Shepherds pie and cottage pie are two classic and hearty dishes that are often confused with each other. While they share some similarities, there are a few key differences between the two. Shepherds pie is typically made with lamb, while cottage pie is made with beef. Additionally, shepherds pie is typically topped with mashed potatoes, while cottage pie is topped with a layer of cheesy mashed potatoes. Both dishes are delicious and comforting, and they are perfect for a cold night. In this article, we will explore the history and origins of shepherds pie and cottage pie, and we will provide you with a few tips for making the perfect version of each dish.
Let's cook with our recipes!
COTTAGE PIE RECIPE (BEST SHEPHERDS PIE)
Easy One-Pot Cottage Pie with cozy beef filling and a crispy mashed potato crust!
Provided by Sommer Collier
Categories Main
Time 55m
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place a deep 13-14 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Break the ground beef into small pieces, with a wooden spoon, as it browns.
- Once the ground beef is fully cooked, move it to the sides of the skillet. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic. Sauté for 5-8 minutes to soften the onions and carrots. (The carrots should be partially cooked before baking.)
- Stir the mixture together. Then add in the frozen corn and pea, broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, cornstarch, and thyme. Mix well. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed.
- Turn off the heat. Spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the skillet.
- Mix the shredded cheese into the mashed potatoes. (If using store-bought mashed potatoes, you may need to drain off the extra liquid or press the top with paper towels, before mixing in the cheese.)
- Scoop the mashed potatoes over the meat filling and spread it to the sides of the skillet, making sure there are no gaps. Immediately place the cottage pie in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden on top.
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 1.25 cups, Calories 560 kcal, Carbohydrate 48 g, Protein 30 g, Fat 28 g, SaturatedFat 12 g, Cholesterol 95 mg, Sodium 562 mg, Fiber 6 g, Sugar 7 g
COTTAGE PIE (OR SHEPHERD'S PIE)
Easy Cottage Pie made with a mixture of ground beef, ground sausage, and mixed vegetables in a delicious gravy and baked under a layer of fluffy mashed potatoes.
Provided by Lauren Allen
Categories Main Course
Time 1h30m
Number Of Ingredients 25
Steps:
- 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 filling: 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 saute for about 5-8 minutes, until tender. Add garlic and flour and toss to combine. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the beef broth, 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 the pie: 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.
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 8 g, Calories 524 kcal, Carbohydrate 33 g, Protein 34 g, Fat 29 g, SaturatedFat 13 g, Cholesterol 106 mg, Sodium 1162 mg, Fiber 5 g, Sugar 4 g
THE BEST SHEPHERD'S PIE (COTTAGE PIE)
With tons of flavor from herbs, vegetables and meat, you'll instantly fall in love with The Best Shepherd's Pie. Satisfying, filling and delicious for the whole family.
Provided by Brandie @ The Country Cook
Categories Main Course
Time 1h
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add the olive oil and diced onion to a 12" skillet and cook on medium heat.
- Once the onions have become soft and translucent (about 5 minutes) add the ground meat, dried parsley, rosemary, dried thyme and black pepper.
- Cook and crumble the meat until it is no longer pink.
- If you are using a lean ground beef, you shouldn't have much excess grease. However, if your meat did produce a lot of grease, be sure to drain most of it out and put it back into your pan.
- Then add the minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and tomato paste. Cook 5 minutes on medium heat.
- Add the frozen peas and carrots and the beef broth and combine well. At this point I like to taste it and see if it needs any additional salt and pepper.
- Cover pan and turn heat to low and start peeling potatoes. Cut them into small 1-2" pieces.
- Add to water and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes for approximately 15-20 minutes (or until potatoes are fork tender).
- Drain potatoes and add the sour cream, butter and ranch seasoning. Mash well until no lumps remain.
- Remove rosemary stalk and add meat mixture to a 9x13 casserole dish and top with the mashed potatoes evenly.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the pie starts to bubble at the sides. I place a piece of foil or large baking sheet on the shelf underneath to catch any overspill.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 674 kcal, Carbohydrate 44 g, Protein 27 g, Fat 44 g, SaturatedFat 19 g, TransFat 2 g, Cholesterol 118 mg, Sodium 674 mg, Fiber 5 g, Sugar 4 g, ServingSize 1 serving
SHEPHERD'S PIE (COTTAGE PIE)
This meal is one of my favorites.This recipe can't be screwed up. The best part is that the ingredients are already in the cuboard, and if there not its is still cheap.
Provided by Jasmyns_momma
Categories One Dish Meal
Time 35m
Yield 4-6 servings per person, 4-6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- =Preheat oven 350°F.
- =Peel and boil about 4 potatoes for about 20 minutes.
- =Fry 1lb of Hamburger, when done drain and rinse off.
- =Add 1 can of tomato soup to hamburger and mix until all meat is covered. Shut burner off.
- =Take any Cake pan or Casserole dish and add the hamburger with tomato soup and spread evenly .
- =Drain 1 can(14.5oz) of Green beans and (15.25 oz) corn and spread evenly across the top of Hamburger.
- =Drain potatoes and add about 1/3 cup of milk,4 tbs of butter, dash of salt,and pepper. Mash until the potatoes are as smooth as possible. if its still thick u can add more butter or milk. doesnt matter which. I prefer to add more butter.
