Trader Joe's Beef Shepherd’s Pie

Trader Joe’s Beef Shepherd’s Pie Reviews

(46 customer reviews)

With gravy, vegetables, and mashed potatoes.

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46 reviews for Trader Joe’s Beef Shepherd’s Pie Reviews

  1. Elizabeth W. –

    The photo is always misleading but especially with this one. I did like the flavor of the potatoes and there was certainly a lot of food there, but VERY little veggies. It was mostly meat and potatoes. The meat was fine. I actually might do this again but I’d make some additional vegetables to serve with it.

  2. mike o –

    Picture looked great… worst thing we ever bought at TJ… Potatoes tasted like glue, meat looked like dog food, tasted like real cheap beef… vegetables??? STAY AWAY from this garbage.. TJ’s needs to relook this item and dump it… usually everything has been great… this is a never agian….

  3. Mary Richard –

    Very bland and yet strange tasting at the same time. The meat is unpleasant. Stay away.

  4. Tim –

    awful, just threw mine away , they should be ashamed

  5. Stephanie –

    I am apparently an anomaly! My husband and I liked this dish, and I actually recommended it to a friend. I agree that more veggies would definitely improve the dish.

  6. kiwihc –

    Most horrible pie I’ve ever had. Very bland and only adding ketchup made it passable to eat. TJ how about refunding those who have bought it?

  7. James Doolittle –

    Nasty watery tasteless potato. Beef was good so we’re the veg. Do not buy

  8. Anonymous –

    No herbs or any sort of crust to the top. Beef was uninteresting and basically pot roast. Vegetables barely exist. Lacked salt. Potatoes so watery they sort of melded into the meat as a white meat slop. Hard to say just how disappointing this was as a Shepard’s pie, and that’s at $5. I usually like Trader Joe’s stuff – their steak and ale pie they had a few months ago was pretty good.

  9. robert allen nordin –

    A waste of money for this dish. It is 95% mashed potatoes. I found it difficult to find anything else but the potatoes.

  10. sam –

    I have never bought anything “food wise” from Trader Joes. Usually, I go in there for their frozen fruit bags because they’re so cheap. The other day, I thought, I’ll buy a bit of their food. This “pie” was just awful. It has no flavor. HOW do you remove ALL flavor from ALL the ingredients? Is there a special machine that deflavorizes all the ingredients?

    Just don’t waste your money and NEVER buy this.

  11. Andy –

    I am shocked that Trader Joe’s is selling this product so I don’t think their ‘buyers’ are aware they are being badly ripped off.
    I have the same complaints as most others: it is almost nothing but mashed potatoes and looks absolutely nothing like the picture on the box. I will go to their website and be sure they are aware of this sickening nightmare…after I vomit (and i am not kidding it is that bad)

  12. Andy Clark –

    I tried to edit my comment and couldn’t so I am adding this note. I went to the website and contacted them about this. I linked these reviews. IMO the product is so horrible it should be immediately recalled and billed back to the vendor who has been stealing from Trader Joe and its customers for a long time. I also think Trader Joe should be getting automated alerts of products that get this type of review so they can deal with it sooner .

  13. Dan Gibson –

    Believe all the awful reviews. Flavored mashed potatoes with a tablespoon of meat and a tablespoon of vegetables. I’m
    surprised TJ would want their name on this. Shouldn’t they be sued for putting that picture on this crap?

  14. Charles Anderson ( Shephards Pie Afficiando) –

    Trader Joe’s Shephards Pie— Photo Shopped- Image on package— showing a hearty – thick full of delicious Vegetables— — you were thinking you would need a knife to eat this meal—- This is what was really presented—- thin layer of potatoes— on top of basically a tasteless soup — with a few carrot flakes—-half dozen peas— and corn— I saw one green bean the size of a chick pea— absolutely tasteless—you could easily use a straw—( put my knife back in the drawer) — this was easily the worst meal Ever! — Obviously I didn’t eat it— really surprised that Trader Joe’s would put their name on this—

  15. Matt –

    Inedible. Potato glue and strange stringy meat

  16. Anonymous –

    Don’t buy the Shepherds Pie. Very poor.. flavorless, lack of vegetables, lack of gravy. We’ve made our own with British friends and you wouldn’t know it’s the same dish. Very disappointing.

