This Easy Cottage Pie is classic British comfort food made with a rich meaty sauce topped with creamy&cheesy mashed potatoes. It is very easy to cook and also very affordable.
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Whether you’re planning a big feast for St. Patrick’s Day, or just looking for some comforting meal prep for the week ahead, this traditional Cottage Pie recipe is perfect for you.
What Is Cottage Pie?
Cottage Pie is British comfort food made of ground lamb and vegetables cooked in a rich brown gravy, topped with creamy mashed potatoes, and then baked until golden and crusty. The meat can be freshly minced or chopped from cooked leftover lamb meat.
The name "Cottage Pie" was first used at the end of the 18th century when people who lived in cottages in the country started using potatoes as everyday food as it was pretty affordable.
Shepherd Pie vs Cottage Pie
There are other versions of this classic dish and the most famous one is the Shepherd's Pie. The main and only difference between them is that Shepherd's Pie has lamb mince instead of beef. They both can be made with finely chopped leftover roast beef or lamb meat instead of minced meat.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Cottage Pie Meat Sauce Ingredients
- Beef mince - Fresh, good quality, and a high percentage fat beef mince (%15 - 20) is the secret to a good cottage pie.
- Olive oil - You might not need olive oil if your mince contains enough fat. When you brown the mince, it releases some fat and you can use that fat to sauté the onions and vegetables instead of olive oil.
- Celery - It adds flavor depth to meals, especially soups, sauces, and casseroles like cottage pie. Finely dice the same size as onions before adding.
- Carrot - I like the aroma, texture, and color it adds to the dishes as well as nutrition. Peel and finely dice it the same size as celery and onions before adding.
- Port - You can substitute it with sherry, vermouth, marsala, or sweet red wine. Use unsweetened red fruit juice for a non-alcoholic kid-friendly version.
- Stock -Homemade Beef Stock or Chicken Stock (Bone Broth) are the best options. You can use good quality store-bought stock or stock cubes as well. Make sure you check the seasoning before adding salt at the end of the cooking period.
- Worcestershire sauce - It tastes tangy, savory, sweet, and salty and adds umami flavor, which comes from the anchovies.
Mashed Potatoes Ingredients
- Potatoes - The best potatoes for fluffy, smooth, and flavorsome mashed potatoes are the ones with higher starch such as Maris Piper, Red Russets, Desire, or King Edward.
- Double cream - It is similar to heavy cream. You can substitute it with full-fat milk, single cream, or sour cream. If you want to omit it, add extra butter to your mashed potatoes.
- Butter - It helps make the starchy texture of potatoes richer and adds loads of flavor.
- Egg yolks - They add creaminess and flavor to the mashed potatoes and also give some golden brown color to the top layer.
- Cheddar cheese - Everything tastes better with a bit of extra cheese added. You can use any hard cheese you like using for cooking.
Step-by-Step Instructions
This is a straightforward recipe to follow. However, to achieve the best results you need to follow a few simple steps:
Prepare The Meat Sauce
Heat a heavy-based pan or a Dutch oven on medium heat and brown the mince until it releases its fat.
Add olive oil if necessary and sauté the onions until lightly brown.
Add the garlic, sauté for another minute then add the celery and carrots.
Cook for 5 more minutes or until the vegetables are slightly softened. Add the tomato paste and sprinkle on the flour, give it a quick stir.
Deglaze the pan with port or red wine and let it evaporate.
Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Give it a good stir and bring it to a boil.
Lower the heat and put the lid on. Let it gently simmer for 1 to 1 ¼ hours or until the meat is soft and the gravy has thickened. Stir every half an hour or so to avoid the sauce sticking to the bottom of the pan. The presence of the flour makes the sauce easier to stick to the bottom and burn if not stirred occasionally.
When the meat sauce is cooked, add the frozen peas and pour the sauce into an oven dish (approximately 25 mm diameter). Let it cool down for 30 minutes before adding the mashed potatoes to avoid them sinking in the meat sauce.
Prepare The Mashed Potatoes
Preheat the fan oven to 180° C (360° F) and prepare the mashed potatoes while the meat sauce is cooling down.
Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks and place them in a saucepan with plenty of cold water. Put the pan on medium heat and bring to a boil, bring the heat down and let the potatoes gently simmer for about 20 minutes or until soft.
Drain well and return the potatoes to the pan. Put the pan back on low heat and let all the water evaporate for 30 seconds then remove it from the heat.
Add the double cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Mash using a masher or a ricer until smooth. Add the cheese and egg yolks and give it a quick stir to combine.
Build The Cottage Pie And Bake
When the meat filling has cooled down, spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the meat sauce and cover completely. Fluff the top using a fork for extra crispiness.
Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the top of the Cottage Pie is golden brown and piping hot.
