French Onion Shepherd’s Pie (With Pictures)

French Onion Shepherd’s Pie is a new spin on an old family favorite. It takes the classic ground beef shepherd’s pie and jazzes it up with condensed French onion soup. The result is a savory, delicious dinner the whole family will love.

French Onion Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

In our family, Megan is the Shepherd’s Pie guru. She introduced our entire family to this Easy Shepherd’s Pie years ago. Have you ever had shepherd’s pie? While the traditional shepherd’s pie was made with ground lamb, we use ground beef.

The bottom is a ground beef layer that has almost a gravy consistency. Her version includes carrots and onions. Then layered on top is a creamy, salty mashed potato layer. Put the two layers together, and all is right in the world.

I love her classic Shepherd’s Pie that I was inspired to make my own version after looking into the cabinet and spotting a can of condensed French Onion Soup. It’s a total shortcut ingredient but condensed French Onion soup adds a ton of flavor.

Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients

• Ground Beef
• Diced Yellow Onions (optional)
• Pepper
• French Onion Soup
• All Purpose Flour
• Water
• Diced Carrots
• Mashed Potatoes (refrigerated, prepared potatoes work great)
• Large Egg
• Salt and Black Pepper
• Shredded Cheese (Swiss or Gruyere are the best)

Keep scrolling for the full recipe!

How to Make Ground Beef Shepherd’s Pie

Step By Step Instructions

1. Prepare a 11 x 7 inch or (13 x 9 inch) baking dish by spraying with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Brown ground beef and onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat; drain excess grease.
3. Add sliced carrots, flour, pepper, water and French onion soup. Stir and bring to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Pour mixture into the bottom of the dish.
5. Mix mashed potatoes, salt, pepper and egg.
6. Spread the mash mixture over top the ground beef mixture.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with shredded Swiss Cheese; bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Storage Instructions

Let leftovers cool to room temperature. Cover tightly or transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

For the full recipe and ingredient amounts for French Onion Soup Shepherd’s Pie with Ground Beef, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

What can you do with French onion soup?

Canned French Onion Soup is for more than regular soup!  Use it as an ingredient in almost any type of recipe.  We use this easy ingredient all time. Enjoy this list of Condensed French Onion Soup Recipes.

• French Onion Joes
• Slow Cooker Pork Roast and Gravy
• Crock Pot French Onion Pork Chops and Rice
• French Onion Rice Casserole
• Crock Pot French Onion Beef Casserole!
• French Onion Sliders

Recipe FAQs

• This is a spin-off our classic shepherd’s pie recipe. (It’s a fan favorite).
• We brown the ground beef with diced onions; however, these can be omitted since the condensed French Onion Soup contains lots of onions.
• I tend to use pre-made mashed potatoes for this. You can use homemade, leftover, instant, boxed, refrigerated, etc.  Use whatever you have on hand. Just be sure to check to taste before adding the salt because you may not need it.
• The carrots in our French Onion Soup Shepherd’s Pie have a little bite to them. If you like a soft, cooked carrot, try adding them several minutes before the ground beef is completely browned to soften them up.
• Are you curious why there is an egg mixed into the mashed potatoes?  It thickens up the potatoes and keeps the two layers from mixing while baking.
• French Onion Soup traditionally uses Gruyere cheese but Swiss is more readily available.  If your heart desires, use Gruyere.
• Check out our Amazon Store for our favorite pantry essentials (including canned French Onion soup) and kitchen gadgets.

Recipe Variations

• Use ground lamb instead of ground beef for a traditional cottage pie.
• Omit onions or use white onions instead.
• Minced garlic is tasty when added with the meat mixture.
• Swap peas for carrots or any other veggie you desire.
• Substitute cheddar cheese for Swiss.

Why does my shepherd’s pie fall apart?

There’s several possible factors (and solutions) to why your shepherd’s pie falls apart while serving.

1. The ground beef gravy at the bottom of the shepherd’s pie is to die for; however, if it’s too runny, it might seep up into the mashed potato layer and cause it all to fall apart when serving.  To remedy this, let the meat mixture simmer until thickened, or add a little more flour to thicken it up.
2. Your mashed potatoes might not be thick enough.  This is an easy fix! Mix in an egg with the mashed potatoes as a binder to hold them together.
3. When a shepherd’s pie comes straight from the oven, it’s piping hot, allowing it to fall apart when serving.  An easy solution is to let the pie sit for 10 minutes on the counter before serving. 

Is shepherd’s pie made from beef or lamb?

While traditional shepherd’s pie was made with a “minced meat” that was usually ground lamb, you can use either ground beef or ground lamb in your shepherd’s pie.

Check out this awesome post full of recipes that use French Onion Condensed Soup!

Linking up to Weekend Potluck.

This post is sponsored by the Glass Barn, Indiana Soybean and Corn Farmers but all thoughts and opinions are our own.