When we think of savory, comfort winter food, a shepherd’s pie often comes to mind. This classic British casserole is a delicious combination of buttery mashed potatoes and a hearty meat sauce, simmered gently with an assortment of vegetables.
In my version of this recipe, instead of a making the traditional casserole, I wanted to create individual shepherd’s pies that can be made and assembled ahead of time and baked just before dinner. Once I made the mashed potatoes and the meat and vegetable filling, I then enclosed a small amount of each in filo dough. Assembly, for these decadent filo shepherd’s pies as you will see with the step-by-step photos, was pretty straightforward and the result delicious.
I created this recipe in collaboration with Fillo Factory, a favorite filo brand which I would highly recommend. When choosing filo dough for this recipe, it is important to look for the thinest kind, which will make your mini pies crispy and flaky. Once they emerge from the oven, nice and golden, sprinkle with some fine sea salt and serve with some tzatziki or plain Greek yogurt on the side!
Decadent Filo Shepherd’s Pies – Step by step photo tutorial
- Brush the filo with melted butter
2. Place mashed potatoes and meat filling on filo
3. Fold filo over the filling
4. Start forming a little parcel
5. Brush with melted butter and/or olive oil
6. Filo Shepherd’s pie ready to bake 
- 1 package thin filo, like the Fillo Factory, defrosted
- 1 med. onion, chopped
- 1 med. carrot, chopped
- 1 med. celery, chopped
- 4-5 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. lean ground meat
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 2 TBSP. tomato paste
- 1 TBSP. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup beef stock
- ½ cup frozen English peas, thawed
- 2 cups mashed potatoes, room temperature
- --- melted butter and/or olive oil for brushing on the fillo
- Remove your defrosted filo dough from the refrigerator and place it on your counter. Chop the vegetables and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet, add the olive oil and then add the vegetables. Sauté until lightly brown, stirring frequently. Push the vegetables to the sides of the skillet and add the ground meat. Cook over medium-high heat until brown. Season with sea salt and pepper, stir in the tomato sauce and the Worcestershire sauce and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Pour the beef stock over the mixture, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover the skillet and cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until most of the water is evaporated. Stir in the peas, cover the skillet and let it sit off heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Let the mixture cool completely.
- Open the filo dough package and unroll it. Cut the filo in half cross-wise. You should have two stacks of filo sheets, each one about 14”x9”. Keep the filo sheets covered while you work on the recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place one filo sheet on a work surface, the shortest side in front of you. Brush lightly with the melted butter. Place a second one on top of the first and brush with some more butter. Repeat with a third filo sheet. Place ¼ cup of mashed potatoes onto the filo, about one-inch above the boarder closest to you. Spread it slightly to the right and the left, making sure there is still a two-inch boarder on either side. Top with ½ cup of the meat mixture and spread it over the mashed potatoes. Fold both sides of filo over the filling and brush those folded edges with butter. Roll the filo upwards to completely enclose the mixture, just as you would with a burrito. Place pie on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the fillo sheets, until you run out of mashed potatoes and meat mixture. (Wrap the unused filo tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for another use.)
- Brush some butter over the enclosed filo pies and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with some sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Let the filo pies cool slightly, and then serve with some tzatziki sauce.
THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING ALONG AND FOR READING THIS POST – PLEASE SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS and ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Love reading your comments – leave me a comment below!
If you are not already following my blog, please subscribe to Marilena’s Kitchen to have every new post delivered straight to your e-mail box!
What a great idea! I love both filo pastry and shepard’s pie. I also love the idea of putting food you would not normally expect to find there in filo pastry. I’ve had a vision of pulled pork in filo for a while now, just haven’t gotten round to making it yet.
Thanks Kiki! You are so right – it is always a good idea to think outside the box with recipes, and most times the result is rewarding!
Another amazing looking meal, Marilena. I am making your meatballs and potatoes tonight, but I’m inspired to get all the ingredients for your Greek version of shepherd’s pie and try these this weekend. I love the idea of making them up in batches, freezing and pulling them out for an easy evening meal. Brilliant!
Thank you so much Sandy. Yes, once you have all components of this dish ready, assembly is a breeze. I do hope you try it! So glad you are making the Greek meatballs and roasted potatoes – my kids ask for this all the time!
WE cooked the meatballs and potatoes last night. Fabulous, as always. And tonight we tried the filo dough shepards’ pies We baked half and are freezing the other half. Delicious! Thanks, Marilena. Another outstanding meal!
.
I am so happy you are trying my recipes Sandy, and even happier to know that you are enjoying them! ?
I am a Nanny and we enjoy good food. Chicken nuggets and fries don’t cut it around here so when Dad said meatloaf and potatoes then I saw my phyllo dough in the freezer I came to the interwebs and found your recipe (Over 6 years after publication) and am excited to try it with the kiddos tonight.
I am so glad you are going to give this recipe a try. My family loves it and I hope you all love it too – it is the perfect make-ahead recipe!