Pub-Style Shepherd’s Pie
with White Cheddar & Thyme Mashed Potatoes
- Milk
- Wheat
No matter the weather, we firmly believe that there’s nothing better than homey, comforting classics that warm you from the inside out. If you wholeheartedly agree, look no further! Enter: our chefs’ ode to the classic shepherd’s pie. The base is a rich, tomatoey beef filling chock-full of fresh veggies and herbs. On top, swoops of creamy, thyme-flecked mashed potatoes are sprinkled with sharp white cheddar, then broiled to create an irresistibly cheesy crust. It all bakes up in one dish, making it easy as... well, you know!
Ingredients
3 ounce
Carrot
¼ ounce
Thyme
1 unit
Onion
2 tablespoon
Sour Cream
½ cup
White Cheddar Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Crushed Tomatoes
2 unit
Beef Stock Concentrate
16 ounce
Potatoes
10 ounce
Ground Beef
1 tablespoon
Flour
(Contains: Wheat)
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
2.5 ounce
Celery
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Heat broiler to high. Wash and dry produce. • Dice potatoes into ½-inch pieces. Strip thyme leaves from stems; roughly chop leaves. Trim, peel, and halve carrot lengthwise; slice crosswise into ¼-inch-thick half-moons. Finely dice celery. Halve, peel, and finely chop onion.
• Place potatoes in a medium pot with enough salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to pot. • Mash potatoes with sour cream, 1 tsp chopped thyme, and 2 TBSP butter (3 TBSP for 4 servings) until smooth and creamy, adding splashes of water as needed. Season generously with salt and pepper. • Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• While potatoes cook, heat a drizzle of oil in a medium, preferably ovenproof, pan (use a large pan for 4 servings) over medium-high heat. Add carrot; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until slightly softened, 2-3 minutes. • Add celery, onion, and a large drizzle of oil; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until veggies are just tender, 5-7 minutes. TIP: If veggies begin to brown too quickly, add a splash of water. • Stir in garlic powder and 2 tsp chopped thyme; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.
• Add beef* to pan with veggies and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. • Add flour; cook, stirring, until thoroughly combined, 1 minute.
• Add half the crushed tomatoes (all for 4 servings) and ½ cup water (¾ cup for 4) into pan with beef mixture. • Stir in stock concentrates and bring to a boil. Cook until mixture is very thick, 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat. • Taste and season with salt and pepper. TIP: If your pan isn’t ovenproof, transfer mixture now to a baking dish.
• Top beef filling with an even layer of mashed potatoes, leaving a gap around edge of pan. Evenly sprinkle with cheddar. • Broil until browned, 3-4 minutes. TIP: Watch carefully to avoid burning. • Serve directly from pan.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Apr 2026- Flavor: Many love the rich, comforting taste, though some find it too tomatoey or bland and suggest adding Worcestershire sauce for deeper flavor.
- Ease of prep: Takes longer than expected with lots of chopping and prep work, but customers say it's worth the effort for this hearty comfort food.
- Suggestions: Cook and drain the ground beef separately to reduce grease; add more vegetables like peas, corn, or extra carrots for better balance.
- Leftovers: Reheats beautifully and often provides 3-4 servings, making it great for meal prep and next-day lunches.
- Potato ratio: Many want more potatoes to properly cover the meat filling and create a thicker, fluffier top layer.
Reviews from our home cooks
The Pub Style Shepherd's Pie is SO good, and it's so easy to make. The flavors of the onion, celery, and carrots meld together to make a yummy base for the hamburger. Then, adding in the beef concentrate and tomato sauce... well, the flavor is beyond good! The creamy, buttery mashed potatoes with the cheese on top of the meat mixture makes for a heavenly dish. Add some garlic bread and a side salad, and you will be filled up to the brim with YUM! You can't go wrong with this dish.
This one's a favorite we order every time it comes up in the rotation (which has only been twice in three months- SO much variety!!) The bit of white cheddar on top of the potatoes makes it absolutely perfect. Love the fresh thyme and the delicious crunch from the carrots and celery! My favorite shepherd's pie!
The PubStyle Shepherd's Pie was amazing! It was one of the longer recipes that I have tried, but it was worth it! The flavor is amazing. You could probably make do with half of the onion. At least with the one that I got, it was huge! All in all, you can't go wrong with this dinner.
I have made shepherd's pie many times over the years and this is hand's down the BEST recipe I've ever tasted! The broiled white cheddar is genius, but the flavor of the meat mixture is perfectly balanced.
I don't really like Shepherd's Pie, but ordered this for my husband. I ended up LOVING it!!! Best I've ever had BY FAR! The herbed potatoes and the addition of the white cheddar MADE this dish, as did the fresh thyme.
My husband used to love my Shepherds pie. The Pub Style Shepherds pie is now his new favorite. And it is much easier to prepare than my recipe. A win for both of us!
This recipe is easier than others you've presented. I love fresh thyme but dried thyme is only slightly less flavor but much less prep time. I could make this my goto Cottage Pie recipe. NOTE: This is not a true Shepherd's Pie. Still love it.
I've been wanting to try a shepherds pie for some time now so I am glad I went for it when I saw this recipe! Absolutely delicious! The cheddar on top of the mashed potatoes with the beef mixture is superb. It's my second favorite meal that i've tried from hello fresh! Will order again and again!
The pub shepherd's pie is great for adults. If you are serving children, you'll have to chop the carrots in a food processor to a fine consistency or just leave out 50% of the vegetables from the recipe.
To be clear, it was delicious, but I've tried a couple Hello Fresh shepherd's pie recipes and I have some thoughts. The mash potatoes never cover the rest. Part of why I want a shepherd's "pie" is so I can portion it out easily. This ended up being too messy to serve that way. Second, this might be a note across the board with Hello Fresh for me, there is such thing as too much shortening! Butter and oil and sour cream and white cheddar and ground beef are all delicious things, but whole thing was steeping in excess oil by the end.
