I have to stop and say how lovely my house smelled as this was cooking. Then there's that bubbly, sizzling sound you hear when you pull the dish from the oven. One glimpse of the brown gravy bubbling up around the mashed potatoes and I'm ready to dig in!
While cottage pie isn't a speedy dish, I've taken some shortcuts. Time does most of the work but I used the slow cooker to slowly simmer the meat. That way it can bubble away while I'm working from home or running errands. I simply popped the cooked meat into an oven safe dish, topped it with potatoes and baked the whole thing until it was golden brown. Speaking of potatoes, to keep things simpler, I used instant but I've included how to use actual potatoes if that's your thing.
Cottage Pie is also freezer and meal prep friendly. Just make the beef mixture, top it with potatoes and freeze it for another night. Then you can just defrost in the refrigerator and then bake it until it's piping hot. The cooked pie keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days.
The Potatoes: If you'd like to make mashed potatoes for the top here's how to do it.
1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons milk
Shortcuts
Use approximately 2/3 cup frozen peas and carrots. No need to cook the vegetables first. Skip step 2 and the vegetables at step 4.
Or use a jar of gravy instead of beef broth and water + frozen vegetables. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are warmed through. Then top with potatoes.
Gravy
Adjust the amount and thickness of the gravy by adding more flour and beef broth.
Freezing
Make the beef mixture, top with potatoes and freeze. Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Brush with egg wash, rake potatoes with a fork so you get some grooves that'll brown, bake in preheated oven at 425F for 25-30 minutes or until brown and bubbly.
Make Ahead
You can bake this off and reheat. The pie will keep in the fridge for 4 days. Personally I think it tastes even better the next day or even cold!
Make it lighter
Use mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes.
Other Recipes
Try cottage pie stuffed potatoes!
RECIPES
1/2 medium sized onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 celery stalk, chopped
15 baby carrots, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon red wine
1/2 cup no sodium beef broth
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons onion soup mix
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup frozen peas
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray and brown ground beef. Set browned beef aside.
- Lower to medium-low heat. Spray pan with cooking spray. Add onion, celery & carrots. Season lightly with Kosher salt (not the 1/2 tsp referenced in recipe). Cook for approximately 20 minutes or until tender. Add water periodically to the pan if it dries out.
- Add garlic and allow it to release its oils, 1 min. Then add tomato paste. Stir until it mixes into the vegetables. Then add flour and stir to combine.
- Add wine, 1/3 cup water, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, Kosher salt, thyme and onion soup mix. Stir. Raise heat to medium-high. Add beef back to pan and bring to a low simmer. Once bubbles form, pour into a slow cooker, add bay leaf, cover and cook on low for approximately 3 hours. Add frozen peas and cook another 1/2 hour.
- Once done, preheat oven to 400F. Transfer beef mixture to a 2 cup oven safe dish.
- Combine scallions, garlic powder, instant mashed potatoes and hot water. Top the meat mixture with the potatoes. Brush with the beaten egg, then use a fork to make lines in the potatoes, so the potatoes brown. Bake on a cookie sheet for 25-30 minutes, until bubbling and brown.
1 medium sized onion, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
30 baby carrots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine
1 cup no sodium beef broth
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon onion soup mix
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup frozen peas
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray and brown ground beef. Set browned beef aside.
- Lower to medium-low heat. Spray pan with cooking spray. Add onion, celery & carrots. Season lightly with Kosher salt (not the 1/2 tsp referenced in recipe). Cook for approximately 20 minutes or until tender. Add water periodically to the pan if it dries out.
- Add garlic and allow it to release its oils, 1 min. Then add tomato paste. Stir until it mixes into the vegetables. Then add flour and stir to combine.
- Add wine, 2/3 cups water, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, Kosher salt, thyme and onion soup mix. Stir. Raise heat to medium-high. Add beef back to pan and bring to a low simmer. Once bubbles form, pour into a slow cooker, add bay leaf, cover and cook on low for approximately 3 hours. Add frozen peas and cook another 1/2 hour.
- Once done, preheat oven to 400F. Transfer beef mixture to a 1 quart (4 cup) oven safe dish.
- Combine scallions, garlic powder, instant mashed potatoes and hot water. Top the meat mixture with the potatoes. Brush with the beaten egg, then use a fork to make lines in the potatoes, so the potatoes brown. Bake on a cookie sheet for 25-30 minutes, until bubbling and brown.
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