Easy weeknight Shepherds Pie! – The recipe you need to cook this week!

Getting a quick and nutritious meal on the table on a weeknight can definitely be a challenge. Having this recipe for easy weeknight Shepherds Pie in your back pocket will save you again and again!

I don’t know about you, but I love eating vegetables! I can easily incorporate them into most of the meals that I eat. My husband, however, does not appreciate vegetables in the same way that I do. I often find myself begging him to eat the vegetables that I make for him, but to no avail. Sneaking them into dishes is even hard because he can detect them with no issue! This recipe, however, is the one that swoops in time and time again to save the day! He LOVES my easy weeknight Shepherds Pie and it is LOADED with vegetables!

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Shepherds Pie? On a weeknight?

Thats right! I take a few easy shortcuts in this recipe to make it a reasonable quick meal for a weeknight! You can make this meal ahead to toss in the oven when you’re ready to eat it, or, it’s easy enough that you can throw it together last minute with veggie scraps from your fridge! I use store bought mashed potatoes and whatever ground meat we have on hand along with any vegetables that we have hanging around in the veggie bin. This combo that I’m giving you today is hands down our favorite version!

What do I need to make Shepherds Pie on a weeknight?

My version of Shepherds Pie is a one pot type of meal! I love to use my cast iron skillet for this recipe, but you could use any oven safe skillet that you have. If you don’t have any oven safe skillets, do the prep work on the stove top in the skillet you have and transfer the ingredients to an oven safe baking dish for the baking portion of the recipe!

My main shortcut for this recipe is pre-made mashed potatoes from the grocery store. We used to give my mom a hard time when she would tell us that she started buying these, but once we tried them, we were sold! They are DELICIOUS! We love the Bob Evan’s brand of mashed potatoes and I buy them every time.

The other items you will need for this recipe are a pound of the ground meat of your choice (we like bison), whatever vegetables you have in your fridge, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce! Here is everything that I use in list form:

1. Ground Bison
2. Ketchup
3. Worcestershire Sauce
4. Seasoned Salt
5. Corn cut from the cob
6. Bob Evan’s pre-made mashed potatoes (you can find them in the refrigerated section of your grocery store)
7. Fresh Green Beans
8. Carrots
9. Celery
10. Onion Powder
11. Minced Garlic

How do I make easy weeknight Shepherds Pie?

Prep –

For starters, you will need to prep your vegetables. I like to do this while my meat is browning in the skillet, but you could also prep your veggies ahead of time to cut down on prep time! I cut my vegetables into small bite sized pieces so the cook quickly in the skillet. The only mincing that I do is for the garlic but I typically just use minced garlic from the jar for the time savings! I don’t even peel the carrots for this recipe, I just make sure to wash them well and get to chopping.

Filling

Next, you will need to brown your meat. I add a pound of ground bison to my pre-heated iron skillet with about a teaspoon of oil. I like to season the bison with onion powder and seasoned salt to taste. Once the meat has browned completely, I add in my garlic and sauté for a few seconds. Next, I add in my chopped vegetables and cook until they have started to soften slightly. I add in my ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and mix to combine thoroughly.

Topping

While my filling is cooking, I heat the mashed potatoes according to the package instructions in my microwave. Once the filling is thoroughly combined and tastes like I like it, I simply scoop the container of mashed potatoes out onto the top of the filling mixture. I use a spoon or spatula to smooth the mashed potatoes over the top of the filling and make sure to push the potatoes all the way to the edges of the pan to create a nice seal. This step is optional, but I like to take a fork and create a cross hatch pattern on the top of the potatoes to create peaks and valleys on the potato topping. This creates crunchy bits on the potatoes when you bake them and it is DELICIOUS.

Baking!

Lastly, all you need to do is add your Shepherds Pie to a preheated 425 degree oven and bake for 20-25 mins. I like to turn the broiler on high for the last 2-3 minutes to get a nice crunchy top! If you made your Shepherds Pie ahead of time, I would recommend baking at 375 for 35-40 minutes to heat through completely.

In my opinion, this one pot meal includes your side dishes so I don’t even mess with making anything to serve on the side! A simple side salad would be a a delicious companion if you are feeling fancy though!

Here is the recipe for easy weeknight Shepherds Pie!

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