Shepherd’s pie is a kind of savoury meat pie that’s served under a topping of mashed potatoes rather than in a pie crust. I enjoy a nice hearty and tasty soup on cold days and this soup, inspired by shepherd’s pie, is amazing! The main pie ingredients including ground beef, onions, carrots and peas form the basis of the soup and the flavours of the pie’s gravy: garlic, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary and thyme, are included in the soups broth. The potato component of pie, the mashed potato topping, is included in this soup in two ways, as mashed potatoes mixed into the broth and as diced potatoes. The mashed potatoes mixed into the broth make the broth so nice and thick and creamy! I like to season the mashed potatoes in shepherd’s pie with butter, sour cream and aged white cheddar cheese and they all go well in the soup! Is this Shepherd’s pie soup the most perfect cold weather comfort food?
Shepherd’s Pie Soup
All of the flavours of shepherd’s pie is soup form with the mashed potatoes mixed in, making for a thick and creamy broth!
ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 pound ground beef (or lamb)
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups chicken broth (or beef broth)
- 1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 cup aged white cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Place the potatoes in a pot, cover in water, bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the beef, onions and carrots in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, breaking the beef apart as it cooks, until the beef is cooked through, and drain off any excess grease.
- Add the garlic and tomato paste to the beef and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add half of the broth, the remaining potatoes, the Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves to the beef, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, when the potatoes from step 1 are cooked, drain them and puree them, along with the sour cream and butter and the remaining broth before mixing into the soup.
- When the diced potatoes in the soup are tender, add the cheddar and let it melt into the soup, about 2 minutes.
- Add the peas and heat, about 2 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Option: Add 1 cup diced celery along with the onions and carrots.
Option: Add 1 cup corn along with the peas.
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Shepherd—-Sheepherder—why are we using beef? The kind of pie with beef instead of lamb is cottage pie
There’s always a Karen in the crowd. Who gives a dang.
I agree. Wait till they hear I used ground turkey. Gasp! Also made a lighter version by just puréeing part of the potatoes to thicken the soup without adding butter etc. Delish!
Kevin, this sounds yummy, but did you really mean to have “1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced” in two separate places. LOL
Sorry, I just reread the instructions and found the other potatoes. Mea culpa.
In step 1 you say boil the potatoes, then in step 4 you say add the remaining potatoes? What remaining potatoes? You didn’t specify dividing them at any point.
I just saw your note on the potatoes following the instructions.
I am eating soup as we speak. Very tasty! I only had one pound of potatoes feel like it’s plenty. Thanks for delicious recipe.
FYI shepherd’s pie is made with lamb , cottage pie is made with beef
Who cares
Not always …
I’m assuming you can freeze this soup?
Yes you can!
Shepards pie contains lamb not beef. If it has beef it is cottage pie.
Shepard’s raise sheep. We eat at least one lamb a year . I will try this recipe with only lamb and with a half lamb half beef recipe . Garlic goes well with lamb, Thanks. Now if Campbell’s soup would return Scotch Broth to it’s offerings I would be truly grateful.
I made this today for a bunch of friends who are spending the afternoon at our house working on a project. They loved it and all want the recipe. All had seconds and the entire batch is gone. Great recipe. Will make again. Will try ground lamb next time.
This soup was absolutely delicious. I was wondering why put the potatoes mashed it in, but it made the soup. It made it creamy and absolutely delicious. All your recipes have been amazing so I said to trust you, and it was amazing. Thanks for the recipe. We always comment at the dinner table that it’s Kevin recipe and he sure can cook.
I’m glad you like it! The mashed potatoes really take it to the next level!
Sounds awesome. I am planning to adjust recipe to use crockpot and hand blender prior to adding sour cream, peas, and sautéed mushrooms.. I think this soup is a winner!
Seeking information on whether any adjustments were made for this recipe using a crockpot. How long is it recommended it be cooked on what I would guess would be on low setting?
Cook the meat first, throw everything, other than the cream, cheese and peas, into the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours or high for 2-6 hours. If you want the potatoes to have some texture, leave them out, after the soup is cooked, add the diced potatoes and cook on high until tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, mix in the cream and cheese, let the cheese melt in and then mix in the peas.
This looks and sounds wonderful. I plan to crockpot it soon.
Just made this recipe today. It’s a keeper!
Is there a typo in this recipe? Adding 2 cups of broth to the mashed potatoes turned them into essentially a very thing soup, BEFORE adding to the other ingredients!
