Cottage Pie – comfort food central! This English classic has a deeply savoury beef mince filling smothered in gravy topped with creamy mashed potato, baked until golden. One of the best cosy foods to make with ground beef!
Wondering what’s the difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd’s Pie? Same recipe except Cottage Pie is made with beef and Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb! (Because Shepherd’s herd sheep….)
Cottage Pie
Cottage Pie is a fabulous English classic, one that us Aussies have adopted as one of our beloved winter favorites! Or in my case, all-year-round-favourite.
Easy to make, economical, every day ingredients and 100% freezer friendly, it’s the sort of food that has universal appeal (well, putting aside vegetarians 😂)
There’s two components to Cottage Pie – the beef filling and the creamy mashed potato topping. The filling is beefy and deeply savoury and it WILL take willpower not to shovel it in your mouth as you’re cooking it…..
….then you get on with that creamy mashed potato filling and it WILL take serious willpower not to shovel THAT into your mouth too…
But you’ll hold out because you know that it’s worth the patience because when you pull the bubbling beauty of of the oven and see that crusty golden top, your chest will puff up with pride, everybody at the table will clap their hands with glee, and no matter how dismal the day, it’s just been made a whole lot better with your Cottage Pie.
What’s the difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd’s Pie?
There is quite often confusion over the difference between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie. Both are made the same way – a beef mince filling in a gravy sauce that is topped with mashed potato, sprinkled with parmesan then baked. (That crusty top is everything!!)
The only difference is that Shepherd’s Pie is made with lamb instead of beef. So if you want, just swap the beef in this recipe with lamb and you’ll have a Shepherd’s Pie!
What goes in Cottage Pie
Here’s what you need for Cottage Pie.
Feel free to switch the beef with any protein – this is delicious made with lamb (which makes it Shepherd’s Pie), chicken, turkey, pork. Also don’t fret if you don’t have carrot and celery – skip it or add other diced vegetables, like peas.
And here’s what you need for the mashed potato topping.
I like to put parmesan cheese on my Cottage Pie because it makes the top extra crispy and golden. But any melting cheese will work great.
Cottage Pie from scratch
This Cottage Pie is made from scratch, and it’s very straightforward. If you can make Bolognese and mashed potato, you can make Cottage Pie because it essentially follows the same steps!
Cottage Pie – 2 little tips
I just have 2 little tips to make your Cottage Pie a resounding success:
To stop the potato from sinking into the filling, cool the filling first. But this isn’t a deal breaker, it’s just a visual thing ie if you don’t cool the filling, the potato “bleeds” into the beef mixture; and
Ensure the filling reduces down enough (see video) to ensure you don’t end up with a watery filling after baking. It’s so disappointing when you break through the potato to be greeted with a beef sitting in a watery sauce!
How to freeze Cottage Pie
Cottage Pie is one of those rare foods that is truly perfect to make in advance. It will keep in the fridge for 4 days – assembled and ready to heat, or once cooked.
You can also freeze Cottage Pie 100% perfectly. You can bake from frozen – though it does take around 1 hour (it’s a formidable block of ice!!) or thaw then bake. Cooked leftovers also freeze well.
What goes with Cottage Pie
This is a meat and carb heavy dish, so it goes really well with fresh side salads like a Rocket Salad with Balsamic Dressing, or a Garden Salad with French or Italian Dressing. I recently served it with this Carrot Salad with a Honey Dijon Dressing which was a hit!
For a cosy meal on a cold winter night, try it with a side of Glazed Roasted Carrots and Sautéed Garlic Spinach. The only other thing you need is a glass of red and a crackling fire…
Or in my case, squatting by an ancient electric heater! 😂 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Cottage Pie
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 1 carrot , finely chopped*
- 1 celery , finely chopped*
- 750g / 1.5 lb beef mince (ground beef)
- 1/4 cup (40g) flour (plain / all purpose)
- 1/4 cup (55g) tomato paste
- 2 cups (500 ml) beef stock / broth , low sodium
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) red wine (or water)
- 1 beef bouillon cube , crumbled (stock cube, or 1 tsp stock powder)
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dried thyme (or 3 sprigs fresh thyme)
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Topping
- 1.2 kg / 2.5 lb potatoes , peeled and cut into 2.5cm / 1″ cubes
- 2/3 cup (165 ml) milk , warmed
- 2 tbsp (30g) butter
Parmesan Crust (optional)
- 2 tbsp (30g) butter
- 2 tbsp (20g) parmesan, grated
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 1 minute. Then add carrots and celery. Cook for 3 minutes or until softened and sweet.
- Turn heat up to high. Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until browned.
- Add flour and mix in. Add tomato paste, broth, red wine, bouillon cube, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
- Bring to simmer, then turn down heat so it is simmering rapidly – I have it on medium high. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reduces down to a gravy consistency (Note 1) (see video). Taste then add more salt if desired.
- Transfer to 6 cup pie dish (1.5 litre / quart). Cover, cool if you have time (even overnight). Cool filling = easier to top with mash (Note 2)
Assemble Pie
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Cook potatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain then return to pot on turned off stove. Shake briefly and allow to steam dry for 30 seconds or so (Note 3).
- Add butter and mash until melted, then add milk and salt. Mash until smooth.
- Spread onto pie, use a fork to rough up the surface (rougher surface = more golden bits). Sprinkle with paremsan, drizzle with butter (or skip this and just drizzle with olive oil)
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden on top and bubbling on the edges. Stick a knife into the middle to ensure it is piping hot.
