All Too often Cottage Pie is a flavorless, soupy meat mixture topped with a mushy topping. This recipe changes all of that. The thick, rich gravy is absolutely delicious and the topping will knock your socks off!
Roasted Broccoli makes the perfect side for this delicious dish.
Cottage Pie With A Twist
A true classic, but this version is a little different than your average cottage pie recipe – It’s topped with a layer of creamy, cheesy potato slices.
This recipe will change the way you look at the classic, forever! Sure, you may love the original, but seeing the gravy bubbling through those cheesy, crispy potatoes is a beautiful sight!
Why This Recipe Works
- Adding baking soda to the beef keeps it moist by stopping the proteins from binding too quickly when cooked (which will dry out the meat).
- The crispy, cheesy potato topping makes a fantastic topping on this fantastic dish.
- Adding garlic and parmesan cheese to the potato topping adds a punch of flavor.
- Soy sauce adds depth of flavor to the rich gravy base.
- Keeping the meat mixture thick keeps this dish from being runny and unappetizing.
What Is Cottage Pie
It is a Britsh dish made up of a rich ground beef stew traditionally topped with mashed potatoes before baking.
What’s The Difference Between Shepherd’s Pie And Cottage Pie?
The difference is that Shepherd’s Pie is made with ground lamb while Cottage pie is made with beef.
How To Make Cottage Pie From Scratch
- Mix the meat with the baking soda slurry to keep the meat from drying out.
- Brown the meat and set aside.
- Cook the vegetables until softened and add the beef back to the pan.
- Add flour, stock and soy sauce and cook until thick.
- Prepare the potatoes and sauce.
- Add the meat mixture to a casserole dish.
- Top with potatoes, sauce, and cheese.
- Bake until golden.
I just love it when good food fills the house with the scent of comfort as it cooks! This dish does just that! Taking it out of the oven with it sizzling, bubbling, and just smelling of comfort food goodness is a thing of pure pleasure.
I’m telling you, you have to try this recipe because it will change your life. Okay, I admit that I am a little too enthusiastic. It may not change your life, but it sure will change how you look at cottage pie!
Erren’s Top Tip
I often double the filling recipe and freeze half for another day if I’m short on time. Then I cover it with mashed potatoes and throw it in the oven.
Other Great Comfort Foods
Tips For Perfect Cottage Pie
- Don’t skip the baking soda step. This will ensure your beef stays nice and moist.
- When browning the beef, only cook until the pink is gone. You don’t want to overcook it.
- For extra depth of flavor, allow the vegetables to brown once softened and then scrape the pan to remove any crispy bits when adding the stock.
- Allow the sauce to thicken well before assembling. You don’t want a soupy mess.
- To make traditional cottage Pie use this filling and top with my homemade mashed potatoes.
- I often double the filling recipe and freeze half for another day if I’m short on time. Then I cover it with mashed potatoes and throw it in the oven.
Make ahead and Freezing Instructions
To Make Ahead: Cottage Pie will keep in the fridge for three days; refrigerate covered with plastic wrap and foil (or use a pan that has a sealable lid).
Freezing Instructions: Cottage pie freezes really well. To freeze, after baking, allow to cool completely to room temperature (no longer than 2 hours), then cover tightly plastic wrap and foil (or use a pan that has a sealable lid). Then place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When ready to eat, thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat (covered with the foil) for 1 hour in a 350ºF oven.
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Let’s Make Ultimate Cottage Pie
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 pound Ground beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 2 carrots chopped small
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- A good handful of fresh parsley chopped
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE POTATOES:
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 pounds russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese grated
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl mix ½ teaspoon baking soda with a tablespoon of water to form a slurry. In large bowl, toss beef with baking soda mixture and ½ teaspoon salt until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a hot frying pan and add the beef. Stir over high heat until golden-brown. Using a colander, drain any fat or liquid from the meat and return it to the pan. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and coat well. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pan and fry until beginning to soften. Return the beef to the pan.
- Add the stock & soy sauce to the pan, mix well to avoid any lumps. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly until thickened, then add the mushrooms and parsley. Tasate for seasoning and season with salt and peppe as needed. Cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the mince is tender.
- While the filling cooks, start the potatoes – Boil the potato slices in salted water for about 4-5 minutes or until they start to soften. Drain them carefully into a colander and leave to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 425f/220C.
- Pour the beef mixture into a shallow casserole dish. Arrange a layer of the blanched potato on top of the beef mixture.
- Thoroughly mix the flour into the cream (being sure not to leave any lumps). In a saucepan, heat up the cream garlic, nutmeg, and some salt and pepper. bring to a simmer and allow to thicken.