Top Tips From The Chef
- I prefer to start with browning the meat as this way, the meat releases some fat to sauté the onions/vegetables. And you might get away with not adding any extra oil or only just a little bit depending on the fat percentage of the meat.
- Always start cooking the potatoes with cold water for even cooking. If you put your potatoes in boiling water, the outside will be mashy and start to flake while the core is still uncooked.
- Make sure the meat filling reduces down enough to avoid a watery filling after baking.
- Let the meat filling cool down for 30 minutes before adding the mashed potatoes to avoid them sinking in the meat sauce.
- This simple yet delicious Easy Cottage Pie tastes even better when reheated. Make the meat filling ahead (up to 3 days) and top with mashed potatoes later when you want to serve the dish.
What To Serve With Cottage Pie?
The best way to serve cottage pie is with some steamed or sautéed vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, beans, and mange tout.
Swede and Carrot Mash or Baked Cheesy Cauliflower also pairs perfectly with Cottage Pie.
You can also serve it with a bowl of delicious and healthy salad such as Rocket Salad With Parmesan, Russian Salad (Olivier Salad), Indian Chickpea Salad, or Greek Cucumber Salad.
Recipe FAQs
You can reheat cottage pie in an oven or microwave.
To reheat it in the oven, preheat the oven to 180°C, cover the cottage pie with tin foil and place it in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until it is piping hot in the middle. You can remove the tin foil during the last 5 minutes of reheating process.
To reheat the cottage pie in the microwave, place the pie in the microwave and run it for a couple of minutes. Check if it is done and put for another minute if needed until it is piping hot in the middle.
The leftovers would keep for up to five days when refrigerated in an airtight container.
Yes, you can freeze the cottage pie before or after baking it. In both cases, thaw it overnight before baking.
Related Recipes
For more traditional British recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious British comfort food as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!
Easy Cottage Pie
Equipment
- 1 peeler
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
- 600 g beef mince
- 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion (small diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 sticks celery (small diced)
- 1 medium carrot (small diced)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¼ cup port (60 ml) (or ½ cup red wine)
- 2 cups beef stock or chicken stock (500 ml)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 5-6 sprigs thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 150 g frozen peas
Mashed Potatoes
- 800 g potatoes (peeled and cut in chunks)
- ⅓ cup double cream (80 ml)
- 30 g butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 50 g cheddar cheese (or any other hard cheese you like)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- Heat a heavy-based pan or a dutch oven on medium heat and brown the mince until it releases its fat.
- Add the olive oil and sauté the onions until lightly brown then add the garlic, and sauté for another minute.
- Add the celery and carrots and cook for 5 minutes or until slightly softened.
- Stir in the tomato paste and sprinkle on the flour. Give it a quick stir.
- Deglaze the pan with port or red wine and let it evaporate.
- Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Give it a good stir and bring it to a boil.
- Lower the heat and put the lid on. Let it gently simmer for 1 to 1 ¼ hours, until the meat is soft and the gravy has thickened. Stir every half an hour or so to avoid the sauce sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- When the meat sauce is cooked, add the frozen peas and transfer them into an oven dish (approximately 25 mm diameter), and let it cool down for 30 minutes to avoid the mashed potatoes sinking in the meat sauce.
Mashed Potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 180° C - 360° F (fan oven).
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into equal chunks. Place them in a saucepan with plenty of cold water.
- Put the pan on medium heat and bring to a boil, bring the heat down, and let the potatoes gently simmer for about 20 minutes or until soft.
- Drain well and return the potatoes back to the pan. Put the pan back on low heat and let all the water evaporate for 30 seconds then remove them from the heat.
- Add the double cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Mash the potatoes by using a masher or a ricer until smooth.
- Add the cheese and egg yolks and give it a quick stir to combine.
- Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the meat sauce and cover completely. Fluff the top by using a fork for extra crispiness.
- Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the top turns golden brown.
Notes
- I prefer to start with browning the meat as this way, the meat releases some fat to sauté the onions/vegetables. And you might get away with not adding any extra oil or only just a little bit depending on the fat percentage of the meat.
- Always start cooking the potatoes with cold water for even cooking. If you put your potatoes in boiling water, the outside will be mashy and start to flake while the core is still uncooked.
- Make sure the meat filling reduces down enough to avoid a watery filling after baking.
- Let the meat filling cool down for 30 minutes before adding the mashed potatoes to avoid them sinking in the meat sauce.
- This simple yet delicious Easy Cottage Pie tastes even better when reheated. Make the meat filling ahead (up to 3 days) and top with mashed potatoes later when you want to serve the dish.
Nutrition
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Mehmet
Beautiful recipe and explanation
Ayla Clulee
Thank you for your comment, glad you liked it!:)
Ayla
FINALLY made this cottage pie. So simple, yet soooo good!
Nicole
Delicious and so simple to prepare. Thank you