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Made with chicken instead of lamb, this easy Shepherd’s Pie is a lightened-up classic! The ultimate comfort food, your whole family will love it. It’s so simple but delicious, it’s perfect for when you’re craving something hearty. Ground chicken cooked with vegetables then topped with creamy mashed potatoes, you’ll be able to make this with kitchen staples.
Healthy, hearty, and filling this shepherd’s pie with chicken is going to be your new weeknight favorite. It’s a whole meal in a baking dish as there’s protein, vegetables, and carbs, all in one! It’s perfect for days where you don’t want to make a zillion side dishes for dinner. It’s so simple but delicious.
For another easy weeknight dinner, you should try my Garlic Butter Turkey Meatballs or Garlic Butter Mushroom Chicken Bites. Both come together in less than an hour, making it perfect for busy weeknights.
Why You’ll Love This Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
- Uses pantry staples. This shepherd’s pie uses a ton of pantry and fridge staples so it’ll save you a trip to the store. That’s why I love making this simple but tasty dinner when I’m not sure what to have for dinner.
- It’s comforting. If you need a cozy and comforting dinner, then this recipe is for you. I love potatoes so combining the chicken with mashed potatoes is always a winner in my books!
- It’s freezer-friendly. Make a double batch and freeze one for later so you have dinner ready to go on another busy weeknight.
Chicken Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients
- Olive oil: or neutral oil of your choice
- Onion: you can use whatever onion you prefer, but I used a yellow onion.
- Garlic: I prefer freshly minced garlic to pre-minced garlic.
- Carrot: peeled and diced.
- Ground chicken: traditionally, shepherd’s pie uses ground lamb but to lighten up the dish and make it more accessible, I use ground chicken instead.
- All-purpose flour: you’ll need a bit to thicken the filling.
- Tomato paste: you need just a bit as it helps thicken the filling as well.
- Worcestershire sauce: for umami flavoring.
- Chicken broth: use low sodium broth when possible.
- Seasoning: I used oregano, dried thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Frozen peas: thawed.
- Yukon gold potatoes: you want to use a starchy potato to make mashed potatoes.
- Butter: use unsalted butter to make the mashed potatoes buttery.
- Heavy cream: to make the potatoes creamy and rich.
How To Make Chicken Shepherd’s Pie
- Prepare the equipment: Preheat the oven to 400 degree F. Grease a 5X9 baking dish and keep it aside.
- Saute the aromatics: Heat a skillet over medium heat; add oil, onions, garlic, and carrots. Cook till the onions turn translucent for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the meat: Add in the ground chicken and break them up with a wooden spoon and cook for 5 minutes.
- Thicken and season the filling: Sprinkle the flour and cook for a minute. Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, chicken broth, and spices; oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Let it simmer for 5-6 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Transfer the filling to the baking dish: Add the frozen peas along, stir and remove from the heat. Transfer them to the prepared baking dish and set them aside.
- Make the mashed potatoes: Meanwhile, peel the potato skin and cut them into cubes. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 7-8 minutes until potatoes are cooked through. Mash the potatoes with a masher along with butter, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Add some parsley leaves and mash them until smooth.
- Top the filling with mashed potatoes: Spread the mashed potatoes over the chicken mixture evenly covering the baking dish.
- Bake and serve: Bake the Shepherds pie for 20-25 minutes until the top layer is slightly golden. Allow the pie to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish the pie with parsley and serve while it is still warm.
Tips to Make the Best Shepherds Pie with Chicken
- Feel free to add some shredded cheese on top of the mashed potatoes for a more cheesy dish.
- To mash the potatoes quickly, use a potato masher or a mixer.
- Not a fan of regular potatoes? Try my mashed sweet potatoes as a topping instead.
- No baking dish? Use a cast-iron skillet instead.
- Feel free to add other vegetables such as mushrooms, green beans, corn, spinach, and more!
- You can place the mashed potatoes on top of the filling however you’d like. For a fancier look, you can pipe the potatoes on top with a piping tip and bag in large dollops.
Frequently Asked Questions
Feel free to use ground beef or lamb if you prefer. If you’d like for this to be vegetarian, try making it with lentils or chickpeas instead of ground meat!
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. The leftovers can be reheated in the microwave or the oven.
