Cottage Pie – a meaty filling with a creamy mashed potato topping. A recipe passed down from my Mum and known in our house as “Granny’s 5 a Day Pie”, due to the selection of vegetables it contains!

Why This is a Great Family Dish
- Make-Ahead: Cottage Pie is a fantastic dish to make in advance. Have it all assembled and then store for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. It also freezes beautifully and you can bake from frozen. Perfect for busy weekday dinners.
- 5 Different Veggies/Fruit: Although it may not appear to have a lot of veggies/fruit, it does actually contain quite a few. Different fruits and vegetables contain different combinations of fibre, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Therefore you should aim to include a variety of fruit and vegetables to get the most benefit – this pie certainly serves up a variety!
- Easy to Adapt: Pies like this are very flexible when it comes to adding vegetables. You can skip or add more depending on what you have available or to suit your family’s taste buds
- Great for Babies / Toddlers: Babies and young children love the soft texture of this pie and find it easy to eat. Use homemade stock if making for under 1s, to reduce sodium levels. You can even make a smaller dish up for little ones, before seasoning, and then season and assemble a larger dish for the rest of the family.
Ingredients

Cottage Pie is a traditional British dish made from two components – minced meat (ground beef) with a potato topping.
This version contains a couple of ingredients, not usually found in the meat filling of a Cottage Pie (apple and red pepper). They are added for extra goodness but also adds a lovely flavour and delicate sweetness that children seem to love. The recipe is flexible and you can choose to skip these or replace with other vegetables such as carrots, mushrooms or peas.
The topping is also slightly different. Usually just mashed potato, this topping involves mashing carrot with the potato, again for a nutritional boost.
To make it DAIRY FREE you can replace the milk with a plant based milk and the butter with olive oil.
Step by Step Instructions and Cooking Tips.
Making the Beef Filling

- Brown the beef in a large skillet/pan over high heat until lump-free. You want your pan to be big enough to prevent overcrowding, as this can result in the ground beef (mince) stewing. If you feel your pan is on the small side then brown the mince in batches. Keep it moving so that it browns evenly but does not dry out. Break up the mince with a wooden spoon/spatula.
- Add the vegetables (and fruit) and cook for 2 mins. They should be soft but not coloured
- Add stock in batches and simmer, covered. Stir occasionally and check that the mince is not drying out, adding more stock when needed
- Remove lid and continue to simmer. The filling should be reduced down enough to ensure you don’t end up with a watery filling after baking the pie.
Making the Potato Topping

- Add the carrots and potatoes to a large pan on water, cover and simmer until tender. For even cooking add to cold water. You need to cut the carrots a good bit smaller than the potato as they take longer to become soft.
- Drain and return to pot. Shake briefly and allow to steam dry for around 30 seconds, this helps to release some of the moisture from the potatoes (excess water is the enemy of mash!)
- Melt the butter with the milk. Adding warm milk/butter to the potatoes allows them to absorb more liquid and turn out creamier.
- Slowly add the warm milk. Adding the milk, slowly in batches allows the starches to have time to absorb the liquid.
Assembling the Pie

- Transfer the mince to an ovenproof dish
- Top with the potato/carrot mash, you want your mash to be hot for this, it will be a lot easier to spread.
- Beat the egg and brush the top of the mash, this helps give the top layer a golden crust
What to Serve with Cottage Pie
Packed with meat and carbs, this pie is best served with a salad or a side of vegetables (e.g. broccoli, broccolini, green beans, peas or carrots)
Storage Instructions
- REFRIGERATING – Assemble and keep refrigerated for 2 days before cooking.
- FREEZING – Assemble the pie, chill and then freeze for up to one month. It can be cooked from frozen. To bake from frozen, cook at 160C / 320F for 1 hr-1 hr 20 mins until piping hot in the centre.

