Seasoned ground venison and root vegetables are smothered in a spiked gravy sauce and topped with delicious mashed potatoes in this delicious shepherd’s pie.

I first found a shepherd’s pie recipe several years ago when I was looking for some different and creative ways to use up some ground venison in our freezer. I found a quick, 30 minute recipe and decided to give it a try.

Surprisingly, everyone loved it and it became a frequent addition to our regular menu. But we moved and for whatever reason I just kind of stopped making it.

Well, the time came again. We had some ground venison that I hadn’t used for venison summer sausage that needed used up and I decided to add shepherd’s pie to our meal rotation once again.

I’m so glad I did. I changed up the recipe quite a bit from the original, but what resulted was the perfect comfort food. A great recipe, it’s full of yummy ground deer topped with the best mashed potatoes ever (my personal favorite recipe).

What is Shepherd’s Pie

Well, first off, traditionally this recipe is not shepherd’s pie, but rather cottage pie. But for the sake of argument and the fact that most people use the names interchangeably… we’re going to say it is what it isn’t.

Traditional shepherd’s pie is a meat pie made from a mixture of ground lamb (hence the word shepherd) and vegetables mixed with a gravy sauce and topped with mashed potatoes. It originated in Ireland.

Cottage pie, on the other hand, is the exact same thing, but utilizes ground meat other than lamb (typically beef, but in this case venison). It is also topped with mashed potatoes and originated in Britain.

Ingredients in Venison Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Ground Venison This recipe calls for deer meat because we always have an abundance of it. If you do not, you can substitute ground lamb or mutton (for a traditional pie) or ground beef.

You could also easily utilize ground, pork, chicken, or turkey if that’s what you have. Don’t be afraid to mix it up and even utilize a mixture of ground meats.

Vegetables the sky is the limit here, you can use a ready-made mirepoix, you can mix and match, use what you have on hand or whatever works.

I like to put onions, garlic, carrots, parsnips, and typically peas in mine. You could throw in celery if that’s your thing (I don’t keep celery on hand often). Or even add some canned (and drained) tomatoes.

Potatoes are a vegetable, right? Sure are! But you’re going to mash these! I highly recommend using Yukon golds and if you just can’t get your hands on them, russets mash-up pretty well for this recipe.

I blend the potatoes with cream, cream cheese, butter, some seasoned salt, and pepper and they pair beautifully in this pie.

Lard & Butter Since venison is so dry, I use lard or beef tallow to help add a little fat to the pan. You’ll need the added fat in order to thicken your gravy with flour.

If you don’t have lard or tallow, you can use olive oil or even butter. You’ll also use some butter in your potatoes.

Beef Stock or venison stock if you have it on hand. Homemade broth is the absolute best. It tastes amazing and has so many benefits. But, if you don’t have it, get the highest quality stock you can find.

Red Wine Cooking with wine always adds so much depth to any dish it’s added to. You can omit it if you absolutely have to, but I wouldn’t… the flavor it lends is just too much to pass up.

Worcestershire Sauce This is a must in this dish. I omitted it once, and I won’t make that mistake again. Did you know you can make your own? I had no idea! But you can find out how to make your own Worcestershire sauce here.

Flour You’ve got to thicken that gravy up and flour is the best way to go about doing that. It only takes a couple of Tablespoons. If you’re gluten-free, you could try arrowroot powder.

Mushrooms I know, you love them or hate them. I enjoy some sliced button mushrooms in this dish, but they’re not a make-or-break item. You should give them a try, though.

How to Make Venison Shepherd’s Pie

Make Your Meat Base

The first step is to sauté the veggies and garlic in lard, deer tallow, or butter in an oven-safe, large skillet, or dutch oven over medium heat until onions are translucent.

After your onions are beginning to become translucent, you’ll add in your ground venison. Continue cooking the mixed vegetables over medium-heat heat until venison is browned.

Next, go ahead and add in your flour. If it looks like your pan is pretty dried out and you’re not seeing a lot of fat in the pan, you can add a bit more lard, tallow, or butter before adding the flour. You should have about 2 tablespoons of fat and you’ll add another 2 tablespoons of flour.

After you’ve made a roux, you’ll want to add your beef broth and wine, slowly, stirring until thick between each addition and scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.

Make Your Mashed Potatoes

While your meat mixture is cooking, you can boil your potatoes. Peel, cube into 1-inch pieces, and boil in chicken broth for the best flavor (or use a cup or so of broth and top it off with water). You’ll boil these for about 10 minutes or until they’re nice and tender.

Once they’ve cooked, you can drain the water and allow the potatoes to sit until the steam is released. Once that happens, you can add them back to the pan.

Put the pan back over low heat and mash the potatoes up with a masher or mixer. Then, add in your cream cheese, butter, and heavy cream. Mix until well blended.

Lastly, mix in your black pepper and seasoned salt. You now have the potatoes to place on top of your meat base.

Combine Meat Pie with Potatoes & Broil

Now, spoon the creamy mashed potatoes on top of the meat mixture in an even layer.

Place the pan in the oven on high broil for just a few minutes until the potatoes are beginning to slightly brown.

Throw some parsley on top for garnish and serve hot.

What to Serve With Shepherd’s Pie

This dish is fairly hearty and pairs well with a light, simple side. Something like corn on the cob, some crusty bread, or a salad with raspberry vinaigrette would pair nicely with it.

How to Store, Freeze, & Reheat Shepherd’s Pie

This dish will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days. It can be put into a 350˚F oven and heated until hot (about 30 minutes).

It also freezes fairly well. You could put it into a freezable casserole dish like this pyrex dish. You won’t need to bake it first. Simply allow it to cool, cover it tightly, and put it in the freezer where it will keep for up to 3 months.

When you’re ready to prepare it, allow it to thaw in the refrigerator and put it in the oven at 350˚F for about 30-45 minutes or until warmed through. If you want the potatoes browned, you can turn the broiler on.

Also, if you’re afraid your potatoes will be a bit too dry being reheated, this reheat very well with just a couple dabs of butter on top before placing the dish in the oven.

More Delicious Venison Recipes to Try:

• Creamy Venison Stroganoff Recipe with Mushrooms
• The Best Venison Meatloaf
• The Best Venison Stew Recipe | Easy Hearty Deer Stew