Sausage, peppers, onions, and green beans are smothered in a cheese sauce and topped with a thick crust of mashed potatoes. This is sure to be a family favorite!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Pure comfort food that the whole family can enjoy
- A hearty, complete meal served up in a steaming hot casserole dish
- Easy recipe short-cuts to make prep even faster
Smoked sausage shepherd's pie features mashed potatoes toasted crisp over tender green beans, onions, and peppers—just don't forget the creamy cheese sauce to pull everything together.
Add this twist on the traditional cottage pie to the "family favorites" category ASAP!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Layer the smoked sausage and cooked vegetables in a casserole dish.
- Make the cream sauce.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the vegetables and meat.
- Top with mashed potatoes and more cheese and bake.
🥫 Storage
Isn't it such a great thing when your favorite recipe just so happens to make great leftovers?
Store cooled shepherd's pie in an airtight container and refrigerate it for four to five days. You can also just wrap the baking dish with plastic wrap or foil. Alternatively, double wrap the leftovers in plastic and freeze them for two to three months.
Feel free to use either the microwave or oven to thaw and reheat the shepherd's pie. If using the microwave, you'll want to heat in intervals, stirring in between.
📖 Variations
Make this smoked sausage shepherd's pie recipe your own with these tasty ideas:
- You can swap the sliced pork sausage with ground beef, ground lamb, ground turkey, or another type of ground meat you have on hand. However, you will lose the smoky flavor.
- Hate to boil potatoes? Replace the homemade mash with store-bought or pre-made.
- Whipped sweet potatoes with chipotle is a delicious substitution for the mashed potatoes!
- Blanch some fresh green beans instead of using canned. Alternatively, use up that frozen bag of mixed vegetables you've had for ages!
- In addition to the beans, you can add green peas, corn, or shredded carrots. A good idea if you need to sneak veggies into a picky eater's meal!
- Try adding some crispy french fried onions to the top before baking.
- If you don't have time to make the cheese sauce yourself, use the quick swap in the recipe card below. Just know you're missing out, though!
- Mix in fresh thyme or minced garlic cloves if you like those flavors.
- Instead of the sharp cheddar cheese, use another similar type, like white cheddar or American.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and/or some grated parmesan cheese!
- If you don't have a casserole dish, you can bake the shepherd's pie in a large skillet.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Making the cheese sauce in the same pan that you cooked the veggies imparts more flavor into your sauce! So, don't feel the need to wipe down the pan in between, unless something stuck and started to burn.
- Use red, yellow, or orange bell peppers with four bumps on the bottom, rather than three. Typically, they're sweeter!
- When making the roux for your cheese sauce, start with the whisk, but switch to a wooden spoon—preferably one with a flat edge. That way, you can scrape up any bits that stick to the pan before it scalds or burns.
👩🍳 FAQs
Traditionally, shepherd's pie uses lamb and cottage pie uses beef. Though, throughout the years, some families have swapped those names.
Sometimes the ground meat in shepherd's pie is cooked with beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, or red wine for flavor. However, ours uses a delicious cheese sauce to complement the more Southern, smoky sausage. No additional flavor is needed! It's a truly delicious twist on a classic dinner.
Yes ma'am! Simply prepare the casserole as indicated and wrap it tightly with plastic. Refrigerate for one to two days. Then, simply pull it out and bake when dinner time rolls around!
📚 Related recipes
- Slow Cooker Sausage & Potatoes is creamy, hearty, and has a casserole feel, but simmers all day in the Crockpot so you're free to do whatever you please—dinner'll be ready when you get home!
- Crumbled sausage, al dente noodles, and oodles of cheese—for an Italian classic with a Tex-Mex twist, try Baked Ziti with Sausage.
- Swap the potatoes for tater tots and the sausage for beef, and you've got delicious, cheesy Cowboy Casserole—spurred boots optional.
🍽️ Serve with...
📞 The last word
When I think of comfort food shepherds pie is always one of the first dishes that comes to mind. Creamy gravy, seasoned meat, mounds of fluffy mashed potatoes? Yes please!
