Cottage Pie

This easy Cottage Pie recipe has a flavorful gravy with ground beef, ground sausage, and mixed vegetables topped with fluffy mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese.

Want some more of my favorite meals? Try Taco Soup, Chicken Tetrazzini, Chicken Casserole, or Harissa Pasta!

Why I love Cottage Pie:

• Comfort Food – There is just something about old-fashioned comfort foods that warm my heart…and belly and Cottage pie is on my favorite's list (right there with Chicken Pot Pie and Lasagna).
• Delicious – Even my pickiest eaters enjoy this meal because the meat and gravy filling is flavorful and perfectly complimented by the mashed potatoes.
• Practical – I love that I can whip this up with pantry ingredients anytime, and it's one of my favorite things to use up my leftover Mashed Potatoes. It also makes an excellent freezer meal, so go ahead and double it.

Cottage Pie vs. Shepherd's Pie

The main difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd's pie is cottage pie uses ground beef, and Shepherd's pie uses ground lamb. Both pies are cooked with vegetables and gravy and baked under a layer of mashed potatoes. To make Shepherd's pie using this recipe, simply substitute ground lamb.

How to make Cottage Pie:

Make Mashed Potatoes (or use leftover mashed potatoes): Boil potatoes in a saucepan with 2 inches of water until fork tender, about 12-15 minutes. Drain water and allow potatoes to steam in the pot with a lid for a few minutes. Mash lightly with potato masher, then add butter, sour cream, milk, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper and combine.

Prepare meat Gravy: Brown ground beef and sausage in a 12 inch oven safe skillet, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. Drain some of the grease and remove meat to a plate. Sauté onion, celery, and carrots in the pan for 5-8 minutes, until tender. Add garlic and flour then toss together. Cook for 1 minute. Add beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, herbs, and bay leaves then stir. Simmer for 5 minutes then taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Remove bay leaves then stir in frozen peas, corn, and cooked meat.

Assemble: Spoon the mashed potatoes over the meat mixture to completely cover the top. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving to allow the gravy sauce in the meat mixture to cool and thicken.

Variations:

Shepherd's Pie: Use ground lamb in place of ground beef.

Vegetarian: Omit meat and either double the vegetables or add a cup of cooked barley, farro, or wild rice.  Use vegetable stock instead of beef stock, and substitute wine vinegar for Worcestershire if desired.

Gluten-Free: Replace flour by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the beef broth before adding to the pan.

Making Ahead, Storing, and Freezing Instructions:

To Make Ahead:  Cook the meat gravy and mashed potatoes and store separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Rewarm the mashed potatoes in the microwave with a little splash of milk, to re-soften them, and then assemble before baking.

To Freeze: Cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw completely before baking until warmed through.

Recipe

4.94 from 397 votes

Cottage Pie (or Shepherd's Pie)

This easy Cottage Pie recipe has a flavorful gravy with ground beef, ground sausage, and mixed vegetables topped with fluffy mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese.

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Author Lauren Allen

Course Main Course

Cuisine British, English, Irish

Servings 8

Calories 589

Cost 12

Prep 30 minutes mins

Cook 1 hour hr

Total 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

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Equipment

• Potato Masher
• oven-safe skillet
• Meat Chopper

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the Filling:

• ▢ 1 lb lean ground beef
• ▢ 1 lb ground sausage (I use Jimmy Dean pork sausage)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 small yellow onion , chopped
• ▢ 2 ribs celery , chopped
• ▢ 1-2 carrots , chopped (about 1 cup)
• ▢ 3  cloves garlic , minced
• ▢ 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• ▢ 2  tablespoons  tomato paste
• ▢ 1  cube beef bouillon
• ▢ 2  tablespoons  Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1  teaspoon  fresh thyme , chopped (or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary , chopped (or ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary)
• ▢ 2  bay leaves
• ▢ ½ cup frozen corn
• ▢ ½ cup frozen peas

For the mashed potatoes

• ▢ 2 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes , Yukon gold or russet potatoes
• ▢ ¼ cup  sour cream
• ▢ ½ cup milk
• ▢ 4  tablespoons butter
• ▢ salt and pepper , to taste
• ▢ ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• ▢ ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese , for topping

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Make mashed potatoes: Add potatoes to a saucepan with 3 inches of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender, about 12-15 minutes.
• Drain the water and leave the potatoes in the pot. Cover with the lid and allow to steam for a few minutes.
• Mash the potatoes lightly with a potato masher (avoid over-mixing the potatoes). Add butter, sour cream, milk, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper and stir just until smooth. Set aside.
• Make the meat gravy: In a large, oven-safe* 12 inch skillet with sides, add the ground beef and ground sausage (or ground lamb, to make shepherd's pie). Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook over medium heat until browned, breaking the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks.  Drain some of the grease (reserving some in the pan) and remove meat to a plate.
• Add the onion, celery and carrots to the pan and sauté for about 5-8 minutes, until tender. Add garlic and flour and toss to combine. Cook for 1 minute.
• Add the beef broth, bouillon cube, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, herbs, and bay leaves and stir to combine.
• Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Taste and add extra seasonings, if needed. Remove bay leaves and stir in frozen peas, corn, and cooked meat.
• Assemble: Spoon the mashed potatoes over the meat mixture to completely cover the top. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving, to allow the gravy sauce in the meat mixture to cool and thicken.
• Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. 

Notes

Serving size is about 1 ¼ cups.

Skillet size: If you don’t have large enough oven-safe skillet, assemble cottage pie in a 9×13 inch pan.

For Shepherd's Pie: Substitute ground lamb. 

Vegetarian:  Omit meat and either double the vegetables or add a cup of cooked barley, farro, or wild rice.  Use vegetable stock instead of beef stock, and substitute wine vinegar for Worcestershire if desired.

Gluten-Free Adaptations: Replace flour by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the beef broth before adding to the pan. Use gluten-free Worcestershire sauce.

Make Ahead Instructions:  Cook the meat gravy and mashed potatoes and store separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Rewarm the mashed potatoes in the microwave with a little splash of milk, to re-soften them, and then assemble before baking.

Freezing Instructions: Cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw completely before baking until warmed through.

Nutrition

Serving: 8gCalories: 589kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 30gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 1249mgPotassium: 1298mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 2610IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 189mgIron: 4mg

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I originally shared this recipe October 2019. Updated November 2023.

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