  17. Laura –

    Crazy unreliable! I’ve had one that was full of delicious roast beef. The bottom of the container was full of packed up dense roast beef. That was ONE time. Another time it actually 0 beef! Which is really nasty! The potato on top is box made 100%. The gravy, veg, and steak make up for it. I like it, when it has a good amount of meat in it. Still, I find each one is different. Most don’t seem to have much steak in them at all. It’s a complete gamble! I have no clue what they are going for or how much meat is meant to be in it.

  18. Martin –

    Apple or cherry by the slice
    with a tasty pastry crust is very nice
    but not a must
    my absolute fave fit for a king
    with taters on top of thee I sing
    made with lamb
    not beef that’s cottage
    and personal wish
    as the name does imply
    is a dainty dish
    of homemade shepherd’s pie

  19. Anonymous –

    Trader Joe’s should be ashamed. All this was was watery mashed potatoes with very little beef or veges. I really question the nutrition label accuracy. Nothing like the picture on the box.

  20. Shirley Sorenson –

    Terrible Beef Shepherds Pie. Runny mashed potatoes- 2 peas- maybe 1 or 2 tiny carrot pieces, no green flakes of what knows what, featured in the picture. I will Never buy this again! Really thought more of Trader Joes label! A real let down !

  21. David Rines –

    Worst thing I ever bought from Trader Joe’s. Soupy and very little meat or vegetables. Two bites then the rest went down the garbage disposal.

  22. Diane Sayer –

    It smelled strange as, if it was spoiled. I thought perhaps it used corned beef, but the description didn’t list that. I ate some anyway thinking it was my imagination. I didn’t let my husband eat it. So far I’m ok. lot# 00362603/22223B

  23. J Hatch –

    Just cooked it tonight. Watery, not sure it was actual beef, looked appalling when cooked; not up to TJ’s usual standards.

  24. Naina –

    Remains a disappointment. Watery mashed potatoes, undercooked green beans, beef stringy, not tender. Plus, let me point out that the oven bake directions are inaccurate: there was no ‘film’ to vent the corner of. Instead, meal in a plastic bag.
    I removed that, covered the dish with tin foil, baked 40 minutes @ 400 degrees; result totally watery. Put back in the oven uncovered for another 10 minutes. Looked okay then, but taste not worth eating. Threw out most of it.
    Always like to try convenient Trader Joe’s meals new to me. Some are excellent. Guess I’ll be smart and read reviews before trying anything different next time!

  25. Julia –

    Horrible. Watery mash potatoes, strange taste. Not sure why Trader Joe’s are selling this. Usually the company very selective with the products but not in this case.

  26. Ryan –

    What a disappointment. Pulled out of the oven after 35 minutes and wasn’t sure if it was cooked it looked so runny. I let it sit for the 1 min per instructions and it thickened slightly. The composition was mostly runny potatoes, with minimal meat and vegetables. The taste wasn’t bad. If I paid $2 I would give it a three star. However, TJ charged $4.49! I’m surprised there haven’t been lawsuits for the false marketing on the box. Worst TJ buy ever. Avoid.

  27. Sarah –

    I wish I had read the reviews on here before purchasing this. Biggest disappointment from TJs to date. Hopefully they’ll remove this one from the shelves sooner rather than later.

  28. Susan –

    Terrible.
    I’d give it ZERO stars if I could. It was all potatoes and only a few bites of vegetables. If it contained meat I never found it.

  29. Trader joe shopper –

    Like dog food. Disgusting

  30. Some guy in NY –

    Bought this item based on my experience with other TJ’s convenience meals, which have been really fantastic. This one was NOT though. Lifeless, flavorless potatoes, a little bit of dry beef that seriously tasted like dog food, and hardly any veggies. It was so strange coming from Trader Joe’s, where you normally can’t go wrong with just about anything. At 340 calories for the entire thing I didn’t take too much of a hit and can try again with something more appetizing.

  31. J –

    This meal looks like dog food with a bunch of potatoes piled on top. I took one bite and immediately regretted it. Trader Joes has plenty of good products. This isn’t one of them.

