Next time try this classic pot roast with jalapeno cheese grits or cajun slow cooker pot roast - they're family favorites!
This is the best way to use any leftover roast beef or classic pot roast !! It's perfect in this recipe and let's face it - non one likes food waste!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- 5 minute prep time
- it's a delicious twist on the popular recipe we all grew up with
- it's the perfect way to use up all those bits and pieces of leftover veggies that have been accumulating in the fridge
This shepherd's pie is such a easy dinner recipe! It's also a great way to deal with leftover pot roast.
You'll be saving time and money - and who doesn't love that?
And be sure to scroll through the variations - there are tons of them!
🧾 Ingredients
I don't think there is a more family friendly comfort food than this easy shepherd's pie made with leftover pot roast.
It's one of my favorite recipes.
- Use any kind of cooked meat - your favorite pot roast recipe, leftover roast beef, cooked ground beef, roast beef, venison, or even turkey!
- Use cream of celery, cream of broccoli, cream of asparagus - or any cream soup you prefer.
- chuck roast, beef pot roast, or roast beef leftovers
- mashed potatoes
- green beans
- carrots
- cream of mushroom soup
- Cheddar cheese
- onion soup mix
- milk
🔪 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.
Step one
- Put pot roast leftovers, cooked ground beef, cooked chicken, or whatever your protein is in the bottom of a greased casserole dish or large skillet (oven safe - I use my iron skillet).
- Cover with cooked green beans and carrots. Set aside.
Step two
- Mix milk, cream of mushroom soup, and onion soup mix in a medium bowl.
- Whisk until smooth
Step three
- Spoon the soup mixture over the beef and vegetables in the casserole dish.
- Add mashed potatoes to the top.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake as directed and enjoy!
🥄 Equipment
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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
🥫 Storage
You can assemble this shepherd's pie casserole ahead of time. cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate a day or two until you are ready to bake it.
Once baked, leftovers will be fine in the refrigerator in an airtight container for three or four days.
You can freeze this casserole in a 13x9-inch baking dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap then with aluminum foil. Freeze for up to four months. You'll need to thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before heating it up the next day.
🎥 Video
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💭 Tips
Expert Tip: Save time by using prepared mashed potatoes from the store. Costco has some that are really good.
- This can be made with homemade gravy if you have the time.
- Jarred, prepared gravy is a great timesaver if you'd rather use that than the soup.
- Canned green beans and canned, sliced carrots keep this dish simple. If you have leftover carrots even better!
- Shepherd's Pie can be assembled up to 2 days ahead of time - keep covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it.
- Leftovers can be kept refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- This can be frozen for up to 3 months.
👩🍳 FAQs
Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.
No - you can use almost any type of cooked meat. Ground beef, roast, pork roast, boneless chicken, turkey... whatever you have on hand.
Not usually because you want that top to develop a thin, golden crust of gooey cheese. If the top starts to brown too much or too quickly you can tent a piece of foil over it.
The first layer is the meat, followed by the green beans and/or carrots. Add any cooked vegetable you like. Next you'll pour the gravy over the whole thing, add a layer of creamy mashed potatoes, and then I like to add a layer of cheese even though it's not traditional.
Well, technically shepherd's pie is made with lamb, and cottage pie (exactly the same except the meat) is made with a beef mixture. In the United States we just call all of it shepherd's pie.
If you have leftover, homemade mashed potatoes that's a good place to start. In a pinch you can grab a container of pre-made mashed potatoes from the store - we love the loaded mashed potatoes on top of this!! Just make sure they are thick and not runny.
📚 Variations
There are plenty of ways to make this. recipe. If you don't have leftover pot roast try one of these variations.
- Vegetarian - substitute sauteed mushrooms, eggplant, or a combination for the meat in the recipe and use a white sauce or soup without a meat base
- Use 3 ½ cups cooked ground beef instead of leftover roast
- Use ground lamb instead of beef
- Use ground pork, or a combination of ground pork and ground beef
- Use turkey or chicken
- Use Pepper Jack or other cheese
- Use mashed sweet potatoes instead of potatoes - this is especially good with the turkey or pork versions
- You may add peas instead of green beans - or along with the green beans if you like
- Save some calories and carbs by using mashed cauliflower in place of the potatoes
- Chopped onions can be sauteed until tender in some butter and added over the meat layer
- Pulled pork is a delicious variation to this recipe. I like to substitute corn for the carrots, and use BBQ sauce over the meat instead of gravy when using the pulled pork
- If you have a bit of leftover gravy add that right in, too
📚 Related recipes
More leftover pot roast recipes
- Use shredded leftover beef roast instead of ground beef in this easy tamale pie recipe.
- Leftover beef or chicken can be used in these authentic enchiladas.
- So good in hearty pot roast sandwiches or these beef sandwiches.
What’s new? Check out my Restless Chipotle & Co. Store on Amazon where you'll find all kinds of nostalgic goodness! Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle!
📞 The last word
It's really funny. My family is starting to get smaller. We are down to 4 kids at home now and they do not have the appetites of some of the kids who have moved out.
For years I've been using my 8 quart slow cooker to make things like these crock pot beef and noodles and huge pans of casseroles like this one.
It's been much harder to learn to cook smaller portions again than it was to learn to cook huge amounts.
I am at that in-between stage where I frustrate myself by having to throw out way too much food.
