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Home Collections Winter Warmers

Cottage Pie

By:Nagi
Published:21 May '20Updated:26 Mar '21
638 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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….)

Close up of Cottage Pie being scooped out of baking dish, ready to be served

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 😂)

Overhead photo of golden crispy mashed potato topping of Cottage Pie

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…..

Close up of beef filling for Cottage Pie ready to put in casserole dish

….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.

Overhead photo of Cottage Pie in a bowl being eaten

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.

What goes in Cottage Pie

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.

Mashed Potato topping for Cottage Pie

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!

How to make Cottage Pie

Cottage Pie – 2 little tips

I just have 2 little tips to make your Cottage Pie a resounding success:

  1. 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

  2. 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!

Close up of spoon scooping up Cottage Pie

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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Close up of Cottage Pie being served

Cottage Pie

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 1 hr 15 mins
Total: 1 hr 30 mins
Dinner
English, South Western
4.98 from 250 votes
Servings5 - 8
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 1654
Recipe video above. One of the greatest comfort foods of all time! A ground beef (mince) filling in a tasty gravy, topped with mashed potato. Make it a Shepherd's Pie simply by swapping the beef for lamb.

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:

* Carrots and celery are used to make a truly great mirepoix / soffrritto flavour base for this pie. However, they can be omitted, but add 1 tsp of sugar instead.
1. Filling thickens - Whatever the thickness of the sauce when you pour it into the tin, that's what it will be once baked - no steam escapes while baking to allow it to reduce any further. So keep cooking until it's the consistency you want.
2. Cooling the filling ensures that the potato doesn't sink into the filling and makes it much easier to spread. If you are in a rush - as I often am - pop it in the freezer while you make the potato. That works pretty well.
3. Watery potatoes drops excess liquid while baking into the filling which makes the sauce watery. So don't skip the step of steam drying the potatoes!
Also, make sure the mash is hot when spreading onto the pie. Cold mash is hard and so it is harder to dollop / spread onto the pie.
4. Variations: If I'm making this for company or am on a calorie-blow-out mission, I add a big handful of cheese into the potato and also top with more cheese before baking. It doesn't need it, it's a bonus. 🙂
For the filling, sometimes I add peas, or I reduce the amount of beef and add chopped veggies like zucchini.
5. Make ahead instructions: Assemble pie but don't bake it. Cool mashed potato topping then either refrigerate (4 days) or freeze (3 months).
Thaw if frozen (it will take way too long to bake from frozen) then bake as per recipe. Or bake from frozen - covered at 180°C/350°for 45 minutes, then 30 minutes uncovered.
Can also do individual servings in ramekins!
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 generous servings.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 602gCalories: 611cal (31%)Carbohydrates: 50.1g (17%)Protein: 53g (106%)Fat: 19.6g (30%)Saturated Fat: 7.8g (49%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 11.8gCholesterol: 149mg (50%)Sodium: 681mg (30%)Potassium: 1854mg (53%)Fiber: 7.1g (30%)Sugar: 8.1g (9%)Vitamin A: 2350IU (47%)Vitamin C: 71.8mg (87%)Calcium: 80mg (8%)Iron: 30.4mg (169%)
Keywords: cottage pie
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Originally published October 2016. Updated 2020 with fresh new photos and video. No change to recipe – I wouldn’t dare!

More pie recipes

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  • Shepherd’s Pie (lamb – because Shepherd’s herd sheep!)

  • Chunky Beef and Mushroom Pie

  • Fish Pie

  • Leftover Turkey Pot Pie with Garlic Bread Topping

  • 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!

