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Shepherd's pie
Photograph of a dinner plate on which a helping of minced meat topped with mashed potato, served alongside peas.
Shepherd's pie served with peas,
a common accompaniment
Alternative namesCottage pie, hachis Parmentier
TypeMeat pie
Place of originBritain and France
Main ingredientsMashed potato with minced meat
VariationsCumberland pie,
Shepherdess pie
  • Cookbook: Shepherd's pie

Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or in French cuisine hachis Parmentier, is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked, formerly also called Sanders or Saunders. The meat used may be either previously cooked or freshly minced. The terms shepherd's pie and cottage pie have been used interchangeably since they came into use in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, although some writers insist that a shepherd's pie should contain lamb or mutton, and a cottage pie, beef.

The term "cottage pie" is first recorded in 1791. "Shepherd's pie" is later, first recorded in the nineteenth century. Some modern variations are vegetarian or vegan, using substitutes for meat and dairy ingredients.

Definitions and preparation

Potato-topped pies on sale in shop window
Vegetarian and beef shepherd's pies for sale

Some people in Britain call the pies made with beef "cottage pies" and those with lamb, "shepherd's pies". The major supermarkets do so,[1] and the distinction is backed by some reference works.[n 1][n 2] Other authorities[n 3] and cooks and food writers including Prue Leith, Caroline Waldegrave and John Ayto regard the two names as completely interchangeable.[n 4] Jane Grigson's 1974 recipe for shepherd's pie uses beef, and mentions that it is "sometimes called" "cottage pie".[8]

In Australia,[n 5] Canada,[n 6] and the US,[n 7] "shepherd's pie" is a common term for a dish of any meat covered in mashed potato. Food retailers in those countries apply the term "shepherd's pie" to beef-filled pies as well as those containing lamb.[n 8]

To make a basic shepherd's pie, fry onions until soft then add meat to cook through. Add herbs and stock and leave to simmer. Meanwhile boil and mash potatoes. Put the meat mixture into an ovenproof dish and cover with the mashed potatoes, then bake in the oven.[14][15]

History

Cottage pie

The term was in use by 1791. Parson Woodforde mentions "Cottage-Pye" in his diary entry for 29 August 1791 and several times thereafter. He records that the meat was veal but does not say what the topping was.[16] The dish was known under a different name in the early 19th century: in 1806, in her book A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Rundell published a recipe for "Sanders", consisting of minced beef or mutton, with onion and gravy, topped with mashed potato and baked as individual servings.[17][18][n 9] Sanders or Saunders could also have a filling of sliced meat.[20][n 10] According to Jane Grigson in English Food, mincing originally meant chopping something with a knife. "But with the first mincing-machines, prison, school and seaside boarding house cooks acquired a new weapon to depress their victims, with watery mince, shepherd's pie with rubbery granules of left-over meat."[22][8]

In 20th-century and later British usage the term cottage pie has widely, but not exclusively, been used for a dish of chopped or minced beef with a mashed potato topping.[3] Grigson records that that to make the dish go further, some recipes put in a bottom layer of potato before adding the meat and top layer.[23] The meat may be raw or previously cooked;[2] the latter was at one time more usual. Well into the 20th century the absence of refrigeration made it expedient in many domestic kitchens to store cooked meat rather than raw. In the 1940s the French-American chef Louis Diat recalled of his childhood days, "when housewives bought their Sunday meat they selected pieces large enough to make into leftover dishes for several days".[24] Modern recipes for cottage pie typically use fresh beef.[2]

Shepherd's pie

Pie with mashed potato topping, lightly browned on a plate, served with broccoli and cauliflower florets
Shepherd's pie in an English restaurant

A recipe for shepherd's pie published in Edinburgh in 1849 in The Practice of Cookery and Pastry specifies cooked meat of any kind, sliced rather than minced, covered with mashed potato and baked.[25] In the 1850s the term was also used for a Scottish dish that contained a mutton and diced potato filling inside a pastry crust.[26] Neither shepherd's pie nor cottage pie was mentioned in the original edition of Mrs Beeton's Household Management in 1861.[27]

More recently "shepherd's pie" has generally been used for a potato-topped dish of minced lamb.[2] As with beef, it was commonplace in the days before refrigeration to cook a Sunday joint to last in various guises throughout the week. Dorothy Hartley quotes a traditional verse, "Vicarage mutton", showing not only the uses to which the joint was put, but also the interchangeability of the terms "shepherd's" and "cottage" pie – that the latter can be made with mutton rather than beef:

