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!
This is the most amazing pie I have ever made. The filling is so flavourful and I love the crispy potato on top. This is my new go-to pie. Thanks Nagi for sharing this recipe I LOVE IT!!!!
I’ve made this recipe a few times now and it is an absolute stand out! This recipe takes a basic cottage pie to an outstanding one! Thanks Nagi (and my sincere condolences for your loss of the beautiful Dozer xxx)
thank you – i luv reading the Dozer stories – you must miss him so much – you gave him a great life and so many memories – my beautiful boy Ruppert has been diagnosed with heart disease – we are treading slowly giving him all he needs and hope the meds will keep him with going – he’s 11. Thank you again for sharing your story and wonderfully recipes – thinking of you
thank you – i luv reading the Dozer stories – you must miss him so much – you gave him a great life and so many memories – my beautiful boy Ruppert has been diagnosed with heart disease – we are treading slowly giving him all he needs and hope the meds will keep him with going – he’s 11. Thank you again for sharing your story and wonderfully recipes – thinking of you
I’ve rated this recipe before, it’s phenomenal as-is and it’s my all time favorite cottage pie, but tonight I made it into a soup/stew by increasing the broth, beef bouillon, and tomato paste just a bit, and adding a couple diced potatoesv while it cooked down instead of doing mashed potatoes. It turned into one of the best beef stews I’ve eaten and I just wanted to share that option for people!
This was fantastic! I gave my dad some filling to try, and for a bit thought that the dish would not even make it into the oven. It’s just THAT good. I didn’t expect this, as I used discount brands, and had to switch out the paste for ketchup. The rest was made as per instructions. I can’t wait to make it again!
I used half ketchup, half tomato paste and blended in some sun dried tomatoes. Delish!
This was absolutely amazing! I tried to make it this past Monday but one of our dogs got out and, while looking for her the meat burned to sadly be tossed. Tried again today and oh, my, was it tasty. So flavorful and total comfort food. Well worth the time to put together. Husband loved it as well. Thank you Nagi for yet another tasty recipe. Nap coming.
I’ve made this at least a dozen times now and every time it has been perfect. Your instructions are clear and easy to follow, and it’s so good I double it just to make sure we have leftovers!
One of the most requested dinners in our house. Thank you! It’s delicious and so easy to make
What do I say, nothing short of amazing. I added peas, corn & zucchini to the meat. Also added the cheese to the mash and finished off with pecorino & butter. Served in individual pie dishes and hubby said it needs more than 5 stars. Thank you Nagi.
Used this recipe so many times now and it’s great! Instead of using celery I use peas and they’re so yummy in this (:
Love this recipe so much.
Have made this millions of times of the last few years and it’s perfection every single everyone I make it for loves it even my 5 & 7 year old who are so fussy, I will continue to make this for the rest of my life!! Thank you ❤️
Hi Nagi – fantastic recipes. Which book of yours has the cottage pie and beef bourguignon? Thanks
Hi Nagy! I have been going to your website for inspiration and tips for quite a while now. I love your attitude to cooking.
I made a variation on your shepherd’s pie just the other day. I’d post a pic but I don’t do insta.
I’ll admit I took a few more shortcuts like using frozen mirepoix, prepared (real) garlic mashed potatoes, onion soup mix. It turned out great though. Your tips about the flour and how to judge when the mixture was ready (thickness of the gravy) were so helpful.
I also baked it n a toaster oven which worked well.
My guy was so happy so thank you!
Cheers,
Tami
What kind of red wine do you recommend?
This recipe says”1 celery”. Surely you mean 1 stick?
What a fantastic cottage pie! I really appreciate the video and the helpful tips you included. This has definitely become a new family favorite. Thank you, Nagi, for sharing your recipe!
Flavour country. I am a friend of flavour, and this recipe delivered. I freestyled a few changes, and the flavour still shone:
– I didn’t have red wine, so I skipped it. The gravy was still outstanding.
– I only had 1.1 lbs of ground beef. So I pre-cooked 1/2 cup of brown rice and added it halfway through step 4. Was delish, and made it easier to digest.
– I added sliced green beans near the end of step 4 for some extra veg. The beans were a beautiful compliment and went great with the beef.
– I’m lowkey not a fan of mashed potatoes, so I skipped the “assemble pie” steps, and served the filling with smashed potatoes instead (https://hairloss-solved.info/crispy-smashed-potatoes/%3C/a%3E%29. 10/10 would do this again.
Thank you Nagi! You know how to party.
Thank you for posting the recipe I’m looking for in an easy to scroll format. Can’t stand some sites that put the authors life story in between the ingredient amounts and instructions
Hi,
Question about this amazing recipe that we have had a few times (miammm)
Is it ok to make the gravy (1-2-3 batches et..) and just freeze them (one batch per ziploc bag) to then de thaw when needed and make the mashed pot on the day off or day before ?
Merci
Sofiane
I do that with this recipe, no problems. I just add a little more flour. It will look really thick, but when you thaw, it will be fine.