Greek Shepherd’s Pie: I smashed together two of my favourite comfort food meals into something revolutionary .
Shortcut Moussaka
I adore classic Greek moussaka, but making it is tedious task involving:
- Peeling, slicing potatoes
- Making béchamel sauce AND meat sauce
- Broiling eggplant and zucchini
- Making pretty layers in a baking dish.
Phew, I’m tired just talking about it.
It’s worth the effort and dishes sometimes. But definitely not on a weeknight.
Greek Shepherd’s Pie: Why You’ll Love it
My Greek Shepherd’s Pie creation retains all the delicious elements of actual moussaka.
We’re talking rich meat sauce nuanced with cinnamon.
Tender bites of zucchini and eggplant.
Plush creamy potato topping.
BUT, it takes a tiny fraction of the time, and only requires two dishes. You in?
How to Make Greek Shepherd’s Pie
Super easy. Let’s go!
Make the Meat Sauce
Brown some ground lamb (or beef), with cinnamon, onion, garlic, zucchini and eggplant then simmer it in a rich tomato sauce.
Make the Potato Topping
Swap the traditional moussaka sliced potatoes for mashed potatoes (I don’t even bother to peel them!).
Stir some butter, milk and parmesan right in to riff on a white sauce.
Assemble the Greek Shepherd’s Pie
Pile the fluffy potatoes on top of the luscious meat filling, then bake until the sauce bubbles up seductively around the edges and the potatoes bear a beautiful golden crust.
SO good. That’s really all I can say.
I have to include the original photo
Enjoy this charming 2009 photography throwback. All the photos on Foodess looked like this and people still made the recipes. I take that as a strong vouch for the actual recipe quality 😆 xo
Other Must-Try Pie Savory Pie Recipes
- Beef Pot Pie
- Turkey Pot Pie
- Samosa Pie
- Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
- ​​Curry Beef Pot Pie with Easy Pie Crust Recipe By Hand
More Greek Recipes You’ll Love
- Crispy Air Fryer Eggplant
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Kourabides (Greek Cookies)
- Orzo Vegetable Soup
- Kafta Kabob (very similar to Greek Keftedes)
- Lamb Pasta Sauce
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Greek Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
For Potato Layer
- 6 medium potatoes peeled and halved
- 2 cups milk
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup finely grated parmesan
For Meat
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lb ground lamb or beef
- 2 ½ cups finely-chopped onion about 1 large
- 1 tbsp minced garlic about 3 large cloves
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 medium zucchini chopped in 1″ pieces
- 1 medium eggplant chopped in 1″ pieces
- 1 5.5 oz can tomato paste
- 1 cup red wine or beef broth
- 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
Instructions
For Mashed Potato Topping
- Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender; mash with butter, milk and parmesan; season to taste with salt and pepper.
For Meat Filling
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. White the potatoes are boiling, heat to shimmering hot in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add lamb, onion, garlic and season with salt, cinnamon and pepper.
- Once onion starts to soften, stir in zucchini and eggplant and cook until the zucchini is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste; cook 2 minutes, until it turns a darker shade. Add red wine and stir to deglaze the pot. Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 5 -10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Remove dutch oven from heat and top meat mixture with the mashed potatoes. Transfer to the oven and bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbling up around the edges, about 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My family loves this, thank you for a quick version that tastes like it’s been marinating all day!