Truly Yummy Cottage Pie
Gluten free and dairy free cottage pie with rich gravy and a golden white and sweet potato topping.
Cottage pie is firm family favourite in our house. A meal I was regularly served growing up. After making a few ingredient tweaks to my mum’s original recipe, My Truly yummy Cottage Pie is completely gluten free and dairy free while still being just as delicious. In our house serving it with a side of peas is an absolute must.
Getting the perfect combination between the meat base in a rich gravy and the “thatch”, as my dad always called the potato topping, is key. Instead of a cheesy topping, I use a combination of white and sweet potatoes mashed with a plant-based butter. A little extra knob or two on top also helps it turn beautifully golden in the oven.
I sometimes add grated cheddar to half of the pie for family members who don’t want to miss out on a cheesy topping. I’m always careful when serving to avoid cross-contamination. Vegan cheese could also be added on top, although I personally keep it simple as I’ve yet to find one I really like.
If you prefer, the final step of baking the pie in the oven can be swapped for placing it under the grill instead. This can speed up the cooking a little, especially if you’re adding cheese on top.
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Truly Yummy Cottage Pie
Equipment
- 1 shallow saucepan used to cook the meat filling
- 1 saucepan and lid used to cook the potato topping
- 1 oven proof dish used to brown the topping of the cottage pie in the oven/grill
Ingredients
Meat Base
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 450 g mince beef
- 4 tsp Henderson's Relish
- 2 tbsp tomato purée recommend Mutti Double Concentrate Tomato Purée
- 450 ml beef stock recommend Knorr Beef Stock Pot
- 1 tbsp tomato sauce recommend M&S Only 8 Ingredients Tomato Ketchup
- 2-3 grinds of pepper for seasoning
Thatch – Potato Topping
- 4 medium sized white potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
- 4 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
- 2 tbsp plant based butter recommend Flora Salted plant-based butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ / Gas Mark 6.
Meat Base
- Heat the olive oil in the shallow pan and fry the onions, carrots and garlic for 5-10 minutes until soft.
- Add the mince beef to the pan and cook for approximately 5 minutes until brown.
- Stir in the sauce ingredients including a good grind or two of pepper and cook on a medium heat uncovered for 10-15 minutes until the meat sauce has reduced and thickened.
Thatch – Potato Topping
- While the meat base sauce is reducing, place the white and sweet potatoes cubes into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook until tender.
- Drain the potatoes and with 1 tbsp of vegan butter, mash with a masher or fork.
Assembly
- Place the meat base into the bottom of the oven proof dish.
- Top with the mash potato so that all the meat is covered.
- Dot small pieced of the remaining vegan butter over the top of the mash potato.
- Pop in the oven or under a hot grill for 10-15 until the pie is golden and piping hot.
- Serve with a portion of peas.