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!
Hi Lizza, thanks for helping Peter! I’ve now fixed the recipe too 🙂 N xx
Me, not you!! 180C/350F 🙂 Thanks for picking that up Peter!
Hi! Yes you should, I am terribly lazy. 🙂 They are quite large so I find them easy to pick out even if they end up in the bowl. N x
Kicked a goal here Nagi!! This is my kind of food. I made the Shepard pie version with lamb and it was so delicious. Eating left overs of it as I write! Thanks for another family favourite.
NO WAY! You made this already?? You rock Nycolle!!! We are two of a kind, this is totally my kind of food too…. N xx
Couldn’t see oven temp to bake the pie so started at 180C fan forced. Made my pie hot but not crunchy so then swapped to grill and got that beautiful top on it. I alsoadded cheese 😉 Mmmmm
This. Looks. So. Good.
Always a pleasure reading from you, Nagi. I’d always wondered what “Recipe Tin Eats” meant until today.
THANKS!!!! N xx
The video says 350
Thanks for helping Dianne! N x
Never had cottage pie, but it looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it! Sharing 🙂
Mira! OMG it has been forever, how are you??!!
I’m thinking 350. That’s what I’m going with unless you hear from Nagi before I put this baby in the oven! And yes, I removed the bay leaves before crowning the beautiful beef with my mashed potatoes…
Thank you Kayel, you are absolutely right! N xx
A hug in a bowl! Used to love this when I ate meat, so comforting and oh so delish. And big squee to Dozer! Those eyes…
That’s a perfect description – “hug in a bowl”!
Another variation is to use a bolognese ragu as the base, before adding the potato (and grated cheese?) on top.
Delish!
Ooh yes to that! Or anything like that really 🙂 N x
I would love to see a vegetarian cottage pie…do you have any recipes?
I am laughing at Dozer and that look on his face, absolutely adorable! I know how food obsessed my lab is and of course, is also the taste tester…lol!
Hi Jo! Swap the beef for lentils and add peas, it’s REALLY good!
BTW, do you think this would work with Cauliflower Mash, or would it be too “wet”?
Mmmm…..too wet I think. I made the mistake once of letting the potato cool then added more water to loosen it up and that made my gravy watery. I think cauliflower will have the same problem.
That’s sort of what I thought, too, after reading your comments on not having the mashed potatoes too wet. Darn. Guess I’ll just have to save it for my once a week “Carb Feast” dinner. Thanks!
How funny – just last week I searched your recipe index for a Shepherd’s or Cottage Pie, and was surprised when I didn’t find one. Thank you for posting this – your timing is perfect, and I can’t wait to try it!
See!!! It was a big black hole in my recipe collection! 😉 N x
OMG!
?
Yum, this looks delicious Nagi! Love the photos too, as always!
Thank you Sabrina! N x
Can it be made with left over roast lamb?? your recipe looks delicious.
YES!!! Fantastic idea Sandra! Make the sauce and reduce down to a thin gravy then add lamb 🙂 Use the sauce as a guide for how much lamb to add, if that makes sense? N x
Hi Nagi, This cottage pie looks absolutely delicious and i just must put it on the menu for tonight (with the cheese on top!). Growing up in France I used to eat a similar version of this which we call hachis parmentier. Yum! As for Dozer, how could you forget to give him a taster with a face like that!
There’s something similar in France?? I have to look it up!
Nagi, I have a slightly different version of this recipe but I’m going to try yours. I’ve never gotten the mashed potatoes so nice and crispy on top like that. Must be the olive oil drizzle.
Hi Mary! I’d love to know what you do 🙂 Is the filling very different?
Hi Nagi – For the meat I use what is a classic meatloaf mix. Ground beef, ground veal and ground pork, instead of just ground beef. It adds tons of flavor! I also add peas or carrots on occasion – family doesn’t like the addition of veggies though! I was trying to sneak them in ;).
Gosh YES to mixing eats! I’m all about meat mixing!!! PS I do hidden veggies all the time, especially for MYSELF! I need to sneak in more veggies for myself – I’m like a kid!
Hi Nagi
I absolutely want to face plant in this but trying to cut back on the calories.
Did you use lean mince to get the nutrient value or can i shave off some cals by using it?
Alternatively if i omitted some of the beef for some sauteed mushrooms, at what stage would i add them in?
Also, tried the magic self saucing bbq chicken last week and it was so easy, delicious and a crowd pleaser.
Love your recipes, they are all magic!
I’m so glad you like my recipes Melissa! 🙂 I used normal beef so yes, if you use lean you can cut calories. For mushrooms, I would finely dice them (use stacks, they shrink to about 1/3 of raw size) and add them when the beef is almost browned. To cut more calories, I would add zucchini and peas too 🙂
Just came back from Dublin where I had some fabulous cottage pie. Now that I am at home I can’t wait to try your recipe it looks so good!
I do hope you try it Kim! It really is SO GOOD!!!