This easy Instant Pot shepherd’s pie is a great option when it’s hot and you don’t want to turn your oven on. We made a shepherd’s pie with ground beef in the oven several times but it was time to make it in our Ninja foodi pressure cooker.
Jump To
- Ninja Foodi Shepherd’s Pie
- Can you cook everything in one pot?
- Ingredient Notes
- Can you use leftover ground beef to make shepherds pie?
- Can you use ground turkey instead of ground beef?
- Tips for Success
- How do you brown the top?
- FAQ
- Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
- Is Cottage Pie the Same as Shepherd’s Pie?
- What to serve with
- How to save leftovers
All about easy pressure cooker recipe ideas nowadays? Us too. If you love old fashioned reminding you of your grandmother kinda’ meals this is going to bring back some memories like out other Easy Instant Pot recipes here.
Ninja Foodi Shepherd’s Pie
This meal isn’t just if you have an IP, there are many other pressure cooker brands out there. Crockpot Express and Mealthy are great too but if you have a Ninja Foodi you can get this done all in one pot! You just air crisp at the end instead of transferring to the oven on broil to get golden brown on the top.
Can you cook everything in one pot?
Yes, you see you can make the filling and pressure cooker mashed potatoes at the same time y’all. Just use a trivet to keep the taters off of the bottom and everything will get nice and tender together. You don’t even have to precook or saute the hamburger at the beginning! That is my kinda’ one pot meal.
Ingredient Notes
As for the best potatoes I think russet is the best. They are high in starch which makes them into creamy Instant Pot garlic mashed potatoes or plain if you’d rather. Red are firmer and take a bit longer to get super tender to mash and Yukon just don’t have the flavor I feel good old fashioned Idaho taters do. 😉
I typically will use lean Ground beef but turkey, chicken, lamb or even ground venison works great for this. NO need to precook this on the saute function first, you just break up and leave on the bottom.
Beef broth is best for the necessary liquid needed. It has more flavor than water does, stock is fine too.
Frozen vegetables work best so they take a bit longer to cook and don’t soften too much with some diced onions .
I chop up some air fryer garlic after it’s been roasted and throw that in too. Cornstarch + water are used to create a roux for thickening
Can you use leftover ground beef to make shepherds pie?
Yes for sure, this even makes for a great leftover taco meat recipe. You would just skip the browning step is all so actually makes it quicker to make overall.
Can you use ground turkey instead of ground beef?
Yes you can, we have done this for our Shepherds Pie with Ground Turkey which is lower in fat than the other.
Tips for Success
You don’t even have to set it to saute at the beginning and cook the meat. Instead just break it up and leave it on the bottom with the trivet and russets set on the top. You could leave some of the skins on for texture and fiber but if you want the top real smooth it is better to just remove the skins at the beginning.
Choose any type of Instant Pot steamed vegetables you like but I highly suggest using frozen, and do not choose broccoli as it cooks too fast. You could use any sort of variety of potatoes I just prefer russet for taste and texture. The protein is up to you but should be ground.
How do you brown the top?
If you want to take it a step further and brown the top you’d want a 9×9 or 8×8 pan to layer it and throw it under the broiler. You could add some shredded cheese to the top too for added YUM.
FAQ
You want the insides to be creamy and thick. To do this, drain the meat once it is cooked. Then add a bit of flour or cornstarch with the meat and veggies to thicken to your liking.
If you had the Instant Pot air fryer lid you could do the same technique as the Foodi where you don’t have to transfer out of the pot to brown the top. I mean cottage pie isn’t really pie per say but in this case yes you can. We have air fryer frozen pot pie too, you could use the bake function and bake another type if you wanted too. SO yes you could.
Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3 large potatoes, + ingredients to make mashed taters to your liking
- 12 oz frozen vegetables
- 1/2 small onion
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp thyme
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 2 tbsp cornstarch, + 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Place the ground beef in the Instant Pot. Break it up into small pieces. Add onion, worcestershire, garlic, thyme and broth. Stir everything together. Place trivet on top of the beef mixture.
- Add peeled and chunked potatoes on to the trivet. Close lid, cook on High pressure for 12 minutes. Once cooking time is complete, quick release the pressure.
- Remove the potatoes and mash with preferred ingredients in a separate bowl; butter, milk, sour cream etc. Add the cornstarch slurry, salt, pepper, and frozen vegetables to the Instant Pot.
- Stir until the mixture has thickened. Scoop the beef/vegetable mixture into a baking dish (I used a 9×9 dish). Top with mashed potatoes. Broil on high for a few minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Remove and garnish with additional thyme, if desired
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is Cottage Pie the Same as Shepherd’s Pie?
Ok so these two terms are kinda’ synonymous. If you say either one most people will picture the same dish. The biggest difference is the type of protein that is used. Back in the day ground lamb was used, only. You can certainly do the same but that is much more expensive than beef for sure so nowadays turkey or ground beef are bought.
What to serve with
I mean if you ask me this whole thing is a complete meal. You have protein, vegetables and your starch on the top. If you felt like you needed something cool on the side I would probably serve up a side salad since everyone here loves that. More veggies is always a win of course, or homemade rolls.
How to save leftovers
If you don’t eat this in one sitting it saves quite well actually. I would transfer it out of this dish since you likely won’t have a lot left and into a sealed container. Then store in the fridge and when you’re ready to reheat move it to a microwave safe dish.
Heat in 30 second increments until warmed to the center. If you wanted to add some cheddar cheese to the top, add that after 1.5 minutes and heat for about 20 to melt. That is my favorite way to eat this the next day for lunch, if my husband doesn’t get to it first.
Can you edit tomention the need for a pressure cooker lid/ function on the ninja foodie? It was confusing and I ended up fudging because I started with the air fryer.
So when it says pressure cook you use the lid that is not attached with the pressure cook button. When any recipe says air fry you use the lid that is attached and the air crisp button
@The Typical Mom, thanks for replying. I was in a hurry so I just skipped to recipe and started from step 1. The only indication of pressure cooker mode was the usage of insta pot. Granted that should have alerted me that it was pressure cooker time, but also would be nice to have read pressure cooker in step one. And in step 2 I realized I messed up, b/c it said release pressure. I tried it again and it turned out great! Thanks!
OH good!!
Can I use any metal trivet in my InstaPot.