Rich and hearty cottage pie is a thing of beauty for most of us. Deep rich red wine gravy, tender beef, sauteed carrots, onion and garlic all snuggled under a fluffy blanket of mashed potatoes baked to golden crispy perfection. These are the days! ♡
Okay. Slow cooker week is shaping up to be all of my dinner dreams come true and this may be the peak for me. Although, we have 3 more days to go, so... who knows! Let's just have a quick chat about this cottage pie and why you should make it.
Reasons to make slow cooker cottage pie
It's Freezer friendly.
Makes enough for leftovers that actually get better the next day.
Slow Cooker Cottage Pie
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Ingredients needed
- Minced beef- Obviously this is the traditional choice, but you can use minced turkey, pork or lamb in place of the beef.
- Beef stock, wine, tomato puree- All elements for making the gravy that the beef cooks in.
- Mushrooms, carrots, onion & garlic- They help bring out the richness of the beef add flavour to the pie.
- Potatoes- For making fluffy mash for topping the pie.
- Butter, milk & Greek yoghurt- For making the mash fluffy, buttery and full of flavour. You can just use butter and milk for this, but I love the freshness that Greek yoghurt brings.
- Frozen peas- I always put a few handfuls of frozen peas in my cottage pie, but you can skip it if you want to.
Step by step how to
- Step 1 - Start by browning the beef very well. If you have a slow cooker with a bowl that can go directly on the hob, then you can do it all in one and you can skip the skillet. I have an induction hob, so need to use a skillet. As with a good bolognese, you want to get the mince as dark as possible without it burning. It's fine if it gets crispy because we're going to soften it up by slow cooking it in a gorgeous and rich beef red wine gravy.
- Step 2- Soften the onions and garlic and scrape up any little bits of beef in the bottom of the pan or slow cooker bowl. Add in the chopped mushrooms and carrots and continue to cook until the mushrooms are turning golden. About 5 minutes.
Step 3 & 4- Place everything from the pan into the slow cooker, or if you've sauteed everything in the slow cooker add in the tomato puree, flour, red wine and beef stock.
Step 5 & 6- Cook the cottage pie filling on high for 3 hours, or low for 6-8 hours. In the last 30 minutes of cooking time, add in the handful of frozen peas.
Step 7 & 8- Once the filling is cooked, have a taste and check for seasoning. Add in anything you think it may need. Extra salt, pepper or thyme. Maybe a splash of water, if your gravy is really thick. While the beef is in the slow cooker make the mashed potato.
Browning the potatoes
- Step 9 & 10- Scoop the filling into an ovenproof skillet or pie dish and spoon the mashed potato on top. For extra crispy potatoes, drag a fork across the top of the potatoes and top with some extra butter. Place under the grill for about 10 minutes so the potatoes turn golden and the tips of the potato mountains are crispy.
- A lot of recipes tell you to cool the filling first before you top with the potatoes so that they don't sink. However, I always top with mash while the filling is still hot and this has never happened to me. The trick is a THICCCC filling that holds the potatoes up. Besides, we don't have time to cool the filling. Unless, of course, you're making it for the freezer.
You will truly know culinary satisfaction and achievement when you pull this out of the oven and that brown gravy is gently bubbling up around that golden mashed potato lid. And you will know, that true love really does exist!
More Slow Cooker Recipes
Tools used to make this Slow Cooker Cottage Pie
Slow Cooker Cottage Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) olive oil
- 500 g (2 cups) minced beef
- 1 (1) onion
- 4 cloves (4 cloves) garlic
- 200 g (2 ⅝ cups) sliced brown mushrooms
- 3 (3) carrots, peeled and chopped,
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) flour
- 125 ml (4 ¼ floz) red wine, optional
- 500 ml (2 cups) beef stock, stock cube
- 175 g (1 ⅐ cups) frozen peas
- For the mash
- 4 (4) large potatoes
- 75 ml (2 ½ floz) Greek yoghurt, optional
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) butter
- 250 ml (1 cups) milk
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil either in a nonstick skillet or the bowl of your slow cooker, it it can go on the hob. Start by browning the beef very well. If you have a slow cooker with a bowl that can go directly on the hob, then you can do it all in one and you can skip the skillet.
