Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potatoes
These Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potatoes are a hearty comfort-food dinner for the perfect kid-friendly meal. These loaded baked potatoes are filled with savory ground beef in gravy and corn shepherd’s pie gravy.
I originally shared this recipe on October 25th, 2013. I have updated some of the content to share it with you again today.
Table of contents
Why We Love Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potatoes
These Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potatoes are a mash-up of loaded baked potatoes and shepherd’s pie. They’re a new comfort food classic to serve for a family-friendly dinner.
The first time I made this recipe was a chilly evening early last spring. I think it sort of happened by accident. It was dinner, and I was making shepherd’s pie with potatoes and frozen corn from our CSA. And I ran out of time. Instead of making buttermilk mashed potatoes, I ended up throwing the potatoes in the microwave to bake them. Then I just topped the potatoes with the beef and corn mixture sort-of like loaded baked potatoes.
So I have been thinking about them since. This time they were even better because I baked the potatoes in the oven, which as you know, gives them that nice crusty skin. I also topped them with sharp cheddar cheese, like a real loaded baked potato. Of course, you can bake the potatoes in under a half hour if you microwave them so that’s always an option for a busy weeknight.
More Shepherd’s Pie Recipes
Ingredients For Shepherd’s Pie Stuffed Potatoes
- Baking potatoes: scrubbed (about 2 ½ pounds)
- Neutral cooking oil: such as Canola oil or avocado oil
- Ground beef: Traditional Shepherd’s pie is made with ground lamb which would also work well. Or ground turkey or chicken would be great in these too
- Garlic + Onion: for the base of the beef gravy
- Seasoning: dry thyme, salt, ground pepper
- Dry red wine: for the sauce- omit if you do not cook with alcohol
- All-purpose flour: to thicken the sauce. You can thicken with a cornstarch slurry to make gluten-free
- Chicken broth: for the sauce. You can use homemade chicken stock instead.
- Worcestershire: the secret ingredient! It adds so much flavor to the beef mixture
- Corn kernels: green beans would also work
- Tomato paste: to thicken the sauce and make it richer tasting
- Shredded extra sharp cheddar: this is optional
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Bake Potatoes
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place potatoes in oven and bake until the exterior is crispy and the interior is soft and fluffy, about 1 hour.
Step 2: Brown Beef
When the potatoes have about 20 minutes left, heat 1 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon until browned, about 5 minutes. Scrape beef mixture into a sieve and drain off fat.
Step 3: Cook Onion
Return skillet to medium-high heat, add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil, garlic, onion, thyme, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often until the onions are browning, 3 to 5 minutes.
Step 4: Make Shepherd’s Pie Filling
Add red wine and simmer, scraping up any browned bits until the wine is almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture, and stir to coat. Add broth, Worcestershire and the beef and bring to a simmer, stirring often, until the mixture thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Add corn and tomato paste and simmer until the beef is cooked through, the sauce is thick and the vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
Step 5: Stuff the baked potatoes
Transfer the potatoes to plates or shallow bowls. Split the potatoes open lengthwise with a knife. Ladle the beef mixture over the potatoes. Top with cheese if using.
Expert Tips and FAQs
This is a great meal prep meal. Bake the potatoes and keep separate. The shepherd’s pie filling can be made and kept in a separate container in the fridge. Reheat and stuff the potatoes with the filing before serving.
Keep the gravy filling separate from the baked potatoes if possible. Wrap the potatoes in foil and refrigerate. Cool the beef filling and transfer to a resealable container. Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat until steaming hot to serve.
Using the microwave: Heat the potatoes separately from the gravy. Heat the gravy, stirring occasionally until hot. Cut the baked potatoes open and place on a microwave safe plate. Microwave for 2 minutes per potato to heat through. Fill the potatoes with the beef mixture.
Using the stovetop and oven: Wrap the potatoes in foil so that they will not get too brown. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot all the way through (you can cut open with a knife to check if they are hot in the middle.) Heat the beef mixture in a saucepan over medium-heat while stirring. If necessary add a little broth or water to thin the beef mixture.
Use green beans instead of corn.
Use lamb instead of beef for traditional English Shepherd’s pie.
Use the lentil filling from our Lentil Shepherd’s Pie recipe to make this vegetarian.
Use the chicken filling from our Chicken Shepherd’s Pie recipe.
Used Baked Sweet Potatoes for a healthier twist.
We love them with simple sauteed green beans, roasted broccoli with garlic and almonds, or a simple side salad like our Garden Salad or Massaged Kale Salad.
