If you love Shepherd’s Pie but don’t have a lot of time on busy weeknights, turn to this innovative One Pan Shepherd’s Tot Pie recipe as your solution. Shepherd’s Pie using tater tots, done in 30 minutes, all in one pan.
Well, summer is once again closing the curtains on us, the kids are back to school, vacations are over, and it’s time to get back into the routine. One of my fall favorites is Shepherd’s Pie – It’s warm, delicious and full of flavor, but there’s no chance I’m going to get a dish like this done on a weeknight, especially after coming home from my 9-5 job!
The most labor-intensive part of preparing a traditional Shepherd’s Pie is the mash potatoes. Takes a good 10 minutes to peel, and cut (if you’re quick), then you have to boil the potatoes, mash and season – this can easily be a half hour’s worth of work. I don’t know about you, but I’m not spending 60 minutes on a weeknight dinner!
So I came up with a little hack that cuts a good 30 minutes out of the prep and cooking time. Something so simple that you’re going to love making it as much as the kids will love eating…tater tots! It brings a whole new dimension to the traditional Shepherd’s Pie that really makes it amazing. The best part about this Shepherd’s Tot Pie is that it’s all made in one pan (or skillet)!
Using tots topped with cheese keeps the traditional flavor of the pie, yet a uniqueness and a “kid-friendly” flavor from the familiar tots. Best part is: COOKING TIME CUT IN HALF! Once the tots are nice and golden, it’s done! About 30 minutes from cooking the beef to tossing the skillet in the oven to cook the tots on top!
Oh, did I mention this is also a great way to sneak in some veggies? Although I don’t throw them in there, feel free to add peas, maybe a little zucchini, or bell peppers, anything you feel like if you need to get more veggies into your kids’ systems. I know that struggle my friends, it’s real.
One quick tip – Use a cheese grater for your veggies, specifically the carrots and onion. You want to get these two as finely cut as possible so that it really blends into the ground beef. This is the trick to getting a really nicely flavored Shepherd’s Pie filling. And even though it’s optional, I highly recommend using wine in the mince because it adds a great flavor that you’ll love!
- 1½ lbs ground beef
- 1 medium carrot
- ½ medium yellow onion
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp thyme
- 2 tsp rosemary
- 8 oz tomato paste
- ¼ cup red wine (optional)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 cups tater tots
- ½ cup grated cheese
- Preheat your oven to 400º F.
- Brown the ground beef in a 12 inch skillet. Drain as much of the fat as possible, about 5 minutes.
- With a cheese grater, grate a whole carrot into the skillet with the ground beef, then the onion, using the larger grate size for the onion, and the smaller for the carrot.
- Mix in the salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, tomato paste, and wine (optional). Cook down for about 3 minutes.
- Mix chicken broth into the skillet and cook down for about 5 minutes.
- Cover the ground beef filling completely with tater tots, top with cheese, and place in the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes.
- Let cool for a few minutes and serve. Enjoy!
We hope you love this simple recipe for One Pan Shepherd’s Tot Pie from SoFabFood Contributor, Derek Campanile of Dad with a Pan, as much as we do. If you love this recipe, be sure to visit our 30-Minute Meals section for more easy weeknight meal ideas. For daily recipe inspiration, like us on Facebook, follow us on Pinterest, and stop by our Google+ Community to see all of the amazing recipes our community members are sharing. Enjoy!
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