Shepherd's Pie with Leftover Pot Roast

Name: Easy Shepherd's Pie with Leftover Pot Roast
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
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); 1/2 cup milk; 4 cups mashed potatoes; 1 cup shredded Cheddar

Comfort food for a cold, rainy day - this shepherd's pie is an easy dinner the whole family will love. Just 5 minutes of prep time! Wondering what to do with leftover pot roast and vegetables? Add mashed potatoes and transform them into this easy casserole!

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Total Time 35

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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!

Don't want to scroll through the page to get to the recipe? Use the table of contents to click on the section you want.

Overhead view of shepherd's pie on a white plate.

Next time try this classic pot roast with jalapeno cheese grits or cajun slow cooker pot roast - they're family favorites!

Table of Contents

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
🧾 Ingredients
📚 Variations
🔪 Instructions
🥫 Storage
🎥 Video
💭 Things to know
👩‍🍳 FAQs
📚 Related recipes
👉 More leftover pot roast recipes
📓 Meal plans in minutes
🥄 Equipment
📞 The last word
📖 Recipe
✍🏻 A note from Marye...
💬 Comments

❤️ 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.

📚 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 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.
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

🔪 Instructions

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.

Step by step images for making this recipe.

Layer pot roast leftovers with cooked green beans and carrots. Set aside.
Mix milk, cream of mushroom soup, and onion soup mix in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth
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!

🥫 Storage

You can assemble 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, the leftover roast beef casserole will be fine in the refrigerator in an airtight container for three or four days.

Freeze this comfort food 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

💭 Things to know

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.

Do I have to use pot roast to make Shepherd’s Pie?

No - you can use almost any type of cooked meat. Ground beef, roast, pork roast, venison, boneless chicken, turkey... whatever you have on hand.

Do you cover shepherd's pie when baking?

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.

What are the layers in shepherd's pie?

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, and add a layer of creamy mashed potatoes. I like to add a layer of cheese to the top even though it's not traditional.

What kind of mashed potatoes should I use?

If you have leftover, homemade mashed potatoes use them. 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.

Is shepherd's pie made with lamb or beef?

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.

Beef and gravy under a thick mashed potato topping. — Leftover pot roast is the base for this unique shepherd's pie.

👉 More leftover pot roast recipes

Use shredded leftover beef roast instead of ground beef in this easy tamale pie recipe.
Try it instead of ground beef in this simple beef enchilada casserole recipe.
Leftover beef or chicken can be used in these authentic enchiladas.
So good in hearty pot roast sandwiches or these beef sandwiches.

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📓 Meal plans in minutes

Clickable image of the meal planning app.

🥄 Equipment

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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.

📞 The last word

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. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

Overhead view of a serving of shepherd's pie on a white plate.

4.52 from 114 votes

Easy Shepherd's Pie with Leftover Pot Roast

Print Pin Recipe Save

Course Casserole,Main Dish - Beef

Cuisine Great Britain/Ireland

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 35

Servings:

Calories:519

Author:Marye Audet-White

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

Wondering what to do with leftover pot roast and vegetables? Turn them into this easy casserole!

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.
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.

You'll find more helpful tips and variations in the body of the post.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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First published January 2015. Last updated August 3, 2023 for more information and editorial corrections.

✍🏻 A note from Marye...

I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.

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 have to plan for extra roast - it's an easy way to cook once and have several meals during the week!