This flavorful cottage pie is sautéed ground beef topped with mashed potatoes. Ground beef and potatoes are all you need because the rest are pantry staples. A perfect make-ahead dish for busy days.
Table of Content
About this cottage pie
This is comfort food with meat and starch all in one pan. The mashed potatoes are flavored with butter and rich while the ground beef is lightly seasoned with garlic, thyme, and veggies. The sausage meat or bacon gives this dish a huge boost of flavor, so I highly recommend it. There are two components to this dish.
- The ground beef - which can be made up to two days ahead of time and kept in the fridge.
- The mashed potatoes - which also can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for 2 days.
You can then assemble the dish just an hour before you are ready to serve. Perfect for busy days or when you plan to entertain guests.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Sausage meat - I like to add a little sausage meat in ground beef. It's not much but really adds a nice boost of flavor to this dish. If you don't have sausage meat you can also use bacon.
- Veggies - The classic onions, carrots, and celery are always perfect for dishes likes these pies.
- Garlic - I like using fresh, but ¼ teaspoon of powder will also work.
- Herbs - I use thyme and parsley. And yet, you can also use ½ teaspoon of Italian herbs
- Potatoes - Use russet, Yukon gold, or a combination of the two.
- Cheese - Adds a nice flavor, sharpness, and texture to the dish.
Step by step instructions
Mashed potatoes
- Using a vegetable peeler and sharp chef's knife, peel and dice the potatoes into 2-inch cubes.
- Boil them in a large pot of salted water until soft to touch.
- Darin and mash with a potato masher (or a potato ricer).
- Add the butter, cheddar, parmesan.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Set aside until ready to use.
Ground beef
- In a skillet or cast-iron skillet, add the oil.
- Saute the onions, carrots, and celery until almost tender.
- Add the ground beef and sausage meat. Saute until no longer pink, making sure to break the meat into smaller pieces.
- Then, add the garlic and crushed tomatoes. Followed by the parsley and thyme.
- Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low for 8 minutes.
- Then, add stock or water and cook a minute more.
- Set aside until ready to assemble.
Assemble
- Preheat the oven at 200 C / 390 F.
- Top the ground beef with the mashed potatoes (see video).
- Grate some parmesan and cheddar on top.
- Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes or until the top is golden and slightly crisp.
Frequently asked questions
A ground meat pie will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. You can also freeze it for up to a month.
You can certainly use ground chicken in place of ground beef. If you use ground chicken, the cooking time will need to be shortened so you don't overcook it.
No, this cottage pie is like a casserole. Layered with a ground meat sauce on the bottom and mashed potato on the top. This is then baked until bubbling.
Yes you can add ½ cup red wine to this cottage pie.
Absolutely. While onions, garlic, carrots, and celery are very common in cottage pie. Also, other veggies such as parsnip, green beans, spinach are a great addition. No matter what veggies you use, it is important not to overcook them. No one likes mushy veggies in their pie.
This pie has meat and potatoes both in so it's pretty much a complete meal. A side salad would be a great addition of course. Try my cabbage salad, carrot salad, celery salad or tomato mozzarella salad.
A few vegetables on the side would be a great idea - you can even make them in patties or fritters.
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Printable Recipe
Cottage Pie - Ground Beef with Mashed Potatoes
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Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
Beef
- 1 lb (450 g) Ground beef
- 4 oz (100 g) Sausage meat (or 2 slices of bacon)
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil (or cooking oil)
- ½ cup Onions (finely diced)
- ½ cup Carrots (finely diced)
- ½ cup Celery (finely dices)
- 1 teaspoon Garlic (finely minced)
- 1 cup Tomatoes crushed (½ can)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- ½ cup Parsley (or cilantro)
- 1 tablespoon Thyme (fresh)
- ½ cup Stock (or water)
Mashed Potatoes
- 2 lbs (900 g) Potatoes (russet or Yukon gold)
- ¼ cup (60 g) Butter ((4 tbsp))
- ½ cup (60 g) Cheddar (grated)
- ¼ cup (25 g) Parmesan (grated)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
Top crust
- ¼ cup (25 g) Parmesan
- ¼ cup (30 g) Cheddar
Instructions
Mashed potatoes
- Using a vegetable peeler and sharp chef's knife, peel and dice the potatoes into 2-inch cubes.
- Boil them in a large pot of salted water until soft to touch.
- Darin and mash with a potato masher (or a potato ricer).
- Add the butter, cheddar, parmesan.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Set aside until ready to use.
Ground beef
- In a skillet or cast-iron skillet, add the oil.
- Saute the onions, carrots, and celery until almost tender.
- Add the ground beef and sausage meat. Saute until no longer pink, making sure to break the meat into smaller pieces.
- Then, add the garlic and crushed tomatoes. Followed by the parsley and thyme.
- Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low for 8 minutes.
- Then, add stock or water and cook a minute more.
- Set aside until ready to assemble.
Assemble
- Preheat the oven at 200 C / 390 F.
- Top the ground beef with the mashed potatoes (see video).
- Grate some parmesan and cheddar on top.
- Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes or until the top is golden and slightly crisp.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Melvin
Delicious ground beef topped with creamy mashed potatoes. Way to win everyone's heart in my family. Kids loved it so much that they said I should make it more often. It's now been added to our family meal rotations.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback. I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe.
Sonia
This is so delicious! Perfect comfort food for this weather.
Veena Azmanov
Thank yo so much Sonia
Clay
Such an easy recipe and quick too. Made this over the weekend and the kids loved it. Perfect for this cold weather
Thanks
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Clay, Yes, it is great for these colder months.