The perfect comforting family meal, this easy cottage pie features a layer of flavourful meat and veggies topped with fluffy mashed potatoes.
This easy and delicious cottage pie recipe is a must-try!
Cottage pie, which is often called Shepherd’s pie is a classic British dish that has been around for a long time and has many variations of it.
It’s packed with flavorful ground beef and vegetables, topped with creamy mashed potatoes, and baked to golden perfection.
If you ask me, it’s British comfort food at its best!
What I love most about this recipe is that the filling comes together in just one skillet—less mess and only one pot to clean!
It’s super quick and easy to make, making it the perfect go-to meal for any night of the week.
Shepherd's pie VS cottage pie
The main difference between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie lies in the meat.
Shepherd’s Pie is traditionally made with ground lamb, while Cottage Pie uses ground beef.
That said, ground lamb isn’t always easy to find in many grocery stores, and even restaurants often use beef but still call it Shepherd’s Pie.
Today, I’m sticking to tradition and sharing my version with minced beef—so we’re making a proper Cottage Pie!
How to make cottage pie
Making this British favourite is super easy, doesn't require particular equipment, and the filling comes together all in one pot.
All you need is a cast-iron skillet, an oven-safe pan or a shallow enameled cast iron shallow casserole.
The method I follow is very similar to the one to make classic Italian bolognese, but it's actually way easier.
Here below is the step-by-step recipe overview with pictures.
Scroll until the end of the post for the full printable recipe.
STEP 1. Sauté carrot, onion, and celery in olive oil over low-medium heat until softened, then transfer to a bowl.
STEP 2. In the same skillet, brown the minced beef for a few minutes.
STEP 3. Add the veggies back to the pan with the meat, stir in fresh thyme, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce, and cook for 2 minutes.
STEP 4. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook for 10 more minutes until the filling thickens.
STEP 5. Remove the skillet from the heat and top the meat with prepared mashed potatoes, then raffle the top with a fork. Otherwise, transfer the mash into a piping bag and pipe the mashed potatoes on top of the meat.
Cooking tip: At this point, you can either chill or freeze the pie for later, but make sure you transfer it into a freezer-friendly container!
Step 6. Transfer the skillet into a preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, and then place it under the grill for a further 5 minutes.
What to serve it with
The best part about this traditional cottage pie recipe is that it incorporates most of the typical items you would eat at dinner into one dish!
However, I often like to add some extra veggies on the side, here are a few ideas:
- Sauteed baby broccoli, spinach or mushrooms.
- Sicilian pepper stew or eggplant caponata.
- A comforting warm salad, this kale and sweet potato one is a family favorite!
Storage tips
Store your leftovers in an airtight container, and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in the oven until warmed through.
Cottage pie also freezes beautifull! Simply transfer your leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the freezer up to 1 month.
More British recipes to try
If you love traditional British recipes as much as my family and I do, I highly recommend trying these delicious baked beans, the classic coronation chicken, or the stunning Platinum Jubilee trifle!
Did you try this recipe?
Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook!
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Recipe
Easy Cottage Pie
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 carrot, finely cubed
- 1 celery stalk, finely cubed
- 1 golden onion, finely cubed
- 500 g beef mince
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tablespoon double-concentrate tomato paste
- 450 ml vegetable stock, or chicken stock
- 900 g 3-Ingredient Mashed Potatoes
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a medium (26 cm/10-inch large) oven-friendly skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat. Fold in the carrot, celery and onion and cook, stirring often for about 5 minutes, until the veggies have softened. Then tranfer the vegetables into a bowl until needed.
- Return the pot to medium heat, add in the beef and cook, stirring often, until it's browned, then scoop out with a spoon any excess fat.
- Add back in the veggies, then add the Worcestershire sauce, followed by the tomato paste and thyme sprigs, and cook, stirring all the ingredients together, for a further 2 minutes.
- Pour the stock into the pot, bring to a gentle boil and simmer, covering the pot with a lid, for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs and season with sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/ fan 160°C/ gas 4.
- Remove the skillet from the heat, and top the meat with prepared mashed potatoes, then raffle the top with a fork. Alternatively, transfer the mashed potatoes into a piping bag and pipe on top of the meat.
- Transfer the skillet into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, then place under the grill for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- You could definitely use store-bought mashed potatoes, but homemade is always best. Boil your potatoes while you’re busy with the ground meat mixture. By making your own homemade mashed potatoes you can make sure is fluffy and creamy.
- Feel free to add other veggies into the mix: mushrooms, sweet potatoes, frozen corn or peas all work great.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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