I love a hearty dish, and this is like the best meat and potatoes you ever ate. I use a mix of sweet potatoes and regular ‘ol white potatoes for the topping, but feel free to use just one or the other.
Ingredients
For the meat filling:
- 1½ pounds 80/20 ground beef
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 large stalk celery, chopped (½ cup)
- 2 large carrots, chopped (2 cups)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 cups low sodium beef stock
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup frozen peas
For the potato topping:
- 1 large white potato (1 pound), peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 large sweet potato (1 pound) , peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
- ½ cup whole milk
- 4 cloves roasted garlic*
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Special Equipment: 6 large ramekins
Directions
1
Make the Meat Filling:
Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, using a wooden spoon to break it up, until the meat is browned through and no longer pink. Transfer the meat and any juices to a bowl.
2
Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the pan, then add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook until the onions start to soften, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, coriander, salt, pepper, and cayenne to the pot and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Return meat and any juices to the pot, then add in the beef stock, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer over low heat until the liquid thickens, 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the peas.
3
Make the Potato Topping:
While the meat is cooking, place the white potatoes in another medium saucepan. Cover with three inches of cold water, bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 15 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and continue to boil until both types of potatoes are soft, 20 more minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot, then add the butter, milk, garlic, salt, and pepper and mash the potatoes by hand until smooth (a few chunks are totally OK!).
4
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour a scant cup of the meat mixture into each of 6 large (10-12 ounce ramekins) then spoon over a scant ¾ cup of the potato mixture to fully cover the meat.
5
Bake until the potato topping is golden and its top is slightly firm, 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, and serve.
*Note: I love to make roasted garlic…on the stove. I always have my stovetop roasted garlic and the resulting garlic oil on hand to amp up any recipe at a moment’s notice. Get that recipe here.
Yikes! What do I stir in at the end of Step 2?
Peas!
I don’t have ramekins in that size; can I use a larger baking dish and what size if so?
I don’t have those either, I’m wondering if a large Dutch oven would work? Or even just a glass baking dish 9×13??
I’m no Gordon Ramsey, but I’m sure a glass baking dish would work. That’s what I’m going to use.
This was amazing! And easy! I only had 2 Ramekins. I filled the rest in a glass 9×9 dish. It worked out perfect. Im definitely making this again.. and again.. and again!
Looks yummy. I think i would substitute carrots for peas because … I like them better. I’m totally going to make this.
Absolutely amazing!!!! The stove top roasted garlic was so easy and gave it so much flavor. I had mini loaf pans which worked perfect for this and also did in a regular size loaf pan. Do you sell those ramekins?
I made this vegan style and it was great! I used soup crocks. Next time I would leave the salt out of the veg crumbles because the soy sauce adds enough.
I’m making now and there’s no way the white potatoes in 1/2 inch cubes need to be boiled that long. I did 12 minutes and they were fine, then did the sweet potatoes separate. I used a russet potato. It’s in the oven now and looks delicious 😋
Where do you get pound potatoes?! I’m blown away!
This was really good! I didn’t have any ramekins, so I ended up cooking it all in my cast iron skillet (I had already cooked the meat portion in it). I also highly recommend adding some fresh herbs to the meat before topping with potatoes. I used tarragon and thyme. Definitely will make again (4/5).
Good one, but recommend using mixed ground meats to increase depth of flavor. Lamb and beef combination very good and makes it a more true English tradtional Shepards’ Pie. Delish for hearty appetites and especially comforting when there is snow outside!
Can I cook in one big baking dish instead of the 6 small? If so, would the cook time vary at all?
I did it in one dish and didn’t change the cooking time.
Amazing! Haven’t had cottage pie in years. My husband absolutely loved this, as did I! Added cheese to the mashed potato topping.
This was incredible. My family ate every last drop. Coming from a fam that makes a passed down recipe of poor mans sheppards pie..literally ground beef, canned peas & corn, mashed potatoes w American cheese on top…This was LIFE CHANGING. It may have taken me hours to make (see above for why I can’t cook,) but I will gladly make over & over & over again. My kids will grow up on this deliciousness.
Made this tonight with just white potatoes….hearty & delicious!
Oh My Yum! So flavorful we all had seconds!
First time trying out your recipe. Boy…… I couldn”t be happier. My whole family loved it. I would’ve eat a whole lot more if I wasn’t trying to loose weight. The sweetness for the sweet potato is genius. Had to substitite tomato paste with ketchup & forgot to get some celery. I also used beef stock cubes that has some basic spices already. Yunmy to the max!
Chrissy it felt sacrilegious to alter your recipe but I hope you’ll forgive me! I used 1.5 cups beef broth and .5 cup dry red wine. YUM! I also didn’t have any ramekins so used a 9X13 and it was perfect. Thanks!
I made this tonight as written, with the exception of the roasted garlic because they burned a bit. This was spectacular- the warm spices on the filling plus the creamy, slightly sweet potato topping was so yummy! Will make again for family at Christmas.
The combination of the white and sweet potatoes was delicious! I made my meat mixture in a skillet, and then plopped the potatoes on top since I didn’t have ramekins. It worked great. This recipe is so so good!
I made this with turkey instead of beef and I’m so in love with it!
Made this in a single cast iron with just white potatoes (to respect my boyfriends wishes) and it turned out fine. I feel like the sweet potatoes would have given it that extra kick of flavour though so I wish I’d kept them in the recipe!
Made it! Loved it! Didn’t have coriander or sweet potatoes and it was delicious!