Dozer the golden retriever during photograph shooting of Cottage Pie

Dozer the golden retriever during photograph shooting of Cottage Pie

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

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638 Comments

  1. Cathy says

    March 2, 2017 at 5:47 pm

    5 stars
    Another great dish Nagi. You really are good at this! Thank you so much, my entire family are now Nagi fans.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 3, 2017 at 7:58 am

      I’m so happy to hear everyone enjoyed this Cathy! Thanks for letting me know! N xx

      Reply
  2. Kevin says

    January 28, 2017 at 10:33 am

    5 stars
    The best recipe I’ve seen for this. Some frozen mixed veg could work as well if you want to save a little time on prep, but you won’t regret using all fresh.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 29, 2017 at 7:10 am

      Thanks Kevin! I’m totally biased of course, but I do think it’s pretty darn tasty!!!

      Reply
  3. Nagi says

    January 27, 2017 at 9:21 am

    I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it Jeff, thanks for letting me know! I love this recipe too 🙂 N x

    Reply
  4. marilyn keirstead says

    January 27, 2017 at 8:01 am

    This was amazing! Thank you..I I used Bistro instead of flour…

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 27, 2017 at 9:30 am

      I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it Marilyn! Thank you for letting me know 🙂 N x

      Reply
  5. Kevin says

    January 26, 2017 at 10:49 am

    In Step 2, wouldn’t it be wise to drain the grease from the beef/ veg mixture after browning? 1.5 lbs of beef would generate a fair bit … ?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 27, 2017 at 9:17 am

      Hi Kevin! I don’t but if you want to, then you can! Also comes down to how fatty the beef is 🙂

      Reply
      • Kevin says

        January 27, 2017 at 9:41 am

        True enough. Made it for dinner and what fat there was was absorbed by the vegetables. Actually became a fairly dry fry until the broth was added. Very good recipe, and will be making again. Tried a few allspice berries and pink perppercorns this time. Thanks, Nagi!

        Reply
        • Nagi says

          January 28, 2017 at 6:45 am

          I’m glad you enjoyed it Kevin! Thanks for letting me know! N x

          Reply
  6. Nina says

    January 24, 2017 at 1:13 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you for another delicious recipe. I will be adding this to our rotation of “go to” meals. We all loved it, Nagi!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 25, 2017 at 8:14 am

      Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback Nina! So glad you enjoyed it – N x

      Reply
  7. Rosie says

    January 20, 2017 at 5:15 am

    5 stars
    This seems to be very close to an authentic cottage pie. The video is a huge plus! (P.S. Your moms hands did a great job. LOL).
    The only thing that you failed to mention (or show), was to REMOVE the dry bay leaves before covering with the potato topping.
    I can’t wait to try your version. Thanks for posting.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 21, 2017 at 7:17 am

      Oh I know!! I always forget to do that, even in real life!!!! Hope you do try it, it’s so good!

      Reply
  8. Margie says

    January 9, 2017 at 10:16 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi,

    I made this tonight and it was a hit with my picky eaters (which include he of the “is this poison?” fame). I neglected to do a thorough read of the recipe beforehand, and found myself without enough tomato paste, beef mince, and time (to cool down the filling). I ended up substituting ketchup for some of the tomato paste. Digging in the fridge, I found 2 cooked beef burgers left over from a previous dinner, so I whacked them up and added them after the mince had cooked. I also threw in 2 cups of cooked peas and carrots just before assembling (again, leftover from a previous meal) to make it an all-in-one dish. Despite not having time for the cool down, the mash didn’t sink (but I really cooked down the filling to make up for a lack of cool down time). I also substituted mashed sweet potatoes for regular mashed potatoes mainly because my kids like sweet potatoes better than regular potatoes.

    It was also really comforting to eat on a day where the high temperature was -6 (Celsius) with a windchill of -16 (Celsius). Brrr!

