The most delicious gluten-free shepherd's pie recipe is a comfort food classic! It's a flavorful, savory filling made with ground lamb and veggies topped with the creamiest parmesan mashed potatoes.
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My readers have been asking for more cozy winter recipes. We have recently added a brand new gluten-free sausage gravy recipe and cozy GF-loaded potato soup.
Naturally, shepherd's pie was up next on the classic comfort food list. While great for a cozy dinner at home, it is also a great alternative to homemade corned beef on St. Patrick's Day!
This GF shepherd's pie is perfect for any night of the week when you're craving something hearty, filling, and comforting. It's made with either ground lamb or beef and the perfect combination of mixed veggies smothered in a rich gravy and topped with creamy mashed potatoes.
It's so simple yet so delicious and loaded with filling ingredients!
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📖Why This Recipe Works
- Traditional Recipe. This is just like any classic shepherd's pie recipe, ground lamb and all, but with potato starch to thicken instead of flour.
- Customizable. Keep this recipe as-is or sub in your favorite meat and veggies.
- Family-Friendly. Shepherd's pie is a comforting dinner that the whole family will love!
🧾Ingredient Notes
This recipe is made with mostly basic ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen! A simple meat mixture and an easy, 6-ingredient mashed potato topping.
Meat Filling
Ground Lamb: You can also use ground beef or ground turkey if preferred. If you use ground turkey, I recommend chicken broth instead of beef broth.
Fun fact, cottage pie is essentially shepherd's pie (also sometimes spelled shepards pie) just made with ground beef instead of lamb.
Vegetables: Our veggie blend is made up of a mix of white onion, carrot, celery, and frozen peas. If you like, feel free to play around with other veggies too! Try frozen corn, frozen green beans, frozen mixed veggies, mushrooms, or bell pepper.
Vegetable Oil: You can also use olive oil if that's what you have on-hand.
Garlic: You can use freshly minced or pre-minced garlic. If you don't have either, garlic powder will work in a pinch.
Seasonings: We're creating the best flavor with a simple blend of fresh thyme leaves, kosher salt, and ground black pepper.
Tomato Paste: Tomato paste adds flavor depth and richness to the filling.
Potato Starch: Keeps this recipe gluten-free and thickens the gravy. If you don't have potato starch, you can use corn starch instead. However, corn starch is quite a bit more absorbent, so start with less and add more only as needed.
Beef Broth: Beef stock adds tons of flavor to the meat and creates the base for the gravy.
Worcestershire Sauce: A splash of Worcestershire gives the shepherd's pie a salty, umami flavor. Gluten-free soy sauce can be substituted.
Potato Topping
Potatoes: I like to use russet potatoes for their light and fluffy texture. Feel free to use another variety, like Yukon gold, if preferred.
Heavy Cream: Make the potatoes super smooth and creamy.
Butter: I recommend unsalted butter so you can control the saltiness of the potatoes.
Parmesan Cheese: Cheese is optional, but does add a delicious salty flavor to the potatoes.
See the recipe card for exact quantities.
⏲️How to Make Shepherd's Pie Gluten Free
This hearty meal is the ultimate comfort food. It's hearty and delicious, but requires very little effort and time to whip up!
Step 1- Mashed Potatoes
In a large stockpot, combine potatoes, cold water, a bay leaf, and a pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.
Now, a couple of potato tips! First, be sure to peel and cut them into 1-inch cubes before cooking. The peel can take on an unpleasant, chewy texture when boiled, and cutting them into cubes helps them cook more quickly.
Second, start them in cold water! This helps them cook more evenly for a fluffier, creamier texture.
Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and discard the bay leaf. Return to the pot, and shake over high heat until dry. Wet potatoes won't properly seal the pie. So don't skip the drying step.
Next add in the butter, half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until creamy, then stir in the cheese.
Be sure not to over-mash! Over-mixed potatoes can become sticky and gluey.
Step 2- Ground Meat Filling
While the potatoes are boiling start on the lamb filling.
In a large skillet, heat oil, then add onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté for 3-4 minutes, then mix in garlic, thyme, and ground lamb. Season with salt and pepper and brown the meat until cooked through. This takes only about 3 to 5 minutes!
Before proceeding with the recipe, make sure that you drain any excess grease off of the meat. If it's too oily, you'll end up with a greasy shepherd's pie!
Next, stir in the tomato paste and cook for a minute or so. Browning the tomato paste will give a richer flavor.
Sprinkle the potato starch over the top. See the photo below. You don't want to simply sump in the starch. it is important to sprinkle it throughout the dish to prevent clumping.
