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When it comes to comfort food to keep you warm on a cold winter’s day, few dishes can compare to shepherd’s pie. The minced meat-based dish, layered with vegetables and gravy before getting topped with a buttery mashed potato crust, has been served for generations.
If you want to discuss technicalities, most of what diners would consider shepherd’s pie today is actually cottage pie. A traditional shepherd’s pie is made with ground lamb meat, whereas a cottage pie is made with the more commonly available ground beef. Over time, it became the cultural norm in the United States to label the beef version of the dish shepherd’s pie. The technicalities continue, as shepherd’s pie is commonly associated with Irish food, though the dish actually originates in northern England and Scotland.
Here in the United States, as you might imagine, the dish is mostly found in small, independently owned Irish- and British-style pubs—the ones with the dark-toned wood, the bartender who’s been working there for 40 years, and live music every Sunday night. However, there are a few chains that carry the dish as well. They may be few and far between, but some of the chains that wisely carry this savory dish have a wide reach, and you may be closer to a shepherd’s pie than you realize.
The Cheesecake Factory
Shepherd’s Pie (Dinner Serving): 1460 cal, 85 g fat (42 g saturated fat), 3300 mg sodium, 90 g carbs (13 g fiber, 16 g sugar), 79 g protein
Restaurant chain juggernaut the Cheesecake Factory has a menu that is a
