When is a Shepherd’s Pie no longer a Shepherd’s Pie?
“Let’s add in some mushrooms!”
“How about some zucchini?”
“Cabbage?!”
Okay. When is a Shepherd’s Pie no longer a Shepherd’s Pie? When does it turn into a meat pie? Or a casserole?
I’m a purist foodie at heart. Don’t make a cauliflower crust and call it pizza. Please refrain from stuffing a duck inside of a chicken inside of a turkey. You want to blend bananas and call that ice cream? No, no, please. Give me the classics and I’ll be happy.
My Shepherd’s Pie requires four things: meat, potatoes, gravy and vegetables. Anything more or less, call it what you wish, but it is not Shepherd’s Pie.
Now, this is all my own opinion. And I would be glad to hear some rebuttals in the comments if you think that one of these vegetables doesn’t belong. Let’s get started.
Vegetables Allowed
When I think of Shepherd’s Pie I think of England. And when I think of England, these are the vegetables I think of:
- Carrots
- Turnips
- Rutabaga
- Parsnips
- Peas
- Onions
- Leeks
- Garlic
- Mushrooms
I can see corn also as a vegetable, as well as celery used sparingly.
Vegetables Not Allowed
There are some vegetables that do not belong anywhere near a Shepherd’s Pie.
- Tomatoes (Okay, wait. I’ll allow a bit of tomato paste in there. But not, like, huge chunks of tomato)
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Zucchini
- Cucumber (Whyyyyyy????)
- Eggplant ( This isn’t a moussaka kiddos)
- Jicama
- Cauliflower
- Radish
- Beets (Beats me why you’d put this in)
- The little baby corn things
- Green peppers
- Okra
- Cabbage
Do you agree? Is there something on this list that you would allow? And that that you know what’s allowed, get cooking with our Classic Shepherd’s Pie recipe.
This post originally appeared in March, 2016 and was revised and republished in March, 2018.
Potatoes aren’t from England
I don’t think we said that potatoes are FROM England, just that potatoes are a vegetable that we think of when we’re thinking of English food.
What about. Courgette?
Courgette is also called zucchini and we placed that on the not allowed list. But I won’t stop you from giving it a try, Rob!
I am 63 % Scottish and do enjoy shepherd’s pie. If you are a shepherd, you tend sheep and therefore lamb is in the pie. am told that most Americans use ground beef as I do. I do not like soupy pie so I guess more flour is needed if it turns out like that. I don’t like a heavy topping of mashed potatoes and do like peas in mine along with some carrots, onions and celery. when in a restaurant and I see it on the menu, I go for it.
I am a creature of habit. Am not too picky, but no mushrooms or cabbage.
Thanks for sharing with us, Richard!
I would say you left out the option of green beans and canned green beans at that!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Rita!
In Quebec, it’s a layer of corn, creamed or regular, no other veg.
I think you could sneak in some of those forbidden vegetables if they’re grated or puréed.
Beth, I’m Canadian (Manitoba) but have never had this Quebecois dish. I’m intrigued. What’s it called?
Chtistine Pittman, we call it Shepherds’ Pie in English, but in French it’s Pâté Chinois. The story is that French Canadians learned the recipe in Maine where it was called China Pie. Not sure it’s a true story…
So I’ve made Shepherds pie many many times and tweaked things here and there, though my recipe is from my very Irish grandma. It’s always got ground lamb, onion, carrots, gravy and mashed potatoes. I like to add certain extra vegetables to it occasionally. My favorites have been minced and sautéed cabbage, garlic, or mushrooms (usually all these are done with the onion)
Thank you for sharing with us, Heather!
Great info. Thanx!
You’re welcome, Richard!
So….since you have established that the use of veggies such as corn, peas and carrots mixed into the pie is in fact not a Shepherds Pie at all, what shall it be called. I do believe that green peppers should be allowed along with your vote for tomatoes. Call it what you like, I like it in all the forms mentioned. Although I have never tried using tomatoes, the thought of a drained can of Rotel is dancing around my mind now. Thanks for that. The only problem now is that I have no idea what to call it. Woe is me. Don In Arizona
Australian. Mother’s recipe from the 60’s. LAMB, Onions Mashed Potato on top.
Carrots, peas on the side.
Bread to mop up the gravy!
Thank you for sharing what you do for Shepherd’s Pie, Steve! Yum!
As an English person, I can tell you that you should never, ever put garden pea inside Shepherds Pie. You sir, are a barbarian. They are served on the side.
I grew up on my mom’s shepherd’s pie – NO veggies except onion. We always used leftover roast beef, which my mom ground up (using that old fashioned metal grinder with the arm you turned to push the meat through the tube to the bowl you had underneath to catch it) with onions, then moistened it all with the leftover gravy. Mashed potatoes on top. I used a food processor now, to mince the meat, but otherwise it’s the same. It took my husband a long to accept that I was NEVER going to put peas and carrots in between the hamburger (which I also have never used) and potatoes like his grandma did.
Sandra, I’ve never had it with leftover roast beef before. That sounds delicious!
Please note: Shepherds pie is traditionally made with ground LAMB, onions, gravy and mashed potato topping. If it is made with ground beef then it is a Cumberland pie. Cumberland pie can have diced carrots in with the beef but that is all. Shepherds pie traditionally has no other ingredients other than those listed above other than seasonings. Corn is never found in any of these pies nor are peas. These are a side vegetable. Thank you. I am British and these are traditional dishes.
Thanks Beverly. We knew about this and mentioned it several times in the series, for instance here https://thecookful.com/classic-shepherds-pie-beef/ To see the entire Shepherds Pie series, head over here https://thecookful.com/shepherds-pie