Mini Shepherd’s Pie

This Mini Shepherd’s Pie recipe turns a classic comfort food into individual, muffin-tin portions with flaky crust, savory meat filling and creamy mashed potatoes.

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“Oh my gosh! A friend brought these to a potluck on St. Paddy’s Day, but she used mini muffin tins to make them bite-size. So delicious!!”

—Cindy

This Mini Shepherd’s Pie Recipe Turns A Classic Into Individual Portions

When comfort food meets party food, you get mini shepherd’s pies. These individual shepherd’s pies are baked in a muffin pan, making them easy to serve and perfect for everything from St. Patrick’s Day gatherings to casual family dinners.

This mini shepherd’s pie recipe is made in a muffin pan, producing perfectly portable, single serve versions of a classic comfort food dish. Each one has its own flaky crust, rich meaty filling, and mashed potato topping. No serving spoon required!

Mini Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

• meat – while purists will say that shepherd’s pie is always made with lamb (and that if you make it with beef, it’s really cottage pie), feel free to use either ground lamb or ground beef.
• refrigerated pie crust – forms a sturdy, flaky base that makes these truly portable. We like Pillsbury brand.
• prepared mashed potatoes – more on this below, in the Home Chef Tips.
• vegetables – we bought a bag of frozen peas and carrots mix for this single serving shepherd’s pie, and it worked out great!
• onion – you’ll cook a little bit of chopped onion right along with the meat, to add more flavor. If you want to add a few cloves of garlic, you certainly can.
• flour – this will help thicken the gravy, once you add the broth.
• tomato paste – this adds a little acid and umami to the dish.
• broth – we like to use beef broth for the most flavorful gravy, but if you have some chicken broth in the fridge that needs to be used up, feel free to use that here.
• Worcestershire sauce – the anchovies in this sauce add a huge bit of umami to meaty dishes.
• thyme – you can use 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves.
• salt and pepper – for seasoning everything in these mini cottage pies.
• paprika – a little sprinkle helps the top of each mini shepherd’s pot pie brown nicely.

How To Make Mini Shepherd’s Pies

1. MEAT. Cook the meat and onion in a large skillet, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the flour, tomato paste and salt and pepper and cook 1 minute, then stir in the broth, thyme and Worcestershire and cook until the mixture is thickened.

2. VEGGIES. Remove the meat mixture from the heat and stir in the peas and carrots.

3. CRUST. Soften the pie crust and lightly roll it out on a floured surface. Using a round cutter (or small bowl), cut each crust into 6 rounds. Press the crust rounds into muffin cups and par bake until lightly browned.

4. ASSEMBLE. Divide the meat mixture between the muffin cups, then spread the mashed potatoes over the meat mixture.

5. BAKE. Sprinkle with paprika and bake until potatoes are golden brown.

Make-Ahead, Storage And Reheating

• Make-Ahead: This is a project that can easily be split over two days. On Day 1, make the meat and vegetable filling, and then chill it in the refrigerator. On Day 2, make and bake the pie crust muffin cups, add the meat filling and potato topping, and bake.
• Refrigerate: If you have leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and place them in the fridge uncovered for a few hours until they are fully chilled, then cover them with the lid and keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days.  
• Reheat: In the oven or microwave until warmed through.
• Freeze: Chill and then freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.