Shepherds pie with instant potatoes is super easy to make with ground beef and vegetables. Top with a bit of cheese for added deliciousness. A complete meal cooked in a cast iron skillet in no time.

Shepherd's Pie with Instant Potatoes
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Ok so I am all about simple dinner ideas, that is where this Shepherd’s pie with instant potatoes recipe came about. Yes you can make it entirely homemade but that is just not me. I mainly made it with leftover mashed potatoes which lead me to this other alternative method. Let me show you how. (affiliate links present)

I did make our Shepherd’s pie with ground beef from scratch once, from then on it was with leftovers after the holidays. Semi homemade was much more my style. I didn’t want to wait until after Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas though so what would work between those holidays? Bagged taters of course.

Easy Shepherd’s Pie with Instant Potatoes

There are several brands out there you can buy at the grocery store. I buy mine in bulk online so I always have a few on hand, you can see what they look like here. There is plain, a butter variety and I like the garlic style a lot too. You can leave as is or fold in some shredded cheddar cheese for OH MY…..

instant mashed potatoes

Idahoan Instant Potatoes Shepherd’s Pie

Can you make this with a batch of freshly made Ninja Foodi baked potatoes? Of course. If you were going to go thru all that though, just follow our Instant Pot Shepherd’s pie instructions start to finish. This is when you don’t want to mash at all. Using packaged taters means you just need milk or water to make.

  • Your protein could be ground beef, lamb, sausage, or make Shepherds Pie with Ground Turkey
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Carrots that have been peeled and diced
  • 2 stalks celery diced
  • Onion diced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Minced garlic
  • Tomato paste
    • Shepherd’s Pie with Instant Potatoes and tomato soup works too
  • Frozen peas are great
  • Tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • Beef broth
  • 1/2 c cheese optional, for the top of your potatoes
  • 1 pkg instant mashed potatoes is what we used because we think this brand tastes the best

If you wanted to thicken the meat mixture you could whisk 2 tbs cornstarch and your broth together and add that. I use a lot of the same ingredients to make shepherds pie Crockpot style too. Love low and slow? Try that one too!

Instant Potatoes shepherds pie

Skillet Shepherd’s Pie

There really isn’t a lot to this. I mean the base you brown of course in the pan, add your other ingredients in that to make a sort of ground beef casserole. Prepare your tater or cauliflower mash for lower carbs and top.

  • Heat a skillet over medium heat and once hot, add the ground beef. Cook until browned and no pink remains, about 5-6 minutes. Drain and remove beef to a clean plate, then add the diced carrots, celery and onion to the skillet.
  • Cook vegetables until softened, then stir in salt, pepper and garlic. Cook 1 minute. Return the beef to the skillet, then add the tomato paste, green peas, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth.
  • Bring to a simmer over medium high heat, then reduce heat to medium until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat.
  • Mash until smooth your instant potatoes according to the directions on the package.
    • You can fold in shredded cheddar cheese for added yum.
  • Preheat oven to broil. Scoop mashed potatoes over the top of the beef mixture and smooth down to create an even layer to cover the skillet or baking dish.

Set in on the middle rack to brown the top. You could add shredded cheese to the top as well if desired.

skillet shepherds pie

Shepherd’s Pie with Instant Potatoes No Gravy

Yes you could pour bottled or homemade onion gravy over the top but it really isn’t necessary. Cottage pie like this already has so much flavor. Some like a dollop of sour cream on top or in with the meat to add a creaminess.

To save any of your leftover shepherd’s pie recipe just transfer into a sealable container. It doesn’t really matter if the top and bottom get a bit mixed up. Then seal the lid and store in the fridge for up to 3 days, the next day is best to reheat and enjoy.

Transfer it into a microwave safe dish and heat 30 seconds at a time. Stirring occasionally throughout the time so it gets hot all the way thru to the center it makes a great lunch for you the next day too. Add some shredded cheese on the last stint so it melts and that is incredible.

Shepherd's Pie alton brown

Cast Iron Shepherds Pie

Alternates and substitutions would be that you could add any sort of vegetables you want. Only one I would suggest that you didn’t use would be broccoli as it cooks much faster than others and will get too soft. I like using diced frozen mixed vegetables because they’re the same size and already prepped.

A mix of small pieces of carrots, peas and green beans works really well because they cook all at the same rate. If you do use fresh produce just note that it may get softer than the other, not counting carrots which remain decently firm no matter what form they start in.

From start to finish this will take about 30 minutes until ready to eat and golden brown on top. Fork tender feel good meal that will bring back all the memories and feel goods for sure, get started with the instructions below.

easy shepherds pie with frozen vegetables

Can you save Shepherds Pie

Of course, it actually reheats quite nicely if you store it properly. First wait until it is cool and then transfer it into a sealed container. It can save in the fridge for 3-4 days but ideally I would enjoy it again within 24 hours.

How do you reheat leftover Shepherd’s Pie

I just use the microwave really. You don’t need anything to be crisped, just heated all the way thru to the middle of it. Move it to a plate, cut in half and separate so it can heat thru easily. Heat for about 2 minutes and enjoy again. You could add a little shredded cheese to the top near the end to melt too!

You can jump to recipe below and get started. There is nutritional information listed but refer to the packaged potatoes you bought for a more accurate number for calories and/or saturated fat content. If you tweak it a bit and it turns out great let us know below so we can try that change too.

Shepherd's Pie with Instant Potatoes
5 from 3 votes

Shepherd’s Pie with Instant Potatoes

By The Typical Mom
Shepherds pie with instant potatoes is super easy to make with ground beef and vegetables. Top with a bit of cheese for added deliciousness.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Servings: 8
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Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Ingredients 

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1/2 tsp salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 c peas, frozen
  • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 1 c beef broth
  • 1/2 c cheese, optional, for potatoes
  • 1 pkg instant mashed potatoes

Instructions 

  • Heat a skillet over medium heat and once hot, add the ground beef. Cook until browned and no pink remains, about 5-6 minutes. Remove beef to a clean plate, then add the diced carrots, celery and onion to the skillet.
  • Cook vegetables until softened, then stir in salt, pepper and garlic. Cook 1 minute. Return the beef to the skillet, then add the tomato paste, green peas, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth.
  • Bring to a simmer over medium high heat, then reduce heat to medium until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat.
  • Prepare instant potatoes according to the directions on the package, can fold in shredded cheddar cheese for added yum.
  • Set oven to broil. Scoop the potatoes over the top of the beef mixture and smooth down to create an even layer to cover the skillet. Place the in the oven and broil until the top of the potatoes are slightly browned.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 2oz, Calories: 224kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 47mg, Sodium: 420mg, Potassium: 373mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 2865IU, Vitamin C: 11mg, Calcium: 83mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main Course
Cuisine: American, german
Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

About The Typical Mom

Justine is the creative mind behind The Typical Mom and The Typical Family on YouTube. She began blogging about easy recipes, budget friendly activities for kids, and fun family travel destinations in September 2012.

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4 Comments

  1. So, my husband “hates” Shepherd’s Pie. I made your version, served it to him (without telling him what it was called) and he went back for THIRDS! I made it again tonight and he ate THREE servings again! I finally told him what it was called and he just shook his head and said, “I love it”! (By the way, I love it, too. Sooo delicious! Thanks so much for this recipe.)

  2. Trying for first time and /tweeting/ some. Used vegetable broth and instant potatoes with cheese in it. My British friend said it should be ok๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚Explained the very British way of making Shepard pie with lamb. So, trying . At least something different with ground beef.