- Pour half of the cream mixture over the first layer of potatoes already in the pan. Arrange the remaining potatoes on top, seasoning between the layers. Pour over the remaining cream and sprinkle over the cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden-brown.
Tips + Notes
- Don’t skip the baking soda step. This will ensure your beef stays nice and moist.
- When browning the beef, only cook until the pink is gone. You don’t want to overcook it.
- For extra depth of flavor, allow the vegetables to brown once softened and then scrape the pan to remove any crispy bits when adding the stock.
- Allow the sauce to thicken well before assembling. You don’t want a soupy mess.
- To make traditional cottage Pie use this filling and top with my homemade mashed potatoes.
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally posted in 2014, but was updated with new information in 2021.
stella pearce says
The diet will just have to wait this is a must have
Mary says
Hi Erren, this looks fabulous but there isn’t a ‘print’ button by the recipe. If I print all of it, the ads on the side are over the recipe. Can you help? Thanks!
Erren says
Hi Mary, I’m sorry for the late reply. The print button is under the recipe photo on the recipe card. It’s gray so I can imagine with different color setting on different computers, it may be hard to see. I’m looking into changing the color. Thanks for pointing it out!
Melody says
Hi there! I grew up in Europe and spent time in England. This is the very best cottage pie I have ever had! Thanks!
Gay Springfield says
Erred, your recipe appeared perfect to me but out of necessity I had to make a few modifications which turned out so good I thought I would share. No offense intended by changing your recipe so I hope you don’t mind. I had to cut the recipe in half because I only had 1 pound of ground beef. I tried to halve all the other ingredients evenly but the meat mixture needed about 1/4 c more beef broth (I used canned) because it became to dry during the stove top cooking step. I was unsure whether or not the cooking time needed to be modified since the amount of meat was halved. Having no fresh mushrooms which probably would have been better, I used canned stems and pieces, drained. I had to use red potatoes instead of russet because they were all I had. I cannot imagine russets being any better. Because I love frozen English peas and because I thought the dish would be improved visually with addition of some color, I added a handful of them between the layers of sliced potatoes. I used more garlic in the cream sauce than was called for because of my personal fondness for garlic. Halving the recipe for the cream sauce didn’t seem like enough liquid to have enough to add some to the meat mixture and still have enough to pour over the top of the potatoes. Instead of using heavy cream I had to use canned evaporated milk, undiluted, and it worked great but I used about 10 oz. of the canned milk. So while I didn’t think I had much to change to recipe, it now seems like there were quite a few changes. So, dear Erren, you may not want to claim my version of your recipe, my only reason for doing so was because I had to make do with what I had on hand and I personally still consider it “your” recipe . Thank you. It was fabulous!!
Erren says
Hi Gay, I don’t know how I missed this comment. What great feedback! I am really pleased you enjoyed the recipe and found a way to make it work for you! 🙂
Mj Earnshaw says
Oh My Goodness! This was so awesome! Made for dinner tonight and we ate more than half of it. Great recipe 🙂
Erren says
Great to hear! So glad you liked it! 🙂
Yazmine says
This was very good! The seasoning on the meat was great. I added four or five cloves of garlic to the water with the potatoes to get a garlic flavor. So good!
Debbie says
Very good! I served it in individual french onion soup bowls!
Erren says
Hi, Debbie, What a great idea!
Elsa says
This was really good! the whole family loved it! Thanks.
Erren says
So glad to hear it! 🙂
Tina says
Hi Erren,
I made this on a snowy evening and it was delicious comfort food.
Erren says
Hi Tina, that’s so terrific to hear!
Janet says
Ok I cheated.. Made it with box scalloped potatoes as a topping. Turned out great
Erren says
Hi Janet, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and found a way to make it work for you! 🙂
Jennifer says
So I want to cheat and do the same as you did LOL so can you tell me did you follow the recipe exactly on the scalp potato box and just threw the whole mixture on top or did you do anything else differently
Denise Z says
Oh my goodness, this was absolutely yummy 🙂
Erren says
Thanks so much Denise!
Meredith says
No worcestershire sauce? I can’t imagine the soy sauce adding nearly as much savory complexity as worcestershire. But otherwise this looks like a good recipe and I’ll try it out with my one change.
Erren Hart says
Thank you for your comment and suggestion for the cottage pie recipe. While Worcestershire sauce is a common ingredient in traditional cottage pie recipes, we used soy sauce as a substitute for a unique twist on the classic recipe. We believe the soy sauce adds a delicious umami flavor that complements the other savory ingredients in the dish. However, we always encourage our readers to make changes to suit their tastes, so feel free to substitute Worcestershire sauce instead of soy sauce if you prefer. We hope you enjoy the recipe, and please let us know how it turns out with your substitution!