    This recipe is a winner, and going on my favorites list. And maybe next time I will actually do it properly and follow the recipe (except for the potatoes). 🙂

    Thanks again for sharing your recipe tin, there has not been a dud in the bunch.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 9, 2017 at 7:19 pm

      High five! So glad everyone enjoyed it Margie, thank you for letting me know! N xx

      Reply
  9. Theresa says

    December 23, 2016 at 9:14 am

    5 stars
    I made it just now.it’s very delicious.thank you for a great recipe.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 23, 2016 at 2:10 pm

      Thanks Theresa! So glad you enjoyed it! N xx

      Reply
  10. Mary says

    December 23, 2016 at 6:06 am

    5 stars
    My family loves this! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 23, 2016 at 2:00 pm

      I’m so happy to hear that Mary! Thank you for letting me know! N xx

      Reply
  11. Beth says

    December 2, 2016 at 8:59 am

    I’m making it now! I’ve been nibbling the whole time! I have to say it is delicious ? I can’t wait to get it out of the oven for the hubby in dig in!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 2, 2016 at 4:23 pm

      Hope you both LOVE IT!

      Reply
  12. Martin says

    November 30, 2016 at 11:43 pm

    5 stars
    Love this pie, but the one photo looks like it is being served in an old bed pan.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 1, 2016 at 11:02 am

      Gosh. Definitely not a bed pan!! These are sold everywhere in Australia as a PIE PAN! N xx

      Reply
  13. Rochelle Mortensen says

    November 13, 2016 at 7:18 am

    5 stars
    What would be the best way to freeze/reheat this? I’m assuming assemble & freeze before step 5, then just increase baking time when cooking from frozen, but any idea how long? I’d love to make a few to have on hand for busy weeknights.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 14, 2016 at 6:11 pm

      I keep forgetting to add make ahead steps! I’ve just added note 5 with instructions. 🙂

      Reply
  14. Lydia says

    November 5, 2016 at 3:49 am

    I made a “Shepherd’s pie” a while a go following a recipe from one of my favorites but it turned out terrible and I vowed never to make it again. He called it Shepherd’s pie despite using beef (but said lamb could be used instead…) But I will give your Cottage pie recipe a try today and hope it turns out better (hopefully delicious). Will report back.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 7, 2016 at 8:10 pm

      I hope you do Lydia! Hopefully the video helps give you confidence too 🙂

      Reply
  15. Laura says

    November 3, 2016 at 10:42 am

    I love the look of this dish. I hardly ever comment before I actually try it, but the comments don’t seem complete without someone commenting about the name for this type of dish. (This usually happens when this dish is called shepherds pie but actually contains beef. “Gasp!”) Since this is actually named correctly, I will have to put another spin to it. 😉 “Here in America, this is called Shephards pie, no matter what meat is in it! We don’t concern ourselves with names. We only care about embarrassing ourselves when we choose who will be the next great leader of our nation, taking care to pick out the biggest crooks we can choose! God bless America!” Being a rude commenter takes effort. How did I do? 🙂 Anyhow, I must make this soon. This dish is comfort food to me and I’m always looking for that one recipe that will be the keeper. (Much to my family’s dismay since they don’t like it.) Thanks for sharing this with us! 🙂

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 4, 2016 at 4:56 pm

      Hi Laura!! You made me laugh 🙂 Safe to say never before has a US presidential election ever received so much much air time here in Australia! And I have a theory that America tends to beef-up many lamb dishes….like Guinness Stew! Though having said that, we in Australia have done it too….

      Reply
  16. Nagi says

    November 2, 2016 at 8:33 pm

    Hi Lizza, thanks for helping Peter! I’ve now fixed the recipe too 🙂 N xx

    Reply
  17. Nagi says

    November 2, 2016 at 8:29 pm

    Me, not you!! 180C/350F 🙂 Thanks for picking that up Peter!

    Reply
  18. Nagi says

    November 2, 2016 at 8:11 pm

    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

    Reply
  19. Nycolle says

    November 2, 2016 at 1:06 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 2, 2016 at 8:34 pm

      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

      Reply
    • Nycolle says

      November 2, 2016 at 1:09 pm

      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

      Reply
  20. Precious @ Precious Core says

    November 2, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    This. Looks. So. Good.
    Always a pleasure reading from you, Nagi. I’d always wondered what “Recipe Tin Eats” meant until today.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 2, 2016 at 8:34 pm

      THANKS!!!! N xx

      Reply
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