Ham Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Ham Shepherd’s Pie ties in some of the best parts of a holiday dinner, the leftovers! While I made fresh mashed potatoes for this recipe, you can use leftover mashed potatoes. Now let’s face it leftover ham from Thanksgiving dinner, Easter Dinner, Or Christmas dinner is fantastic!

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A more traditional Shepherd’s Pie is made with ground beef and is also called a cottage pie. I love to find ways to use leftover meat when we have holiday dinners, but I also pick up extra hams at the grocery store for less around the holidays. I love this twist on a classic dish, and even though it tends to be a St. Patricks Day recipe, it works any time of year.

Ham Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients

• Ham–  You can use either store-bought or homemade pie crust. Personally, store-bought is my go-to for saving time, but if homemade pie crust is something you enjoy, it can be used with this recipe.
• Red Pepper-I made large chunks of the bell pepper so the kids could pick around it.
• Red Onion
• Minced Garlic
• Mashed Potatoes– I like to use Garlic Mashed Potatoes but in a pinch you can also use instant mashed potatoes aka boxed potatoes
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Cream Of Chicken– If you don’t want chicken, you can use cream of celery, cream of mushroom, or cream of asparagus.

How TO Make Ham Shepherd’s Pie

Start a pot of boiling water to boil your potatoes. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, just reheat them on top of the pie or cook them longer if they are not reheated.

Peel and cut your potatoes, I used russet potatoes, but I plan to use gold potatoes the next time I make this because they have a deeper flavor. 

Boil your potatoes until they are ready to be mashed. 

Chop your onion and peppers up. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees f.

Strain your potatoes; I mix mine up in my kitchen aid mixer. Or you can mash potatoes by hand with a potato masher or a hand-held mixer.

Reheat your ham so it’s warm to be put in the pie.

I added my strained potatoes, milk, sour cream, salt, and pepper to mash. You can substitute heavy cream into yours or add butter as well. Creamy mashed potatoes are the best for this recipe.

Combine your Cream of Chicken soup, peppers, onion, diced ham, and minced garlic in a separate mixing bowl. 

Spray your pie pan with a nonstick spray. You can use any baking dish or casserole pan, but you must increase the ingredients to fill the dish.

Put the meat mixture and press flat with a spatula. 

Spread your mashed potatoes onto the top of the meat mixture.  

*Now I goofed and put cheese on mine before I put it in the oven because everything was warmed up it was done in 20 minutes. If your potatoes and ham aren’t warm it will take longer to cook. You can bake and then add cheese it is a preference, for me, it was one less step to have to do.*

Cook for about 20 minutes in the oven and then remove it from the oven.

I used mild cheddar cheese on top of the potatoes, but any cheese will work. This is tasty with three cheese Mexican cheese too.

Put back in the oven for another 5 minutes to melt the cheese.  

Serve and enjoy!! 

HOW STORE LEFTOVER Shepherd’s pie

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days. You can also use plastic wrap or aluminum foil to cover the pan.

You can freeze in an air-tight container for up to three months.

Storing leftovers properly requires the right tools! My preferred storage method is if the leftovers can be sealed in a food saver. If not, then an air-tight container or Ziploc bag for the fridge is the way I go. The air-tight container and a freezer Ziploc bag are the next best bet for freezing the leftovers. I also use a food scale to measure portions into serving sizes.

Freezable storage ContainersFood SealerFreezer BagsFood Scale

 

HOW TO REHEAT LEFTOVERS Shepherd’s pie

You can microwave to reheat or bake in the oven.

What To Serve With Shepherd’s Pie

• Roasted Root Vegetables– Carrots, Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus, Broccoli, and Cauliflower, are excellent in the oven.
• Green beans
• Corn on the Cob
• Side Salad
• Dinner roll
• Coleslaw
• Air Fryer Asparagus
• Cornbread
• Biscuits
• Garlic bread

WHAT TYPE OF MEAT ALTERNATIVES TO USE IN SHEPHERD’S PIE:

Any ground meat or shredded meat will work for the meat portion. Classic Shepherd’s Pie Recipe will be made with ground beef.

• Ground Lamb
• Roast 
• Ground Chicken
• Ground Beef
• Ground Turkey 

ALTERNATIVES TO PUT IN SHEPHERD’S PIE:

• Worcestershire Sauce
• Tomato Paste
• Mixed Vegetables- These can be strained canned vegetables or cooked frozen vegetables. Broccoli florets would be amazing in this.
• Garlic Powder
• Tomato Sauce
• Chicken Stock-Adding, this to the water you are boiling potatoes in, is a great way to add flavor to your potatoes.
• Mozzarella Cheese

Shepherds Pie Recipes To Try Out

• Easy Shepherd’s Pie Recipe– Perfect comfort food to make at home! Use ground beef and top with mashed potatoes and cheese! Perfect for St Patrick’s Day!
• Ham Shepherd’s Pie–Holiday leftover ham is excellent when repurposed into this comforting dish.
• Turkey Shepherd’s Pie– Use leftover turkey to make actual comfort food at its finest.
• Brisket Shepherd’s Pie-Used Smoked Brisket to make this tasty comfort food on your smoker.
• Vegan Shepherd’s Pie– Now you can veganize this recipe by using plant-based meat (aka vegan beef), vegan mashed potatoes, violife vegan cheese, and vegan cream of chicken soup options.

Pans TO COOK SHEPHERD’S PIE In:

The size of dish you bake the shepherd’s pie in will affect the servings and how much you need to fill the dish. So be sure to have an idea of how much of the ingredients you will need.

• Casserole Dish
• Large Skillet Pan– Cast iron is fantastic; if not using a cast iron skillet, use an oven-safe skillet.
• Pie Pan-You can use a disposable pan, glass pie plate, or metal pie plate.
• Cast Iron Pan 
• Dutch Oven Pan 

Recipes using Leftover Ham:

Are you looking for more recipe ideas using leftover ham? Check out my leftover ham recipes -> here. These leftover ham recipes are the perfect way to use your holiday ham.

• Easy One Pot Cheesy Ham Noodles
• Ham Pot Pie
• Cheesy Ham Noodle Casserole
• Crockpot Ham And Bean Soup
• Ham Cheesy Broccoli Soup