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Cottage Pie
Ingredients
Meat Filling
- 500g (1.1lb) Ground Beef (beef mince)
- 1 Onion (finely chopped)
- 1 Celery Stalk (finely chopped)
- 1 Apple (finely chopped)
- 1 Red Pepper (capsicum) (finely chopped)
- 375ml (1½ cups) Chicken stock
Potato Topping
- 200g (7oz) Carrots (peeled and cut into 1cm chunks)
- 650g (1.4lb) Potato (peeled and cut into rough chunks of approx 3-5 cm cubed)
- 60ml (¼ cup) Milk
- 20g (1½ tbsp) Butter
Egg Wash
- 1 Egg
Instructions
Meat Filling
- Cook ground beef, on medium / high heat, in a wide based pan until lump free and brown.
- Add onion, celery, apple and pepper and cook for a further 2 mins.
- Add 1 cup of stock and stir. Cover and simmer for approx 20 mins, stirring occasionally making sure that the mince does not dry out (adding more stock if needed).
- Add the remaining stock and simmer for 10 mins with lid on and then remove lid for 15 mins.
Potato Topping
- Add the carrots and potato to a large pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer until tender (approx 20 mins)
- Drain the carrots/potatoes and mash.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter and milk together. Slowly add to the potato and carrots and mash until smooth
Assembly
- Transfer the ground beef to an ovenproof dish (mine was a 1/2 litre capacity)
- Top with the potato / carrot mash.
- Beat the egg and brush the top of the mash
- Bake in oven (180C / 350F) for 25 mins.
Recipe Notes
This post was first published Jan 2014, it has been updated to include process step photos.
Disa W. says
I am very pleasantly surprise at how good this recipe is. I made mine dairy and egg free, so i used olive oil to give that creamy and crusty finish but oh my, it tasted WONDERFUL! Thank you so much! My 10month old is having so much I have to stop him cause im scared he’s getting too full!
Amy says
Thanks Disa, it is a favourite in our house! Glad your little one enjoyed it 🙂
Brian says
2nd time i have made this, best cottage pie in town.
Amy says
Thanks Brian!
Beatrice S. says
Delicious! I have always ADORED Cottage Pie but until now I never knew how to make it at home. I tried the BBC good food recipe- it didn’t work. (probably because being a non-alcoholic I omitted the red wine.) Same trouble with both Tesco and Sainsbury’s recipes. I was beginning to despair as the frozen item was definitely not the healthiest option, with their added preservatives, when I remembered you. As usual, your recipe was a no-fail; even with my inexperienced culinary skills and the fact I used Quorn instead of beef and was completely out of paprika! Thank you so much! Betty.
P.S. This recipe is not recommended for people trying to lose weight- I can’t stop eating it!
Amy says
Thank you so much Betty! I’m glad you found a recipe that worked for you and it’s great to know that it works well with Quorn.
Claire says
Hi Amy, I made this today for my 9 month old baby and although she has eaten all of the ingredients before, she didn’t like my cottage pie. It was tricky because I didn’t have a back up meal prepared so I mixed in some plain yogurt and banana purée (already in the fridge) and she then continued to eat the pie. Phew. What would you suggest in that situation for future meals? Is it ok to mix in other ingredients so that she’ll eat it or should I offer the pie on its own, until she accepts it? It’s going to be tricky if that happens again and I don’t have another meal prepared My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the pie
Amy says
Hi Claire, thank you for your feedback I’m glad you enjoyed the pie and hopefully your little girl will learn to enjoy it too. Did you mix the pie up? I wonder if your little one would have enjoyed just the topping or just the ground beef? I wouldn’t encourage adding sweet purees to your baby food all the time as you want them to learn to enjoy a range of flavours. Instead, serve with some other foods (like cooked veggie sticks) that you know are liked. Serve together and allow her to explore with no pressure.
Claire says
Hi Amy, thank you for your reply. Funnily enough I served this again for dinner last night and did mix it up because it was hot out of the microwave and she really enjoyed it, finished it all. I’m getting more organised with preparing and serving solids but it’s very stressful! Your recipes and food ideas have been a great help.
Amy says
Great to hear, thank you 🙂
Joni says
Do you think this would work if I substitute stock with water for my 11 month old? Just worrying about sodium even low sodium stocks still have a fair bit but would love to try this recipe
Amy says
Hi Joni, where are you based? The Stock Merchant (Australia) don’t add salt, flavour enhancers or additives to their stocks and they have really low sodium levels. There are others too but I can’t remember offhand. I am seeing more come to the market though. Alternatively, you can make your own (I have recipes for chicken and vegetable stocks on the site). You can replace it with water but it won’t have as much flavour for the rest of the family to enjoy.
Joni says
Thanks you very much, I’m in Sydney so will look out for that brand. Or I will look up your recipes and make my own. The flavour is usually so much less when you just use water isn’t it, so thanks for letting me know.
Cristina says