     Hot on Sunday,
     Cold on Monday,
     Hashed on Tuesday,
     Minced on Wednesday,
     Curried Thursday,
     Broth on Friday,
     Cottage pie Saturday.[28]

Hachis Parmentier

The dish hachis Parmentier is named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, who popularised the potato in French cuisine in the late 18th century.[2] It is documented from the late 19th century.[n 11] It is usually made with chopped or minced lamb or beef; in either case it may be made with either fresh or left-over cooked meat. (The modern English term "hash" derives from the French hachis, meaning food "finely chopped".)[30][n 12]

In some recipes a layer of sauté potatoes is put in the cooking dish before the meat filling and mashed potato topping are added.[32] A more elaborate version by Auguste Escoffier, named hachis de boeuf à Parmentier, consists of baked potatoes, the contents of which are removed, mixed with freshly-cooked diced beef, returned to the potato shells and covered with sauce lyonnaise.[33]

Variations

There are no universally agreed ingredients for any of the variants. The recipes cited in the table show the varieties of titles and ingredients recommended by cooks and food writers from Australia, Britain, Canada, France, South Africa and the US.

Cook/writer From Name of dish Meat used Fresh or left-over Ref.
Mary Berry Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh [34]
Mère Biasin France Hachis Parmentier Lamb Left-over boiled[n 13] [35]
Paul Bocuse France Hachis Parmentier Beef, pork, veal, chicken, preferably mixed Left-over [36]
Robert Carrier US/Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh [37]
Felicity Cloake Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh, chopped, not minced [38]
Jean-Pierre Coffe France Hachis Parmentier Beef Left-over boiled, mixed with fresh calves' liver [39]
Elizabeth Craig Britain Shepherd's pie Lamb Left-over casseroled [40]
Rocco DiSpirito US Shepherd's pie Beef Fresh [41]
Fannie Farmer US Cottage pie Pork Left-over [42]
Jane Grigson Britain Shepherd's pie Beef or lamb[n 14] Fresh [14]
Michel Guérard France Hachis Parmentier Veal sweetbreads and duck gizzards Fresh [43]
Mark Hix Britain Shepherd's pie Beef and lamb Fresh [44]
Graham Kerr Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh [45]
Tom Kerridge Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh [46]
Prue Leith S. Africa/Britain Shepherd's pie or Cottage pie Beef Fresh [6]
Jean Paré Canada Hachis Parmentier Beef Fresh [47]
Marguerite Patten Britain Cottage pie Lamb Left-over [48]
Henri-Paul Pellaprat France Hachis Parmentier Beef Left-over [49]
Anne-Sophie Pic France Oxtail Parmentier Beef Fresh [50]
Gordon Ramsay Britain Shepherd's pie Lamb Fresh [51]
Jay Rayner Britain Cottage pie Beef and pork Fresh [52]
Gary Rhodes Britain Shepherd's pie Lamb Fresh [53]
Michel Roux, Jr.[n 15] France/Britain Hachis Parmentier Lamb Left-over roast [54]
Madame Saint-Ange France Hachis de bœuf au gratin Beef Left-over [55]
Keith Sarasin US Cottage pie Lamb Fresh [56]
Delia Smith Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh [15]
Delia Smith Britain Shepherd's pie Beef Fresh [57]
Martha Stewart US Shepherd's pie Beef Fresh [58]
John Torode[n 16] Australia/Britain Cottage pie Beef Fresh [59]
Antoine Westermann[n 17] France Hachis Parmentier Beef Fresh or left-over braised [60]
Anne Willan Britain/France/US Hachis Parmentier Beef Fresh [61]

Similar dishes

Fillings for other pies with a mashed potato topping are numerous, and include artichoke hearts and red peppers;[62] black pudding;[63] chicken and spinach;[64] chorizo;[65] curried chicken;[66] duck;[67] rabbit;[68] salmon;[69] salt cod;[70] turkey and ham;[71] and flaked white fish with shrimps in a white sauce.[72]

Other pies with non-pastry toppings include:

