Lamb · Slow cooker adaptation

Slow Cooker Shepherd's Pie (Jamie Oliver Inspired)

Lean lamb, plenty of browning, and a sneaky tin of beans that you'd never guess was in there, Jamie's shepherd's pie is comfort food that's secretly doing you favours. Mushrooms add depth, a swede-and-potato mash tops it all off, and a spoonful of mint sauce gives the filling that classic lamb swagger.

R By Richard · Adapted from Jamie Oliver · Published 29 May 2026
👁 615.2k source views ❤️ 4.2k source likes
⏱Prep 30 min
🍲Slow cook 6 hr (Low) / 3 hr (High)
🍽Serves 6
How To Make A Shepherds Pie | Comfort Food By Jamie Oliver

Source video by Jamie Oliver on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

A wholesome shepherd's pie based on Jamie Oliver's super food version, with lean lamb mince, cannellini beans, carrots, celery and mushrooms simmered into a rich ragu. The slow cooker does the heavy lifting on the filling, leaving you to whip up a potato and swede mash topping. A final blast in the oven gives that classic crispy, golden crust. Hearty, family-friendly comfort food with hidden veg.

Slow cooker notes: Lamb mince is browned in a pan first since slow cookers don't caramelise. Stock reduced from 800 ml to 500 ml because slow cookers retain liquid. Filling cooks low and slow in the pot, then transfers to an oven dish with the mash topping for the final crisping (slow cookers can't crisp a topping). Mint sauce and Worcestershire sauce are still stirred in at the end as Jamie instructs.

Ingredients

Filling
  • 500 glean lamb mince
  • 2 sprigsrosemary sprigs, finely chopped
  • 2 wholeonions, finely chopped
  • 1 tincannellini beans, drained
  • 2 wholecarrots, diced
  • 2 wholecelery sticks, diced
  • 250 gmushrooms, sliced
  • 1 heaped tbspplain flour
  • 500 mlchicken or vegetable stock
  • 2 tspmint sauce (add late)
  • 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce (add late)
  • black pepper
  • salt
Topping
  • 800 gpotatoes, quartered
  • 1 wholeswede, peeled and chopped
  • 2 tbspsemi-skimmed milk
  • 15 ggood quality cheddar, grated
  • 350 gfrozen peas (add late)
  • rosemary, a few small sprigs (add late)
  • olive oil, a drizzle (add late)

Method

  1. Heat a dry frying pan over a high heat. Add the lamb mince and break it up with a spoon, letting it render and caramelise for colour and flavour. Season with two generous pinches of black pepper and a little salt.

    ~8 min

  2. Stir in the finely chopped rosemary and onions and cook for a couple of minutes until the onions start to soften.

    ~3 min

  3. Add the drained cannellini beans, diced carrots, celery and sliced mushrooms. Stir over high heat for around 5 minutes to start cooking down the veg.

    ~5 min

  4. Sprinkle in the heaped tablespoon of plain flour and stir through. Tip everything into the slow cooker.

    ~2 min

  5. Pour over 500 ml of chicken or vegetable stock. Stir, pop the lid on and cook on Low for 6 hours or High for 3 hours.

  6. About 30 minutes before serving, boil the swede in salted water for 10 to 15 minutes, then add the quartered potatoes and boil for another 10 to 15 minutes until everything is tender.

    ~25 min

  7. Drain well, then mash with 2 tablespoons of semi-skimmed milk and the grated cheddar. Season to taste.

    ~5 min

  8. Once the filling has finished cooking, stir in 2 to 3 teaspoons of mint sauce and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.

    ~1 min

  9. Tip the ragu into an oven proof serving dish. Scatter the frozen peas evenly over the top to act as a barrier that stops the mash sinking.

    ~3 min

  10. Spoon the potato and swede mash over the peas, then score the top all over with a fork so it crisps up nicely.

    ~3 min

  11. Bake at 180C (350F) for around 25 to 30 minutes until golden and bubbling. In the last 5 minutes, scatter over a few small rosemary sprigs with a drizzle of olive oil.

    ~30 min

Frequently asked

Can I skip browning the mince first?
It is worth the few minutes. Slow cookers steam rather than caramelise, so browning the lamb in a dry pan beforehand is where most of the deep, meaty flavour comes from.
Can I cook the topping in the slow cooker too?
You can hold the mash on top of the filling in the slow cooker, but it will not crisp up. For that proper golden, forked top you really do need to transfer everything to an oven dish and bake it.
Can I make this vegetarian?
Yes. Jamie suggests swapping the lamb mince for extra mushrooms. Use vegetable stock and double check your Worcestershire sauce is veggie friendly.
Can I make it ahead?
Absolutely. Cook the filling in the slow cooker the day before, cool and refrigerate. On the day, reheat in a dish, top with mash and peas, and bake until golden and bubbling.
Why swede in the mash?
Jamie cuts the mashed potato 50/50 with swede to sneak in extra veg without losing that comforting mash texture. It also adds a lovely sweet, earthy flavour.
Extraction notes (transparency): Quantities of mince, cannellini beans tin size, and salt amount were not stated explicitly in the transcript and have been inferred from typical Jamie Oliver shepherd's pie proportions for 6 servings. Stock volume reduced as part of slow cooker adaptation. Source is a hob plus oven recipe adapted to slow cooker. | Second-pass critique flagged 7 fabricated and 2 quantified issues. See critique.issues for detail.