I made it for my 10 months old baby but we end up eating all without adding any salt. Easy to make. Very good taste. I put some spices like coriander in the meat .
Amy says
So happy you all enjoyed this recipe, Cristina. 🙂
Kaylie says
This is a great family meal! My husband and I made this for dinner last night. We both really enjoyed it and so did our 10-1/2 month old little one. We doubled the recipe and baked in a 9” x 13” dish. We wanted to have enough for leftovers and to freeze portions for our little one. We baked immediately after cooking the meat so that it would not have time to cool and could be reheated with the saved portions, per Amy’s advice in the review comments. We put the potatoes and carrots through a ricer to mash because that is how we are used to making them and we wanted them to be smooth. The recipe involves a lot of chopping (especially if you double the portions), so I prepped the red pepper, onions, and celery in advance. It still took awhile to make after work and we ate later than we hoped we would. When I make this again, I will do so on a weekend. The flavor was great, the apple added a subtle sweetness that was nice. My husband and I added salt and pepper once on our plates. Grateful to have another healthy recipe that we can make for our whole family and we love how many veggies (and fruit) went into this meal. Thanks for another great one Amy!
Sarah says
Hi,
I don’t usually cook or bake so I know nothing about it. But I’d do anything for my little one.
Can I use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock?
With the milk, is it ok to use oat milk/almond milk? Or would that taste weird.
Amy says
Hi Sarah, yes you can use vegetable stock if you prefer. I believe oat milk would be fine, but I have never tried it before. You could also sub with a little stock. Good luck! 🙂
Jennifer Ellis says
Hi Amy, once cooked can you reheat or would you recommend just cook an individual portion and freeze rest. I batch cook your recipes so just wanted to check for this one.
Amy says
Hi Jennifer,
If you don’t allow the beef filling to cool before baking then you could re-heat later. If you have I would make an individual portion and then freeze the remaining. Does this make sense? (Only re-heat once)
Jennifer says
Yes it does thank you. Your recipes are super tasty cant wait for my grandson to try this one tomorrow.
Amy says
Hope he enjoys it 🙂
Rima says
Made it yesterday for the three of us(parents and 18 month old) all loved it. Thank you for this one will be looking forward to try more of your recipes
Amy says
Thank you, Rima. So happy you liked it 🙂
Kylie archer says
This is always a winner at my place!
Amy says
Thanks Kylie, glad you like it 🙂
Samantha B says
So excited to find a recipe that doesn’t rely on tomatoes for taste. Dinner tomorrow…sorted!
Amy says
Hi Samantha, hope you liked it 🙂
Iola Josebury says
Just want to say thanks again for another great recipe. Big hit in our household and everyone loved it even the 5 year old who can be picky and the 16 month old who cleared his plate.
Amy says
Thank you Iola, happy it was a hit all round 🙂
Sheryl Pinto says
I enjoyed making this recipe. Very healthy and nutritious’ my daughter enjoyed it. She is 17 months.
Amy says
So happy she enjoyed it, Sheryl 🙂
jade says
are we able to get a recipe for this one? Looks amazing!!
Amy says
Hi Jade, I’m sorry there is no recipe. I am unsure what happened to it. It is my Mum’s recipe (hence the name) She is visiting me in January so I will probably re make it then with her then.
Amy says
Hi Jade, I have updated this post now to include the recipe. Enjoy!
Natalie says
Have you been able to recreate this recipe? I also cannot see it on the page.
Amy says
Hi Natalie, I’m so sorry I haven’t done this yet. I am still baffled to where the recipe went to!
Amy says
HI Natalie, I have finally re posted the recipe. Enjoy!
Debs says
Sorry I can’t actually see the recipe on the page- I really want to make it, sounds fab!
Amy says
I’m sorry, Debs. I’m not sure what has happened to the recipe. I don’t have a hard copy so will have to try and re create it.
Leandra says
This looks lovely! All my family would enjoy this 🙂
Amy says
Thanks, I hope they do!
Becky, Cuddle Fairy says
That looks beautiful! And lots of veg in there too – great way to get it into the kiddies! Thanks so much for sharing with #foodpornthursdays x
Amy says
Thanks Becky!
Jennifer says
Love this! I’m a huge fan of sneaking veggies and other added nutrition to meals for my unsuspecting kids 🙂
Amy says
Thanks Jennifer, always good to sneak a few extra veggies into their meals!
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
This looks lovely! Really liking the idea of the apple in the mixture. I shall certainly be giving that a go. Popped over from #FoodPornThusday.
Angela x
Amy says
Thanks Angela, it sounds strange but it really works well. Hope you enjoy x
Lavinia says
Mixing Carroots into the topping is a fantastic idea! I must try that next time.
Lavinia
p.s. After reading your post last week I bought a watermelon, I have it chopped up and in the freezer 😀
Amy says
Thanks Lavinia, my boys love carrots mixed with potato as a topping. I think it makes it sweeter and they like that. Enjoy your frozen watermelon!
Angela MacLennan says
Just finished making this to have ready for tomorrow nights dinner, tastes fantastic!! Going to be a favourite receipe! Thanks x
amy says
You have been busy Angela! Glad you are enjoying the recipes.