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potatoes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
These Shepherd’s Pie Loaded Baked Potatoes are a hearty comfort-food dinner for the perfect kid-friendly meal. These loaded baked potatoes are filled with savory ground beef in gravy and corn shepherd’s pie gravy.
Ingredients
- 4 medium baking potatoes, scrubbed (about 2 1/2 pounds)
- 3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
- 12 ounces ground beef, preferably grass-fed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/4 cup dry red wine
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3/4 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place potatoes in oven and bake until the exterior is crispy and the interior is soft and fluffy, about 1 hour.
- When the potatoes have about 20 minutes left, heat 1 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon until browned, about 5 minutes. Scrape beef mixture into a sieve and drain off fat.
- Return skillet to medium-high heat, add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil, garlic, onion, thyme, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often until the onions are browning, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add red wine and simmer, scraping up any browned bits until the wine is almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture, and stir to coat. Add broth, Worcestershire and the beef and bring to a simmer, stirring often, until the mixture thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Add corn and tomato paste and simmer until the beef is cooked through, the sauce is thick and the vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Transfer the potatoes to plates or shallow bowls. Split the potatoes open lengthwise with a knife. Ladle the beef mixture over the potatoes. Top with cheese if using.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Oven and Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 potato plus 3/4 cup shepherd’s pie beef gravy
- Calories: 555
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 627 mg
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 62 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 27 g
Delicious! Made this last night, it was easy and everyone loved it. I even missed a step in the instructions and only had beef broth and it was still delicious! Definitely making this again!
Hi Brooke, Thanks so much for letting me know that you liked it. Yay! I appreciate your coming back by to review and rate. Thank you!
What a great idea! Love the shepherds pie filling in a creamy potato! Such a great recipe.
I am happy to hear you liked it!
Such a wholesome recipe, my family loved the recipe. It was too good.
So glad they liked it!
Such a great way to make baked potatoes super special!
So glad that you liked them! Thanks!
If only Shepherd’s Pie actually had beef in it, which any competent cook would know doesn’t.
Hey there Bob, So kind of you to stop by and extoll your wisdom upon me. I am flattered that you took the time out of your very important day to do so. With respect, I am aware that shepherds tend sheep and not cows (nor lentils nor chicken which I have also added to “shepherd’s pie” recipes over the years.) Love your neighbor and happy cooking.
Somehow I missed these when you posted them, and I just saw them on Cabot’s page. These are spectacular! Shepherds pie is a family favorite… these are being made this week!!
Oh, glad to know Cabot re-posted. They must have known that this is totally Cabot Extra-Sharp on there:) I hope you all like them.
Katie these are so creative!! I love loaded baked potatoes and I especially love how these are an entire meal in one!
Thanks Ari. I wish I could say I came up with the idea on purpose:)
Yum! I can’t remember the last time I made shepherd’s pie but it certainly is one of Tim’s favorite comfort foods. I sure do love stuffing my potatoes so this is another wonderful idea! Thanks for the inspiration! Hope you are doing well, Katie 😉
Min, Thanks so much. I am so well. I hope Tim likes these:)
Hi Katie,
Glad you stopped by my blog so I could discover your lovely blog. This is such a great recipe and perfect for the chilly weather. I’m really excited about cooking with pumpkins.:)
Thanks for coming by here too Nancy.
This sounds delicious Katie! Perfect way to use my white potatoes which have been feeling neglected. I’ve been too busy using up my sweetpotatoes:) Thanks!
Its funny you mentioned that because I was considering making this with sweet potatoes. I think a twist on this twist may be in my future.
Don’t you love those “accident recipes?” Can’t wait to make butternut squash soup and making my second batch of chili (with sweetpotatoes) tomorrow. And will be adding these loaded potatoes to the chilly weather mix too!
That is a great name for these types of recipes. Butternut squash is high on my priority list too.
Oh, Katie, I love this! Gorgeous and so healthy! Just one side note, little tiny one.:) Canola oil is GM rapeseed. I would substitute with EVOO or coconut oil. I didn’t know myself until I googled recently.
Thanks Olena. EVOO or Coconut would work great. I keep both of them in my pantry. Personally, I stick to certified organic Canola oil. That way you know it is not GE. (You are absolutely right the other 93% is GE!!) I really like the Spectrum Brand. For more on this topic, here is a great article about Canola and safety from EatingWell based on awesome reliable peer reviewed research: http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/how_healthy_is_canola_oil_really
OK, that makes sense.:) Tx for the info.:)
Thanks for bringing that up Olena, it’s a great topic.