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A flavorful chicken Shepherd’s pie recipe that has all the traditional flavors you love and uses low-fat ground chicken! The perfect balance of hearty and nutritious, this flavor-packed protein and veggie meal is satisfying, comforting, and wholesome!
Most recipes for chicken shepherd’s pie have a creamy base and use pulled chicken more similar to a chicken pot pie. That’s not what you’ll get here! Deeply savory, this dish is packed with seasoned ground chicken, herby potatoes, and a rich sauce. Every bite is full of flavor!
It is an easy, delicious way to use lean ground chicken and incorporate a lot of tender vegetables. Hearty and layered with flavors from the herbs, aromatics, veggies, and chicken, not to even mention the buttery mashed potatoes and sauce, everyone always comes back for seconds!
If you’re all about those comforting, hearty meals, you’ll also enjoy my chipotle chili, ground turkey soup, and this healthy beef stroganoff! Save me a spot by the fire!
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- A healthy twist on a classic comfort food. Traditional shepherd’s pie is made with lamb or beef, but this version uses leaner meats for a lighter alternative without sacrificing any flavor.
- Not just chicken pot pie with mashed potatoes.. Most recipes for chicken shepherd’s pie have a creamy base and use pulled chicken like chicken pot pie. But this recipe uses ground chicken and all the traditional elements of a Shepherd’s pie to get you extra flavor while making it healthier!
- An easy way to hide extra veggies!. Stick with the classics or try adding cauliflower rice, finely diced broccoli or anything you have on hand!
- The perfect make-ahead meal. Chicken shepherd’s pie is the ideal dish for meal prep, and it’s even freezer friendly! You could also keep your pie in the fridge for 3 days before baking.
Professional Tips
- Watch your chicken. Make sure to take your ground chicken mixture off of the heat once it is cooked through to keep it moist.
- Be patient with your aromatics. Calmly allow the onions to cook until translucent, you’ll thank me later! This will get you the best texture and flavor in your final dish.
- Start the meat mixture before cooking the potatoes! Fun fact about mashed potatoes is that they thicken as they sit. If you do make them too early, don’t stress. Simply heat up some milk just to a simmer and slowly add it to the potatoes with a wooden spoon or your stand mixer until they become a nice, spreadable consistency again. Using warm milk is critical.
Ingredients
- Ground Chicken: Just like in my Ground Chicken Burgers, I like to use ground chicken that has an adequate amount of fat to prevent it from becoming dry during cooking. Try to find an 85/15 or even 80/20 blend for this recipe.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil goes through the least amount of processing of the olive oils, so it keeps some of its nutritional values! It has a gentle taste and helps veggies retain their moisture.
- Onions: Sweet, white, or yellow onions will work for this recipe, but I most commonly use yellow onions. Those are also my favorite onions to use in the Best French Onion Soup!
- Garlic: I recommend using garlic in this recipe for a bold, savory flavor. If you can’t find fresh garlic, you can also use chopped, jarred garlic.
- Rosemary: I like to crush dried rosemary to impart even more flavor to the broth. It’s possible to use fresh rosemary, but double the quantity.
- Thyme: As with the rosemary, I recommend using dried thyme, though you can use fresh thyme if you’d like but double the amount.
- Dried Parsley
- Salt: I use kosher salt when making this dish. It is less salty by volume than table salt or sea salt and has a unique shape that coats food more evenly.
- Pepper: Fresh black pepper is always best. You can use a bit more than is written in the recipe if you’d like a little spice added to your dish.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Worcestershire Sauce rounds out the flavor, and cuts the sweetness and acidity. It really makes a difference and I wouldn’t omit it. You could even increase it for a deeper umami flavor! I keep it on hand for all sorts of sauces and recipes like these spicy peach pork chops.
- All Purpose Flour: If you’d like to keep it gluten free, you could use some cornstarch, potato starch, or instant mashed potatoes as thickeners instead of the flour.
- Tomato Paste: Adding a bit of tomato paste to the ground chicken gives it a concentrated savory and sweet flavor. Save some of the can for a batch of Easy Beef Stroganoff!
