Easy Beef and Cabbage Shepherd’s Pie
This easy Beef and Cabbage Shepherd’s Pie skips the peas and replaces them with green cabbage cooked down with carrots, onions, and savory ground beef, which technically makes this a cottage pie. Everything gets coated in a rich gravy made with thyme, broth, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce, then topped with creamy mashed potatoes and a dusting of parmesan for a subtly toasty crust. It’s classic comfort food with a few updates that make it extra flavorful but still totally beginner-friendly. To round out the meal, we suggest making a batch of our Irish Cream Chocolate Cupcakes!
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes
- 2 lb2 lb2 lb Potatoes, Russet
- 4 Tbsp4 Tbsp4 Tbsp Butter, Salted, or can use unsalted

- .5 cup.5 cup.5 cup Milk

- .5 tsp.5 tsp.5 tsp Sea Salt, (may need more if you use unsalted butter)

Beef & Veggies
- 1 lb1 lb1 lb Ground Beef, (we like 90/10)

- 1 cup1 cup1 cup Carrots, diced (about 2 medium carrots)
- .5 whole.5 whole.5 whole Green Cabbage, chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 whole1 whole1 whole Onion, diced (sweet or yellow variety)
- 2 tsp2 tsp2 tsp Thyme, Fresh, leaves only (from about 8-10 sprigs)

- 2 Tbsp2 Tbsp2 Tbsp Butter, Salted, divided (or can use unsalted)

- 3 Tbsp3 Tbsp3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 2 Tbsp2 Tbsp2 Tbsp Tomato Paste

- 1 Tbsp1 Tbsp1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 cups2 cups2 cups Beef Broth

- 1 pinch1 pinch1 pinch Sea Salt, or to taste

- 1 pinch1 pinch1 pinch Black Peppercorns, Ground Fresh, or to taste

Additional Toppings & Garnishes
- .25 cup.25 cup.25 cup grated parmesan cheese
- .5 Tbsp.5 Tbsp.5 Tbsp Chives, minced
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Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Making the Potatoes
- Add the potatoes to a pot of cold salted water (fill the pot with enough water to cover the potatoes and season with 1 tbsp of salt)
- Bring water to a boil and cook the potatoes for about 20 to 25 minutes more, or until tender.
- Drain the potatoes, then mash with butter and milk.
- Season with 1/2 tsp salt.
Making the Beef and Veggies
- Add the beef to a large sauté pan set over medium heat and cook for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.
- Add the vegetables and thyme and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the tomato paste to the pan and mix it with the beef and veggies.
- Make a well in the center of the pan and add 2 tbsp of butter, then mix in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the beef broth and mix it with the meat and vegetables. Then stir in the Worcestershire sauce.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for a couple minutes until the sauce thickens and becomes more of a gravy.
Assembling and Baking
- Transfer the meat and vegetable mixture to a large baking dish.
- Top the meat and vegetables with the prepared mashed potatoes. Run the tines of a fork all over the mashed potatoes to give them some texture and spread them to the edges of the dish. Top the mashed potatoes with parmesan.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Optional: broil on high for 2-3 minutes until the parmesan on top is golden brown.
- Garnish with chives.
Notes
- Set timers! This will help you stay on track.
- Don’t skip the cabbage. The cabbage gives this shepherd’s pie so much texture and flavor and oomph.
- Cook the beef first. Even lean beef has some fat in it, which will come out when it’s cooking, meaning you don’t have to add as much oil to the pan.
- Cook the beef while the potatoes are boiling. The beef takes about 8 to 10 minutes to cook, which is just under the time it takes to cook the potatoes
- Don’t overcook the potatoes. If you cook them too long, they’ll soak up too much water and won’t have enough structure to rest on top of the meat and veg in the baking dish.
Add a Note
My Notes:
About This Recipe
Show nutritional information
Entrées Meat Sugar Alcohol Free| This is our estimate based on online research. | |
| Calories: | 366 |
| Fat: | 18 g |
| Carbohydrates: | 28 g |
| Protein: | 22 g |
| Cholesterol: | 75 g |
| Sodium: | 456 mg |
| Fiber: | 4 g |
| Sugars: | 5 g |
| Sugar Alcohol: | 0 g |
| Calculated per serving. | |




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