For the first time in decades I'm having to deal with leftovers. This shepherd's pie recipe is my favorite way to use leftover pot roast! Always a huge hit with the family!
In fact, now I plan for extra roast - it's an easy way to cook once and have several meals during the week!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it a 5 star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Easy Shepherd's Pie with Leftover Pot Roast
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Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked beef
- 15 ounces green beans, drained
- 15 ounces carrots, drained
- 10.5 ounces cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
- 1.1 ounces beefy onion soup mix, 1 envelope
- ½ cup milk
- 4 cups mashed potatoes
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Grease a baking dish and add the leftover cooked beef in an even layer.
- Cover with a layer of the carrots, then the green beans.
- Set aside.
- Mix the soup, envelope of onion soup mix, and milk until smooth.
- Spoon over the beef and vegetables.
- Gently move the beef and vegetables around with a spoon to help the gravy mixture cover them.
- Spoon the mashed potatoes over the top.
- Sprinkle with the Cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the dish is heated all the way through.
Notes
- This can be made with homemade gravy if you have the time.
- Jarred, prepared gravy is a great timesaver if you'd rather use that than the soup.
- Canned green beans and canned, sliced carrots keep this dish simple.
- Shepherd's Pie can be assembled up to 2 days ahead of time - keep covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it.
- Leftovers can be kept refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- This can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published January 2015. Last updated October 14, 2021 for more information and editorial corrections.
Miranda Siebenmorgen
Could this be frozen for later use?
Marye
It sure can!
Natalie
Instead of making a traditional gravy I use the immersion blender and blend up any leftover carrots, onions and pot roast juices and use that as "gravy" mmmmmmm ?
Marye
That sounds delicious!!
Marye Audet
sounds amazing!
J phillips
Delicious
Karen Wright
Question: what size baking dish do you use?
Marye Audet
13x9 🙂
Jenny
Omg. This was the best shepherds pie I have ever had! I used left over pot roast meat ground up in a food processor with the left over cooked onions. I also used a whole can of veggies. I was a little worried about the gravy because it didn't look like it would add much flavor but it made the meat so creamy tasting. My 3 year absolutely loved it as well. Definitley a keeper!
Marye Audet
I'm so glad you liked it!
Vivian
I don't care for mashed potatoes, so I made Shepard pie with left over roast beef that I shereded the meat in my food processor mixed it up with onion, carrots gravy then put a baking powder biscuit topping on it. It was great.
Marye Audet
That does sound good!
James Shaughnessy
Can i assemble 3hours ahead ,refrigerate, and then pop into oven?
Marye Audet
sure! That's no problem at all/
Yvonne
I love Shepard's Pie. However my mom used to take her left over roast of beef and put it through the meet grinder with an onion and would add a bit of left over gravy. She would then add mashed potatoes to the top and bake until heated through. If she had left over vegies she would add this to the top of the meat mixture before adding the mashed potatoes. She would then take it out of the oven and add shredded cheese on top and return to the oven until it is melted. To Die For!!!
Marye Audet
That sounds delicious!
Patsy Stavinoha
I know what you mean about cooking smaller meals. We raised three very active sons. I never had leftovers! Now that it's just my husband and myself, I have leftover leftovers. My neighbors know that they can stop by any time and they will leave with filled containers of food. I never made a Shepherd's Pie with a milk based gravy. I can't wait to try it and can't wait to visit your website again.
Susan | LunaCafe
I love homey dishes like this. And what a great idea to make it with pot roast. Sounds so wonderful.
Marye Audet
I think it is, thanks!
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass
Dear Marye, I had no idea there was a difference between Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie. I always learn something here. My husband is English and he would LOVE this Shepherd's Pie. Sounds fabulous with the pot roast.
Marye Audet
🙂 I really love the texture and flavor the pot roast brings.
Elena
I love Shephard's Pie. It's such a simple and wonderful comfort food.
Marye Audet
Oh I do too Elena. Thanks for stopping by!
Kristen
I have never met a Shepherd's Pie I haven't liked. They are the perfect way to use up leftovers in a way that everyone enjoys.
Marye Audet
Definitely! I've even made vegetarian ones!
Joy @ Joy Love Food
What a great use for leftover pot roast, this sounds delicious, I will have to give it a try soon!
Marye Audet
Thanks! Let me know!
Dee Dee (My Midlife Kitchen)
In my book, anything with mashed potatoes is a winner! I love how they help all of the other ingredients cling to each other, and taste so good--even when they're leftovers!
Marye Audet
I totally agree!
Danielle | The Creative Bite
My husband is all about meat and potatoes, so he would pretty much be obsessed with this hearty dish!
Marye Audet
🙂 Mine is definitely a meat and potatoes guy and he likes it. 🙂
Debbie
I don't usually make comments. My husband I enjoyed this so much that I had to let you know! It is hard to come up with what to do with that little bit of leftover roast beef. This is just simple comfort food. Hubbie said it is a KEEPER! Thank you for Sharing., I have Shared it too.
Jenny B @ Honey and Birch
What a great way to use up leftovers! I love it. And I love the idea of reclaiming mealtime - we are guilty of eating with the TV on and our cellphones nearby. It would be nice to eat together and talk to each other - I remember meal times when I was a kid and there weren't cellphones yet. It was nice. 🙂
Christie
I love finding recipes to make leftovers into something else entirely. What a delicious use for pot roast.