Easy Cottage Pie Recipe is a Family FAVORITE- FamilyDinners.com

Name: Easy Cottage Pie
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes; 1/2 cup salted butter, divided; 1/4 cup heavy cream; 1/4 cup whole milk; 1 cup carrots (diced); 1/2 cup yellow onions (diced); 1 cup frozen peas; 3-4 cups leftover pot roast and gravy (or 1 pound ground beef plus one packet of beef gravy); 1/2 teaspoon paprika; fresh thyme (for garnish); salt and pepper (to taste)

Use pot roast leftovers and mashed potatoes to make the ultimate comfort meal with this easy cottage pie.

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closeup overhead of spoon scooping meat, carrots, peas, and mashed potatoes from white casserole dish

If you have pot roast leftovers or leftover shredded or ground beef you can make this easy cottage pie recipe quickly. It’s often called a shepherd’s pie but a traditional shepherd’s pie recipe is made with lamb. You can swap the shredded beef in this recipe for shredded lamb, if you prefer.

Table of Contents

A cottage pie has a layer of meat and vegetables and a layer of potatoes. It’s then oven baked to golden perfection.

Easy cottage pie recipe (Shepherd's pie recipe) in a casserole dish with pot roast leftovers beef, peas and corn covered in potatoes

❤️ WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS COTTAGE PIE RECIPE

✔️ Great way to use leftovers! Make pot roast one night and this dish the next.

✔️ 490 calories and 34 grams of protein per serving.

✔️ Perfect comfort food for any time of year!

✔️ Everything is good with mashed potatoes!

Enjoy this easy shepherds pie as a full meal paired with these other recipes:

Side: Roasted Brussels Sprouts– This classic side dish pairs well with this.
Bread: Parmesan Garlic Bread – This is good with everything. We usually make it with a store bought french bread but you can also make your own.
Drink: Red Wine Sangria – This is one of my all time favorite sangria recipes. Use the rest of the wine leftover from your marinara recipe.
Dessert: Rose Black and White Shortbread Cookies – These are so pretty!

white scalloped dish full of baked mashed potatoes

large spoon scooping some cottage pie out of the casserole dish with beef, peas and corn on the spoon.

shepherd's pie recipe (easy cottage pie recipe) in a casserole dish with beef, peas and corn covered in potatoes

Ingredients:

Vegetables: Use yukon gold potatoes, carrots, yellow onions and frozen peas. You could also add celery or any other vegetables you like.
Dairy: We use real butter and heavy cream to make the potatoes creamy. If you are avoiding dairy you could use whole fat coconut milk from a can and a butter substitute.
Beef: Use tender roast beef mince or pot roast leftovers for the meat component. Alternatively, you can use ground beef or ground lamb (shepherd’s pie). Save some of the natural gravy from your pot roast to use in this recipe. You can also use beef broth or a packet of gravy if you don’t have any gravy leftover.
Spices: Sea salt (or kosher salt), black pepper, paprika and fresh time give this cottage pie recipe the right amount of spice.

How to Make Cottage Pie (Shepherd’s Pie Recipe With Beef):

If you already have leftover mashed potatoes you can skip the steps to make mashed potatoes. This easy cottage pie recipe recipe assumes you already have pot roast leftovers (or ground beef or lamb). If you need to cook the meat you should do that before step 1.

1. Preheat the oven

Preheat oven to 350°F. You’ll cook the cottage pie in the oven after you saute the vegetables on the stove and make the mashed potatoes.

2. Cook Potatoes

Peel and dice the potatoes. Place potatoes and 1 tablespoon of sea salt in a stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are cooked. Drain.

sauce pan full of potatoes covered in water — Cover potatoes with water.

3. Mash potatoes.

Mash drained potatoes, ¼ cup butter, heavy cream and milk until smooth and creamy. We prefer using a hand held potato masher tool but you can also gently mix with a hand mixer.

4. Heat skillet.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a skillet.

black saute pan with cooked carrots and onions — Put carrots and onions in pan with butter.

5. Saute carrots and onions.

Saute onions and carrots until onions are soft and translucent. Add peas and leftover pot roast to the vegetable mixture.

4. Add peas.

Add peas to the vegetable mixture. Stir.

black saute pan with cooked carrots and onions and uncooked, peas — Add frozen peas.

7. Add beef.

Add leftover pot roast to the vegetable mixture.

8. Spread beef mixture in baking dish.

Spread meat/vegetable mixture into a casserole dish. Add as much gravy as you have left in the pot. (Follow packet instructions to make extra gravy if desired and stir into the meat/vegetable mixture.)

black saute pan with pot roast leftovers, carrots, peas being stirred by a wood slotted spoon — Stir to combine.

9. Top with mashed potatoes.

Top beef and vegetable mixture with the mashed potatoes.

10. Sprinkle with seasonings.

Sprinkle paprika, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme over the top of the casserole.

mashed potatoes in a black sauce pan — Mash potatoes.

11. Top potatoes with melted butter.

Melt remaining butter and pour over the mashed potatoes.

12. Bake.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the gravy is bubbling from the bottom of the dish and the potatoes are beginning to brown.

white scalloped dish full of mashed potatoes with butter on top — Pour butter over top of mashed potatoes.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH COTTAGE PIE

While this can be a whole meal by itself, you might want to include some bread and maybe more vegetables with it as well. Try one of these recipes:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How long can you refrigerate cottage pie?

Allow your casserole to cool then cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave.

Can you freeze cottage pie?

Allow the casserole to cool then cover tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. It can be reheated from frozen. Adjust cooking time accordingly.

How do you make cottage pie gluten free?

Make sure your beef is gluten free and hasn’t used any all purpose wheat flowers to thicken the gravy. This recipe is naturally gluten free.

What is the difference between cottage pie and Shepherd’s pie?

Americans often use the name Shepherd’s pie for what is actually cottage pie. There is no difference between the two other than the type of meat in each. A shepherd’s pie recipe has lamb (makes sense) while a cottage pie has beef.

How do you prevent the mashed potatoes from sinking into the beef while it’s cooking?

One trick to prevent the potatoes from sinking into the shredded beef and vegetable mixture is to allow the beef to cool before adding the potatoes.

Easy Cottage Pie

❤️ WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS COTTAGE PIE RECIPE

Ingredients: