Last Updated on April 15, 2021 by Corinne Schmitt
This Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie is a hearty and satisfying meal the whole family will love. Pressure cooking allows for us to swap in a tender chuck roast for the traditional ground beef and the result is a major upgrade to this comfort food classic.
Shepherd’s Pie has been a staple on my dinner menu for a long time. I love that it’s an all-in-one meal that includes meat, vegetables, and a starch, just like this Air Fryer Chicken Pot Pie recipe.
More importantly, I like that because I call it a “pie” and because the healthier parts of the dish are buried under mashed potatoes, my kids like this dinner as much as I do.
How to Make Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie
Normally, I try to keep my recipes very simple with very few steps. And for my instant pot recipes, I usually like to dirty just the Instant Pot liner. This recipe is unlike most of my other recipes because it doesn’t satisfy either of those criteria.
Because of the difference in cooking times for each of the components in this dish, there are a couple of times you have to remove items to a different plate. In addition, to get a nice golden brown crust on the potatoes, we’re going to put everything in a casserole dish and broil it at the end.
So, why not just make traditional shepherd’s pie if using the Instant Pot doesn’t make this recipe easier? Because it lets us incorporate a better meat, which it turns out, makes a big difference!
The chuck roast in this Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie shreds so easily and is so much more satisfying than the ground beef I usually use.
Step 1 – Sear the Roast
First, set your Instant Pot to sauté and let it heat up. While you’re waiting, pat the roast dry and season on all sides with salt. Once the pot is hot, add the oil, then the roast and sear on each side.
Step 2 – Sauté Onion and Garlic
Next, remove the roast to a plate. Add some more olive oil to the pot, then add diced onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Step 3 – Pressure Cook the Roast
Turn the pot off. Return the roast to the pot. Also add broth, tomato paste, thyme, and rosemary.
Secure the lid, select “Manual” and set the time for 40 minutes. Quick release the pressure when it’s done cooking.
Step 4 – Cook the Root Vegetables
Next, remove the beef from the instant pot and insert the steaming rack. Place the carrots and potatoes on top of the rack.
Cook for 10 minutes on manual, then quick release.
While the vegetables are cooking, shred the beef.
Step 5 – Make Gravy
Once the vegetables are done cooking, remove the potatoes from the Instant Pot (leave the carrots in the pot).
Combine flour or cornstarch with some water and slowly add to the remaining liquid in the pot until you get the gravy consistency you like.
Add the frozen peas and corn. Stir occasionally for 2 minutes to cook the vegetables in the gravy.
Step 6 – Finish the Dish
Add the shredded beef and mix well. Then pour the entire mixture into a casserole dish.
Add some butter and 1/4 cup chicken broth to the potatoes and mash with a fork. Spread the potato mixture over the beef mixture in the casserole dish.
Broil for 5 minutes to brown the potatoes. Serve immediately.
Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Ready to make this Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie? Here’s the recipe card with the exact measurements.
Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs olive oil divided – 1 Tbs each
- 1 2-3 lb chuck roast excess fat trimmed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup white onion about ½ med onion, Diced
- 3 cloves garlic Minced
- 2 1/4 cups chicken broth divided – 2 cups and 1/4 cup
- 1 Tbs tomato paste
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 cup diced carrots about 3 large carrots
- 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes 2-3 medium potatoes
- 1 Cup frozen peas
- ½ Cup frozen corn
- 1-2 Tbs flour
- 2 Tbs butter
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to sauté for 10 minutes and allow to preheat.
- Pat beef dry and salt all sides. Add olive oil to Instant Pot, then add roast and cook on each side until browned, or about 1 minute on each side. Remove meat and set aside.
- Add onion to pot and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to turn translucent, around 3 minutes.
- Add garlic and stir for another 30 seconds.
- Add beef, chicken broth, tomato paste, and herbs and cook for 40 minutes on manual setting, then manually release steam.
- Remove beef from Instant Pot.
- Insert steaming rack in to instant pot and place peeled, quartered potatoes and carrots on rack. Cook for 10 minutes on manual setting, then manually release.
- While the potatoes and carrots are cooking, shred beef.
- Remove potatoes and set aside.
- 10. Add flour to remaining liquid 1 teaspoon at a time until a gravy like consistency. Add frozen peas and corn, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.
- 11. Add shredded beef. Mix completely and pour into a glass baking dish.
- 12. Mash potatoes using a fork, butter, and ¼ cup chicken broth. Using a spatula, cover the meat mixture completely.
- 13. Place dish under broiler for 5 minutes or potatoes are golden brown. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
More Instant Pot Recipes
If you liked this Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie, you might enjoy some of these other family-friendly Instant Pot recipes.
Instant Pot Honey Dijon Chicken
Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches
More Instant Pot Resources
Love your Instant Pot? Find more Instant Pot Recipes here. And check out my favorite Instant Pot Hacks.
If you double the recipe, would you need to extend the cooking time and if so, by how long? Thank you! This looks so much better than the one we make!!
Yes, you can double the recipe, just make sure the size of your Instant Pot will accommodate it. Also, the cook time will remain the same but it might take longer to come to pressure.
If I were to use ground beef how would the recipe change?
To make with ground beef, cook the potatoes and carrots first according to the recipe directions. Then, after you’ve removed them from the pot, brown the ground beef in the IP. Add the tomato paste and herbs but only 2/3 cup of broth. Select “Manual” and set time for 10 minutes. While it’s cooking, you can mash the potatoes.
I made this last weekend, and it was delicious. I used some white wine to deglaze the bottom of te pot after browning the meat, used a little extra thyme and a bay leaf since I didn’t have any rosemary. My husband brought home a rump roast instead of a chuck roast because it was on sale. It worked great, but needed almost double the IP time before it would shred.
One question – I added the diced carrots per the instructions with the potatoes. I kept them as separated as I could in the steamer. They were perfectly cooked, but it took some time to separate them once cooked to keep them out of the mashed potatoes. I now see in the photo that the carrots aren’t with the potatoes on the steamer rack. Do they go below in the gravy?
Anyway, thank you for such meal! My family said I should make it again.
Hi Martha, thanks for the feedback! Actually, the carrots aren’t in the photo because I forgot to take the picture after I added them on top of the potatoes when I made this. It is a pain separating them after they’ve cooked. You CAN put the carrots below the steamer rack, but they’ll absorb a lot of the liquid and be softer as a result. They also lose their vibrant color. If you don’t mind that, there’s no reason you can’t make it that way.