Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie with Brown Butter Potatoes
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This mushroom shepherd’s pie is rich, cozy, and topped with golden, brown butter mashed potatoes that bake up crisp around the edges. It’s comfort food at its absolute best.
This mushroom shepherd’s pie is cozy, hearty, and packed with rich, savory flavor. The mushroom filling brings deep umami to the dish, while the browned-butter mashed potatoes on top bake into a golden crust that’s crisp around the edges and creamy underneath. It’s exactly the kind of dinner I want on colder evenings.
The brown butter potatoes really make this recipe special. Browning the butter adds a rich, nutty flavor that takes simple mashed potatoes to another level, and as the pie bakes, the top becomes beautifully golden and almost flaky in spots. Breaking through that crisp top into the creamy potatoes underneath is one of the best parts of the whole dish.
I love how simple and familiar the ingredients are here, too. Mushrooms, onion, garlic, carrots, tomato paste, and Worcestershire come together into a rich, deeply flavorful filling that tastes like it simmered all afternoon. It’s comforting, cozy food at its best.
Additions
Mushroom shepherd’s pie is a great fridge clearing recipe – it’s versatile, so many additions will taste great. Here are some ideas:
- Extra veggies: Add whatever is left in the fridge! Frozen peas or corn, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, or bell peppers all taste great!
- Bacon bits: For more savory flavor, sprinkle in some chorizo or bacon bits.
- Cheese: 10 minutes before your dinner has finished in the oven, pull that baking dish out and add a layer of grated cheese. It’ll bubble up for gooey goodness! We like the taste of cheddar cheese.
- Mashed potatoes: Change up the mash! Top it off with a sour cream and chives mashed potatoes or roasted garlic mashed potatoes.
- Ground meat: You can change up the flavor by changing up the protein you use. Use veggie meat, lamb, or ground beef.
What to serve with mushroom shepherd’s pie
With all those delicious veggies in this mushroom shepherd’s pie, it totally works as a complete standalone meal! You can round it out by serving up a side that contrasts the richness of this comforting meal, like a crispy kale salad or brussels sprouts caesar salad. Other delicious sides that go well include roasted root vegetables, garlic butter asparagus, or peas and carrots!
Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Brown Butter Potatoes
- 2 lb potatoes (peeled and cut into large cubes)
- ⅓ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 clove garlic (finely minced)
Mushroom Shepherd's Pie
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion (minced)
- 1 ½ lb mushrooms (halved or quartered)
- 1 ½ lb ground meat (see notes)
- 2 large carrots (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Put the potatoes in a large pot, cover them with water, and bring to a boil. Boil until the potatoes are soft, about 15 mintues. Drain them through a colander, add them back into the pan, and mash well.2 lb potatoes
- Make the brown butter while the potatoes are boiling. Melt the butter (or ghee) over medium heat. Keep it on the heat until it is fragrant and many brown specks appear. Remove from the heat and stir in the thyme and garlic. Pour the brown butter over the mashed potatoes and stir through. Salt the potatoes well.⅓ cup butter, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, 1 clove garlic
- While the potatoes are cooking, begin the shepherd's pie. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they have released their liquid and are starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the ground meat (or veggie meat) and carrots and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 large onion, 1 ½ lb mushrooms, 1 ½ lb ground meat, 2 large carrots, 4 cloves garlic, ¼ cup tomato paste, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
- Transfer the mushroom shepherd’s pie to an ovenproof baking dish. Top with the brown butter mashed potatoes and spread them evenly over the top. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until it is hot and starting to bubble at the sides.
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Just excellent! So flavourful. A hit with everyone. Making it again right now.
This turned out awesome! I used portobello mushrooms and impossible beef, and added a bit of veggie stock because it seemed a touch dry, plus a layer of peas below the potatoes. Really nice recipe! I love the brown butter in the potatoes.
My husband and I were sick over Christmas last year and I made it when we were on the mend. Outside of soup, it was the perfect comfort food. I couldn’t wait to make it again this year and had friends over to help us eat it. The only thing I did different was add 3 heaping teaspoons of Herbs de Provence to the meat/ (ground Turkey) mushroom mixture (and whipping cream to potatoes). Definite crowd pleaser if all like mushrooms!
We’ve made this twice and used it as one of our alternatives to a Thanksgiving Turkey. The brown butter adds an added rich flavor. I added 3-4 oz of cream cheese for an even creamier ash potato topping.
So glad I tried this. Excellent flavor and very easy.
This looks amazing, I am going to make it tomorrow! What type of mushrooms do you recommend? I am so excited!
We use regular brown mushrooms. But I bet a mix of different mushrooms would be delicious, too!
Loved this! Made it without meat so doubled up on the cremini mushrooms, plus added cut up fresh green beans in with the carrots 🥕and onions.
LOVED the browned butter 🧈 also doubled the garlic 🧄 and added grated cheese 🧀 to the mashed potatoes before topping the vegetable filling! Sprinkled smoked paprika on top with just a pinch more cheese!😜 It was a crowd pleaser!
Looks delish, I’ll have to try it out.
Made this tonight with ground venison and added in a couple turnips. Delicious!
Haven’t made it yet, but looks delish. Question: has anyone tried it with cooked lentils instead of veggie ground or real ground beef? I don’t like veggie ground and we are vegetarian (mostly, so I guess we’re flexitarian).
Thank you.
We haven’t tried it with lentils yet, but we do have a different vegan shepherd’s pie that is made with lentils. You can check that one out for reference! https://www.theendlessmeal.com/curried-vegan-shepherds-pie/
A nice combination of mushrooms and lamb mince
Oh MY delicious!!! This was a hit! I used 2lbs of riced cauliflower instead of the potatoes and it is a great substitute!! This is in the “family favorites” list!
That’s great to know that you like it with cauliflower rice. Great sub!
Mmm, it looks incredibly delicious and appetizing! I’m going to start cooking this amazingly mouth-watering dish as soon as I finish writing this comment. I like your writing style, it sounds colorful and appetizing. I also really like mushrooms in the recipe. If I cannot find Worcestershire sauce here, is it possible to replace it with some other kind of sauce or is it important to add Worcestershire? Thank you very much for your blog and detailed creative recipes, I appreciate it!
You could try a small splash of fish sauce, Maggi sauce or soy sauce. If you don’t have any of those, just omit it. There is still lots of flavor in this recipe even without it. 🙂
Just made this, was very good.
I added some cinnamon to the meat mixture (debated a touch of nutmeg also) and replaced a bit of salt with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (not enough to make it Asian tasting — I just love it for a partial salt substitute sometimes). I needed to use up bacon and green cabbage so in it went too (browned them with the onions).
Great website, just stumbled upon it!
That’s so great to hear!!
How many does this recipe serve?
It will serve at least 4 people. 🙂
Hi can i freeze the mushroom sheperds pie
You sure can!