Cottage Pie
This lovely version of a classic cottage pie is one our family loves. It is fairly quick to throw together with minimal stress. This is also a big batch recipe, so it will feed a crowd!
Servings: 10
Equipment
- 1 9x13 pan
Ingredients
- 8 cups potatoes, cubed I used yellow creamers, but use whatever potato you like.
- 12 cups boiling water, salted with about 2 tablespoons salt
- 6 tablespoons butter
- ¾-1 cup milk This is variable, depending on how thick or thin you want your potatoes to be.
- 2 ½-3 pounds ground beef
- 1 cup onions, medium chop
- 1 cup celery, medium chop
- 1 cup carrots, medium chop
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup beef or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoon thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Read through all instructions before beginning.
- Bring water and salt to a boil, then add the cubed potatoes. Cook on medium heat until they are tender.
- In a large pan at the same time, cook your ground beef. When it is partially cooked, add in the vegetables, thyme, bay leaf, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and garlic. Continue to cook it until there is no more pink in the meat.
- If you have used fatty meat, drain. Then sprinkle with the flour. Mix this in and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- To this add the tomato paste, puree, Worchestershire, and broth. Mix this and cook for several minutes over medium heat until it has thickened. Test for seasoning and add more as needed. This is a personal preference.
- Pour this into your baking dish. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- If your potatoes are tender, drain. Then add them to a large bowl for mixing.
- Add in the butter and milk. Mix well. Taste for seasoning. Spoon over the meat mixture in your pan.
- You can bake like it is, or with a fork, scrape a design into the potatoes.
- Bake until it is golden brown on top.
- It is ready to serve right away!
Notes
- I do not skin my potatoes before cooking, if you want to, do this prior to boiling.
- While I prefer yellow creamers, you can also use russet potatoes, red potatoes, or even sweet potatoes if you like.
- This recipe is also really good with cheesy mashed potatoes. If you want to try this, add about 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese to the potatoes when you are mashing and another cup on top while baking.
- You can use beef, vegetable, or chicken broth in this recipe. I really think they all give great flavor to the filling.
- If you want a lighter meat option, you can also substitute ground turkey or ground chicken. I don't like the flavor as well, but it certainly cuts calories and fat in your dish.
- This can easily be made ahead of time. You can make the whole pie, then cover it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. When you are ready to bake, bake it for 45 minutes- 1 hour until it is heated through.
- I like to use a stand or hand mixer as they produce really fluffy mashed potatoes. If you like them dense, use the potato masher.
- If you have leftover pie, let it cool at room temperature. Once it is cooled, you can store it in the fridge a few ways. The casserole dish can be covered tightly in plastic wrap. Or you can store it in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 8 days. To reheat, I like to do this in the microwave, but you can also heat it in the oven as well. I do this covered in tinfoil at 350 degrees until it is heated through.