Who could possibly resist all of that?
I love recipes like this -- the ones that taste like you worked on them for hours but in reality you threw it together in minutes.
You can assemble it ahead of time and keep it tightly covered in the fridge for a day or two before baking and serving.
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 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Smoked Sausage Shepherds Pie
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
Ingredients
Sausage Mixture
- 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup bell peppers, chopped
- ½ cup celery, chopped
- 28 ounces green beans, cooked or canned, drained
Cheese Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
- 1-½ cups milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1-½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Topping
- 4 cups mashed potatoes
Quick Cheese Sauce-Alternate
- 10.5 ounces cream of celery soup
- 1-½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
Sausage Mixture
- Grease a casserole dish, add the sliced sausage, and set it aside.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy sauce pan.
- Add the onion, peppers, and celery and saute until soft and caramelized on the edges.
- Remove the vegetables from the pan and spoon over the sausage.
- Cover with the green beans.
- Set aside.
Cheese Sauce
- Add the remaining butter to the pan and melt it over medium heat.
- Whisk in the flour, garlic, paprika, and mustard -- stirring for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the milk, whisking constantly until smooth.
- Simmer for 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
- Add the cream cheese and cheddar and whisk until smooth.
Quick Cheese Sauce
- Mix the soup and cheese.
- Heat until smooth in the microwave.
- Stir.
Assembly
- Pour the cheese sauce over the vegetables and sausage.
- Top with the mashed potatoes.
- Sprinkle with a little more grated cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until piping hot and lightly browned on the top.
Notes
- Making the cheese sauce in the same pan that you cooked the veggies imparts more flavor into your sauce! So, don't feel the need to wipe down the pan in between, unless something stuck and started to burn.
- Use red, yellow, or orange bell peppers with four bumps on the bottom, rather than three. Typically, they're sweeter!
- When making the roux for your cheese sauce, start with the whisk, but switch to a wooden spoon—preferably one with a flat edge. That way, you can scrape up any bits that stick to the pan before it scalds or burns.
Nutrition Facts
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published April 4, 2016. Last updated August 14, 2022 for better images.
SAM
Normally I am not a shepherd's pie fan - but the sausage had me curious so I made this recipe of yours on the 7th - maybe - it was a Thursday - anyway - I used ALL the shortcuts. I admit it!! This was super yummy! My husband said that I needed to add it to the recipe rotation. I also made it for a family with a sick Dad. They raved over it too! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Sam
Marye Audet
I am so glad you liked it!
Sabrina
MY husband loves shepherd's pie! This sounds like a delicious one to make for him!
Marye Audet
🙂 I hope he likes it as much as we do.
Nutmeg Nanny
What a great weeknight meal! Love that you used smoked sausage....yum!
Marye Audet
Thanks! It really is a nice change.
Jennifer A Stewart
Love Shepherd's Pie! It is so comforting, like a big bowl of stew on a cold night. Smoked sausage is a great twist to the traditional ground beef!
Marye Audet
I agree! I loved this. 🙂
Sharon @ What The Fork Food Blog
This sounds so good - I'm always looking for different ways to use kielbasa!
Marye Audet
🙂 I loved it!
Kellie @ The Suburban Soapbox
This looks so amazing and the perfect comfort food! What a great twist on shepherds pie!
Marye Audet
Thanks so much Kellie!
Stephanie @ Daily Appetite
I find it so hard to make recipes with smoked sausage because I can't help but to snack on it while preparing everything else for the recipe. I can't be the only one! Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage is the bomb and totally irresistible as soon as you open the package. Your shepherds pie looks amazing and I bet it tastes delicious!
Marye Audet
Thank you!!
Christie
I love that you made shepherd's pie with sausage. I think sausage is probably my favorite meat. This is going to be so tasty.
Marye Audet
Thanks Christie!
Kristy @ Southern In Law
Yum! This looks so much better than boring ol' shepherds pie!
Marye Audet
The combination of sausage and cheese sauce with the sweet peppers is so good!