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!
Made this for the first time tonight and it was an absolute winner. Swapped half of the meat for pulverised mushrooms, the kids had no idea and loved it! Thanks again Nagi, just knew it was going to work brilliantly!!
Love the recipes
Kids love it i put cranberry juice instead of wine! Delicious 😋
A family favorite! I make it exactly as the recipe is written and it comes out perfect and delicious every time. Such a cozy dish, like a warm hug. Thank you, Nagi! 💟
I have made this several times and it’s a great winter warmer. All sorts of variations are possible. A tip for spreading potato if the mince mix hasn’t quite cooled and firmed up well enough -make a circle of potato dollops and spread with a spatula from the outside in. It still needs to have cooled somewhat!
Love this recipe with one minor change. I despise celery, so I replace the celery with green peas instead.
Very yummy cottage pie, lots of flavour, enjoyed by all. Will definitely be making again!
Brilliant recipe Nagi – loads of flavour! Thank you for sharing. I think the meat filling would also be perfect in a meat pie, with puff pastry on top instead of mashed potato 🥧
Your cottage pie recipe is unbelievably good. I pretty much followed the instructions with a few little twists. I used half beef and half pork. I did add a bit of Italian seasoning and no salt because my bone broth and stock cube were not low sodium. Instead of tomato paste which I don’t like, I added blitzed up semi dried tomatoes, drained of their oil. I also added frozen peas and corn towards the end of the meat sauce cooking time just to up the veg count. I had to restrain myself from taste testing through the whole pan, it was that good.
OMG this was the best cottage pie I’ve made! I reduced the meat to 45og and added broccoli, mushrooms, and peas along with the listed veg. Of course, I added cheddar to the mashed potatoes. I had to cook the meat mixture longer due to the mushrooms but it worked out amazing. Nagi, I’ve never been steered wrong by your recipes yet!
Hi! Just wondering whether doubling the recipe will be enough for 9 grown ups and 2 children? Maybe do 2.5x?
It’s rare that I don’t have several of these in the freezer. Absolutely wonderful. My only change is using your Mashed Potato Casserole as the topping rather than the mashed in the recipe because why not?
Make this reciep over and over. Always double this recipe. Freezes really well. Love the crispy top.
Deicious, like everything you do. Marry me!
You creep. Leave her alone, it’s not a funny joke.
Totally yummy. I followed the recipe exactly as instructed but made double the amount as my crowd of 4 eat well, and it was a total success.
Thank you Nagi for making my feel as if I can cook.
Tried making this tonight. I think I must be the odd one out as I felt the recipe wasn’t quite right. I made it for 5 ppl and followed the recipe to a T but actually could feed 7-8. You mentioned a 6 cup pie dish , roughly 8x8x4 inch casserole dish but it was too much beef n not enough depth for the mash potato. So I scooped out more of the beef to make way for the mash. Now having said all that, the cottage pie was a hit with my family. Would I do it again? Yes. With a lot more prep time, less beef or a bigger dish. It’s my first cottage pie. I’m quite happy despite the hiccups. I think a bigger dish would hv solved the problem. But def not for 5 ppl. More like 7-8 ppl. Pardon me Nagi if I’m wrong as I’m a novice. But it was delicious! Thank you.
I made this tonight and it worked out amazing. So delicious. I added frozen peas at the putting meat into the casserole dish. It helped cool the meat without the freezer. Thank you for this recipie.
Great instructions fabulous cottage pie
Sounds delicious and will be making this week! If I only have regular beef stock on hand (not low sodium) should I omit the bouillon?
Loved it. I’m going to use the filling recipe next time I make lasagna.