How to Make Cottage Pie

Do you love cottage pie? It’s one of my favorite things to make. Cottage pie is basically shepherd’s pie but with ground beef instead of lamb. I also love shepherd’s pie, too! This recipe is very similar to my beef pot pie recipe with one exception: instead of pie crust it has mashed potatoes! I don’t do a bottom crust for my cottage pie, so it’s a bit more like a casserole than an actual pie.

I usually make the pie filling on the stovetop in a large pot however I recently discovered you can also cook this dish in a slow-cooker. If you do the slow cooker method I would recommend cooking for several hours on low and then tossing the peas after you’ve removed the filling from the slow cooker. I hope you enjoy this delicious and easy recipe! It’s very comforting in the winter months. My recipe is dairy-free however you could certainly use heavy cream and butter instead of coconut milk and vegan butter! Enjoy! I’d love to hear how you’re liking this dish in the comments!

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

3 large russet potatoes
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 egg yokes
3 tbsp vegan butter
1/2 tsp salt

1 medium yellow onion chopped into 1/4 inch chunks
3 carrots peeled
2 tsp minced garlic
1 package of ground beef
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/8 cup beef stock (you can use beef base)
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tsp Italian seasoning
8 turns of the pepper grinder
3/4 cup frozen peas thawed out and drained

Instructions

1. peel potatoes with a vegetable peeler, cut into 1/4 size pieces, and boil until soft enough to mash
2. strain potatoes into a colander and add egg yokes, coconut milk, salt, and vegan butter. Using a hand mixer mash the potatoes until smooth
3. preheat the oven to 400°
4. chop carrots in a food processor and set aside
5. put 1/3 cup water, onion, and carrots in a pot and cook on medium-high covered until tender
6. add beef & stir until meat is fully cooked but not browned
7. next add the teriyaki, tomato paste, salt, ground pepper, cayenne & Italian seasoning, minced garlic, and stir
8. now add flour and corn starch and stir
9. add beef stock & bring to a boil. Put the lid on and turn the heat off. Let this sit for 6-10 minutes. The sauce should be relatively thick but still, have some liquid.
10. set the filling aside and let it cool for 20-30 minutes
11. stir peas into the filling and pour into the glass pie dish, try to make it as flat as possible
12. using a silicone spatula place mashed potatoes onto the filling and gently spread it out to cover the entire top of the pie dish
13. bake at 400° for 25 minutes
14. let the pie cool slightly before serving (and 15 minutes)

Tips: if you use the slow cooker the only thing you have to cook on the stove is the potatoes! If you use the slow cooker the onions and carrots me slightly crunchier than if you cook in a pot. It takes practice to get good at spreading the mashed potatoes on top of the pie so don’t feel bad if it turns out messy the first few times. It took me many tries to get good at it! A trick I learned is to add an extra potato since then you don’t run out as fast and it’s easier to spread!