- Stand for 5 minutes before serving, garnished with fresh thyme leaves if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published October 2016. Updated 2020 with fresh new photos and video. No change to recipe – I wouldn’t dare!
More pie recipes
Shepherd’s Pie (lamb – because Shepherd’s herd sheep!)
Spanakopita (Greek spinach and feta pie)
Browse all cosy Winter Warmers
Life of Dozer
That’s what Dozer looks like when he’s peeved. He’s cranky because he squeezed himself under this tiny table, waited so patiently for me to finish taking photos and he didn’t get a taste test!
Absolutely delicious! We rustled up everything out of our freezer, fridge and pantry. We had no carrot or celery, but zucchini and capsicum then frozen peas before baking.
We’ll be making this again and again.
So much tastier than I remember having as a kid.
It’s an excellent recipe. It does take longer to make than listed in my opinion, but it’s worth it.
Normally I would drain the fat from the sautéed ground beef through a colander. Would doing this spoil the pies flavor?
You can drain it if you prefer! N x
I’ve made this chilli recipe twice. 1st time 💕; 2nd time 😳
Too much cumin. Thinking of adding something like nutmeg or cinnamon? Thoughts?
You can swap out the spices to your taste. N x
Love your recipes & your photos have me salivating. Second time with recipe: too soupy base! I even added an additional 1/4 c of flour to thicken it. Great flavours. How to correct the mushy base?
Just drain off the excess liquid.
You just cook it longer in the pan until it reaches the consistency you want. N x
Thanks for so many great recipes. As a 70 yo retired single male I find them delicious and easy to follow. Also a dog lover so I appreciate updates on Dozer. Cheers H
Love to hear that, Henry! 🐾 N x
Best cottage pie I’ve ever made! I like to make this when I have leftover mashed potatoes. This time I had sweet potatoes, too – covered half the dish with regular mashed and half with mashed sweets. Great! Thanks so much 🙂
Best cottage pie I have ever made or eaten. No other recipe compares to this one! Delicious!
Best cottage pie recipe I have found. Delicious! I also add some peas and mushrooms to the mince to up the veggie count. I cooked it twice in a week!
This is our go to, lazy Saturday night dish that warms our bellies and settles us into a night on the couch watching movies. Boy oh boy, do we love it! It makes our hearts sing with happiness.
Nagi, I’ve said this once before, and I will no doubt say it a thousand times before I’m through, but thank you. Your website is an absolute blessing in our home. My partner actually asked earlier whether we’ve made a meal that we’ve not liked, my answer was an obvious “NO”!
I cannot wait for the book!
Thank you for this; I read the recipe this morning then prepped it from memory and cooked it as soon as I got in from work this evening. Missed out the thyme as I didn’t want to venture up the garden for some but added cinnamon and a little touch of cumin. It’s now bubbling away in the oven and looking forward to a tasty supper. Thank you for the reminder of a nice warming Autumn dinner.
hi…love your receipe..l do not like mashed potatoes….could l put pastry on top?as in a meat pie
Absolutely fab. I too am not too fond of mash so I cube and par boil potatoes and swede and cover mince. Or boil new pots and smash down with a fork. Not if butter and Scrummy. Cook as if mash
Domo again NAGI 😊
The filling is cooling for a few hours before i top with mashed potatoes and bake.
I don’t have beef stock, so, i used chicken stock.
I Quebec, Canada creamed corn is added between the filling and potatoes. That is the only addition. I had half a sweet potato so i threw that in as well.
Hi to Dozer 🐾
Stay safe
Nagi,
I loved the addition of the wine which I don’t typically use in my own recipe. Delicious!
You don’t say what beef mince to use? Lean mince? Extra lean mince? 3 star mince? 2 star mince? I have no idea which beef mince to use?
Hi Carlie,
Anything would work, I personally use lean as my go to ground beef with a few exceptions where you absolutely need the extra fat. Medium can be bit oily for my taste and extra lean sometimes too lean. Fat contents do range by country a bit, any will do for this, buy what you prefer.
Cheers,
Holly
I’ve been making this recipe regularly for a while and it’s always demolished! Doubled it recently to have dinner for two nights but the entire dish was annihilated once again! My hubby and 3 kids all love it… it’s so rare to please the whole family with one dish! Will be making a quadruple batch to freeze and take on holidays to share with my extended family… hope there will be enough! Thanks for all your great recipes and tips…I have loved all of the ones that I’ve tried, but this cottage pie is an absolute winner in my family!
WoW, I have been cooking quite a few of your recipes lately, during lockdown you have time to recreate. This cottage pie was so delicious, my family couldn’t stop eating. Thank you so much Nagi for sharing with us. I love the videos and ALL the details that you publish, it makes me a cook serving amazing meals to my family.
I love quite a lot of your recipes . Haven’t done this for a while . I really appreciate all your little hints and tips, even to the littlest of hint to freeze in single serves . I’m making a whole recipe me and hubby will probably take leftovers with plenty to freeze for a rainy day . Thankyou , keep them coming ❤️
I doubled the recipe so I could enjoy leftovers, yeah… nah! Everyone had seconds, then thirds, then fell into a food coma. One of my family’s faves!
Soooo delish! This recipe is a keeper. The wine adds so much depth of flavor. Made it according to directions and I wouldn’t change a thing!