Shepard’s Pie Cups with Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Shepard's Pie Cups
Loaded with veggies and topped with silky mashed potatoes, this dish is the epitome of comfort food from the inside out!
Ingredients
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-2 fresh carrots (chopped)
- 1 sweet onion (chopped, finely)
- 1 lb ground beef, turkey, chicken or pork (see note below about a meatless option!)
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 2 TBSP ketchup or tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 TBSP flour
- Veggies:
- 1/2 cup canned or frozen peas
- 1/2 cup canned or frozen corn
- 1/2 cup chopped baby bella or cremini mushrooms
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Grated cheddar cheese for garnish
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes, see recipe below
Directions
- Step 1 Prepare your mashed potatoes first (see below) or cook ahead of time. Mine were made weeks in advance and reused for this recipe. I just defrosted and moved to the fridge the night before. Bring to room temperature before making your cups.
- Step 2 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, carrots, and onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3 Add the ground meat and thyme and continue to cook, breaking up with a spoon, until it is cooked through and lightly browned.
- Step 4 Stir in the ketchup and cook until lightly caramelized. Stir in the flour and the stock and allow the sauce to thicken. Cook for about 2 minutes, then stir in the peas, corn, and any additional veggies. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 5 Remove from the heat and divide among four 8 oz ramekins.Transfer the filled ramekins to a rimmed baking sheet and evenly top with the mashed potatoes (recipe below).
- Step 6 Bake until the potatoes are starting to brown, about 15 minutes. Turn your broiler on low and broil for 3 more minutes until the potatoes just start to turn golden and crisp up. Garnish with grated cheddar cheese, salt and pepper, and serve immediately!
Creamy Greek Yogurt Mashed Potatoes
The creamiest dreamy mashed potatoes, all thanks to a surprise ingredient, greek yogurt!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 tsp kosher or sea salt, divided
- 5 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 2 TBSP unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1 green onion (thinly sliced)
Directions
- Step 1 Place the potatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large pot and fill with cold water to cover the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Step 2 While the potatoes are boiling, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, and after it is just melted, stir in the garlic. Stirring frequently, cook the garlic for about 2 minutes, or until soft and light golden. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Step 3 Drain the potatoes in a colander, shaking the colander to help remove excess water. Place the potatoes into a food processor. Add the garlic, butter, and yogurt and process until smooth. Add more yogurt until you reach desired smoothness and consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Then stir in cheddar cheese and green onions.
It’s amazing how one recipe can inspire another… or, in this case, how one simple leftover (mashed potatoes) can inspire a whole new dish! I made these mashed potatoes weeks ago, back at the beginning of the corona-crisis. It was so long ago I can’t even remember what we served with it, but I do remember that they were the creamiest mashed potatoes I’d ever had. And we had a boatload left over, so we froze them and earmarked them, even then, for a Shepard’s pie. That was Marc’s idea so I’ll give credit where credit’s due!
Fast forward several weeks later (I’ve last track of day and week count now) and today was the most miserable rainy day and all I wanted was comfort food. So I knew it was finally time to get cracking on this recipe I had been looking forward to for weeks.
Things I love about this recipe?
1 – It’s super versatile and pantry friendly. Any ground meat (chicken, turkey, pork, beef, or in my case tonight – veal!) and any canned/frozen vegetables will really work. I happened to stock up on a lot of canned veggies before all of this, so it felt like a fitting time to use them. I didn’t use mushrooms but I added that as an optional ingredient as well.
2 – Believe it or not. It is easily transformed into a meatless recipe. You could go totally meatless with this dish and use mushrooms as the base, why not?! Just buy a lot of cremini or baby bella mushrooms – you’ll probably need at least 3 cartons – and chop them up finely. Sauté with the other veggies and use vegetable stock (instead of chicken). Top with the potatoes and bake.
3 – Cooking these pies in individual ramekins is super fun and good for portion-control, which I honestly need after this non-stop quarantine eating. But if you don’t have ramekins, you can always cook this recipe in a pie plate or square glass baking dish too. Cook time exactly is the same!
4 – It’s super cozy and the ultimate comfort food – perfect for today’s weather and the mood. We could all use a little extra positivity and inspiration right now. I hope it’s not a coincidence that this gorgeous rainbow appeared right outside my window today as I was cooking. Praying it’s a good omen and we’re about to turn a corner! It was too beautiful not to share:
I don’t know if it’s the rainbow or the deliciousness of this dish that has me in such a good mood tonight. But either way, I think I made a pretty compelling argument as to why you should make this NOW. You definitely don’t want to miss this dish! Try it out and let us know what you think!