Name of dish Place of origin Description Ref.
Cumberland pie England Pies of this name exist in two versions: traditional Cumberland pies, still served in Cumbria, have a pastry case, but others have a lamb or beef or pork-sausage filling covered by mashed potato topped with cheese and breadcrumbs. [73][74]
Empadão Portugal Meat, often veal, stewed in a tomato-based gravy and layered several times between mashed potatoes. Poultry or fish is sometimes used instead of meat [75][76]
Escondidinho Brazil The name, indicating "hidden", describes the way sun-dried meat is covered with a layer of manioc purée. The dish often includes cheese and chicken; cod is sometimes used instead of beef. [77][78]
Hamburger pie United States Adds vegetables (often frozen or tinned) to the minced meat ("hamburger") mixture; sometimes condensed tomato or mushroom soup. Typically topped with cheese. Most versions use a mashed potato topping, but some use cornmeal mush. Some are multi-layer. [79][80]
Картофельная запеканка (Potato casserole) Russia Usually three layers: potato-meat-potato, using pork or beef (often extended with fillers) and egg or flour added to the potatoes to make it easier to portion from a large pan. Often served in Soviet school and company cafeterias. [81][82][83]
Pastel de carne Uruguay The filling is similar to that of a cottage pie, with the addition of sliced hard-boiled eggs. [84]
Pastel de papas Argentina, Chile Similar to cottage pie; may also contain peppers. [85]
Pastel tutup Indonesia Made with any of several meats, with vegetables such as carrots and green peas and boiled eggs, all topped with mashed potato. [86]
Pâté chinois Canada Also known in Canada as shepherd's pie, consisting of a bottom layer of beef, a middle layer of creamed sweetcorn, topped with mashed potato. [87]
Pióg an aoire Ireland The Irish for shepherd's pie. [88]
Shepherdess pie Other Also called gardener's pie, shepherdless pie or foragers' pie: a vegetarian version made without meat or a vegan version made without meat and dairy. [89][90]
[91][92]

See also

Notes, references and sources

Notes

  1. ^ Oxford Companion to Food: "In keeping with the name [of shepherd's pie] the meat should be mutton or lamb; and it is usually cooked meat left over from a roast".[2]
  2. ^ Oxford English Dictionary: "cottage pie: A dish of minced beef or (occasionally) other meat which has been topped with mashed potato and then baked or browned"; "shepherd's pie: a pie consisting of chopped meat and potatoes, covered with a crust of mashed potatoes browned".[3]
  3. ^ Brewer's Dictionary: "Cottage pie: Another name for shepherd's pie, made with minced meat topped with mashed potato. A distinction used to be drawn between the beef content of cottage pie and the lamb or mutton content of shepherd's pie, but there is no evidence that that was originally the case, and it is largely ignored nowadays".[4] Shepherd's pie, "A pie made with minced meat topped with mashed potato. The term was at one time applied strictly to such a pie made with lamb or mutton, but it is now used synonymously with cottage pie".[5]
  4. ^ Leith and Waldegrave: "The confusion over Cottage Pie and Shepherd's Pie is complete. Cottage pie used to denote the use of leftover cooked meat, either beef or mutton. "Shepherd's", naturally enough, meant that mutton was the meat used, usually pre-cooked. But today either name seems to mean either beef or lamb, made with leftover or fresh meat, the only certainty being the mashed potato top".[6] Ayto: "In present-day English, cottage pie is an increasingly popular synonym for shepherd's pie, a dish of minced meat with a topping of mashed potato".[7]
  5. ^ Australian Oxford Dictionary: "cottage pie = shepherd's pie"; "shepherd's pie: a dish of minced meat under a layer of mashed potato".[9]
  6. ^ Oxford Canadian Dictionary: "shepherd's pie: a dish of ground meat under a layer of mashed potato"; there is no entry for "cottage pie".[10]
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster Dictionary (US): "shepherd's pie: a meat pie with a mashed potato crust".[11] The dictionary has no entry for cottage pie.
  8. ^ The Australian chain Coles Supermarkets offers a shepherd's pie made with minced beef.[12] The photograph of the "shepherd's pies" immediately below the infobox of this article was taken in Vancouver and the meat is stated to be beef. Walmart (US) offers three different "shepherd's pies" made with beef; Costco (US) likewise sells shepherd's pies made with beef.[13]
  9. ^ In 1845 Eliza Acton published her recipe for "Saunders", similar to Rundell's, but with a layer of mashed potato underneath the minced meat as well as one on top. Like Rundell, she uses pre-cooked meat but adds, "A very superior kind of saunders is made by substituting fresh meat for roasted; but this requires to be baked an hour or something more".[19]
  10. ^ The name "Saunders" is still used in at least one cookery book for a similar dish made with corned beef.[21]
  11. ^ It is listed on a bistro menu in Le Petit Moniteur universel, 29 June 1892: "Escargots. Fraise de veau. Ravigotte. Navarin pommes. Salé aux choux. Hachis Parmentier. Œufs, saucisses. Poulet rôti chaud".[29]
  12. ^ In his Grand dictionnaire de cuisine (1873) Alexandre Dumas wrote, "When you have veal, beef, chicken, game or scraps of meat left over from dinner the night before, all you have to do is chop these left-overs neatly, and there are tools for that, until the whole forms a complete mixture."[31]
  13. ^ In Mère Biasin's version, rather than a single layer of ragout and a single layer of potato, there would be several alternating layers of each, with a potato one on the top.[35]
  14. ^ In the 1974 edition of English Food, Grigson states the dish should be made with beef;[8] in the 1992 edition she lists beef or lamb.[14]
  15. ^ "For me, the best shepherd's pie is made with leftover roast lamb, either shoulder or leg. In fact, I remember my sister and myself holding back on a Sunday lunch in case there wasn't enough left to make the pie."[54]
  16. ^ Torode comments, "The great cottage pie – whoever worked this one out was a genius".[59]
  17. ^ Westermann adds fennel to the mashed potato topping.[60]