- =Add the mashed potatoes to the top of the hamburgar and vegetables. and spread evenly across. The amounts of potatoes is up to u. (I like it thick, My husband likes it thin).
- =Take kraft cheese slices or the equvilant and add each slice evenly and closely to each other across the top of the potatoes.You can double the amount of the cheese in case You like lots of cheese.
- =When your oven is preheated to about 350F set inside untill the cheese is melted or untill it is warm.The size of your pan is determined on how long to bake it. the thicker the pan is then set the oven on a lower setting and cook untill it is at your desired warmth.
- I hope You enjoy this recipe as much as we do.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 677.4, Fat 27.2, SaturatedFat 13.1, Cholesterol 109.5, Sodium 516.9, Carbohydrate 80.1, Fiber 11.8, Sugar 11.1, Protein 34.9
COTTAGE PIE
A traditional cottage pie is made with ground beef and topped with mashed potatoes. We used potato slices, which saves time and looks good, too. For a shepherd's pie, use lamb. Or, try a turkey twist: Add 2 cups finely minced turkey meat along with the peas.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Pie & Tarts Recipes
Time 1h15m
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high. Add onion and carrots and cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in tomato paste. Add meat and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until almost cooked through, 3 minutes. Add thyme and beer and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly reduced, 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to combine. Add 1 cup water and cook until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Stir in peas and season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer mixture to a 2-quart baking dish. Top with potatoes, overlapping slices. Season potatoes with salt and pepper and drizzle with 2 tablespoons butter. Bake until potatoes are browned around edges and tender when pierced with a knife, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 355 g, Fat 21 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 16 g
COTTAGE/ SHEPHERD'S PIE
I know, I know, traditional 'Shepard's pie' is made with lamb. I don't like lamb. So technically, this is called 'Cottage Pie'. Make it with lamb if you prefer. But that's gross. I guess you could also use a mixture of pork, beef and lamb. I mostly just use beef. Sometimes I add fried panceta, but that's just me. I say this is a "Canadian" dish. It's a British Isles/ Scottish thing. But I'm Canadian, so I'm stealing credit for my home team. My kids love this. I love how easy it is to make, freeze, reheat and eat. I might make five of them at once and pop them into the freezer for fast meals on cool nights. Also, I like mashed potatoes. A lot. The 'prep' time is how long it takes me to peel potatoes and chop an onion. The cooking time is from the time the onion hits the pan until the whole deal is out of the oven.
Provided by GondolaQueen
Categories One Dish Meal
Time 1h
Yield 2 quart cassarole dish, 4-6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Peel and quarter potatoes and set them in a pot of water to boil (on high).
- In a large pan on the stove, quick fry the onions in the olive oil (maybe 2 minutes), until they are translucent- NOT burned.
- Add the minced garlic to the onions and fry for 30 sec to 1 minute longer.
- Add the lean (or extra lean) ground beef.
- Fry the beef/ onions until the beef is BROWN. Not gray. BROWN. Some bits might stick to the bottom. That's flavour, that's good. If there is a lot of fat, try to drain some off.
- In a bowl mix a couple teaspoons of water with the Oxo packets (or just use fresh beef stock), and deglaze the pan with the beef stock.
- Add your salt and pepper now too- I find it takes quite a lot of salt. Almost half a teaspoon.
- Next, add the flour to the remaining water and blend it well.
- Pour it into the beef/onion/stock mixture and let it thicken for a few minutes. I stir vigorously here so that there aren't any "lumps" in the gravy.
- Once the 'gravy' is thick, I add the veggies. Usually I use frozen, and just keep adding them until I think there are enough.
- By this time, your potatoes should be ready to mash.
- Salt, butter, milk and mash, until your potatoes are thick and creamy.
- Then, here's my trick (Thank You, Alton Brown)- I add a raw egg and mash the heck out of all of it. The egg helps the potatoes stay 'together' and brown nicely. Try it one time, and if you don't like it, leave the egg out next time.
- Pour the meat mixture into a cassarole dish (size depends on whether you like a "deep" pie).
- Top with the potatoes. I have a friend who puts some shredded cheese on top. I've had it, it's pretty good, but I prefer plain potatoes with a smidgen of butter smeared around the top.
- Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, or until the top is nice and golden brown. Or, freeze it unbaked, well wrapped in saran wrap and tinfoil. Just remember to take the saran wrap off, because I forgot once, and that's a mess you just don't want to think about.
Tips:
- Use high-quality ground beef or lamb for the best flavor. Grass-fed, organic meat is a great option.
- Don't be afraid to experiment with different vegetables in your shepherd's pie. Some popular options include carrots, peas, and corn. You can also add in some herbs, such as thyme or rosemary, for extra flavor.
- If you're short on time, you can use a pre-made mashed potato mix. However, homemade mashed potatoes are definitely worth the extra effort.
- Make sure to cook the shepherd's pie until the filling is bubbling and the potatoes are golden brown.
- Serve the shepherd's pie with a side of your favorite vegetables, such as roasted broccoli or green beans.
Conclusion:
Shepherd's pie is a classic comfort food that is perfect for a cold winter night. It's also a great way to use up leftover lamb or beef. With so many different variations to choose from, there's sure to be a shepherd's pie recipe that everyone will enjoy. So next time you're looking for a hearty and satisfying meal, give shepherd's pie a try. You won't be disappointed!
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