The perfect comforting family meal, this easy cottage pie features a layer of flavourful meat and veggies topped with fluffy mashed potatoes.
This delicious and easy cottage pie recipe is a must-try! It’s loaded with flavorful ground meat and vegetables, is topped with creamy mashed potatoes, and then is baked to perfection- making for the epitome of homely and simple comfort food.
Cottage Pie, otherwise known to many as Shepherd’s Pie is a basic and easy dish to put together. It’s a classic English dish that has been around for a long time and has many variations of it.
Whatever you call it, it's basically a comforting casserole combining ground meat, vegetables like carrots, and celery and onion, and then is topped with a mountain of mashed potatoes.
The best part about my recipe is that you can make the filling all in one skillet - meaning, less mess as you would only have one pot to clean!
Not to mention how easy and quick it is to make, and it can be done any night of the week easily.
Shepherd's Pie VS Cottage Pie
There’s actually just one main difference between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie: the minced meat.
Shepherd’s Pie is usually made with ground lamb, and Cottage Pie is usually made with ground beef.
However, ground lamb isn’t something that’s easily found in many grocery stores - even restaurants use ground beef and still call the dish Shepherd’s Pie.
But today, I'll be sharing my version with minced beef, so we're talking about 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 or a shallow enameled cast iron pot (I always use this {affiliate link} Le Creuset shallow casserole).
The method I follow is very similar to the one to make classic Italian bolognese, but it's actually way easier. Let's have a look together!
Step 1. Start by gently sauteed in olive oil the carrot, onion and celery. Cook them on low-medium heat until softened, then transfer them into a bowl.
Step 2. Return the skillet (or pot) to the heat, add the minced beef and stir fry for a few minutes, until browned.
Now, you'll see a lot of fat around the base, so push the meat onto one side of the skillet and gently scoop out and discard any excess fat.
Step 3. Return the veggies into the pan with the meat, add a few sprigs of fresh thyme, followed by the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, and stir-fry all the ingredients for a couple of minutes.
Step 4. Pour the stock in, bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the meat filling is no longer runny.
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: You could always decide to buy store mashed potatoes, but homemade is always the best way to go.
Boil your potatoes at home while you’re busy with the ground meat mixture. By making your own homemade mashed potatoes (just three ingredients!) you’ll end up having a potato mash that is fluffy and creamy.
Cooking tip: At this point, you can either chill or freeze the pie for later use, 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.
Recipe Variations
- Minced beef works wonderfully here, but you can give it a try with turkey or chicken mince instead. Reduce the cooking time on the stove by 10 minutes.
- Add different veggies if you like: mushrooms, corn, frozen peas, sweet potato chunks, they all work great.
What to serve it with
The best part about this classic comforting recipe is that it incorporates most of the typical items you would eat at dinner into one dish!
The ground meat, vegetables, and mashed potatoes are combined to make a harmonious, full-filling, and complete dish. With that said, I often like to add some extra veggies on the side, here are a few ideas:
- sauteed spinach/ broccoli/zucchini/pumpkin
- a simple green salad
- a comforting warm salad (this kale and sweet potato one is a family favorite!)
How to store and reheat Cottage Pie
To store your leftovers, transfer them in an airtight container, and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Then transfer them into an oven-friendly dish, cover with foil and reheat in the oven until warmed through.
Alternatively, leave it in the skillet and simply cover the dish with foil and store in the fridge until needed- this makes reheating the dish so much easier.
Keep the pie covered with foil and warm it up in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until it’s heated all the way through.
This dish also freezes beautifully after baking it, simply transfer your leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the freezer up to 1 month.
More British recipes to try:
- Sweet Potato Chicken Cottage Pie
- Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake
- Traditional British Mini Chicken and Mushroom Pie
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment and/or a rating below, and share a picture and tag @thepetitecook on Instagram! Reading your feedback and looking at your pictures always makes me smile *and super hungry*!
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 or beef 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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