References

  1. ^ Cottage pie Archived 11 December 2025 at the Wayback Machine, Waitrose; Shepherd's pie Archived 17 December 2025 at the Wayback Machine, Waitrose; Cottage Pie Archived 27 March 2025 at the Wayback Machine, Sainsbury's; Shepherd's pie, Sainsbury's; Cottage pie Archived 8 December 2025 at the Wayback Machine, Tesco; Shepherd's pie Archived 23 June 2025 at the Wayback Machine, Tesco; Cottage pie, Marks and Spencer; and Shepherd's pie, Marks and Spencer. All retrieved 3 February 2026
  2. ^ a b c d e Saberi 1999, p. 717.
  3. ^ a b "cottage pie". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)"shepherd's pie". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ^ Rockwood 2009, p. 307.
  5. ^ Rockwood 2009, p. 1207.
  6. ^ a b Leith & Waldegrave 1980, pp. 440–441.
  7. ^ Ayto 2012, p. 99.
  8. ^ a b c Grigson 1974, pp. 114–115.
  9. ^ Moore 1999, p. 1242.
  10. ^ Fitzgerald, Howell & Pontisso 2006, p. 939.
  11. ^ Lowe2016, p. 662.
  12. ^ Shepherds pie Archived 18 November 2025 at the Wayback Machine, Coles. Retrieved 3 February 2026
  13. ^ Shepherd's pie, Walmart; and Shepherd's pie, Costco. Both retrieved 3 February 2026
  14. ^ a b c Grigson 1992, pp. 140–141.
  15. ^ a b Smith 1987, p. 88.
  16. ^ Woodforde 1924, (Vol III), p. 295; and (Vol V), pp. 335, 347, 371, 378, 389, 393 and 410.
  17. ^ Ayto 2002, p. 299.
  18. ^ Rundell 1806, p. 39.
  19. ^ Acton 1845, p. 195.
  20. ^ Hughes 2017, p. 49.
  21. ^ Crook 1998, p. 84.
  22. ^ Grigson 1992, p. 141.
  23. ^ Grigson 1984, p. 70.
  24. ^ Diat 1946, p. 83.
  25. ^ Williamson 1849, p. 65.
  26. ^ Dallas 1877, pp. 255–256.
  27. ^ Beeton 1861, pp. index, viii–ix, xiii and xxx.
  28. ^ Hartley 1999, p. 160.
  29. ^ Anfossi, Marc. "Un bistro – fin de siècle" , Le Petit Moniteur universel, 29 June 1892, p. 2, column 5
  30. ^ "hash". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  31. ^ Dumas 1873, p. 619.
  32. ^ Saulnier 1978, p. 143.
  33. ^ Escoffier 1907, p. 391.
  34. ^ Berry 2008, p. 198.
  35. ^ a b Hayward 1988, p. 126.
  36. ^ Bocuse 1982, p. 278.
  37. ^ Carrier 1978, p. 30.
  38. ^ Cloake, Felicity. "How to make perfect cottage pie" Archived 13 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 21 October 2010
  39. ^ Coffe 1993, p. 312.
  40. ^ Craig 1940, p. 182.
  41. ^ DiSpirito 2005, p. 223.
  42. ^ Farmer 1942, p. 332.
  43. ^ Guérard 1992, pp. 108–109.
  44. ^ Hix 2005, p. 165.
  45. ^ Kerr 1991, p. 102.
  46. ^ Kerridge 2014, p. 193.
  47. ^ Paré 1997, p. 13.
  48. ^ Patten 1984, p. 150.
  49. ^ Pellaprat 1968, p. 374.
  50. ^ Pic 2015, p. 102.
  51. ^ Ramsay 2008, pp. 148–149.
  52. ^ Rayner 2016, p. 49.
  53. ^ Rhodes 2001, p. 115.
  54. ^ a b Roux 2009, p. 146.
  55. ^ Saint-Ange 2005, p. 374.
  56. ^ Sarasin 2024, p. 401.
  57. ^ Smith 1974, p. 80.
  58. ^ Stewart, Martha. "Shepherd's pie" Archived 9 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Marthastewart.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022