- Soften the onions and garlic and scrape up any little bits of beef in the bottom of the pan or slow cooker bowl. Add in the chopped mushrooms and carrots and continue to cook until the mushrooms are turning golden. About 5 minutes.
- Place everything from the pan into the slow cooker, or if you've sauteed everything in the slow cooker add in the tomato puree, flour, red wine, Worcestershire sauce and beef stock. Cook the cottage pie filling on high for 3 hours, or low for 6-8 hours. In the last 30 minutes of cooking time, add in the handful of frozen peas.
- While the cottage pie is cooking make the potatoes. Peel and chop the potatoes and place in a large pan of cold water and season well with salt. Bring the pan to a boil and cook uncovered until the potatoes are tender and cooked through. Drain them and mash with a potato masher. Add in the butter and Greek yoghurt if you’re using it. Pour in the milk in a steady stream and continue to mix until the potatoes are light and fluffy.
- Once the filling is cooked, have a taste and check for seasoning. Add in anything you think it may need. Extra salt, pepper or thyme. Maybe a splash of water, if your gravy is really thick. While the beef is in the slow cooker make the mashed potato.
- Scoop the filling into an ovenproof skillet or pie dish and spoon the mashed potato on top. For extra crispy potatoes, drag a fork across the top of the potatoes and top with some extra butter. Place under the grill for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are golden and the tips of the potato mountains are crispy.
Notes
Nutrition
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THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!
John Rogers
Thank you for your excellent cottage pie recipie, however, I am unable to grill the potato topping to brown as I haven`t got an oven but I have an air fryer, could you please advise using this equipment, thank you. John
Deborah Rainford
You could use the air fryer to bake the cottage pie filling with the potatoes on top (you can use a silicone air fryer basket) and don't worry about browning the top too much. It will get some golden color and develop some lovely crispy edges. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Marya
Really delicious
Deborah Rainford
So happy you loved it. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and a rating. It's so appreciated! 🙂
Melissa
This turned out exactly how I hoped it would! Thank you so much. I'm not a confident cook and the step-by-step photos and instructions were very helpful. And my family loved it. Thank you.
Deborah Rainford
Amazing! It's such a great recipe to start learning how to cook. Lots of easy techniques that quickly help build confidence! Happy you loved it! 🙂
Mrs. T
My second successful savvybites recipe! Tested out my new slow cooker and it worked perfectly! Imagine my delight when the finished dish looked just like your photo! Thanks, will be trying more... x
Deborah Rainford
You've absolutely made my week! Thank you so much. And thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. It's so appreciated. Lots more to come in the new year. 🙂
Shawna
I've made this recipe 3 times last month and I can tell you, every time, it's incredible! Thank you so much!
Deborah Rainford
Thank you so much, Shawna! Absolutely love comments like this. 🙂
Gwen
Absolute life saver, this recipe!!!! Have made this so many times. Hearty and warming and very cheap to make!
Deborah Rainford
Love a slow cooker meal! Thanks for leaving a comment and a rating!
Pamela
It’s great I will cook that while I’m on holidays yum thank you
Deborah Thompson
Hope you love it Pamela. Thank you so much for leaving a comment and a review!
Emma chesterman
Hi at which stage cam this be frozen? Before or after the potatoes?
Deborah Rainford
Hi Emma. At both stages actually. You can make the filling and freeze it in a ziploc bag or container. Then defrost, as usual. Warm the mince filling (microwave will do), make the potatoes and bake it in the oven to brown the potatoes. Or, you can make the whole pie from start to finish and freeze it in a dish that's freezer and oven safe. A foil container would work really well here. Then you can either defrost it in the fridge overnight and bake it in the oven to heat it all up or bake it from frozen. Baking from frozen will take significantly longer, but in a pinch that works. Whether baking from frozen or after defrosting overnight, be sure to cover the potatoes with foil to make sure the top doesn't get too dark. Remove the foil for the last 5-10 minutes to get those potatoes lightly golden. I'll update the recipe card to reflect all this info. Any other questions just let me know. 🙂