To freeze, let your dish cool to room temperature after baking. I recommend using an aluminum tray to make freezing and reheating easier. Then, cover it tightly with tin foil and then wrap with clear saran wrap. Place it in the freezer for up to two months. To reheat, thaw at room temperature. Remove the saran wrap and place in the oven, still covered with foil, for 30 minutes at 350°F or until warmed throughout.
If you want to save time, using instant mashed potatoes is a great shortcut!
You can assemble it the day before and then bake it the next day. Just adjust your baking time so that it gets fully heated through if you are cooking it right out of the fridge. You can also let it get to room temperature 30 minutes before cooking so it doesn’t take longer to cook.
This dish should last a good 2-3 days in your fridge if stored right in an air tight container.
Shepherds pie is a dish on it’s own. But you can serve it with a side for Dinner Rolls or Cheesy Homemade Garlic Bread.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Zucchini Enchilada
- Lemon Garlic Chicken Skewers
- Grilled BBQ Chicken Breast
- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
- Oven Roasted Spatchcock Chicken
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Homemade Chicken Shepherd’s Pie recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it, and share it with your friends and family!
If you try this recipe and liked it, please leave a star rating and comment below. Use my hashtag to share it with me on Instagram so I can see your delicious recreations! Also, follow me at Cookin’ With Mima on FACEBOOK |INSTAGRAM |PINTEREST for all of my latest social posts and recipes.
Chicken Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsps olive oil
- ⅓ cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 cup carrot, diced
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 2 Tbsps all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, about 2 lb
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsps fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degree F. Grease a 5X9 baking dish and keep it aside.
- Heat a skillet over a medium heat; add oil, onions, garlic and carrots. Cook till the onions turn translucent for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the ground chicken and break them up with wooden spoon and cook for 5 minutes
- Sprinkle the flour and cook for a minute. Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, chicken broth, and the spices; oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Let it simmer for 5-6 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Add the frozen peas along, stir and remove from the heat. Transfer them to the prepared baking dish and set aside.
- Meanwhile, peel the potato skin and cut them into cubes. Boil the potatoes in salt water for 7-8 minutes until potatoes are cooked through. Mash the potatoes with a masher along with the butter, heavy cream, salt and pepper. Add some parsley leaves and mash them until smooth.
- Spread the mashed potatoes over the chicken mixture evenly covering the baking dish.
- Bake the Shepards pie for 20-25 minutes until the top layer is slightly golden. Allow the pie to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Garnish the pie with parsley and serve while it is still warm.
Notes
- Feel free to add some shredded cheese on top of the mashed potatoes for a more cheesy dish.
- To mash the potatoes quickly, use a potato masher or a mixer.
- Not a fan of regular potatoes? Try my mashed sweet potatoes as a topping instead.
- No baking dish? Use a cast-iron skillet instead.
- Feel free to add other vegetables such as mushrooms, green beans, corn, spinach, and more!
- You can place the mashed potatoes on top of the filling however you’d like. For a fancier look, you can pipe the potatoes on top with a piping tip and bag in large dollops.
Added a can of mushroom soup to meat yummy
I’d like to print this recipe and there’s no easy printing option – when printing, it comes up with all the ads. Would be nice to offer that option. Thanks.
When you press print recipe, another window will come up and the recipe should be add free for printing.
This is the recipe I was looking for ❤️🤗
Thanks for leaving a review. Glad you enjoyed it.
I made this recipe with a slight variation. Left out the peas and added celery. It was delicious! I would have added corn but I know the kids would not have eaten it.
Hi Havita
Glad you enjoyed the recipe and adapted it to your liking.
Delicious and makes excellent big batch freezer meals if you want to multiply the recipe!
hi Brittany!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for leaving a review.
Added cream to the meat and it came out super soupy 🙁 just now seeing the comment by a reader below, that it only goes in the potatoes. Please adjust for readers so they don’t make the same mistake! Good flavor, but spent all that time making everything and it was potatoes and soup pretty much.
Sorry about that! I thought I had updated the mistake.
The recipe ingredients has cream listed, but cream is called for both in the mince dish and for the mashed potatoes. Not sure how much goes where.
Sorry, that only goes into the potatoes. I will adjust it.
excellent!!
Happy you enjoyed it Laura, thanks for leaving a review.