  32. Kate Rhees –

    I’m so sad to read these reviews, because this is a staple at my house. I warm it in the microwave, and then put it in a dish and bake out the excess moisture. In the oven the potatoes get brown, and it’s a really good warm dinner. I’ll be so sad if it leaves the shelves.

  33. JM Christian –

    I just finished my third one and this was the worst yet. The first one had was mostly potatoes with 2 pieces of beef that were fairly small and a modest amount of veggies, the second was somewhat better with four pieces of beef, which is what brought me to get a third, but this will be my last. It was almost ENTIRELY potatoes, not many veggies, and ONE small piece of beef. So, no more TJ’s fake shepherds pie for me. It may be inexpensive, but it’s not worth it, and the picture is a GROSS misrepresentation of the actual pie.

  34. Bob –

    ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC!!! 98% watery potato with a few carrot specs, a few corn kernels and maybe a teaspoon of ALPO!! Apparently a zero rating is not an option. -5 would be most appropriate!!! Who is on QC?!?!?

  35. M Lance –

    Well. I agree with the statements about sogginess, pasty potatoes, being mostly potatoes, etc.

    My shepherd pies were looking pretty sad and soggy out of the oven and after sitting for 2 minutes, so I put them under the broiler for 5 minutes to brown the mashed potatoes, which caused one of the trays to spark and I had tiny situation to address with that. We added fresh ground coarse pepper and Portugues Flor De Sal (a lot of both), and that helped so the pies were decently edible. Husband added rice to his, which he said helped.

    Will stick to the steak and stout pies from now on.

  36. Anonymous –

    Terrible don’t waste your money!

  37. Katie –

    Worst food I have purchased at T.J. I know my shepherd’s pie as I’m a Brit. Go to BBC food and make it yourself. It is a cheap meal to make. This tastes like slop@

  38. Bob –

    These used to be the best items at Trader Joe’s. Not anymore, by a long shot . They reduced the size by changing from a rectangle to an oval, but the box is the same. The mashed potatoes used to be thick and delicious, now they’re watery, bland, and constitute the majority of the dish. Very few vegetables and meat. These suck now. Trader Joe’s is going downhill fast.

  39. Woody McBeairty –

    It should be illegal to “present” sch a misleading picture of a food that is absolutely nothing like the real thing inside the box. The picture is very appealing, however, I’d say there is nothing else in the way of ingredients except a very light n thin excuse for mashed potatoes, no other ingredient is identifiable, what little morsels there are. I decided to do this SP for a quick bite but I was actually angry when I saw the fraud that I was suckered into buying for 8 bucks. Never, ever again will I allow this to happen to me

  40. Anonymous –

    Yeah it was pretty bad. I just wanted something low cal high protein so grabbed this and it tasted like a banquet frozen dinner

  41. Kelli –

    I had high hopes for this, but it was such a disappointment. The thing that stood out to me the most was that it had an odd sour taste, like it was bad, like there was a spoonful of vinegar stirred into it. Horrible! I only ate most of it because I was very hungry and didn’t want to waste food. Revolting experience.

  42. Judith Daves –

    I was hungry so I bought this, believing it would be at least somewhat like the picture shown on the box. I am still hungry! Unlike most of these reviews, I thought the beef was delicious, unfortunately there was very little, only a few forkfuls. Also very little vegetable, the rest was a thick layer of potato. In some spots, when I lifted the potato, there was nothing at all underneath! Obviously, this has been going on for years…is anyone at TJ’s listening??

  43. Anonymous –

    update from 2023 — seems like they listened to everyone here!! just bought my second beef shepard’s pie and it’s as amazing as the last. It’s practically entirely beef — honestly, I’m a fan of mashed potatoes, so I could’ve had more of ’em than I had! it is so warming and incredible these winter months.

  44. EmeryP –

    I agree with all the negative reviews, my only question is, doesn’t Trader Joe’s monitor these reviews and if so why is this garbage still being sold?

  45. LBee –

    Just rename this “Highly Processed Potato Gunk with Dog Food Tidbits”. Please stop this, Trader Joe’s.

  46. Cindy –

    Where’s the beef? 2 small pieces of beef and mostly mashed potato. i did not expect it to be like grandma’s, but this was plain lousy…

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