IT’S the classic British dish, filled with delicious lamb and topped with creamy mashed potatoes.
However, shepherd’s pie can take a good hour or so to bake in the oven if you are making it from scratch.
But every supermarket has a ready meal version that takes just 25 to 35 minutes – and some taste almost as good as a homemade version.
To celebrate British Pie Week this week, Hayley Minn tucked into some shepherd’s pies, rating them on taste, appearance and value for money and marking them out of five.
400g, £3.25 (or £2.50 with a Nectar card)
AT first glance, Sainsbury’s shepherd’s pie didn’t look as nice as some of the others. And when it came to taste, it was just a bit meh.
Although there was a lot of meat and the potato was nice, the dish could have done with a bit more flavouring.
This might need salt, pepper and herbs on the top to make it pop.
2/5
400g, £3.80
THIS looked really good — I’d be very happy to present it to the in-laws.
There was a lot of flavour and it felt very hearty, with loads of tasty meat and potato as well as veg, so I was a big fan.
I marked it down for the price, as it was slightly more expensive than some of the others that tasted just as good.
4/5
400g, £3.50
ON first appearances, this shepherd’s pie looked really good thanks to the creamy mash on top, decorated in waves.
But you wouldn’t expect less from the luxury supermarket.
When it came to taste, the sauce and lamb were delicious, and there was a lot of veg and potatoes, but there were other pies I preferred.
3/5
400g, £4.75
AS part of Morrisons’ The Best higher-end line, this was the most expensive of all the ones I tried. But it did look “the best” when I took it out of the oven.
So I had really high hopes when it came to the taste and I wasn’t disappointed.
There was lots of juicy lamb as well as creamy mash, and it was flavoured very well.
4/5
400g, £3.25
WHEN I took it out of the oven, Tesco’s was definitely the least attractive, looking slightly anaemic.
You would need to cook it for longer than the recommended time if you want it crispier on top.
Unfortunately, the taste wasn’t much better, as all I could make out was potato and no meat.
I couldn’t see any veg either, and there was no flavour.
1/5
800g, £3.80
I BOUGHT the version that is meant for two people, but there is also a 400g version that’s £3.25, so it is one of the cheaper ones.
There was some nice detail on top, but when it came to flavour it needed a lot more seasoning and maybe some rosemary as well on top.
There was a good balance of meat and potato, though.
3/5
400g, £2.49
THE appearance of Aldi’s shepherd’s pie was good and it browned off really nicely, with some lovely waves in the mash.
While the meat I could taste in there was pretty good, it was masked by all the mash.
It needed some more seasoning as well as a lot more filling, which may be why it was one of the cheaper ones.
3/5
450g, £2.79
YOU get a little bit more here, with an extra 50g. I thought the taste would be lacking and the pie scrimping on ingredients, but how wrong I was.
The lamb flavour was so strong it felt like a roast dinner, and there was so much sauce and delicious mash.
Lidl has gone to town with the piping. My winner.
5/5
