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!
Hello! May I make this in a casserole dish?
This was so delicious, it’s going in my favorite recipe file. My husband is going to have to have this for dinner alot! It’s a great basic recipe with lots of room to add your own touch. I added sliced brown mushrooms. I reduced the tomato paste to 2 tbsp cuz we are both sensitive to tomatoes and added a tablespoon extra flour instead. I added a little half and half to the mashed potatoes and left off the cheese topping, drizzled it with butter instead. Thank you for your tips which I feel were essential to having it come out perfect. Love!!
This cottage pie is so delish, a keeper. Thanks so much
When is the nutmeg added to the cottage pie recipe?
Hi Shirley, there’s not nutmeg in this recipe sorry! N x
According to the meat eaters in the family this is delicious! 2nd time I’ve made it to raving reviews.
My whole family loves this! So much flavor. And everyone is picky eaters. Here in New England we generalize and refer to this as Shepards pie. And it’s very boring. Just hamburg with some seasoning, corn and mashed potatoes. It was good but my boyfriend always hated it. Now that I found this recipe when I give him a choice of this and something else he always chooses this! My grandkids actually had a second helping. I still do add corn between the layers. Total winner. Thank you!
Hi Nagi. I have used a number of your recipes and the results have always been so good that I know I can turn to you when I have something specific that I want to cook. Thank you – this was just delicious 🙂
Love your recipes, absolutely had to review this one. I beg to differ that vegetarians wouldn’t like this!! 😂 Made it with veggie ground beef meat and vegetable broth, then threw in a little nutritional yeast for the gravy (why not when flying by the seat of your pants!). 😂 Otherwise, followed it exactly. It was OUTSTANDING, leftovers even better. Thank you!
There is no salt amount for the spuds!? I winged it . The hubby loves it and had me make it for company.!
Nagi, your recipes never fail! This was so delicious.
I added some mixed frozen veggies, after thawing.
Thank you!
Hi Nagi, a bit of a strange question, but when you make the beef mixture in advance and cool it in the fridge, and then put this back into the oven, is it ok to then reheat any leftovers? Or do you have to eat it all in the one go because this is the second time it is being reheated (ie. the question is based on my understanding (or lack of!) that if I cook something, I can only then heat it up again one more time)? Same question applies to pies etc where you can cook the filling in advance. Thanks!
You could reheat it again, although if you reheat it multiple times in the oven, it would start to dry out. If you cover it with foil to reheat that would help. Better yet I just reheat the amount I need (like a lunch portion) in the microwave.
Absolutely delicious!
So yum!
The best cottage pie I’ve ever had! Adding this recipe to regular dinner rotation.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Siobhan – and it makes a great freezer meal too so you can make a big batch to store! N x
Fabulous! Takes some time but worth it!
Fabulous! X
Amazing!! I need to triple this recipe next time because my husband basically ate the entire pan himself
Tasty and wonderful. I made it with 2 lbs of meat and used a beef & pork mix and it turned out great. Also added a bit more butter to the mashed potatoes. 2 thumbs up from the whole family 🙂
I added peas on top of fillings , makes it easier to spread out mashed potatoes and prevent it from sinking as well. Yum! Perfect for cold and rainy night.Family loves it! Thanks
Oh my goodness. How had I not made this before? I made it as instructed and found a Pate Chinois recipe that included cream corn so I added that too. Also a little red pepper to kick up the spice but otherwise, just the same. It was amazing. My family LOVED it!! Thanks so much.