- Chicken Stock
- Peas and Carrots
- Frozen Sweet Corn
- Gold Potatoes: In order to end up with 1 ½ pounds of potatoes peeled, you will want to start with approximately 1 ¾ pounds potatoes. If you use gold potatoes, you don’t actually have to peel them as long as you don’t mind the additional texture and fiber. You could also use mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes!
- Butter: I recommend using unsalted butter. It will allow you to season the potatoes to your liking.
- Whole Milk
- Garlic Powder
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Tip for using leftover mashed potatoes
Chicken shepherd’s pie is a delicious, easy way to use leftover creamy mashed potatoes ! Refrigerated mashed potatoes dry out and lose that creamy quality. Warm some milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the hot milk to the potatoes by the tablespoon and stir vigorously until they are transformed and a smooth creamy texture reemerges.
Variations
- Different Seasonings: Experiment with different dried herbs to see what flavors you like best. You could use fresh herbs if you’d like, but double the amount! You can try things like oregano or even a pinch of smoked paprika for extra depth.
- Different Vegetables: You can use any frozen vegetables that you like! Yes, you can use instant mashed potatoes. You could reduce the amount of veggies, or even use fresh veggies. If you do use fresh vegetables, I would pre-steam them or sweat them first like I do for my chicken pot pie in a whole wheat crust!
- Ground Turkey: You can use ground turkey in place of the ground chicken. It is also a lean ground meat, so I recommend using a blend with at least 10% fat.
- Ground Beef: You can also swap the chicken for ground beef or ground lamb for a more traditional shepherd’s pie! Because ground beef is naturally higher in fat, you may want to use a lean blend, like 97/3 to keep it from becoming greasy and drain any excess fat or water
How to Serve
This dish is wonderful with a piece of crusty bread like this sourdough bread or the best buttermilk biscuits, brussels sprouts and leeks, and a side salad. I’m also a fan of serving it with carrot ginger soup, garlic roasted carrots, green beans, or even some healthy creamy coleslaw! Adding just a dollop of sour cream is a wonderful addition. You could make it a part of a St. Patrick’s Day feast and serve it with Irish soda bread and a beautiful Guinness chocolate cake for dessert!
How to Make Chicken Shepherd’s Pie
Step 1: In a medium sauté pan, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and begin cooking onion and garlic over medium low heat, stirring frequently. Cook until they are mostly translucent then add the ground chicken, thyme, rosemary, parsley, a few cracks of fresh black pepper and 1 teaspoon kosher salt.
To get maximum flavor, try sprinkling salt on the outside of the ground chicken straight from the package, then place it in the pan in one block (don’t break it up yet!). Let it brown on one side, flip it to brown the other side before breaking it up to finish cooking.
Step 2: Increase the heat to medium and cook until the chicken is almost fully cooked.
Step 3: Add the Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste, stirring to coat. Then sprinkle on the flour and stir to incorporate. Add the chicken stock and frozen vegetables and continue cooking, stirring frequently until the sauce has thickened and reduced to the point of holding a line when you run your spatula or spoon through the bottom.
I add the seasonings with the chicken because they are all woody herbs. That means their flavor blooms in oil when heated. This helps enhance their flavor.
Step 4: Once you add the chicken stock and vegetables to the filling, place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough cold water just to cover. [This can, of course, be done right after peeling to keep them from browning.] Cook over high heat until the potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork or cake tester.
Step 5: Strain the potatoes and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or back to the cooking pot. If using a potato masher, and the butter, salt, garlic powder and mash until the butter melts. Add the milk a bit at a time until you have a thick but spreadable consistency. If using a stand mixer, break up the potatoes on medium speed then reduce to low and add the butter and seasoning. Mix until melted, then begin adding the milk slowly until the spreadable consistency is reached.
Remove any dark, un-mashed potato pieces at this point. I don’t bother removing blemishes before cooking because it is so much easier just to take them out after mashing.
Step 6: Once the filling mixture has thickened either set it aside or transfer to a 9 x 9 -inch baking dish. I cooked the filling and baked the final dish in a 2 ¼ quart Le Creuset cast iron braiser. Super easy.
