Always a winner, my Super-Easy Cottage Pie is the perfect dish to serve up for a weeknight dinner or Saturday night in. There’s one little thing I want to clarify first. What’s the difference between a cottage pie and a shepherd’s pie? They often get mixed up, but there’s one simple difference between these traditional pies: the meat in cottage pie is beef and in shepherd’s pie, it’s lamb. Both are delicious!
There’s no better combination than a meaty bolognese mixture, rich with tomatoes, onion and garlic, topped with smooth and buttery mashed potato and finished with bubbling golden brown Cheddar cheese. Heaven in every mouthful!
To make Super-Easy Cottage Pie, you will need the following ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 390 °F. Lightly grease a casserole dish.
Place a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Heat the oil and then cook the ground beef for 8-10 minutes until browned, in batches if needed. Use a wooden spoon to break the beef down. Drain off the excess fat and place the beef in a bowl.
Add the onion and garlic to the same skillet and cook for 3 minutes until translucent.
Add the cooked beef back into the pan, along with the gravy powder. Cook and stir for 1 minute.
Add the broth and tomatoes to the pan, mix together and then bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, giving it an occasional stir, until the mixture has thickened.
In the meantime, bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 10-12 minutes until tender.
Once cooked, drain the potatoes and mash them in the pan until smooth. Stir in the butter and milk until the butter has melted.
Pour the beef mixture into the casserole dish. Spread the mashed potato over the top and sprinkle the grated cheese over the potato.
Bake the pie for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve immediately.
Serve my Super-Easy Cottage Pie with some freshly cooked veggies, like broccoli, carrots and green beans or why not carb-load with some buttery garlic bread! I hope you like this easy recipe - let me know how you get on below!
Thank you, Jeff!