  59. ^ a b Torode 2008, p. 100.
  60. ^ a b Westermann 1999, p. 154.
  61. ^ Willan 1993, p. 92.
  62. ^ Chovancova 2005, p. 60.
  63. ^ Chovancova 2005, p. 42.
  64. ^ Chovancova 2005, p. 16.
  65. ^ Chovancova 2005, p. 56.
  66. ^ Chovancova 2005, p. 18.
  67. ^ Chovancova 2005, p. 32.
  68. ^ Chovancova 2005, p. 24.
  69. ^ Chovancova 2005, p. 48.
  70. ^ Chovancova 2005, p. 50.
  71. ^ "Turkey and ham pie". BBC. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  72. ^ Willan 2005, p. 46.
  73. ^ Orrey 2006, p. 40.
  74. ^ Lemm, Elaine. "What is Cumberland Pie?" Archived 11 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Thespruceats. Retrieved 14 May 2022
  75. ^ Scott-Aitken 2002, p. 258.
  76. ^ "Empadão de Carne" Archived 10 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Receitas Culinárias. Retrieved 14 May 2022
  77. ^ "Escondidinho recipe – Brazilian Wave". Brazilian Wave. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  78. ^ "Salted cod, Brasilian style Escondidinho". Terra do Bacalhau. Archived from the original on 19 April 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  79. ^ Smith 2008, p. 162.
  80. ^ Miller 2006, p. 378.
  81. ^ "Картофельная запеканка за 40 минут: рецепт времён СССР" [Potato Casserole in 40 Minutes: A Soviet-Era Recipe]. ИА Nord-News (in Russian). 2 September 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  82. ^ Tekhnolog (7 September 2018). "Картофельная запеканка с мясом (ТТК3069) технологическая карта" [Technical-Technological Card (TTC 3069): Potato Casserole with Meat]. КАТАЛОГ ТТК ТЕХНОЛОГ (in Russian). Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  83. ^ "Картофельная запеканка с фаршем: сытное блюдо из СССР — простой рецепт для домашней кухни" [Potato Casserole with Ground Meat: A Hearty Soviet-Era Dish]. 24SMI (in Russian). Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  84. ^ "Pastel de carne" Archived 26 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Gastronomía. Retrieved 14 May 2022
  85. ^ "Pastel de papas" Archived 21 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Recetas de Argentina. Retrieved 14 May 2022
  86. ^ "Grandma Liem’s Pastel Tutup (Indonesian Cottage Pie) Recipe" Archived 16 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Cookpad. Retrieved 14 May 2022
  87. ^ Marcotte 2008, p. 72.
  88. ^ "cottage pie – Aistriúchán Gaeilge ar cottage pie (An Foclóir Nua Béarla-Gaeilge)". focloir.ie (in Irish). Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  89. ^ Denny 1998, p. 56.
  90. ^ "10 Things you didnt know about Shepherds Pie – Jamie Oliver". jamieoliver.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  91. ^ "Forager's Pie". Epicurious. Archived from the original on 31 May 2025. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  92. ^ "Gardener's Pie Recipe". Becky Excell. Archived from the original on 3 August 2025. Retrieved 6 July 2025.

Sources

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