I think Shepard’s Pie is one of the coziest dishes ever. When I went to Ireland after college with a friend, we (sort of embarrassingly) had Shepard’s pie 7 days in a row. It’s the exact type of food you crave in a country that is gloomy a majority of the time. I wanted to create something a little different than the original – introducing Shepard’s pie stew (with fluffy potato pillows and cheese crisps!).

Traditionally Shepard’s pie is made with lamb. I don’t really eat lamb so I opted for ground beef for this recipe but feel free to use either! Instead of the traditional mashed potato layer, I made the cutest little fluffy potato pillows and instead of melted shredded cheese I did crispy fried cheese on the side (completely optional, but incredibly easy. Directions for the below!

HOW TO NAIL THIS DISH

the crispy fried cheese

This part is super easy, it looks fancier than it is. But if you’d rather just opt in for adding the cheese at the end in it’s classic shredded form, feel free! It’ll still be delicious. For the crispy cheese, simply heat a skillet on medium, spray with cooking oil, and add shredded cheese in small circles throughout the pan. Let the cheese melt, sizzle, and brown. Flip the cheese after a couple minutes to fry the other side. Flip again once the cheese starts to brown. Remove from heat and set on a cooling rack to crisp up! That’s it!

the fluffy potato pillows

The first and most important thing to have to make silky smooth mashed potatoes is a potato ricer. This is the one I have, but you can buy whichever one you’d like. It’s not necessary but it will give you the smoothest potatoes. For the piping part, I used a cupcake frosting piper. This way also would only work with a ricer, because chunky potatoes won’t pass through that piper tip. If you don’t have a piper, you can easily create one using a plastic baggy – like in this tutorial here. If you don’t want to use a piper at all for this step, you can just use a spoon to put little blobs of potato onto the baking sheet, it won’t look as pretty but you’ll get the same effect!

the shepard’s pie stew

The stew itself has all of the same classic ingredients as a Shepard’s pie, just in a different form <3. There are a few herbs in here, like rosemary, sage, and thyme. People ask a lot if herbs are necessary, and while technically no they’re not “necessary” to make this dish, they add a lot of flavor and they’re in there for a reason! Do what you will with that information 🙂

As always, leave a comment below if you tried this recipe! xoxo

Shepard’s Pie Stew

megan sheley

A twist on the coziest Irish classic, this Shepard's pie stew has all of the same great flavor and comfort with a few unique spins. Topped with fluffy potato pillows and fried cheese crisps, this is a new winter staple.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine Irish

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• 1 potato ricer
• 1 cupcake icing piper can create your own with a plastic baggy with the tip cut off

Ingredients

  

• 2 lb. Yukon gold potatoes 1.5lbs for mashed potato, 1/2 lb for the stew
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp butter unsalted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp white Pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 lb. ground beef or ground lamb for the more traditional take
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• 1.5 cup chopped carrots
• 1 white onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 6 cups beef broth 5 at first, and 1 a little later with the slurry
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 cup frozen peas
• 1.5 cup frozen corn
• shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• parsley, chopped for topping

Instructions

 

• Peel 1.5 pounds (of your 2 lbs.) of your yukon golds. Set aside. Chop your veggies to get everything prepped (onion, carrots, garlic) set aside. In a large pot, submerge peeled potatoes in cold water with 1/2 tbsp of salt. Cover and bring to a boil.
• In a separate large pot, add in your meat and mince it til ground. Add in a hefty pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 3 minutes and add in chopped onions. Saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add in garlic, potatoes, and carrots. Saute for a few minutes.
• Add in your herbs – dried sage, died rosemary, dried thyme, and ground mustard, stir to coat your veggies and meat.
• Add in 5 cups of beef broth, 3 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste. Stir well. For the last cup of broth, add to a small bowl with 1/4 cup flour and mix WELL to create a slurry. Bring your soup up to a light boil (boil for 10 minutes) and then add in your slurry. Add in your frozen peas and frozen corn. Continue to keep soup boiling for another 10 minutes.
• Check the doneness of your potatoes (you should be able to put a fork through them). Strain the potatoes and using a potato ricer, mash your potatoes into a large bowl. In the same pot your potatoes were boiling in, put back on the stove on medium heat. Melt 2 tbsp of butter, add in 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp white pepper (can use black pepper too), and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Mix well.
• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. On a greased baking sheet, pipe your potatoes (using an icing piper or create your own with a plastic baggy) onto the baking sheet into little balls, spray the tops with cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes. At the very end, broil for 2-3 minutes to get golden brown (keep an eye on these as every oven is different).
• This part is definitely optional, you can just add shredded cheese if that’s your vibe, it’ll save time also! But if you want the cheese crisps, this part is super easy. To a large skillet on medium heat with cooking spray, add shredded cheese to the pan in small circles. Let it sizzle and brown and then flip to fry the other side, flip again if needed. Remove from pan and set on a cooling rack to crisp up.
• Serve your soup with the potato pillows on top, cheese crisps on the side for dipping, and chopped parsley! Enjoy!

Keyword Irish, Shepard’s Pie