Cottage Pie - a meal the whole family can enjoy.
Everyone loves a good ole cottage pie, it was the kind of dish most of us had weekly with creamy buttery mash potato on top.
Unfortunately the latter with cream and butter is pretty high and mashed potato just isn't the same without them for me.
However sweet potato on top is a whole other league, it doesn't need the cream or the butter and is perfect mashed just by itself. So is a great topping for my cottage tie, either on it's own or mixed with regular white potato.
To get that nice golden topping, all you need to do is mix in a couple of eggs to the mash, place in the oven and let it do it's work.
To some cottage and shepherd's pie are the same thing, that's because most use beef in both dishes, but shepherd's pie was traditionally made with lamb, hence the "shepherds" part.
You will find a recipe for Shepherds Pie on here also and both dishes are gluten and dairy free.
My kids absolutely love this Cottage Pie, it's a perfect dish for the whole family to enjoy. If you have a healthy extra spare, top this with some cheese for a yummy cheesy topping. Also if you like more gravy, why not try serving it with a jug of my - delicious!!
For those following paleo/whole30 - use just sweet potato as the topping and omit the peas and worcestershire sauce and if you are vegetarian, this is delicious with lentils instead of the ground beef.
I usually serve the Cottage Pie with a side of greens like broccoli, sauteed brussels, kale or green beans just to up the vegetables.
Recipe Card
Cottage Pie
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, paleo, Whole30, Weight Watchers friendly
Ingredients
- 450g (1lb) of extra lean ground beef
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- ½ cup (120mls) of frozen peas
- 3 cups (720ml) of beef or vegetable stock
- 2-3 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon of marmite (optional)
- splash of balsamic vinegar
- splash of Worcestershire sauce
- Fresh Thyme and Rosemary
- Salt and black pepper
- Spray oil
For the topping:
- 700g (24.5oz) of white potatoes, cubed
- 500g (17.5oz) of sweet potato, cubed (or you can use just white or just sweet potato)
- Chicken or vegetable stock
- salt and black pepper
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Spray a large frying pan over a medium high heat with spray oil, add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook until softened. Add the carrot and cook for a further 3-4 mins.
- Add in the ground beef, fresh thyme and rosemary and cook until browned, breaking up any big lumps with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add the stock, tomato paste, marmite, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar and bring to the boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for approx 20mins until sauce thickens.
- Set aside and allow to cool completely (I find this works better to layer the potatoes on top)
- Preheat oven to 200c/400f (gas mark 6)
- Add the sweet and white potato to a pan and just about cover with chicken stock, bring to a boil and cover and simmer till fork tender.
- Drain the water from the potatoes and season to taste with salt and black pepper, add the eggs and mash until smooth.
- Add the ½ cup of frozen peas into the meat mixture, and transfer it all to a oven proof dish.
- Top with the mashed white and sweet potato and roughly smooth over with a fork. Spray over the top with some spray oil.
- Bake in the oven for approx 30 mins, until the mash is slightly golden on top. You can then brown the top under a grill for an additional few mins to make the top more golden if you prefer.
- Serve with your choice of side and Enjoy!!!
- Optional: top the potatoes with some cheese to make a yummy cheese crust.
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
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Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 308.7Total Fat 4.7gSaturated Fat 1.7gCholesterol 105.3mgSodium 409.8mgCarbohydrates 37.5gFiber 6.6gSugar 3.8gProtein 24.3g
Chrissy says
We both loved this, the light & crispy potato topping was great, the egg made all the difference, I will be making it again very soon. 🙂
Anonymous says
I am making this tomorrow, just wondering how much thyme and rosemary i should use roughly?
Lisa.
Anonymous says
you only need a sprinkling. Enjoy!!! 🙂
Julieanne Gibney says
Hi, I made this today & it was fecking fantastic. I just wondered is this still syn free, I only realised its dated as 2010. I just joined slimming world here in Ireland. Excited to have syn free delicious food. Best wishes.
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
Hi there, yep this recipe is still free :). All my recipes even the old ones, have the ingredients clearly listed out, to make it easy for you to double check, just incase any rules have change. Hope that helps 🙂
Tammi says
What would you recommend as a substitute to celery and peas? Can't wait to try this but have 2 fussy eaters in the house!
Rona says
what temp for the oven Lovely?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Sorry I must of missed it when typing up lol. 200c/400f
Rona says
thank you! xx
Annie says
Best syn free cottage pie I have tasted in a long time, Thank you
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
So glad you enjoyed it Annie, thanks for posting
Catherine Shaw says
It is so good to find a website that you can trust. I am desperate to lose weight and rubbish in the kitchen but following these very clear tried and tested receipts I actually think I can do it . The cottage pie was amazing as was the fish pie , thank you Siobhan for all your hard work.
Gems says
I made this cottage pie the other day, following your recipe hon, I omitted the marmite because you either love it or hate it right? I also used fresh peas as opposed to frozen. I must say it really is delicious, and a massive hit in my house! Yet another fab recipe I've tried from your blog hon.
sandra says
Absolutely lovely will definitely be doing this again
Peej says
Hi
Looking forward to making this, however would a batch freeze well if so I’ll double up
Thanks
Peej
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Hi Peej, this is perfect for freezing. Enjoy!!
Rebekah says
This looks so good! But Worcestershire sauce isn’t gluten free
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Hi Rebekah, unfortunately, that is incorrect. Some are gluten free 🙂 - such as this Lea and Perrins (Ingredients: distilled white vinegar, molasses, water, sugar, onions, anchovies, salt, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, natural flavorings, chili pepper extract. Contains anchovies) as you can clearly see here on the lea and Perrins website where it also tells you it is indeed gluten free. http://www.leaperrins.com/Products/The%20Original%20Worcestershire%20Sauce. Heinz Worcestershire is also gluten free, so it's worth checking the ingredients, not all are equal.
Sophie Morley says
Do you still use the egg if you use Swede as a topping?
Mary says
Is this really just 8sp per portion on WW. I am getting much more so am very confused. I use a lot of these recipes on WW and have never checked SP before.
Mary says
Is this really just 8sp per portion on WW. I am getting much more so am very confused. I use a lot of these recipes on WW and have never checked SP before.
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
The points are calculated using a nutritional calculator for the ingredients k used. Sometimes there will be variations due to branded items etc. But yes it is indeed 8 Smart Points for the ingredients I used as per the recipe.
Lynne says
Hi, I’m new here and your recipes are amazing, thank you. Question, should I freeze after putting the topping in but before going in the oven (made 2 ). Thanks in advance
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
yes that would be the best time to freeze, but it does also freeze fine fully cooked, enjoy;
Lorna Campbell says
This recipe is truly delicious.. I halved it, as I'm on my own but made it in 2 individual dishes.. I've just had the second one tonight & it tastes even better since I made on Sunday.( today is Tues) This will be a regular for me.. I actually made it in my Ninja on bake setting (160°c)for the 30mins and it came out perfectly delish...
Thanks for a great recipe Siobhan....
Regards, Lorna