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!
A superb recipe. Easy and full of flavour. Thank you!
This was great Nagi. I made 7 pot pies. Going to take 4 to a friend. Many Thanks and Hi to Dozer <3
Made this tonight and it was fantastic. 3 year old and 8 month old both really enjoyed it too!
I have never cooked with red wine before. What kind would I need to buy for this?
Any dry red is usually good. Nothing too oaky! I often use chianti or a red zinfandel, or even a pinot noir. (Don’t cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink, or if you don’t drink wine, taste it – at least and it shouldn’t be offensive :D)
I cooked my 1st cottage pie, EVER! Great recipe. Thank you. Since only my hubby n myself, I shall have the quantities with the next one. Thank you!!
I’m o glad you loved it Norella – it’s a perfect freezer meal too if you make a double batch and save some in the freezer for another time! N x
Nagi to the rescue !!!!! I wanted a midweek meal easy make but tasty well as per usual your recipes never disappoint ! This was absolutely beautiful and tasty and scrumdidliumtious!!!!! This will be a regular on our table that’s for sure. I added some frozen peas before putting it in the oven and hubby wanted bacon so I put 6 short cut rahsers in when cooking the mince and I didn’t have any thyme so I subbed it with oregano. Thanks so much Nagi. (Will be making this to freeze for my father in law who is in a retirement unit) this one will be making it to my hand written recipe file 🙂
Nagi does it again! This was very tasty. I used 90% lean mince and there was still a bit of grease to be skimmed off. That said everything in the meat mixture was delicious and the dish was true comfort food. Yummy.
I neglected to ask in previous post, I have my own bay leaft tree and most of the leaves are about 4 inches long and about 2 inches wide. Should I use only one leaf?
I am making this for dinner but noticed that you did not indicate to remove bay leaves before transferring to cooking dish. Do you leave bay leaves in?
I made this tonight. I added an extra half pound of chopped beef. I also cooked down nas reduced tomato sauce the night before, instead of using paste to reduce the amount of carbs (one little can is loaded with carbs) I also added minced mushrooms to the veggies in the beginning.
I nearly followed everything else. I left out the flour…again, low carb here. I cooked the mixture down as much as I could and was left with an oily sauce, which being on keto worked for me,
As for the mashed potatoes, I substituted them with cauliflower mash. I steamed the cauliflower and put them in a cheese cloth to remove the water. I then blended the CF with 3 tablespoons of low fat sour cream, salt and pepper. I did top the mash with Parmesan cheese and some pork rind panko.
Verdict: it came out AMAZING
Nice substitutions! I like a cauliflower and roasted garlic mash for the topping too. Pork rind crumb sound fantastic!
I was just wondering if this filling could be made in a slow cooker?
Not this one Jessica, you want it simmering so the sauce reduces and gets thick 🙂 N x
Poor Dozer. He’s a good boy give him some pie
This was delicious and very easy to make. Thanks Nagi. Love your recipes !
This was delicious and very easy to make. Thanks Nagi. Love your recipes !
This was excellent. The whole family loved it.
I make this for my Spanish mother-in-law and it’s a huge hit. Thanks for sharing your recipes!
I made this the other day, following it almost to the letter because I had the right ingredients and the right proportions (no wine and used fresh bay leaves). It was stupendous! However, it only produced 5 servings, 4 of which I froze for later enjoyment. I guess I don’t have to wonder why my scales are reading a bit over…
This was so yummy! Would 100% make it again! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Absolutely the best I’ve EVER had. Thanks so much Nagi! Everything I’ve made from your site has been amazing. This is restaurant worthy! Thanks again💕😘
The whole family loved it!
Instead if oil on top I used the leftover sage butter from making the pumpkin risotto. Bliss
YUUUM Kathryn, I love this idea! N x
Tastes great but a bit to saucy. Took way more than 30 min to thicken up enough. Made it a second time using only 1 cup broth and thickened with corn starch. Much better( IMHO) Also I made it in my cast iron skillet. One less step and one less thing to wash. Always a plus 😉