Then pour in the broth and add the Worcestershire sauce. Bring the meat mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then simmer over low heat until thickened.
Be sure to stir constantly so it doesn't stick and burn on the bottom.
Step 3- Bake
transfer the ground meat mixture into a medium-sized casserole dish and spread it out into an even layer. Top with the prepared mashed potatoes, then carefully spread them out to cover the whole thing.
You want to seal the edges as best as possible to prevent the sauce from bubbling out. Once the potatoes are evenly spread out you can use a fork or the back of a spoon to add the classic swirl to the top of the mashed potatoes.
Bake at 400ºF for 25 minutes or until the potatoes start to turn golden brown on top. If the potato mixture isn't as golden as you prefer you can broil the top for 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove and cool for 10 to 15 minutes to let the filling thicken up, then dig in.
🥗What to Serve with Traditional Shepherd's Pie
This shepherd's pie is hearty and filling as a stand-alone dish. But, of course, you can't go wrong by adding a starter. I like something vibrant and green like our house salad, broccoli and asparagus soup, or celery soup.
Enjoy a generous helping of shepherd's pie alongside I like to use gluten-free crescent rolls or gluten-free garlic bread for sopping up all that delicious gravy.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tip
Place the casserole dish onto a sheet pan in the middle rack of the oven. The sheet pan will catch can bubbles or drips.
🌡️Storing Leftovers
Leftover shepherd's pie can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and foil in the freezer for up to 2 months.
When you're ready to serve again, thaw overnight in the fridge if frozen, then warm back in the oven at 350ºF until heated through. You can also warm smaller servings in the microwave.
Make Ahead
You can prep the pie through assembly and store it in the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days. Set at room temperature while you preheat the oven. Bake according to recipe instructions.
More Gluten-Free Dinner Recipes
💬Frequently Asked Questions
No, Shepherd's pie is traditionally made without any cheese. However, this recipe does list parmesan as an add-in for the mashed potatoes. Feel free to omit if you prefer to make yours cheeseless.
If you want to make your shepherd's pie even cheesier, layer the top with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese or mix some directly into the potato layer.
Technically, no. Most shepherd's pie recipes use flour to thicken the meat filling. Luckily, it's super easy to substitute in other thickening agents to create the best gluten-free shepherd's pie recipe.
Potato starch is the best substitute for flour in shepherd's pie. For this recipe, I use potato starch to thicken the filling. If you don't have potato starch, you can swap it out for cornstarch instead, although you will want to start with less and add more only as needed. Cornstarch is super absorbent, so you don't need much.
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📖 Recipe
Gluten-Free Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
Potato Topping
- 1 ½ pounds russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1-2 bay leaf
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt plus more for salting the water
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper or ⅓ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
Meat Filling
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup white onion diced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced small
- 1 celery stalk picked
- 1 pound ground lamb see note on substitutes
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons potato starch or GF all purpose flour or arrowroot starch
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup English peas fresh or frozen
Instructions
Potato Topping
- Place the potatoes in a large stockpot. Cover the potatoes with cold water and add the bay leaf, and add a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, 10 to 12 minutes.1 ½ pounds russet potatoes, 1-2 bay leaf
- Drain the potatoes in a colander and discard the bay leaf. Return the potatoes to the hot pot. Shake over high heat until dry.
- Add butter, cream, salt, and pepper. Mash the potatoes. Add the parmesan cheese to the potatoes. Stir until well combined.¼ cup heavy cream, 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, ¼ cup parmesan cheese
Meat Filling
- In a large saute pan heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, and ground lamb. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown until the meat is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Drain excess grease, if any.2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 cup white onion, 2 carrots, 1 celery stalk, 1 pound ground lamb, 2 cloves garlic, 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle with the potato starch and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the stock and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring, until the sauce has thickened, 10 minutes.2 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 tablespoons potato starch, 1 cup beef broth, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ cup English peas
- Stir in the peas and set aside while you mash the potatoes.
Assembling The Casserole
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Add the lamb mixture and spread evenly into a casserole dish (roughly 9x13). Top with the mashed potatoes. To create a seal start at the edges and work in. Once you have a flat top you can add a decorative swirl to the potatoes, if you like.
- Place on a sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Start the potatoes first.
- While the potatoes are boiling, prep the meat filling.
- When the sauce is ticking the potatoes should be ready to drain.
- Stir the peas into the lamb mixture and set aside while the potatoes are drying.
- Mash the potatoes and assemble the pie.
- Use dairy-free milk and vegan butter and skip the cheese in the potatoes.
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