Step 7: Dollop and spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the top of the filling. Pay special attention to sealing the edges. This will keep the filling from bubbling up over top of your topping. I made some nice swirls and such, but you could also pipe it for a fancier presentation.
For a crispier topping, you can brush the tops of the mashed potatoes with melted butter and use a fork to make peaks. They will brown in the oven! You could even add some cheese on top for added cheesy layers!
Step 8: Bake the chicken shepherd’s pie in a preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes. I recommend placing a baking sheet underneath the dish.
For preparing ahead: You can cool, cover and refrigerate the prepared dish prior to baking for up to 3 days. It will affect the potato texture but is a super great way to meal prep. You can also freeze the dish at this stage for several months. The potatoes will also be less smooth than when baked fresh. When you are ready, preheat the oven to 400°F and bake as directed.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
Let your pie rest about 10 minutes before serving so the filling can firm up a bit. This will get you neater portions while serving!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover shepherd’s pie in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Reheat in the oven!
You can freeze the leftovers or unbaked pie for 3 months in a freezer-safe container. If you’re using your baking dish in the freezer, be sure to wait for it to cool completely! I like to freeze individual portions so they’re easier to reheat. You can bake in a preheated oven to reheat the pie, at 350 if it’s already baked or 400 if assembled and unbaked. It’ll take longer to bake from frozen, so keep an eye on it! The potatoes will also be less smooth than when baked fresh.
This can happen if there’s too much liquid in the filling or not enough thickener. You can let your simmer last a little longer or add a tad more thickener (like flour or cornstarch!). Another thing to think about is if the veggies you use release a lot of water, you might want to drain them. As always, I like to let my pie rest a little before serving to help it firm up!
It is better to go slow when adding the milk because you can’t take it away! The best way to thicken mashed potatoes is to add potato starch or instant mashed potatoes if you have them on hand.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Chicken Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
Filling:
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion chopped, approximately 1 medium onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 cloves
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 16 ounces peas and carrots frozen
- 8 ounces frozen sweet corn
Potato Topping:
- 1 ½ pounds gold potatoes peeled, cubed
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup whole milk or half and half
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt less to taste if you salted your cooking water
Instructions
- In a medium sauté pan, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and begin cooking onion and garlic over medium low heat, stirring frequently. Cook until they are mostly translucent then add the ground chicken, thyme, rosemary, parsley, a few cracks of fresh black pepper and 1 teaspoon kosher salt.
- Increase the heat to medium and cook until the chicken is almost fully cooked.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste, stirring to coat. Then sprinkle on the flour and stir to incorporate. Add the chicken stock and frozen vegetables and continue cooking, stirring frequently until the sauce has thickened and reduced to the point of holding a line when you run your spatula or spoon through the bottom.
- Once you add the chicken stock and vegetables to the filling, place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough cold water just to cover. [This can, of course, be done right after peeling to keep them from browning.] Cook over high heat until the potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork or cake tester.
- Strain the potatoes and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or back to the cooking pot. If using a potato masher, and the butter, salt, garlic powder and mash until the butter melts. Add the milk a bit at a time until you have a thick but spreadable consistency. If using a stand mixer, break up the potatoes on medium speed then reduce to low and add the butter and seasoning. Mix until melted, then begin adding the milk slowly until the spreadable consistency is reached.
- Once the filling mixture has thickened either set it aside or transfer to a 9 x 9 -inch baking dish. I cooked the filling and baked the final dish in a 2 ¼ quart Le Creuset cast iron braiser. Super easy.
- Dollop and spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the top of the filling. Pay special attention to sealing the edges. This will keep the filling from bubbling up over top of your topping. I made some nice swirls and such, but you could also pipe it for a fancier presentation.
- Bake the chicken shepherd’s pie in a preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes. I recommend placing a baking sheet underneath the dish.
- For preparing ahead: You can cool, cover and refrigerate the prepared dish prior to baking for up to 3 days. It will affect the potato texture but is a super great way to meal prep. You can also freeze the dish at this stage for several months. The potatoes will also be less smooth than when baked fresh. When you are ready, preheat the oven to 400°F and bake as directed.
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed chicken recipes, like my chicken vegetable soup!
