This recipe for Mini Shepherd’s Pies in Muffin Tins is a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! It’s especially good for a party with easy to serve, individual portions.
While Shepherd’s Pie is traditionally made with lamb and the dish made with ground beef is a cottage pie, here in the U.S. we often find the terms used interchangeably – and we just like the way Shepherd’s Pie sounds!
One key to making these mini pies in muffin form is to use foil muffin tin liners. Paper liners, which are traditionally used for cupcakes, will NOT work. The fats from the ground beef will cause the paper to disintegrate.
If preparing these the day before your celebration, just refrigerate your completed mini shepherds pies in the cupcake foils. The next day, when you remove them from the refrigerator, just peel off the foil and the pie will hold its shape. Place on a plate to reheat and you’re ready to serve!
Note: For this recipe you can use any type of mashed potatoes. I used instant potatoes, but added in 1/3 cup greek yogurt (you could use sour cream) to make them extra creamy and easier to spread.
Mini Shepherd’s Pies in Muffin Tins Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 cup beef broth
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
3 cups mashed potatoes
How to make Mini Shepherd’s Pies:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place 12 foil liners in muffin tin.
- In a frying pan, cook onion in olive oil over medium high heat until translucent. Add in ground beef and cook until browned. If there is a lot of fat from the ground beef, pour it off at this time.
- Add in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring.
- Add in ketchup, broth, Worcestershire, salt and pepper and veggies. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Divide meat mixture between muffin tins.
- Place the mashed potatoes in a large zip-top bag, seal and cut off one corner of the bag. (If you have a pastry bag, you can use that instead.)
- Squeeze potatoes onto each cup. Use the tines of a fork to slightly “rough up” the potatoes and make a nice texture.
- Bake for 15 minutes. If you prefer your potatoes slightly golden, place under the broiler until browned.
This is an example after reheating!
Mini Shepherd’s Pies in Muffin Tins
Equipment
- Piping Bag optional
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 2 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 cup beef broth
- 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
- 3 cups mashed potatoes
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place 12 foil liners in muffin tin.
- In a frying pan, cook onion in olive oil over medium high heat until translucent. Add in ground beef.
- Cook through beef and then drain excess fat.
- Add in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring.
- Add in ketchup, broth, Worcestershire, salt and pepper and veggies. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Divide meat mixture between muffin tins.
- Place the mashed potatoes in a large zip-top bag, seal and cut off one corner of the bag. (If you have a piping bag, you can use that instead.)
- Squeeze potatoes onto each cup. Use the tines of a fork to slightly “rough up” the potatoes and make a nice texture.
- Bake for 15 minutes. If you prefer your potatoes slightly golden, place under the broiler until browned.
Nutrition
Lindy McGuinness says
Hi sounds like a great recipe. However, being made of beef this is a cottage pie. A shepherd’s pie is made of lamb!