The recipe includes potatoes in two ways. Half are used to make mashed potatoes and they are mixed with some broth before being mixed into the soup, which makes the soup thicker and creamier. The other half are cubed chunks in the soup.
Fantastic soup on this cold winter night. I will make it with ground lamb next time just to taste the difference.
Don’t really care what you call it, it’s a winner and will be in our rotation.
I read the recipe and understood it perfectly, mashed and diced, outstanding soup. Thank you for the good dinner
I am a vegetarian And will sub the lamb/beef with beans or lentils. Some brown rice or whole wheat noodles will complete the protein. Should be delicious.
Why not say : “ 3 pounds of potatoes, peeled and diced. Divided into 2 equal portions.” Or something like that. I agree that it is confusing. I always cook a recipe the first time I make it exactly as the recipe states. I read those instructions 3-4 times, then just went with my 6 decades of cooking experience and intuition. Good rainy day soup. I’ll make it again.
Yummy, yummy, yummy, as usual with all of your soup recipes that I have tried. Thank. I used beef because I had it on-hand. I wish use lamb next time.
If he said it’s Shepard pie its Shepards pie. KAREN!
It’s SHEPHERD’S pie. Here you are making personal attacks, and you can’t even spell or use punctuation correctly! Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
I was intrigued by the name! I just made the soup following your instructions- it is delicious! Great for a cold, snowy day here!
Where does the butter come in
The butter is used in the mashed potatoes in step 5. Enjoy!
This is so very yummy !! We all love it !! Thanks so much for the fabulous recipe !!
This soup is beyond yummy !! We all love it !! Freezes so well too !! Thanks for sharing this recipe !! I am always amazed at what you are able to do in your teeny kitchen !!
Can this recipe be pressure canned?
I’m not very familiar with pressure canning and I’m not sure it it can be.
Can you do this in a slow cooker? If so, how long? Looking forward to making this!
You can make this in the slow cooker. Cook the meat first, throw everything, other than the cream, cheese and peas, into the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours or high for 2-6 hours. If you want the potatoes to have some texture, leave them out, after the soup is cooked, add the diced potatoes and cook on high until tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, mix in the cream and cheese, let the cheese melt in and then mix in the peas.
Are the nutrition facts for the whole recipe?
The nutritional info is per serving.
Any suggestions for using an instant pot?
Stick it on your head while you cook everything? 🙂 🙂 🙂
You could put it into slow cooker mode and follow the guidance above, or pressure cook it for much less time (I’m not an expert on converting the times but I would have thought 15 minutes might do the trick, someone correct me. I would add the cream and cheese in afterwards, and cook the peas separately to throw in at the end (otherwise they will turn into the gray overcooked objects my mother used to serve up).
Just made this today!!! DELISH!! Yea it’s 90 outside, but soup is always.. this is hardy and simple… it’s a keeper for our house!! Thank you for sharing
Made this when we were sick and it was delicious! Super comforting. The whole family loved it. Pretty easy to make.
Shepard’s pie is not always made with lamb! I cannot wait to make this I will be using BEEF in my SHEPARD’S PIE:) gonna go to the store to buy the things I need and make it on fri I am very excited to try this out. Ilove soup and this sounds delish!
I just made this today and followed the recipe as written. A very flavorful soup and so good on this cold evening. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s a definite keeper.
What kind of potato do you find works best?
You can use pretty much any potatoes, I like yukon gold or russet!
What a fun idea for a soup! I’m not a fan of making Shepherd’s pie, but this recipe sounds easy and delicious.
Thank you for sharing this delicious Shepherd’s Pie Soup recipe! The blend of mashed potatoes and savory ingredients sounds perfect for a cozy meal. I’m excited to try it out!
This Shepherd’s Pie Soup sounds like the perfect cozy meal for cold days! Love the idea of creamy mashed potatoes in the broth—can’t wait to try it!
Kevin, this recipe was right on. If folks would just read the recipe carefully before they make comments. We all know it can be called Cottage Pie or Shepherd’s Pie depending on if you use ground beef or lamb-so it’s whatever you choose. Directions could not have been more clear and the soup was wonderful. Thank you.
Shepherd’s pie soup sounds incredible! I love the idea of combining all those comforting flavors in a cozy bowl. The addition of vegetables and hearty meat makes it so satisfying. It’s perfect for chilly days. I can’t wait to try this recipe and warm up with a delicious twist on a classic!