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cottage pie recipe.
5 from 16 votes

Cottage Pie Recipe

Rika
This Cottage Pie is so hearty and satisfying. The combination of meat and vegetables in gravy, tucked into creamy mashed potatoes and baked until golden will make everyone at your dining table happy!  It's so filling and pretty healthy too. 
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine English
Servings 6
Calories 565 kcal

Equipment

  • a 12-inch oven-safe skillet

Ingredients
 

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • cups small diced onion
  • ¾ cup small diced carrots
  • pounds lean ground beef, (90% Lean / 10% Fat).
  • ¾ tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoon flour
  • tablespoon tomato paste
  • tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup Burgundy or any dry red wine, (such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Pinot Noir)
  • 1 cup beef or chicken broth
  • teaspoon dried rosemary
  • teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ cup fresh or frozen peas
  • ½ cup fresh or frozen corn

Mashed Potatoes Filling:

  • pounds russet potatoes, (peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks)
  • ¼ cup half and half, heavy cream, or milk
  • ¼ cup sour cream, (at room temperature)
  • 6 tablespoon parmesan cheese, (divided)
  • 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • ¼ teaspoon salt, (to taste)

Instructions
 

Prepare the Fillings

  • In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and carrot until soft for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Add the ground beef, breaking the meat apart with a spatula, and cook, undisturbed for 30 seconds. Make a small room, add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper, continue cooking and stirring until the meat is browned for about 4 minutes.
  • Add the flour and tomato paste, cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Pour in the red wine. Gently scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and continue cooking until the liquid is almost gone, stirring frequently.
  • Add the Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low then simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the sauce is thickened to a gravy-like consistency, stirring occasionally. Taste, add more salt or Worcestershire sauce if necessary. Turn off the heat.
  • Stir in the peas and corn. Mix well until combined.
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Mashed Potatoes

  • In a pot, cover the potatoes in cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat then lower the heat to medium-low, cook for 12-15 minutes or until soft. Drain them over a colander and return the potatoes to a pot on low heat for 2 minutes then stir to allow any excess water to dry off.
  • Microwave the half and half then butter for 35 seconds each time. In a bowl, mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, sour cream, butter, salt, and 2 tablespoon of parmesan cheese. Stir to combine.

Assemble and Bake

  • In the skillet dollop the hot mashed potatoes over the filling and use a spatula to spread over all of the filling and the skillet edges. Sprinkle the top with the remaining parmesan cheese. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Notes

If you don't have an oven-safe skillet, feel free to use a 9x9 baking dish. 
To make-ahead.
(Option 1) Just assemble the cottage pie from filling to topping in a baking dish. Let it cool down at room temperature, no longer than 2 hours then cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap.
You can either refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to a month until you're ready to bake it. 
If it's frozen, thaw first before baking it in the oven.
(Option 2) Prepare the filling without assembling. You can freeze the filling for up to three months. When you're ready to use it, simply defrost the filling, make the mashed potatoes, assemble the cottage pie, then bake. 
To store the leftover. Allow the leftover cottage pie to cool slightly but do not let it sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Properly stored, the leftover will last up to 5 days in the fridge or 2-3 months in the freezer.
To reheat the leftover. Remove the cottage pie from the fridge (if frozen, thaw in the fridge first before reheating).  Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until the pie is hot throughout and reaches the minimum safe temperature of 165°F.  
 

Nutrition

Calories: 565kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 33gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 928mgPotassium: 1543mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 3368IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 152mgIron: 6mg
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