cheddar cheese gives this delicious dinner an additional Irish spin.

Ingredients needed to make Shepherd’s Pie

There are two components to making a Shepherd’s Pie – the filling and the mashed potatoes.

Filling ingredients include

• ground beef (you can use lean ground beef, ground chuck, or ground lamb if you prefer)
• onion
• celery
• stout beer
• butter
• all-purpose flour
• beef broth
• tomato paste
• Worcestershire sauce
• frozen vegetables that include green beans, peas, carrots, and/or corn. Fresh veggies can also be used but frozen is easy.

Mashed potato layer ingredients include

• potatoes – Yukon gold or russet potatoes
• butter
• buttermilk
• egg yolk
• Irish cheddar cheese

Ingredient Variations

• Beer – the Guinness stout can be replaced with other beer like an Amber Ale. Red wine also works well.
• Potatoes – For a different flavor and more fiber, sweet potatoes can be used in place of the russet/gold potatoes.
• Buttermilk – You can swap this out with some sour cream when making the mashed potatoes.
• Ground beef – A completely different variation of Shepherd’s pie is to use ground turkey in place of the beef. If you do this, replace the beef stock with chicken broth.

How to Make Shepherd’s Pie

The full and complete recipe is found in the recipe card below, but here is a high level summary with step-by-step process photos so you know what to expect.

Cook the meat mixture

1. Using a large skillet, brown your ground meat with onion over medium heat. After it has been cooking for about 15 minutes add the celery.
2. Pour on some Guinness stout and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to deglaze. Throw in some butter and allow it to melt, then sprinkle it with flour and stir. Allow the flour to cook for several minutes before adding beef broth.
3. After the beef broth is mixed in you’ll add tomato paste, Worcestershire, and salt. This meat filling is so full of flavor!
4. Next, the frozen vegetables can be added to the meat. Once everything has heated through, the mixture can be transferred to a baking dish.

Make the mashed potatoes

1. Using a large pot filled with cold water, boil the potatoes over medium-high heat until they are soft and tender, usually about 20 minutes. Drain and mash them well using a potato masher. Mix in the butter, buttermilk, egg yolk, and salt. You will also mix in half of the shredded Irish cheddar cheese. The egg yolk adds to the richness and creaminess.
2. Next, place the mashed potatoes on top of your beef mixture in an even layer.
3. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over the top.

Broil

Place the Shepherd’s Pie in the oven under the broiler on low until the top is a beautiful golden brown.

Cooking tips

• Save time by preparing the mashed potatoes while your meat is cooking. Homemade mashed potatoes ensure this classic meal is creamy and delicious.
• I love to use frozen mixed veggies in this meal for the simple reason that they’re easy and convenient. My favorite veggies to use in shepherd’s pie is the organic foursome from Trader Joe’s. It has exactly what I want in the exact portions.
• Storage: This recipe keeps well for a few days if refrigerated and stored in an airtight container.
• Reheating: This is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day. To reheat, allow the Shepherd’s Pie to come to room temperature and then gently reheat in the microwave on low power in one minute increments. Alternatively, you can reheat the casserole if covered with aluminum foil in the oven at 300°F until heated through.

Traditional Shepherd’s Pie vs Cottage Pie

Traditional Shepherd’s pies are made with ground lamb in a savory gravy, mixed vegetables and topped with mashed potatoes.

I should have called this recipe Cottage Pie, because traditional Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb and Cottage Pie is made with beef.

You can certainly make this recipe with ground lamb if you want it to be more authentic.

Other festive St. Patrick’s Day recipes:

You’ll definitely want to try these!

• Corned Beef Hash
• Irish Soda Bread
• Guinness Bangers and Mash with Stout Gravy
• Irish Cheddar Stout Bread
• Colcannon
• Irish Coffee
• And for dessert you might consider making a Guinness Chocolate Cake or a Guinness Float with Guinness Chocolate Sauce.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave me a comment below and let me know what you think!

This post was originally created in March 2015 and has been updated with more information and cooking tips. Don’t worry – I didn’t change the recipe!